Crazy Fun

Looking for a day full of fun, I chose to ride with my silly leader Claire to Carthage, TX. First stop at a gas station, we bought lottery tickets. Unfortunately, luck did not fall in our favor...AKA: we were double losers. To mourn for our loss, we stuffed Siracha chocolate whammies into our mouth. The first bite was interesting, the second not as good, and the final bite was the worst. My mind told me every next bite might get better, but my taste buds told the truth that Siracha and chocolate are not a winning combination.

After lunch, we stopped at a mini go-kart track. There, a kind gentleman let us ride like crazies in circles. I've never driven so recklessly. Taken hands of the handle bars of my bike to finally touch a steering wheel again was magical. 

Being one of the last groups to arrive at our awesome hosts home, we were welcomed with a beer and pulled pork for dinner; one of my favorite meals. Everything was great until the moment we somehow managed to clog all three of their toilets while our hosts were celebrating a wedding...whoops! After taking a cold hose shower, we were able to resolve the plumbing problem and everyone was back in full force. I'd say I had a pretty crazy fun day. 

Living a Dream

Our lovely hosts Beth and Cliff started our morning off right with sweet potato biscuits for breakfast. I just couldn't get enough that before I knew it, I had 3 more on my plate before I finished my first one. 

At lunch we stopped in a Dairy Queen. The manager graciously donated 32 smoothies to my really good looking group. When I walked outside, a man named Artis Almond curiously asked about our mission. After telling him our crazy adventures, he donated $40 to the affordable housing cause. This was the first stranger money donation I had received and it was AWESOME! 

Riding 2 miles down a gravel road to see an inviting lake was totally worth the risk of getting a flat tire, or even falling off my bike. In my bike shorts, I jumped straight into the water. Shortly after swimming a couple strokes in the water, I became paranoid alligators were hanging out down below my feet. Later into the evening, Ashley, Conner, and I spotted an alligator moseying his/her way down the beautiful lake. That marked the end of my swimming days in Elm Grove, LA.

My favorite part of the day was playing "Indiana Jones" while crazily driving the gator cart around their 150 acre yard. I had my passengers screaming around a few turns and I learned real quickly that I may not be the best person to be behind the wheel...lies, we all loved a crazy bumpy ride. 

Also, couldn't be more stoked about the bug bite I discovered on my right butt cheek (joking). 

Lastly, THANK YOU SALLY (our soon to be Dallas host) FOR THE GOODIES PACKAGE!!!!! Can't wait to meet you. I can already tell you're GRRRRREAT! 

            Making waves to the sun

              

                  My dream home

                    Gator hunters

We Gon' Die Today

Pouring rain pounded on my helmet while bright flashes of lightening struck down from the dreary sky. Flash then boom and we kept jokingly saying, "we gon' die today." We eventually pulled ourselves together at mile 5. There we forgot what personal space was and cuddled into a corner under a blue tarp to keep warm. Once the puddles fully formed and we felt it was safe to hop back onto our bikes, we were escorted by 3 awesome police officers. Total count of flat tires for the day was 12. Luckily, my tires never gave up and got me 66 miles safely to Opelousas, LA. To end the night, we kicked the soccer ball around an open football field. Felt great to get a touch on the ball again. 

NOLA

Wind and rain didn't stop us from reaching New Orleans, LA. Seeing a bed and pillow the moment I walked through the doors of camp hope (our host), made me squeal in excitement. As much as I love blowing hot air into my thermarest every night, it was nice to catch a break. 

The first night we hit the French Quarters and Bourbon street. These streets reminded me of last Thursday on Alberta Street at home. Music, bars, dancing, and original people made the street so entertaining. 

On our first day off, I caught up on sleep and prepared for the 5 build days ahead. We worked with St. Bernard's project all week, which was incredible. As an ice breaker to get to know the SBP workers, we told our coolest scar stories. My leader, Dan told the my favorite scar story. Excited that he graduated, he jumped to hit a sign where he tore up his finger. The doctor who performed reconstructive surgery on his finger took skin from his leg...the skin on his finger now grows hair. We all were in hysterics to find this out. It's been 3 weeks with each other and no one even noticed. 

At the build site, we painted, sanded, and used putty on the walls. Days of work were long and hot, but we enjoyed each other by belting out country and pop music while getting the job done. We got a little weird and started painting our faces tribal style.