Day 8-Santa Monica, CA

Day 8: Santa Monica

Hi family and friends at home, it's the Sleepy’s!!! We might not have won many competitions yet, but our blog will be the best one yet! We are so excited to share our adventures through California. Now introducing… Sam, Tyler, Kat, Ava Reece, Caroline, Sophie, Bailey, Jonathan, Landon, Reagan, Riley McNair, Alyssa, and Hadley.

To start off today, we hopped on the bus at midnight in order to beat the California traffic. Instead of sleeping under the stars, we slept very comfortably on the crowded bus. Safe to say, we all slept through the night after a long and hot day in Vegas, even though Boyce, the bus driver, was serenading us with his (clean) rap music. Eventually, we arrived in Santa Monica around 6 AM and were greeted by a cool morning and many friendly locals. 

Upon arrival, the Bashfuls began to whip up a delicious meal cooked on our griddle. While there have been some questionable meals this trip, this one was legendary. They made us French toast and sausage, and we all ate until we couldn’t any more.

If you asked us, we should have won the song competition, but it's ok, we'll get the next one. Every group chose a song and changed the lyrics to describe our spectacular TWB experience. Almost every group did a Katy Perry besides yours truly and the Grumpys. Everyone gathered around while each group sang their parody to a popular song about TWB, and we did little mini competitions to see who would perform their song first. One of our Sleepys, Landon, won the first mini competition, the high jump, which meant the competition started off with the best ones. After everyone performed their masterpieces, the councilors voted and crowned the Happys as the winners. 

After the competition, we had a few hours of play time to enjoy and explore the beauties of Santa Monica. The pier and beach were free rein for TWB (God bless Santa Monica). On the pier, many of us shopped, ate 12-dollar ice cream, rode rides, and really became aware of California prices. At the beach, the water was slightly nippy, but TWB persevered. With a lot of salt water up our noses, sand in our hair, and burnt shoulders (plus a jellyfish sting), we Carolinians had a great time.

After a long day under the sun, we finally arrived at our home for the night. At Canyon RV Park in Anaheim, the grass is lush and green, with mighty oaks, basketball courts, and an extremely loud freeway. This greenery was a crowd favorite after spending many nights in the desert sand. 

The cooks got an extra trip to Wally World to prepare us a gourmet spread of Chicken Nuggets, Mac and Cheese, Salad, and Cookies. It gave the Grumpy's outstanding tacos a good run for their money!

We all took a much-needed shower after a long two days in Vegas and at the beach. Everyone set up their sleeping areas for the night, prepping for some much-needed rest. Each of us picked out our wonderful outfits, including our Mickey Mouse ears for Disneyland tomorrow. As Sleepys, we are off to bed dreaming of the most magical place on earth! 

With love, from the sleepies…  Zzzzzz

<3 Sam, Tyler, Kat, Ava Reece, Caroline, Sophie, Bailey, Jonathan, Landon, Reagan, Riley McNair, Alyssa, and Hadley!

Day 7- Las Vegas

Day 7: VEGAS!

Hey! Hey! Hey! It's the Grumpys again! We're back for our last blog before we switch into new jobs! 

The morning started on a rare civilized note; everyone actually slept in a little. The Grand Canyon did its thing with a gorgeous sunrise peeking through the trees, ravens swooping dramatically overhead (very Lion King, very majestic). But before we could get too off-topic, we had jobs to do.

Shoutout to the Grumpys, who absolutely cooked for their last rotation, and we mean that literally. Breakfast burritos stuffed with eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns. Meanwhile, the bus packers, dishwashers, and site managers were running a tight operation; we even mopped the bus, which, trust us, was overdue. 

We rolled into Las Vegas like a very chaperoned field trip, because that's exactly what it was. Maps of the Strip in hand, the groups spread out for some free time and immediately displayed a beautiful range of priorities: Some trekked all the way to New York-New York for dinner (commitment: respected). Others got In-N-Out and discovered that the hype is, in fact, overrated. Several young shoppers made some very bold choices at Alo Yoga. Parents, you'll see the receipts... It was also 110°F outside, so most of us stayed indoors near the AC and walked quickly between the buildings. Your kids are learning life skills in real time!

Some of us (the brave, the foolish, the entrepreneurial) pooled a little cash and gave it to our counselors, Sophia and Wyatt, to try their luck on the casino floor. Unfortunately, Sophia did not have much luck, but those of us who gave our money to Wyatt made out a little better. Those who trusted him with their dollars received a small return on their investment. All in all, it evened out, so unfortunately none of us hit the jackpot to retire y'all, but maybe next time :)

Here's something we bet you didn't know about your kids' trip: they were coached by an actual two-time National Bowling Champion. Yes, Vickie has TWO National titles, and yes, she was out here giving us free lessons. #VIsforVictory. The lanes at the Rio were a blast; some kids rested up, while others refined their skills. Shoutout to Noah and George, who both cleared 150+, very impressive.

PJs on. Eyes heavy. Cozy chaos. We piled back into the vehicles and set off on an overnight drive to Santa Monica with snacks, questionable playlist choices, and the kind of exhaustion that only comes from doing too many fun things in one day. 

The biggest heroes of the night? Our counselors and our bus driver, Boyce, who very safely got us to the beach! Our co-pilots of this leg of the trip were super helpful to the drivers as well. Thanks, AC, Madison R., Graham, Patrick, and Elijah! Gonna get some rest and have a great time at the beach before we clock into our new jobs and next shifts. Thanks for staying in tune with us! Look out for us in the dishwashing photos!!

See you at the beach!