Day 10- LA and Hollywood

TWB DAY 10

The Sneezy group at the Hollywood Bowl!

We started out day 10 in smoggy, bumper to bumper traffic on I-5 on the way to the Hollywood Bowl. We had a race to the top of the bowl, about four hundred steps to see who could tag The Big Dennis Deaton first. Caleb Shelton came in first and Emma Nelli came in a close second. Afterwards we held tryouts for the big celebrity prank. Kitch Deaton was selected as our celebrity and Alex Byrd as her faithful and muscular bodyguard. Anna Clark and Taylor Moore outdid all of the other competitors by sprinting about 100 yards while screaming at the top of their lungs. Luckily, they have very large lung capacities. We then loaded up on the bus and headed for the Grauman's Chinese Theater. When we first arrived at the theater everyone acted casual. Then. Anna and Taylor played their part, a repeat of the practice session, except with hundreds of tourist scattered around. Suddenly, 100 tourists surrounded Kitch Deaton, our movie star, and the autographing and photography began. We played the part for 45 minutes convincing everyone that she was in Pirates of the Caribbean 3, guest stared on the OC, and was even debuting in the up-coming Leatherheads. After the chaos calmed down, we took pictures of the hand-prints and walked around Hollywood for 15 minutes. TWB then left Hollywood and headed for UCLA, home of the Bruin Bears. We took a group picture and briefly shopped in the gift shop. After buying several college souvenirs, we left once again for the one and only Venice Beach. We enjoyed a picnic on the grass. After a delicious roast beef lunch, we caught some rays on the beautiful sands of California. Some participants were brave enough to take a dip in the freezing cold Pacific Ocean. Around 5 o'clock we drove towards El Capitan State Park to sleep by the beach. Wish us luck for the morning sea breeze.

Note from the counselor: What a beautiful, beautiful and did I mention beautiful day. Regardless of the smog that almost prevented seeing the Hollywood sign at the bowl, we were able to see all that Los Angeles had to offer, including the fourteen lane parking lot. To touch on a few highlights of the day: Kitch Deaton will now be found on numerous walls, purses, and may even on MySpace websites all over the world; Alex Byrd found his true job calling-bodyguard; Ryan Guill invented the Pacific Ocean Drying Off Kangaroo Dance (self-coined name); Nicki and Brooke found a true Baywatch lifeguard that almost stole their hearts away; the dance parties of course continued on the bus; there is apparently no Costco anywhere in California; and the night ended with a touching sing along.

Counselor Flippin' Sweet Armband Competition:
Lauren Walters purchased two Flippin' Sweet armbands for the counselors to share before the TWB adventure began. On the first day Lauren passed the two armbands out to the counselors of her choice. These armbands have created an intense competition of counselor control as well as extreme deceit. Examples of trickery: Kitch, the movie star, asked for chapstick from her beloved husband and when his hands were occupied she ripped the armband off his arm-smooth move Kitch; Lauren and Bob fiercely wrestled the entire waiting time in the Space Mountain line-Lauren manhandled Bob; Grant stole two armbands out of fellow counselor day bags-not sure how he pulled this feat off. Whoever has the armbands has complete control of the other two counselors, thus making them valuable jewels. Each counselor has had possession of at least one armband; however, Grant Deaton is the only person who has had control of both armbands at one time. Currently, Lauren Walters and Grant Deaton are ending the night with the armbands safely on their forearms. I expect one, if not both, to lose them tomorrow. Stay tuned for daily updates. Till then, have a Flippin' Sweet night.

The big movie star Kitch Deaton!

Do you see UCLA being spelled two times in this picture?

There is a Bruin in this bunch, can you see it?

Hanging out on the beach. Watch out David Hasselhoff!

This is the TWB Baywatch cheer leading squad.

The sleeping picture of the day winner is Drew "Dixie Crystal" Henson

Guys what are you doing?

Day 9- Disneyland

 TWB DAY 9

Today was Kitch Deaton's B-day. Happy 25th.




Today we woke up to Grant's wonderful rendition of the Mickey Mouse song. After celebrating Kitch's birthday, we ate a breakfast of fruit loops, captain crunch, and honey buns. We then set off to the magical place where all dreams come true, Disneyland. Once inside the park we took a group picture and rode a few rides as a group. We then parted our ways into smaller groups with the new friends we have been making. At the end of the day when we all swapped stories, we learned that everyone had a great time in Disneyland. Here are a few funny stories that we thought were the best:
     Ryan Guill fell into a water fountain and soaked a few onlookers. It was HILARIOUS!
     After a few girls went out to eat at IHOP they bartered with the waiter to lower the price. They ended up cutting five dollars of the price of their meal. I guess those Tijuana skills helped out after all!
    Ryan Childress snuck into the Jedi Knight training lessons with some kids of ages 4 and 5--he's 17!! He even received a certificate for completing the class!!
   While some TWBers were enjoying Splash Mountain, others were stuck behind a sinking boat on the same ride.
   Jordan Williamson was up for a surprise when he walked completely into the girls bathroom today. OOPS!!
After a wonderful day at Disneyland, we arrived back at the campsite to a surprise celebration of Kitch's 25th birthday... delicious chocolate cake!! Now we are going to bed and look forward to tomorrow's Hollywood experience.
Signing out,
Sneezy's

Note from Bob or boB spelled backwards- I would first like to apologize for the late blog posting. We left Disneyland, The Happiest Place on Earth, at 9:00 p.m. and ran into a horrific traffic jam that put us getting to the campsite extremely late. Yesterday, all of Trip 1 rode Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, and Honey I Shrunk The Kids as well as watched a Hillbilly Show. While waiting in lines, the participants took it upon themselves to entertain everyone with a joyful singing of Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole Ole. Sadly, those are the only words in the song. Trip 1 also became very good at organized clapping while waiting for rides. I am personally glad that our rhythm talents are not going to waste. All of the counselors learned how to wash a van in less than two minutes. I would like to add when I say wash the vans, I meant to say they learned how to wash me. After a long, exhausting day, we finished the night off with a late night birthday song to Kitch and a little bit of chocolate cake. Tomorrow we are off to find a movie star at Hollywood.

Billy Hill and The Hillbilly's Show

Here is the group at the Golden Horse for the show.



Here are some of pictures from the park. What fun we had with MICKEY!

This is Kitch's birthday cake we enjoyed late night.




Somehow Will Mack and Kitch got into a cake smearing contest. Who do you think won?

Day 8-Santa Monica, CA

TWB DAY 8 Your new bloggers the Sneezy group. Claire Armstrong, Kyle Caswell, Anna Clark, Shane Harmon, Drew Henson, Caroline Ladd, Emma Nelli, Lauren Robinson, Logan Shearer, Zeke Staaf, Brooke Stoner, Cody Trimnal, Nicki Tschudi, Sara Williamson was in the bathroom during this picture. After leaving the city that never sleeps, we drove all night into California and then to the border. At six in the morning, everyone awoke to the soft melodies of the Inspector Gadget Remix and Dead Puppies song. The cooks bought honey buns for breakfast along with apple juice. Although the cooks provided breakfast, most of us opted for the hot and very popular Starbucks coffee. After two more hours on the road we reached Tijuana. Tijuana was full of bargaining and arguing with the Mexican clerks. Some people bought Spiderman masks, Coach sunglasses, hats, jewelry, ponchos, and purses. The only thing we did not buy was food. The counselors warned us against the possible stomach problems. Trying to leave Tijuana presented an unexpected problem. The line for leaving Mexico was 3 times longer than usual. We were scared that we would have to wait hours before we would return home, but thankfully it only took about an hour and a half. Once we were back on the road, we hit a traffic jam, but eventually made it to the grocery store. For lunch, we had turkey wraps with pretzels. Arriving at the Campsite around 5:30 we unpacked our stuff, went swimming, ate tacos, and had a great sing-a-long. At about 11:00 pm we had lights out and all tried to sleep with the excitement of Disney waiting for us in the morning! A Note from Lauren: We are continuing to trek across America enjoying every second of it. After an exciting night in Vegas, the counselors loaded up on coffee and embraced our first overnight drive. Our co-pilots did a wonderful job keeping us awake and moving. We arrived in the not so beautiful city of Tijuana, Mexico around 8:00. We walked the streets and had fun haggling with the endless amount of storekeepers. Everyone had a blast! While preparing to cross the U.S. border we were surprised with a very long line. I would like to praise the participants for being so patient and positive as we waited to cross back into America. Tomorrow we look forward to visiting our very good friend, Mickey Mouse in Disneyland! Much Love, Lauren Group picture in Tijuana! Wow, look at those two mexicans. Don't they look good! Sleeping picture of the day winner is- Cody Trimnal and Mary Huston Matthews Waiting in line to cross back over the border can be so much fun. Jamila Reddy is the girl with everything in her purse. Some how she came prepared with sunscreen and an umbrella.

Shadow fun while waiting in line.   

Day 7- Las Vegas

  TWB DAY 7



This is the group at Ceaser's. Watch out Vegas, here we come!



We celebrated three birthdays today, Ryan Childress, Cody Trimnal, and Bob (Wheatboy) Gardner

After yesterday's long hike, we were able to sleep in for the first time this morning. The cooks made a wonderful breakfast consisting of pancakes with apples and grapefruit on the side. After breakfast, we packed up the busses and headed to UNLV( University of Nevada at Las Vegas) where we had our  No-Dam Chant competition. After a close victory for the Happy group, we then headed to the Las Vegas strip where we were able to roam around Caesar's palace and the rest of the brightly lit strip. Since we were unable to gamble and enjoy the casinos, we ate fantastic dinner and shopped till we dropped. Tonight we're sleeping on the road as we anxiously await Tijuana, Mexico!




This is the Happy group, the winners of the No-Dam Chant.



This is the Dopey group during the No-Dam Chant contest.

This is the Bashful group during the No-Dam Chant contest.

This is the Sleepy group during the No-Dam Chant contest.

This is the Sneezy group during the No-Dam Chant contest.

This is the Grumpy group during the No-Dam Chant contest.


The sleeping picture of the day winner is- Jamila Reddy


A note from Kitch: This awesome group of teenagers has truly amazed me with their teamwork and competitive edge during each TWB competition so far. This year's No-Dam Chants were unique, creative, and extremely hilarious! EVERY TEAM DID WONDERFUL!! I am so proud of my Happy team for taking the WINNING place by singing, rapping, and chanting our TWB journey so far. Las Vegas was another fun experience for each of us. We enjoyed Caesar's Palace, dinner at Margaritaville, and tons of shopping! We continue to look forward to the rest of Teens Westward Bound as we bond with our new friends and experience our beautiful country, America! P.S. I would like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to three young studs today Bob, Ryan, and Cody! We feel happy and blessed to be here with you on your special day! We love you!

Day 6- The Grand Canyon

  TWB DAY 6

**Disclaimer- Sorry for the late post, from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas there is absolutely no web or cell phone service.**


This is the Sleepy group with our message to TWB June 18th.

Today we rose at 4:30 a.m. We went and saw the sunrise at the Grand Canyon. It was worth waking up so early. Afterwards we got ready to hike the canyon. Walking down the canyon was a piece of cake, but little did we know walking up would be a treacherous journey. Everyone was out of the canyon around 6:30. Here are some comments from the group:

To describe the canyon in one word would be breath-taking literally and figuratively. -Courtney Horne

The Grand Canyon is absolutely amazing amazingly butt kicking! -Jana Crocker

The Grand Canyon is very beautiful and I made it to the Plateau Point. -Drew

The Grand Canyon is absolutely gorgeous but I would not recommend hiking it. -Meg Crumpton

The Grand Canyon is one of Arizona's most beautiful land-marks and is awesome to hike, but I would never do it again. -Shelby Solis

A hike I will never forget. -Bo Miller

I've seen bigger. -Joseph Knight (Joe-Pete)

The Grand Canyon gave me a lot more respect for North Carolina. -Caleb Shelton

Three things sum up the Grand Canyon: It's a gift from God; it's a test of will and heart; and very dangerous. -Nathan Hewitt

The Grand Canyon was really pretty but the only way I would go back down again is if I could ride a mule. -Alex Haislip

The Grand Canyon is so beautiful!! Although I didn't go the full 12 miles, my six were still awesome! -Susan Prince

The Canyon taught me how important friendships are to have to push you through life! -Ashley Gibbings

I liked it, and it was worth the hike. -Jack Collier

Hiking the Canyon is the toughest yet most rewarding thing I have done. -Cayli Mercel

The hiking of the Grand Canyon was one of the most physically demanding things I've ever done, but yet it is an experience I will never forget! -Mary Grace Fraley

Friendship is the key to getting through the Canyon. -Brooke Stoner

This is the one time an adult will tell you to drink (water) like a college student: on spring break. Anonymous Park Ranger, -Hannah Winchester

The Grand Canyon was great, but I need more money mom. -Alex Byrd

I hiked the Grand Canyon, now where's the shirt that said I did it! -William Mack

Never hike the Grand Canyon. -Alexa Martin

Hiking was very challenging, but it was the most rewarding thing I've ever done. -Meredith Parks

I challenged myself, and I challenged the Canyon. I was the winner. -Vince Novosel

Very hard, steep, big, long, hot Canyon! -Josh Kramer

The Canyon was amazing, but I never want to do anything like that again. -Morgan Gibson

The Grand Canyon was very long and hard and I will never hike anything again. -Sara Williamson

It was a long way down and an even longer way back up. That canyon was difficult. -Katey Bozorth

The Grand Canyon ain't no joke. -Brandon Bowers

As you walk throughout the Grand Canyon, one thought comes to mind. Dear lord, help me!!!             -Johnathan Jenkins

I'm proud of myself for hiking the Canyon, but I'll be okay if I never see it again.  -Haley Thomas

It was fun going down, and hard coming up, but I will never, ever, ever do it again without a mule.      -Caroline Ladd

I would have never made it the whole way if it wasn't for God and the breeze! -Anna Clark

One of the ugliest yet most beautiful experiences I have ever accomplished. -Jordan Shoaf

Absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever seen but I would never do it again. -Jennifer Crawford

The only word that comes to mind when describing the Canyon is wow. It was one of the coolest things I've done. -Justin Bowling

120 degrees, extreme exhaustion, dehydration, long walk and well worth the prize. -Ethan Haithcox

We are now elite Grand Canyon hikers, as said by Will Mack. -Rachel Hughes

Hiking the Grand Canyon, a piece of cake well maybe a few. -Lucas Ward

It was the most awesome yet horrible experience, but if I could I would do it again tomorrow.              -Lindsay Speir

Teamwork is key in any circumstance. -Justin Noland

It was hard but at the end I felt like the biggest, baddest Dude on the face of the Earth. -Grant Cooke

Few can say they've had an experience like hiking the Grand Canyon. I am one of them. -Joseph Silvers

The Grand Canyon is a rather large, hot, hole in the ground. -Kyle Caswell

I did it! T'was grand. -Jamila Reddy

The Grand Canyon was magnificent, exhausting, breath- taking, dehydrating, but yet deserves its place as one of the 7 wonders of the World! -Bri Clifton

The Grand Canyon is beautiful, but you will never see me there again. -Haley Conner

It was worth the walk!!!!!!!!!! -Ryan Guill

It's the grandest Canyon I've ever seen. -Mary Houston Matthews

An opportunity to experience one of God's greatest masterpieces can only be experienced if you go hike it yourself. -Crimens Clifford

Grand Canyon, been there done that. Noah Coleman

It makes you appreciate where you live. I was in awe! -Emma Nelli

It was overwhelming in every way. -Chelsea Knight

The Grand Canyon was quite a tough hike, but it was totally worth it. -Owen Bruner

Somebody give me a sling shot so I can shoot these stupid squirrels. Quote by Dustin. -Katie Howard

The squirrels are crazy. -Jacob Belk

The Grand Canyon was hard to hike, but when you got to the point it was awesome and worth every bit of it. -Stewart Smith

The Grand Canyon was a long walk both ways. -Shane Harmon

To me, the Grand Canyon was a beautiful tragedy. -Katie Addington

No more Canyons for me. -Cameron Crawford

Very hot, but worth hiking. -Brian Shearill

Is there McDonalds at the bottom? Suuuuuuure, right next to the Dunkin Donuts, ha ha ha. -Lacey Neal

The Grand Canyon would be great if it wasn't a death wish trying to climb it. Never ever never ever never ever. -Claire Armstrong

Hiking this Canyon showed me how important friends are without them I would've been off that cliff. -Nicki Tschudi

It was very long. -Cody Trimnal

The Grand Canyon was long and pretty much torture, but the feeling of accomplishment made it all worth while. -Kelli Tyson

It was the hardest thing I've done in my entire life. -Brittany McMillan

When I hiked back up the Canyon I've never hated anything more in my life but when you are done it's the most incredible thing in the world. -Sarah Carithers

Pictures could never do the Grand Canyon justice. -Alan Gandy

The Canyon is complete torture especially carrying a certain person up hill. -Logan Shearer

After watching the sunrise at the top it was all downhill. No pun intended. Ha ha ha! -Wesley Stewart

It was the second biggest brown crack I've ever seen. It took a bunch of Dudes to pull me out of that sweaty place. -Ryan Childress

The Grand Canyon is a land of extremes: nice fellow hikers and crazy squirrels, sweltering hot and freezing cold, and exhilaration exhaustion. It truly is a place like no other. -Courtney Huggins

Hiking twelve miles in the desert heat was possibly the most miserable experience of my life.              -Hillary K

I actually thought I was going to die. -Abbey Spoon


Note from Lauren-What an amazing day! The Grand Canyon is one of my favorite places we visit on our TWB journey. I love the beauty of the Canyon, but more importantly, I love how it brings everyone closer together. It takes motivation, determination, lots of water, a well-balanced meal, and a good friend to keep cheering you on. Without each other, we might still be trying to make it out of that enormous hole in the ground. As you read the group's comments you notice everyone has mixed emotions on their personal hike, but one thing is for certain, it will be an experience they never forget. I was so proud of everyone! The famous Deaton stew was waiting for everyone as they arrived to the campsite, YUMMY! I think everyone will agree when I say it was the Best Meal EVER! Kitch and I had to give a few lessons on how to do laundry (hopefully no one will come home with pink underwear). Bob and Grant roped on our newly purchased TWB steer horns to each of our vans (TWB June 18th eat your heart out)! I cannot tell you how much fun I am having with your kids. Everyone is so amazing. I look forward to the next 17 days! We are having the time of our life!

Much Love,
Lauren (L-dub)



The beautiful sunrise at the rim. 5:00AM

Don't they look so happy at 5:00AM.


A little stretch before the BIG hike.

Don't forget to ask the experienced hikers for advice.


Alex Byrd borrowed this hat from his grandma. It should protect him from the sun.

Here is a group picture right before they started the hike. Doesn't that hole behind them look big!


Sleeping picture of the Day Winner is Jackie the bus driver. He looks so concerned about the hikers in the canyon.

This is some of the strong survivors that made it out to Plateau Point.

Here is our group sporting our horns on the front of the vans. Those vans sure are horny.