The better the company, the shorter the drive. Pensacola, Wilmington, and Home.

As many of you know, The Call to Serve Beta Class is home in PA. It has been an amazing adventure and opportunity for me. I had more fun in the three weeks away than I have in a long time. The 2011 team made memories that will forever be in my heart. Here is what went on during the past five days:

First, we made our way from NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) to Pensacola, FL. We arrived on Friday and spent the day at the beach. White sand, clear water. What more could we have asked for?

Does it get more beautiful? Navarre Beach, FL.
By the way, this is the Gulf's longest pier!

 Ben, Andrew, and Stephen lounging on the beach.

Sommer and Pat sharing cooler space.

Bailee and I on beach day #1.

Day #2 in Pensacola, FL. We started our morning out with an organization called Clean and Green. This was an interesting project and completely unexpected. We went to Ms. Yula's house to flip her yard and paint the porch. Ms. Yula's neighbor gave us many of the supplies and helped out throughout the three hours we were there.  This project was supposed to be carried out until noon, but we found ourselves done around 10 a.m.  This provided us with yet another day at the beach. We spent the remainder of the day playing beach volleyball, swimming in the ocean, playing Frisbee, and playing boccie. 

Getting ready to work with Clean and Green

Painting the front porch of Ms. Yula's.

Passed out on the way to the beach.
I think just about everyone fell asleep... Bailee, Andrew, Pat, Stephen, Ben

Beach day #2
Beta Class Boys.

Beta Class Girls.

Beach Volleyball Time on Navarre Beach.

Getting ready for another beach volleyball game.

Beach Volleyball time!

Day #3 in the Pensacola area. This was an amazing day. We worked at a mobile home park in the county over from the RV park. First, we took surveys around the park and asked the residents questions pertaining to hurricanes, tornadoes, and their satisfaction with the park. Through these interactions I met so many gracious people. They would give you the shirt off of their back.  While interviewing, I met the deserving kids that would receive my giving backpack. They were awesome kids with big hearts. It was fun to interact with them and teach them how to play frisbee. While at the park, we also helped landscape around the office area and had a picnic with all of the people involved in the project. This was truly a wonderful experience. After work, we headed to the beach for some down time before our long drive ahead.

 Landscaping around the office area

Learning about the community and disaster preparation.
Hurricane Ivan destroyed parts of this community in 2004.
Hurricanes and Tornado preparation is needed here.

I'm ready to give my giving backpack away!

Sillyband power!

Two deserving kids received one awesome bag.

Getting ready to play Frisbee!

Walking over to the picnic.
This lady has been at the community for 25 years.
Such a wise and interesting person.

The whole crew. What a lovely group of people.

Such amazing and inspiring people.

Goofing off on the ride back to the RV park.

 Bailee and Pat in Betty White.

Sommer crashed after the long day.

She thought no one got a picture of her sleeping. 

After Pensacola, we hit the road for 12 hours to end up in Wilmington, NC. Along the way we found a very interesting place called South of the Border. We thought that this place would be drastically different than what it turned out to be. When a place has 100 billboards in 15 miles, it may or may not be a good idea to stop. Of course, we stopped. 

We found crazy town.

Wilmington was an adventure. We ended up staying at Bailee's family beach house because of mishaps with the RV park. To say the least, no bathrooms or showers. Everything turned out perfectly though. Our service day in Wilmington was with an environmental group, restoring oyster beds and doing hands on research in a body of water. We all got muddy from the water and oyster bags. It was a very interesting project and we all learned a lot about oysters, sea creatures, and sea restoration. (For pictures, visit: www.thecalltoserve.org. I am not sure if they are up yet, but Ben Petchel will have them up soon.) After the service day, we stopped to get food for dinner and spent our last night together on the beach. While Andrew and Adam purchased food for dinner, we played in the parking lot.

 

Ben attracting all of the birds in the parking lot.

It was crazy to think that we had all met three weeks ago and the trip was ending.  Today, I feel so out of place. No penthouse. No RV. I can walk down the hall to go to the bathroom, not to a bath house. No outside dinners. No long drives with conversation. No Beta class. I may not have everyone here or the continuation of an adventure, but I have a ton of wonderful memories and eight new friends. Thank you to the Beta Class, The Call to Serve, and everyone who supported our journey.

Visit www.thecalltoserve.org for videos, more pictures, and more media from our adventure.

Four days in New Orleans, LA

Because I haven't blogged in a few days, I have to catch up during lunch hour. To sum up the past five days in two words I would say, beautifully broken. I know that this is long overdue, but we had limited internet availability in New Orleans and hardly a chance to sit still long enough to write anything.  Rumor has it that Pensacola has wi-fi at our RV resort so I will be able to update quicker. 

To sum up the past five days in two words I would say, beautifully broken.

Five days ago, we worked at SARA, an animal rescue that was enormous.  I am happy to say that I have conquered my fear of dogs.  With 350 dogs, I had to learn how to deal with my fear. By the end of the day, I was petting, playing, and brushing the dogs. Impressive, right? I think so. We also got to feed pigs, see wild horses on a safari ride, clean up kitty litter, and see longhorn cattle.  This was a very interesting day that took all of us out of our comfort zones.  It was much needed though.  And because many of my family members will not believe that I actually conquered my fear of dogs, I have pictures to serve as evidence. 

Fact: This is me with a dog, smiling.

Fact: I was around a ton of animals that day.

Fact: I conquered my fear of dogs.

Sommer, Bailee, and I with the pigs. There were SO many.

Four days ago, we traveled from Austin to New Orleans.  This was a very intense drive in Black Beauty.  It was literally 107 degrees in the RV.  After hours upon hours of sweating in the RV, we stopped at the gas station to begin a Freon Day challenge, aka: see who can sit on a bag of ice purchased at the gas station the longest.  I am proud to say that I beat all of the boys at this challenge at a record time of 2 hours and 20 minutes.  After the challenge, we stopped to eat pizza.  Then, we were on the phone with Verizon and had to roll the windows up with no air conditioning.  What an adventure. Welcome to New Orleans.

Three days ago was our first service day in New Orleans. We hung drywall all day at a local home.  The devastation of the surrounding homes really shocked and surprised me.  I could not believe that Katrina wiped out so much for so long.  It was amazing to help rebuilt something that was so tattered and torn.  Another great sight was the formation of walls to rooms to a home.  After a long day of work, we went to Operation Helping Hands Catholic Charities (the organization we were working under) for dinner.  It was so nice to be fed a hot meal without preparation.  After dinner, we headed back to the RVs and relaxed for a while, catching up, enjoying one anthers company, and playing catch phrase. 

Materials for drywalling in New Orleans. 

Stephen, Ben, and Pat working. 

Mixing work with play. 

Singing while cleaning.

Two days ago, we worked at the same home in New Orleans.  It was the same routine, different day.  It was nice though to be around a familiar setting and see the progression occur before my eyes.  We even ate at the same place for dinner.  After dinner, we came back, played outside, and made a slip 'n slide. 

Yesterday, we worked at a different house in New Orleans.  We sanded pre-mudded walls while rocking out to music all day.  We were all equipped with masks and goggles because of all the dust being created.  It was a long day but worth every minute.  Also, we were able to see a house that was untouched by disaster relief volunteers.  The inside had items scattered everywhere and the many walls were unstripped.  Seeing the waterline from Hurricane Katrina was incredible.  After six years, many Americans loose sight of what happened in New Orleans because it is not present, but seeing this dilapidated home made me realize that the city is no where near completion.  And this area was not even the worst.  Our contractors told us stories about families being the only occupants for blocks or neighborhoods.  After the disaster, many people just jumped ship and left the area.  The effects are still felt by the entire city today. 

Bailee and I sanding away at walls.

My hot pink timberlands are now light pink from all of the sanding dust. 

 Homes are not all rebuilt in New Orleans, LA.

The Hurricane damage from Katrina still exists.

Volunteers are love in motion. Volunteer today.

Last night we went out in New Orleans.  We were able to walk along Bourbon Street, listen to live music, dance, and karaoke.  It was nice to go out, blow off some steam after a long day, and relax before our last service day in New Orleans.  At the end of the night, we got Beignets, puffed pastries inspired from French culture.  They reminded me of a rectangular funnel cake.  Afterwards, we headed back for some rest. 

Currently, I am sitting down eating lunch with the CTS crew.  This morning, Sommer and I wiped walls down to prepare for mudding.  It was a nice change of pace from sanding all day yesterday, but I am grateful for everyone who sanded today.  Now, I am getting ready to get back out there in the hot weather and mud all afternoon.  Here is to a few more wonderful hours in New Orleans and a new beginning in Pensacola.  

The Call to Serve, Beta Class.

Remember to check out the website to see more videos and photos of our amazing adventure. Click here: www.thecalltoserve.org or find The Call to Serve on Facebook.

Finally, a big thank you to all of the people who support and believe in volunteerism. 

Made it safely to New Orleans

I am safe and sound in New Orleans. Expect a longer blog tomorrow!

Dear Austin, please stay weird. Thank you.

Two days ago, we made the long trek from Nashville to Austin in one day.  15 hours on the road went fast, but we were certainly ready to be parked at the RV campground.  Along the way, we stopped at Waffle House for breakfast and several gas stations.  Betty White took a hit in the early AM and is now in the shop being repaired.  When we got off of the RV in Austin, we felt weird. I am not sure if this goes with the whole "Keep Austin Weird" thing or the fact that we were on the RV for about 850 miles.

On our way to Austin, Texas!

Out cold on the RV.

Yesterday, we woke up early to take Betty White to the shop then we headed to our service site.  The maintenance crew were pretty impressed with the amount of damage we did to the power cord.  I guess that is what happens when it gets knocked on the interstate for a mile.  Today we volunteered with the Central Food Bank of Austin.  The facility was enormous and beautiful inside.  We took a quick tour, met some other volunteers, then got right to work on the assembly line.  We were inspecting all frozen meat items and packing them in boxes.  Once our task was completed, we found out that we 4,120 pounds of food which equals 3,360 meals to Texans in the Austin area. 

Down the assembly line.

Afterwards, we headed to Walmart to pick up a few items for lunch and came back to the campground to eat.  Because of our lack of knives, we had to get creative with our procedure for making PB&J and PB&Banana.  If you are ever in a  bind, just grab a spoon.  It works just as well, maybe even better, than a knife.  After lunch, we went to STARRY, a place for children and youth whom are at risk.  We went to HEB grocery store to pick up supplies for individual pizzas and ice cream sundaes.  We played dancing games on the Wii and Kinect, followed by an intense round of cupid shuffle.  Also, I had the FlipVideo Camera for the day so check out my interview with everyone!

Helping out!

After hanging out with the kids for a while and dancing, we headed to Anna's aunt's house for dinner, swimming, and relaxing.  It was nice to relax in the hot tub, eat a home cooked meal, and shower without sandals.  The house was stunning and the family was so welcoming to our large, campground-bound group. We also got to meet up with our other team leader, Adam. 

Hangin out in the hot tub!

Today, we worked with Austin Habitat for Humanity.  It was extremely hot but rewarding.  We helped to repair the outside of Miss Georgia's house.  She was such a kind woman who was not afraid to help us out, let us trudge through her house with dirty shoes, and supplied fruit and drinks.  First, I started stripping trim.  Other team members painted boards, jackhammered cement, and pulled nails.  At lunch time, we were delivered subway lunches from very gracious women.  After lunch, I helped paint boards with Sommer, Andrew, Bailee, and Miss Georgia.  We worked for about three hours before heading to the Colorado River (this is the biggest river in Austin).  Although muddy, the water was crisp and refreshing after a day in Texas heat.  We swam in the river for a while with the Habitat for Humanity crew and tonight we are eating trailer food in Austin (apparently this is a pretty popular thing to do!). 

Today's Headshot.

Painting with Miss Georgia

When we arrived back at the campsite, we all received new CTS t-shirts.  It says, "Rule #1s. No #2s."  Fabulous shirt.  

New T-shirts.

Finally, I would like everyone to know that we're searching for longhorns for the front of Black Beauty. Currently, we have horns but we want to expand on the awesomeness of the RV. If you have any suggestions on where to find them or longhorn hot spots, let us know before Saturday! Stay tuned for more exciting footage on www.thecalltoserve.org. We have awesome media experts on the trip who are documenting everything for us and everyone on the trip answers a Question of the Day. 

All photos courtesy Ben Petchel.