Day 8-Santa Monica, CA

Day 8: Santa Monica


Hey y’all it’s Landrie Hess, McKinley Beaty, Blaise Shiver, Alec Stinnett, Laura Hedrick, Eli Patterson, Josh Millspaw, Abby Marshall, Morgan Bailey, Ethan Brewer, Kenny Fleming, Larissa Horne and Ava Scardingo; and we are the Sleepys!



Last night we slept in our groups, as we drove through Death Valley to avoid death (aka high temperatures). After the 6 hour drive, we woke up to the beautiful beaches of Santa Monica, California! Everyone was excited to say they had had the chance to pee in the Pacific Ocean, but we quickly realized that it was nothing like the Atlantic due to the large waves and Arctic water. However, even with the cold water, there was still a heat wave that had followed us here. We were all constantly worried about reapplying sunscreen in order to make sure we have the best possible week ahead in California.



We started the morning with a breakfast burrito that we ate in the public parking lot of the Santa Monica Pier.  After breakfast, we had our attention drawn to some interesting characters that appeared to be playing the guitar. When our group had gathered around them, we requested for the locals to play some Carolina classics: “Wagon Wheel” and “Dixieland Delight.” Groups then dispersed to enjoy the beach, explore the pier, or walk around town. Soon came time for lunch, and while there were people who decided to eat back at bus, many groups decided to enjoy a much more local cuisine. Some lunch places included Bubba Gump’s, Swingers Diner and Beach Burger.








While everyone enjoyed the beach, the waves were quite rough for some of our participants. Madalynn Powell lost her swimsuit bottoms to the ocean and had to wear Cade McConnell’s swim trunks. Mallory Morton and Caroline Hill lost their glasses in the waves. We then road some of the Pacific Park rides, which were $10 a pop. The shops around were quite pricey, but we continued to buy our souvenirs like we had in every other city.

When at the beach, we ran into ABC Channel 7 News. Campers Justin Crawford, Cassidy Rodriguez, Cameron Sheffield, Macie Curlee, Landrie Hess and Morgan Hurt were interviewed in a story about Santa Monica Beach safety. It will be aired Wednesday at 11pm PST on the ABC Channel 7 News website. Look for us on TV!!!

Following our day at the beach, we began our drive to Anaheim, California. What was supposed a 30 minute drive quickly turned into 2 hours due to LA traffic. We later safely arrived at the only campground in Anaheim, which is about 10 blocks from Disneyland.  We are now winding down for the night while waiting for the cooks to return from their Walmart trip to get dinner (hot dogs, mac n cheese and watermelon) and the fireworks to begin, at approximately 9:30. Tomorrow we will make our way to the happiest place on earth: Disneyland!!






Some of our boys decided to dress up and have their makeup done

Thanks for your patience with the blog as we've been catching up post-Grand Canyon due to the lack of wifi and inclement weather. More photos will be uploaded tomorrow!