TWB July 14th 2018 Experience: Day 21- St. Louis

Day 21- St. Louis

WHAT’S UP GUYS??!!! It’s the Grumpys here!!! Today we woke up at 6 am to Dallas’s voice saying “Rise and shine sunshines!” We all checked ourselves for bug bites before beginning to pack up our stuff. While traveling to the bathrooms this morning, we were greeted by a lovely beaver swimming in the creek. We loaded the vehicles like a bunch of critters and began our drive through the cornfields to Kansas University. The Sneezys provided us with a nourishing breakfast of various Poptarts and ripe bananas. After our typical morning naps, we arrived at Kansas University, home of the Rock Chalk Jayhawks. In the football stadium parking lot, we grouped together for a picture and research presentations. First up was Preston Bisson with tons of fun facts about Kansas State University. Next, we had Annagrace Gibson tell us about the popular state of Kansas. Fittingly, Ethan Oxendine presented on Kansas University. We then all raided the gift shop, because why wouldn’t we want to remember our favorite state, Kansas?? Many people found some great deals in the clearance section because of their Final Four appearance (way to go Jayhawks!). After that quick stop and a few pictures, we loaded back up and headed to Wal-Mart. After some heavy traffic and even heavier sleeping, we were happy to announce arrival in Missouri (“We’re not in Kansas anymore”.) Dallas commemorated the moment by playing “Misery” by Maroon 5 because I am in misery sounds like I am in Missouri (what a clever gal)!

Due to the traffic that we encountered, the cooks hurried and got all of their meals in a record-breaking 17 minutes (way to go Sneezys!). After running back to the bus, we were on the way to our main attraction of the day, the St. Louis Arch! Our traveling lunch consisted of tasty PB&J’s with white cheddar popcorn and kettle corn (and don’t forget those Great Value Oreos!). After our tummies were stuffed, we began to pass the time by sending our journals around the bus for our friends to write their favorite memories. Looking out the windows, we were all excited to see real civilization after driving through cornfields for two days. We were especially excited to see the giant “Archway to the West,” letting us know that we had made it to St. Louis. Dallas gave us the rundown of our visit before exiting the bus and vans. After a walk across the street, we made it through security and onto National Park soil, where we saw lots of “Mr. Park Rangers!” Many of us checked out the demo “test tube-like” capsule to determine if we were claustrophobic or not. We then got in groups of five to be shot up 63 floors in an over-sized egg. The view from the top overlooked most of St. Louis, including the Cardinals stadium and the Mississippi River. Each group got about 5-10 minutes to look over the city before returning to ground level. To ease our nerves on the way down, some sang songs, and a group of the boys even traded shirts! We raided yet another gift shop, purchasing comfy shirts, snow globes, and yummy fudge. We gathered in our groups for a quick head count before taking a picture and loading our vehicles.

We were all looking forward to a tasty and filling meal for dinner due to our raging appetites. After our last bus ride of the day and making it to the great state of Illinois, we arrived at McNair Campground by Carlyle Lake. We quickly began our jobs upon arrival. The Grumpys started the daily task of blogging with our favorite counselor, Daniel. The bus packers, the Bashfuls, vigorously unpacked the vehicles with an effort that had never been done before. The bus cleaners, the Dopeys, had to clean, and they did so with a smile on their face. The other groups had free time to set up their sleeping bags and load on the bug spray. Meanwhile, the cooks, the Sneezys, made a delicious meal of chicken stirfry that was seasoned with teriyaki sauce and served with rice. There was also a melody of vegetables that were seasoned as well and included zucchini, squash, and green peppers. It was almost as good as the Grumpys’ gourmet tacos! While everyone was doing their jobs, Aidan Spelbring’s grandparents and other family members brought us the wonderful gifts of homemade cookies and other goodies. The love that was baked into these tasty treats warmed our hearts and our stomachs. After the yummy dinner and desserts, everyone was given around fifty minutes of free time to shower, talk, and call home. The sing-a-long started at around 9:45, and as always, we had a great time singing and dancing with our best friends. As we sang the song “Today”, we all reflected on how much we would miss each other in a few short days. (Although we are all excited to see you guys of course ;) ).