TWB June 19th 2023

Day 23- Return

Day 23-HOME

Grumpys here for the final act... we are going to miss all of you!

Today we were woken up by the bag pipes once again! Also take notes future participants... get out of your sleeping bag or you might end up like Hunter and end up being dragged around the campsite by Grant :)

This morning we had lots of hugs and some tears as it is the last morning we will be waking up together. We loaded on the bus and van to head to our final Walmart of the trip. On the way to Walmart, most people napped as it was our last nap time too. When we got out of Walmart, we had a delicious breakfast of donuts!!!! We sang and signed notebooks and shirts as we were headed through the mountains. When crossing the NC line, there was lots of cheering!!

We stopped at Sheetz to clean the bus and vans so we are ready to pull in at Mallard Creek. Being at Sheetz, we realized we are so close and although we are sad, we can't wait to see our family! Once our bags were organized and gifts given out, we said our last goodbyes. As you can imagine, there were lots of tears!

We love you Trip 2 2023, you have been so great and we are going to keep in touch. I have a feeling someone is already planning to make that groupchat!

XOXO-Grumpys signing off

Day 22- Kentucky

Day 22-Kentucky

Grumpys coming at you from the great state of Kentucky!!

Today we woke up soaked… we did not miss the humidity but V’s lovely wake up call makes up for our wet sleeping bags this morning. Some people (Dallas) took a while to get down as they were stacked 6 high in their ENO’s!! We all loaded up and left our campsite by 7. We had Bagels for breakfast while we filled up the vans and put more air in the tires so we are ready for our ride home tomorrow!!! #wemissyou Most of us napped and talked some music was being played. We had another gas station stop and we headed to the Church Hill Downs. When we got there we took a photo outside and we were waiting for instructions…. Grant appeared out of thin air with our tickets! We got a nice tour by the tour guide named Max! We went to see the track and learned some interesting facts… did you know that Queen Elizabeth had gone to the Kentucky Derby and the horses that compete are only able to be 3 years old. We then went through the museum and watched the movie called Kentucky Derby race for the roses. While walking around the museum some people tried on the jokey suits and weighed in. Some others also went to the barn and saw the horses…most spent money at the gift shop! As we loaded the bus in our groups so we could practice our skits for the Talent Show tonight. We were hungry and headed to the Original KFC! The cooks headed inside to get ready to serve chicken wings, Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and biscuits (they were not a s good as Bojangles). We had a great feast tonight we got our bucket hats like Cohen since he always wears one we wanted to see how cool it was!! Once our bellys were full we loaded up and 20 minutes later the talent show began!! We all had so much fun picking highlights of the trip there were many common theme’s we are excited to tell you about!!!!!!!!

The Happy’s won tonight and overall the Dopeys won all the competitions. We set all our stuff up for tonight and are spending and cherishing these last few hours together! The emotions are high tonight as we are excited to come sleep in our own beds but are going to miss our 86 new family members!!

Love you and see you tomorrow

The Grumpy’s

some Grumpys are all smiles for chicken!

Bashfuls

Happy's reenacting some funny moments

Slip n Slide!!

Dopeys

The Bromance is real....

Mama Luke telling us how it is

Grumpy's trivia

Go Fridge GOOOOOO

Oh no the building!!! AHHHH

We are ready to see everyones talent

Sneezys last perfomance

Ryan looking terrified of the rabid squirrel

Day 21- St. Louis

Day 21: St. Louis

Grumpys again!!!

Today, we were woken up at 6am by the lovely sound of V’s voice which we are going to miss dearly… we had a nice nap and woke up as we were driving through Kansas City! Maddi was excited when we saw the Chiefs stadium because she likes Patrick Mahomes! (Ooooh)

We ate our delicious breakfast of yogurt with granola and bananas before hitting our next stop! Our next stop was at the great Wally World the cooks shopped for our lunch and dinner while others got snacks and drinks. We all loaded back on the bus and ate a delicious lunch of turkey or ham wraps and pretzels. We then were headed towards the arch...YAY!

We drove around trying to find a spot to park which took a while due to some lots being closed off for a Cardinal's game.

We all unloaded and went for a walk towards the Mississippi River for the second time of this trip!!! Getting to the lobby, the boys decided to see how many people they could fit inside the mock tram car. In case you were wondering, they fit 9 people! We broke up into groups of 5 (because that's all that can really fit in the trams) and went through what was like TSA at the airport ( somedays we wish we could be using an airport instead of these long driving days)!

Our groups of 5 were staggered with about 30 people going up at 3:30pm, 30 people going up at 3:40pm, and the rest of us following shortly after! 630 feet later, we unloaded our trams and got to look out over the city of St. Louis and the Mississippi River! We took tons of photos in our 15 minutes at the top. After seeing the sights, we all went to the gift shop and bought souvenirs and to the cafe to buy food and ice cream.

Before leaving, the counselors wanted to continue a tradition from their trip...making a "TWB" out of us! We also made an outline of the USA!!!

We hiked back to the bus and loaded up for the final stretch of the day to the campsite #letsroll

When we got there, the staff got us off the vehicles and lined us up...competition time!! This competition was fun, but even funnier to watch. We chose a member from our group that the rest of us had to run into and pop a balloon! We blew them up and began!!! It was quite entertaining for all of us.

To end the day, we unpacked and the cooks started making breakfast for dinner which consisted of french toast sticks, hashbrowns, and sausage!! #yummyinmytummy

We practiced our lovely singing voices with a short sing-along (we know you miss hearing us sing but don’t worry you will hear it soon enough). Journaling and showers filled up the rest of the night until lights out!

Tomorrow, we will be rolling into Kentucky. Churchill Downs here we come!! Getting closer and closer back home.

XOXO see you soon - The Grumpys

5 looks more comfortable than 9

Look at our map!

Research lady #1: Gia

Research lady #2: Leslie

Competition ready

Bo popping the balloons

Matthew and Hunter were successful

The forgotten shoe

Day 20- Kansas

Day 20: Kansas

Hey there! It is the best group... the GRUMPYS!!! Lindsay, Grace, Reese, Sarah, Chaning, Emery, Kiya, Kelsey, Mary, Justin, Gabe, Fletcher and Connor!!

Today, we got to sleep until 6:45am!! A lot of us woke up around 6am though to the air conditioning turning on which sounded like the bagpipes we were woken up to yesterday… We have a little PTSD...thank you, Grant!

The bus and trailers were packed and we headed on our way to the wonderful Walter's World, where the cooks shopped for our amazing breakfast of muffins and apples while others went shopping for snacks, shampoo, and deodorant (we are very thankful for that and you would be too if you were here!!)

The ride today consisted of naps, chatting, bracelet making, and games. Miss America had to take a detour at one point which caused them to run behind, so the bus and Carolina Girl settled in at the Kansas Welcome Center for a little bit. We unloaded, stretched our legs, and relaxed..thank goodness. Some people journaled, some took naps, some watched the Wizard of Oz inside, and some played spike ball or cards. On the road again, we listened to some great music Boyce found on the radio and lunch was served! PB and jelly or PB and nutella with pretzels.

While driving, we saw oil rigs, windmills and miles and miles of fields. Not much to see here in Kansas and some were clicking their heels to try and get out of here and home faster!

Finally seeing some civilization, there was a huge sigh of relief. We made it to Manhattan, our destination of the day!

We took a picture at Kansas State and then went on to another Walter's World (2 Wally Worlds in one day, wow we are lucky!!!). Once arriving at our campsite, Tuttle Creek, we were met with a lot of bugs. Welcome back to camping in the humidity!

Tonight was our final night calling home because we will be seeing you in just 3 days! We have missed you all and can't wait to see you!!!!

We had a YUMMY dinner of hibachi chicken with rice and veggies before hitting the hay and was a great meal after such a long day!!

Tomorrow, we will be in St. Louis! Sweet dreams everyone!

See you guys soon, Love you, mean it.

-The Grumpys