Day 5- Third Day of Work

The day started off as any other day. We packed our lunches and then met in the great hall for exercises. Today we had an intense game of Wah. Despite their best efforts, Conner and Josh were not victorious. After exercise time, Katie, Cullen, Madison, Everett, Emma, Emily and Torrie planned a treat for us. They performed a beautiful rendition of “Holy, Holy, Holy.” We then headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. We had bacon, hash browns, eggs, and biscuits and gravy. After that we packed up the last of our work gear and left for our job sites. Jamie: Well, the Mordacious Mountain woMen had a little change in their daily routine. Because of their working skills, they sped through their job and came to a point where there was almost nothing left to do at the job. The team of Jessica, Blake, Emily, Alex, Jamie, and Scott did not have to leave to go to their job site. Today they got to stay at Hinton to dig trenches to put some wires in. We dug those trenches so deep we almost saw China. Considering today was a scheduled half day, we only had to work till lunch time. Once lunch came around, we got to eat in the nice air-conditioned cafeteria. We will see what tomorrow has in store for us. But with this group we know it should be fun. Hayley: At my job site, we had already started priming the back porch the day before so we picked up where we left off. I joined Coach Speckhals on the back porch and stained what was already primed. Then after finishing that, we moved to the front porch. Since today was a shortened day we worked hard so we could get at least one coat of prime/paint on the front and back deck. Thanks to everyone’s hard work we finished that and also replaced a few boards that were bad on the car port. After that we had to wait for Coach Speckhals to clean all of his brushes, so we thought that would be a good time to eat lunch. Mr. Waters joined us, and after that we came back to Hinton and got ready for the other adventures planned for the day. Conner & Josh: Our team (The Rita Roach Restoration Rescue Responders) began the day with an over abundance of energy and dedication to finish our tasks at hand. We stained the porch swing and its holder. We also painted the front porch. Then we devoured our paper sack lunch and had devotion as a group while telling funny stories and laughing. Today’s work was different in our group because the “Notorious Van Driver” (who by the way, turns her blinker on 3 miles before the turn. That is if she even takes the correct roads) Mrs. Dann joined our group since King Sire Shawn Lane wasn’t present at his palace today. His skills were needed in another group. We didn’t get a chance to talk to Ms. Rita (the homeowner) because she was gone all day. After cleaning up our site, we left and came back to Hinton to get ready for our upcoming Indian experience. Kirsten: The Notorious Gazelle Wranglers began their work day thankful that Shawn Lane came to the worksite to help with the carpentry work on the soffits. Blue (the dog that just occasionally hangs with us) greeted us as we came into the driveway, and we all gave him a little lovin’. We got straight to work because we knew we were pressed on time. Natalie, Valerie, Mrs. Vieth and I began staining the two decks and worked vigorously all morning. Our team leaders, Jill and Rebekah (they are awesome), Shawn Lane (the plumber (a.k.a. Connors dad)), Everett (Everett) and Eli (Eli) worked on the soffits and spent the morning taking measurements, painting, and moving ladders for Shawn to stand on. We finished staining the big porch and the soffit crew got something done (not sure what but they were working hard), so we ended the work day feeling accomplished and proud of what we did. We are looking forward to working hard tomorrow and having a lot of fun (lots of it)! After we completed our missions at our job sites, we were off to a nice time. After an hour long bus ride, we arrived at the Cherokee Reservation. As soon as we entered the Reservation, we were invited to a ceremonial dance presentation. After watching a few dances, some of our group members got to join the dancers for a friendship dance. Once all the dancing was over, we immediately got to tour the Oconaluftee Indian Village with a tour guide named Jordan. On the tour we got to see several different aspects of past Cherokee life. We saw Cherokee men and women basket making, pottery making, beading, weapon making, wood carving, and weaving. We were then on our own to visit the common houses, sweat house and the storage house. After our visiting time was up, we got to check out the gift shop and pick out some traditional Indian items. We got on the bus to drive for another half an hour to feed our hungry stomachs. We ate at a family style restaurant named Jarrett House. The food was very good. You got to pick your entrée and pass around your sides that were shared at the table. The owner told us a couple ghost stories as we enjoyed our meal. She later told us that the Band Perry had eaten there in the past. We left there to make our way to Wal Mart. We went to get gifts for our project coordinators and homeowners who have treated us very well. We left Wal Mart and came back to the wonderful Hilton Center. We decided to have our last night at the lake since it is reserved for another purpose tomorrow. We decided to play cards and make s’mores for one of the last times here in North Carolina. We are really enjoying this trip and are looking forward to the ones in the future.