Cherokee
so... um... yeah.
Just got back from Cherokee, NC (for those who were wondering where I was last week). I was on a mission trip. It was my fourth year going and (as always) it was a blast. Got to meet new people and get to know everyone better. Care to hear about it?
Too bad if you don't; I'm telling you anyway.
We left at about 4:00 AM on Sunday, July 29th. I rode in Mr. Tim's truck with Traci, Joy, Dustin, Mrs. Susan, Mr. Tim, and Mr. Ralph. Dustin did not shut up for the entire ride, except for the half an hour when he was asleep. We stopped for breakfast at Shoney's in Stauton, VA and met Mr. Bill's parents for breakfast. I love me some biscuits and gravy. ♥ Dustin astounded us by talking nutrition facts through the meal. I love Dustin but sometime I seriously want to smack him. Upon leaving the restaurant, we found that the driver's side tire on the trailer we were hauling was completely flat. Mr. Bill's dad went and picked up a new tire from the Tractor supply store and we were on our way, after stretching breakfast into a two hour stop.
The trip down went pretty well after that. As we came into Cherokee on Rt19, the steep grade and twisting road made my already unsettled stomach twist itself in knots. I managed to avoid puking but road almost the whole way into town with my head between my knees.
The girls snagged the good bunkhouse again this year (haha!!) and I slept in the same bed as I did last year (bottom bunk, by the door). I managed to snag an extra mattress so I wasn't sleeping on plywood all week. By dinner, I still wasn't feeling so hot but managed to choke down some bread. Afterwards, I played fooseball and went down to the Creek (which was just as beautiful [and cold] as always). Before bed, I got a shower (there was one working shower and it was ankle deep in disgustingly dirty water), and ate desert. Me and a bunch of the girls stayed up late playing apples to apples. For a first time player, I did pretty well.
On Monday, we rose bright and early. My team consisted of Mrs. Lisa, Mr. Ralph, Mr. Jason, Tracie, CJ, Colby, and Mark. We worked in the parsonage, replacing screen, putting in baseboard/molding, and stripping, sanding, and priming doors. I worked on the doors with Tracie, Mrs. Lisa, and Karen, the Pastor's wife. There is a new Pastor as Cherokee United Methodist, called Pastor Jeff. He's nice but different from Pastor Steve. At least he's accepting help to get the dilapidated parsonage back in order.
On Tuesday, Karen was not feeling well and would not let us paint the doors. I ended up working in the girl's bunkhouse in the showers. While I pulled up tile in the left shower (with my bare hands, no less), Mrs. Lisa worked at unclogging the drain in the right shower. Drano would not move the clog (like... at all) so we had to try other methods (this expanding hose bulb thingy and a flimsy snake that wouldn't even get through the first turn). Mr. Jason was the one who ended up getting the clog dislodged. In the shower where I was pulling up tile, we found the situation to be continually worse the farther we got into cleaning it up. The people who put the tile down used the wrong kind of drain, causing it to leak. On top of that, they didn't lay a mortar bed under the tile and they cut the liner they used. The plywood and 2x4's underneath the liner were soaked and moldy. I had to wear a mask as I worked at pulling all the tile and mastic up. At first, I couldn't use any tools because we were trying to preserve the liner (which ended up being unsalvagable). I used my hands. It was one of those cases where acrylic nails really came in handy. Somehow, I only broke half of one nail off and the rest remained intact.
After lunch, I started to feel sick so I laid down and fell dead asleep. Afterwards, Tony came in and yanked up the shower liner I had worked so hard at preserving and we scrubbed and bleached all the moldy boards in the shower. I then painted some trim and some plumbing covers out in the yard white (cannot understand about why I painted those covers white but w/e). I felt sick again after dinner (oh how I love my stomach... not.) and would've gone to bed early, had certain people (coughbreannacough) not been yacking constantly. Instead, I read my book until lights out and everyone was forced to shut up.
Again, on Wednesday, I woke up not feeling good but I got up and went to breakfast barefoot and half asleep. Mr. Ralph reminded me that I was supposed to pick a song for devotions (which I had forgotten to do) so I found one rather quickly. I felt better after breakfast and found out I was moved to Mr. Bill/Mr. Bob/Jon's crew. We were building two decks on a trailer. I was the saw lady. ^_^ I got to use a new tool: a compact miter saw (chop saw). Is it scary that I like power tools? (Don't answer that) I got to ride in Mr. Jim's truck when we rode back for a bathroom break. It's a new perspective, seeing the world from a lawnchair in the front of a truck. Hehe. I also got reminded of just how much of a crumudgeon Jon is. After working my first two years on his crew, you'd think I would've remembered in detail. He's quite sarcastic. And mean. But I know that if he didn't think I was at least sort-of competant, he'd never let me get near a power tool. W/e. He's cool.
I got back from the job a little early so I took a bath in the creek. Hehe. Who needs a shower? The water was freezing but refreshing and I got nice and clean. I got Emily to do my hair but did my own make up and got as dressed up as I could for the family dinner. (purple tee shirt, khaki capris). At dinner, I ate with Jon, Mr. Bob, Mr. Jim, and Henry. Mr. Jim said I looked nice, Jon was sarcastice but what else is new? I talked music with Mr. Bob. Yay! Caitlin loves a good music dork!
We went and saw Unto These Hills which is a drama about the Cherokee people. It was way revamped from the old version but I hated all the gunshot sound effects and war scenes (I don't like a lot of violence, okay?). It poured outside that night and there was a river between our bunkhouse and fellowship hall.
Thursday was the short work day. We worked on the decks in the morning. It was freaking incredible how much got done the first day and a half. All the railings were up, the floor was laid, and we were starting to put up pickets. We came back to the center for lunch and I had a nice conversation with Mr. Bob at lunch about music.
After lunch, we headed out to go rafting. I rode in a raft with Mr. Tim, Doug, Dustin, CJ, Fiona, and Mr. Dave. I was up front with Mr. Dave. We hit a ton of rocks and had Mr. Dave not grabbed me, I would've been a goner over one of them. We sang songs and cheered and screamed and shouted as we went down the river. Mr. Tim (who was our guide) fell out twice. Ahahahaha! And it wasn't over any big rapids or anything; it was when we hit little rocks. Doug got out of the raft and attempted to pee in the 48 degree water (and found himself unable to do so). I started hacking and coughing uncontrollably while on the river and lost my voice after hacking for about 20 minutes. We ate dinner when we got back and then went shopping. The ice cream place was closed! Waaaaaa! I got a silver charm for my bracelet, film for my camera, and a ceramic pot for mom. Afterwards we stopped at Wendy's for Frostys. I went to bed early since i was so tired.
On Friday, I worked on a different crew yet again. I was sure it was Jon's choice (since I know he doesn't like me) but apparently it wasn't. I went from a chop saw to a scrub brush. We were cleaning a house that had just underwent construction to get rid of mold. Everything was really dusty and mildewy and gross. I'll admit: I hated it. I couldn't understand why I had been moved from doing something that I was sort of good at to cleaning a house. I sorted through a cabinet full of dusty stuff from the kitchen and cleaned a vent cover and swept the floors and washed dishes. I was frustrated that I wasn't getting to see anything I worked on finished. I ended up leaving early and getting showered.
Mr. Ralph offered to take me back up to the decks I had worked on and I agreed eagerly. I took my camera and got about a million pictures of everything. I was happy just to be a part of something. We took group pictures and I rode back to the center with Mr. Jim and Jon. After dinner, I got all my stuff packed up and in the trailer. Then we had a Bible treasure hunt before the service. As usual, the service as emotional. I cried. A lot of people cried. We sat around a bonfire afterwards and sang songs. I got stung by a bee in the ribs.
After the service, we had dessert (ice cream sundaes and brownies! w00t!) and I played in the apples to apples tournament (which disbanded before it was over). We dragged some mattresses into the fellowship hall. I intended to stay up all night but ended up crashing at about 1 AM and was woken up at 5:30 for chores. We hit the road at around 6:30. About an hour later, the other tire on the trailer went flat. And I mean Flat. Like, blew to pieces flat. We popped a spare on and a little ways up the road, pulled off at an exit and ate breakfast while someone changed the tire. After that the trip was pretty uneventful. I took pictures. We rolled in at about 10 last night. I said good bye to everyone and got home and went to bed at around 11:15ish.
Today, I slept til 3:30 -_- The sad part is that I'd really like to go to bed now. I dropped my film off at Rite Aide (all 8 rolls) and I'll pick it up on Wednesday. ^_^ Yay pictures! Will post later.
Just got back from Cherokee, NC (for those who were wondering where I was last week). I was on a mission trip. It was my fourth year going and (as always) it was a blast. Got to meet new people and get to know everyone better. Care to hear about it?
Too bad if you don't; I'm telling you anyway.
We left at about 4:00 AM on Sunday, July 29th. I rode in Mr. Tim's truck with Traci, Joy, Dustin, Mrs. Susan, Mr. Tim, and Mr. Ralph. Dustin did not shut up for the entire ride, except for the half an hour when he was asleep. We stopped for breakfast at Shoney's in Stauton, VA and met Mr. Bill's parents for breakfast. I love me some biscuits and gravy. ♥ Dustin astounded us by talking nutrition facts through the meal. I love Dustin but sometime I seriously want to smack him. Upon leaving the restaurant, we found that the driver's side tire on the trailer we were hauling was completely flat. Mr. Bill's dad went and picked up a new tire from the Tractor supply store and we were on our way, after stretching breakfast into a two hour stop.
The trip down went pretty well after that. As we came into Cherokee on Rt19, the steep grade and twisting road made my already unsettled stomach twist itself in knots. I managed to avoid puking but road almost the whole way into town with my head between my knees.
The girls snagged the good bunkhouse again this year (haha!!) and I slept in the same bed as I did last year (bottom bunk, by the door). I managed to snag an extra mattress so I wasn't sleeping on plywood all week. By dinner, I still wasn't feeling so hot but managed to choke down some bread. Afterwards, I played fooseball and went down to the Creek (which was just as beautiful [and cold] as always). Before bed, I got a shower (there was one working shower and it was ankle deep in disgustingly dirty water), and ate desert. Me and a bunch of the girls stayed up late playing apples to apples. For a first time player, I did pretty well.
On Monday, we rose bright and early. My team consisted of Mrs. Lisa, Mr. Ralph, Mr. Jason, Tracie, CJ, Colby, and Mark. We worked in the parsonage, replacing screen, putting in baseboard/molding, and stripping, sanding, and priming doors. I worked on the doors with Tracie, Mrs. Lisa, and Karen, the Pastor's wife. There is a new Pastor as Cherokee United Methodist, called Pastor Jeff. He's nice but different from Pastor Steve. At least he's accepting help to get the dilapidated parsonage back in order.
On Tuesday, Karen was not feeling well and would not let us paint the doors. I ended up working in the girl's bunkhouse in the showers. While I pulled up tile in the left shower (with my bare hands, no less), Mrs. Lisa worked at unclogging the drain in the right shower. Drano would not move the clog (like... at all) so we had to try other methods (this expanding hose bulb thingy and a flimsy snake that wouldn't even get through the first turn). Mr. Jason was the one who ended up getting the clog dislodged. In the shower where I was pulling up tile, we found the situation to be continually worse the farther we got into cleaning it up. The people who put the tile down used the wrong kind of drain, causing it to leak. On top of that, they didn't lay a mortar bed under the tile and they cut the liner they used. The plywood and 2x4's underneath the liner were soaked and moldy. I had to wear a mask as I worked at pulling all the tile and mastic up. At first, I couldn't use any tools because we were trying to preserve the liner (which ended up being unsalvagable). I used my hands. It was one of those cases where acrylic nails really came in handy. Somehow, I only broke half of one nail off and the rest remained intact.
After lunch, I started to feel sick so I laid down and fell dead asleep. Afterwards, Tony came in and yanked up the shower liner I had worked so hard at preserving and we scrubbed and bleached all the moldy boards in the shower. I then painted some trim and some plumbing covers out in the yard white (cannot understand about why I painted those covers white but w/e). I felt sick again after dinner (oh how I love my stomach... not.) and would've gone to bed early, had certain people (coughbreannacough) not been yacking constantly. Instead, I read my book until lights out and everyone was forced to shut up.
Again, on Wednesday, I woke up not feeling good but I got up and went to breakfast barefoot and half asleep. Mr. Ralph reminded me that I was supposed to pick a song for devotions (which I had forgotten to do) so I found one rather quickly. I felt better after breakfast and found out I was moved to Mr. Bill/Mr. Bob/Jon's crew. We were building two decks on a trailer. I was the saw lady. ^_^ I got to use a new tool: a compact miter saw (chop saw). Is it scary that I like power tools? (Don't answer that) I got to ride in Mr. Jim's truck when we rode back for a bathroom break. It's a new perspective, seeing the world from a lawnchair in the front of a truck. Hehe. I also got reminded of just how much of a crumudgeon Jon is. After working my first two years on his crew, you'd think I would've remembered in detail. He's quite sarcastic. And mean. But I know that if he didn't think I was at least sort-of competant, he'd never let me get near a power tool. W/e. He's cool.
I got back from the job a little early so I took a bath in the creek. Hehe. Who needs a shower? The water was freezing but refreshing and I got nice and clean. I got Emily to do my hair but did my own make up and got as dressed up as I could for the family dinner. (purple tee shirt, khaki capris). At dinner, I ate with Jon, Mr. Bob, Mr. Jim, and Henry. Mr. Jim said I looked nice, Jon was sarcastice but what else is new? I talked music with Mr. Bob. Yay! Caitlin loves a good music dork!
We went and saw Unto These Hills which is a drama about the Cherokee people. It was way revamped from the old version but I hated all the gunshot sound effects and war scenes (I don't like a lot of violence, okay?). It poured outside that night and there was a river between our bunkhouse and fellowship hall.
Thursday was the short work day. We worked on the decks in the morning. It was freaking incredible how much got done the first day and a half. All the railings were up, the floor was laid, and we were starting to put up pickets. We came back to the center for lunch and I had a nice conversation with Mr. Bob at lunch about music.
After lunch, we headed out to go rafting. I rode in a raft with Mr. Tim, Doug, Dustin, CJ, Fiona, and Mr. Dave. I was up front with Mr. Dave. We hit a ton of rocks and had Mr. Dave not grabbed me, I would've been a goner over one of them. We sang songs and cheered and screamed and shouted as we went down the river. Mr. Tim (who was our guide) fell out twice. Ahahahaha! And it wasn't over any big rapids or anything; it was when we hit little rocks. Doug got out of the raft and attempted to pee in the 48 degree water (and found himself unable to do so). I started hacking and coughing uncontrollably while on the river and lost my voice after hacking for about 20 minutes. We ate dinner when we got back and then went shopping. The ice cream place was closed! Waaaaaa! I got a silver charm for my bracelet, film for my camera, and a ceramic pot for mom. Afterwards we stopped at Wendy's for Frostys. I went to bed early since i was so tired.
On Friday, I worked on a different crew yet again. I was sure it was Jon's choice (since I know he doesn't like me) but apparently it wasn't. I went from a chop saw to a scrub brush. We were cleaning a house that had just underwent construction to get rid of mold. Everything was really dusty and mildewy and gross. I'll admit: I hated it. I couldn't understand why I had been moved from doing something that I was sort of good at to cleaning a house. I sorted through a cabinet full of dusty stuff from the kitchen and cleaned a vent cover and swept the floors and washed dishes. I was frustrated that I wasn't getting to see anything I worked on finished. I ended up leaving early and getting showered.
Mr. Ralph offered to take me back up to the decks I had worked on and I agreed eagerly. I took my camera and got about a million pictures of everything. I was happy just to be a part of something. We took group pictures and I rode back to the center with Mr. Jim and Jon. After dinner, I got all my stuff packed up and in the trailer. Then we had a Bible treasure hunt before the service. As usual, the service as emotional. I cried. A lot of people cried. We sat around a bonfire afterwards and sang songs. I got stung by a bee in the ribs.
After the service, we had dessert (ice cream sundaes and brownies! w00t!) and I played in the apples to apples tournament (which disbanded before it was over). We dragged some mattresses into the fellowship hall. I intended to stay up all night but ended up crashing at about 1 AM and was woken up at 5:30 for chores. We hit the road at around 6:30. About an hour later, the other tire on the trailer went flat. And I mean Flat. Like, blew to pieces flat. We popped a spare on and a little ways up the road, pulled off at an exit and ate breakfast while someone changed the tire. After that the trip was pretty uneventful. I took pictures. We rolled in at about 10 last night. I said good bye to everyone and got home and went to bed at around 11:15ish.
Today, I slept til 3:30 -_- The sad part is that I'd really like to go to bed now. I dropped my film off at Rite Aide (all 8 rolls) and I'll pick it up on Wednesday. ^_^ Yay pictures! Will post later.