Area V- Part II

With suitcases in back and Starbucks in hand, we typed our destination into “Winston”, our GPS, and began our trek to North Texas. We were super stoked about our Area V trip…especially with all of the reports of snow. I even practiced my theme song again: “Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow…” Unfortunately, it was a false alarm. The weather man lied. All we got was rain. Sad day.

Despite the lack of snow, we had a successful week of travels! Our journey started with a stay in Boles, Texas, where Mr. Burton laughed at my awful parking job (I’m slowly getting better, though!) After a very tasty feast and a good night’s rest, we headed to Quinland High School for the first presentation of the week. Then, it was back to Boles for a presentation, where I forgot to look where I was going…and I almost fell in a hole. Oops. Before long, we were eating cookies in Greenville and talking about National FFA Week. “Yay leaders…” Ha. Ha.

The next day, we made our way on over to Wolf City to hang out with some of their Seniors. A trip to Anna (we had our very first experience with Mr. Jim’s Pizza there…YUM!) and a stop by Celina completed our day. That night, we entered into an intense tournament of Bananagrams with the Blums. Poor Kaleb. He got so upset when he lost. I think he is in serious need of some spelling lessons…

At Howe, we met some really awesome chapter members, and in Sherman, Pumpkin entertained us with the “Nickel, nickel, quarter, dollar dance”. I’m thinking he should try out for the talent contest! That afternoon, Jeremiah gave us the grand tour of his stomping grounds. We spent a little time driving down Frog Pond road and checking out the free range cattle before making our way to Garland for a chapter meeting.

Mark my words, the Garland, South Garland, and Naaman Forest chapter officers are the coolest kids EVER! We had a blast eating fajitas and telling stories. At that point, I thought that it couldn’t get any better than that. Guess what? It did. On Thursday morning, we received a tour of Naaman Forest High School’s Horticulture Department. It was HUGE, and they run it like an actual business. How awesome is that?! The caliber of students in that program completely blew my mind. I didn’t want to leave! Eventually, we had to, though. So, we headed on into Dallas to visit Skyline High School. Talk about the coolest Career and Technology Program EVER. Skyline High School is home to a childcare center, a plastics center, a culinary center, and one of only five aviation programs in the ENTIRE UNITED STATES. They have airplanes and helicopters INSIDE their high school! Of course, their Horticulture Department was not too shabby either. They have a floral sale every week and can make arrangements for just about any occasion. It was the bomb diggity! They even made Kaleb and I flower arrangements to take home with us and fed us lunch in their Culinary Arts kitchen. That was an experience that both of us will never forget.

We rounded off our week with a stop by S&S Consolidated High School, home of Jeremiah Miller. They had a whole wall of their high school dedicated to all of his accomplishments in high school. It was certainly a pretty cool thing to look at. And with that, we waved goodbye and made our long trek back home to prepare for The Bachelor Season Finale and a final trip to Area III.

Area VI- Part II

Pizza, chips, and the Super Bowl- there is no better way to start off the week, especially when your team wins. Woo hoo! Go Saints! Layton was not exactly happy about that…of course, the schools for the week did a great job of making him forget all about his Super Bowl frustrations.

We began our journey through Area VI in Winsboro, where I had my very first Pizza Inn experience. It was quite delicious, if I must say so myself. Next, we headed to the thriving metropolis of Yantis before making our way back to Layton’s house. We played some intense games of bananagrams (that is the most addicting game EVER!), watched an episode of the bachelor, and attempted to make blackberry cobbler. It sounded like the end to a perfect day…until I added far too much flour to my cobbler and it turned out super dry. Epic fail. Oh well, at least The Bachelor was good.

The next day, we traveled to the home of Layton Norwood himself: Prairiland. Everything turned out exactly the way we wanted…everything EXCEPT our debate on whether Brenham is in central or east Texas. I am still convinced that I was right! After a stop by Rivercrest, we headed back to Paris for a quick bite at The Hole in the Wall (mmm…delicious!) and a power nap. Several games of bananagrams, a Prairland basketball game, and a good night’s rest later…it was time to make our way on over to Sulpher Bluff.

Before we knew it, we were on our way to James Bowie High School in Simms, Texas; their school looks like a tiny stone village. So cool! Of course, the most exciting thing was the scarf that Bree gave me. I guess she knew that we would end up needing it! : ) Our last stop of the day was in Maud, where Mr. Barron showed us his albino squirrel. I’ve never seen an albino squirrel before…it was quite interesting, to say the least.

Now, for those of you that have never been to Maud, it is only a skip, a hop, and a jump from the Arkansas line. So, we figured it was only natural that we make a quick run to the state line…just to say we’ve been there. Then, we made our way on down to Marshall, Texas, for a steak dinner and a game of washers. I still feel bad for almost killing Brett with my flying washer. Oops…

The next morning, we woke up to…guess what? SNOW! It was SNOWING outside. I was so happy that I made Layton skip with me into Marshall High School, singing “Snow, snow , snow, snow!”. By the time we ended our presentation, it was sticking to the ground. We put it to good use with a quick snowball fight before our presentation in Elysian Fields. Before we knew it, all the schools were being cancelled, and we were snowed in at Mr. Jim Prewitt’s lodge in Grand Saline (not that we minded one bit!).

So, here we are, in our winter wonderland, making snowmen and having snowball fights. What a perfect way to end our travels in Area VI. It doesn’t get better than this.

The Lady and the Coon

Once upon a time, there was a smart, charming, intelligent, attractive, amazing, fantastic, spectacular young lady (me, of course. Ha ha.) who had never experienced the wild ways of an east Texan…until she stayed a weekend at the McLaurin’s house. One day, she pulled into the driveway with her friend, Kaleb, only to find that a young gentleman named Marlin from George West was there with his coon dogs. Alli had never been coon hunting before, so Marlin made it his personal mission to take Alli on her first hunt. A group of them jumped in a truck, spotlights and guns in hand. It wasn’t long before the dogs found a coon in a tree. “Alright, Alli!” Marlin said. “You’re up. Shoot the coon.” Poor Alli, she didn’t know what to do. So, Marlin cocked the gun and…”POW!” She almost shot him. “POW! POW! POW!” She shot again…and again…and again. Then, finally, poor Rocky the Raccoon fell out of the tree. Call her Ellie Mae; she’s a true east Texan now! The end.

Area IX- Part III

Hello, Area IX. Good bye, cell phone service. Despite our numerous failed attempts to obtain any kind of cell signal, we made all kinds of connections during our final expeditions in east Texas.

We started off our week in Cleveland, Texas. After learning some amazing new jokes (What is the definition of a farmer? Someone who is outstanding in his field. Ha ha.), we made our way on over to Tarkington. If you are ever in the area, you HAVE to stop at the Ranch Hand; I know now why it was voted the "Best of East Texas"...the chicken fried steak is AMAZING. That afternoon, we headed to Coldspring to meet their chapter officers. You guys rock! We ended our day with what Kaleb described as the "perfect East Texas meal": backstrap. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without the latest episode of "The Bachelor". That show is getting pretty intense. I can't wait to see what happens next week. Dun dun dun...

The next day, we stopped by Trinity for a whole school assembly. Talk about some enthusiastic students! It was the perfect way to start off the day before heading on over to Onalaska. We had a nice little chit chat with their principal, Mr. Boyce; he lived in Spain for several years. How cool is that?! That night, we enjoyed some fajitas with the Livingston FFA members before heading back to casa de Kaleb for the night.

Mr. Eichman had a great crew for us in Centerville; I enjoyed hearing all of their different interests...from watching "The Price is Right" to meeting the Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleaders. After our convo with them, we headed on over to Coriagan. I can't wait to see how their talent team does this year : ) Our last stop of the day was in Colmesneil...that was certainly an unforgettable experience. Poor guys, they had such a hard time deciding between coke and dr. pepper...

After another night at Kaleb's house (4 days in the SAME house! That never happens!), we made the trek towards West Sabine. We started to get a little hungry, so we stopped at the local gas station/convenience store/everything else. I bought myself a box of Cap'n Crunch and a carton of milk...and poured myself a cup of cereal to eat in the truck. It's amazing the things that excite us now. Ha ha. Of course, my Cap'n Crunch was nothing compared to the gift we received from West Sabine. I, Allison Grainger, now own my very first piece of camoflauge clothing thanks to their chapter officers. I feel like a true east Texan now!

Our last stop of the day was in Hemphill. We enjoyed some awesome coffee cake and a great conversation with all of their members. I promised I'd give a shout out to my Junior High buddy, Matt...you guys were the bomb diggity! That afternoon, we headed on over to Joaquin. We had a great meal at J.J's and learned all about Luke's watermelon endeavors. Remember, Jodi, if all else fails...

In Timpson, we watched as yet another girl beat all of those buff guys in our rubberband game; way to go, Katie! We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Chik-fil-a with some past Area IX officers, Lane and Hayden. Then, we made our way to Martinsville for our final presentation in East Texas. Ryan and Phillip gave us our own private concert- talk about having some killer guitar skills! And with that, we had officially concluded our Area IX journey.

Don't worry, though. We may have ended our expedition in Area IX, but I am bound and determined to complete my ever-growing "To Do List". Luckily, we have a whole week left in northeast Texas. So, with my camo sweatshirt on my back and my box of Cap'n Crunch in my hand, we will make our way on over to Area VI...where I will surely find a way to mark "squirrel hunting" and "mudding" off of my list of things to do.