Area VII: Week II

BAD NEWS! It was Sunday morning when I received a voicemail from Blaze Currie that Mason was in the hospital. Apparently over the weekend after Area III, Mason’s appendix was enlarging and he had to have it taken out. So for the next week, I rode solo. But the GOOD NEWS is that I was in my own back yard, Area VII!

School was out for Labor Day, but that night I ate with the Hondo FFA chapter at the local Mexican food restaurant. We had a lot of fun catching up and I had some of the best lemonade ever. It was brought up that some rain was coming this way, but I thought nothing of it…

RAIN!!! LOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN! That morning I presented at Hondo in the cafeteria. It was a little awkward not having Mason there at first, but with a few alterations to the presentation, I carried on. After Hondo I left to Medina Valley, but my GPS took me into the wrong direction. After making a few educated guesses and a call to Mr. Clarke, Medina Valley’s Ag Teacher, I was able to get there on time. After that, I was on my way to Geronimo, Texas. This is where the real fun began.

My mission, to cross through San Antonio, alive… Between my next school and me stood, 4 wrecks, 20 yard visibility, dense traffic, and endless RAIN! What started out as a 45-minute drive turned into an hour and a half journey. If the rain continued, I was fairly certain that I would need an ark. The GPS took me in the wrong direction again, so after asking for directions in three different areas and getting completely soaked I arrived!

I parked in the nearest parking spot at Navarro High School, I ran inside with my materials. After the presentation, I offered for everyone to come out and see the truck. However, after walking outside, I realized that I parked in the intermediate school parking lot on the other side of the school. The rain was settling and they still wanted to see the truck, so we pushed forward. It was then brought to my attention that standing between us and the truck was the intimidating, “Lake Victoria.” Lake Victoria was a massive flooded area in the parking lot. It ran about 11 inches deep and 40 feet wide. We found a way around it and took the picture for a momento.

That night I went to Canyon New Braunfels High School and attended their first meeting of the year. The food was delicious, the officers were amazing, and the members seemed to have a great time. A perfect way to start off the year. That night I played a few games of ping pong at Zach’s house and rested after a long first day of traveling by myself.

The next day I returned to Canyon New Braunfels and then went to New Braunfels High School. This day ran much more smoothly because the rain had subdued and I only had two schools. I spent my extra time getting some work done in a local McDonalds until an older gentleman noticed my jacket, which sparked a lengthy conversation. We discussed everything from the hardships of agriculture to the past, to the education system of today. That night I hit the bed early and rested up for the next day ahead.

Thursday, I gave presentations to Canyon Lake, Blanco, and LBJ High School. They all went smoothly and that day I was informed that Mason would be returning to the road with me that evening. I was super excited, because then he would be able to come to my old high school; Cedar Park!

It was nice seeing my Ag Teachers, Mr. Jack and Mr. Lakey. We gave the presentation was able to catch up for a little bit before heading off to Florence, the last school of the week. It was their homecoming so their school spirit flooded the air. After the presentation they gave us a tour of their Meat Lab, which was extremely enlightening. I knew very little about meat processing until after the tour. They sent us off with some of their beef jerky and then we were on our way to Phase 3 Training!