Almost Heaven: The Second Day

First things first. Gil earns 100 Cowden points for correctly identifying UHF/Spatula City and 75 Cowden points for identifying the Marvel reference. It was, however, Agents of Shield, which is a show rather than a movie (hence the deduction).

We started our day in Lexington, Kentucky, which shouldn't be a surprise because that's where we ended the day before. Everyone was downstairs on time, and we got out the door on schedule. Good deal! I didn't take pictures of breakfast for 2 reasons. First, I was working on the blog. Second, there were no waffles. Do we even need pictures if there are no waffles. That's not a question.

Hanna found some sunglasses on the bus. She said she used to have some like them when she played beach volleyball, and she was beast. We asked for a demonstration, and this is what we got.

I sometimes talk about our bus driver. He gets us in and out of a lot of tight spaces. I swear there's like a foot max on either side of the bus where he's driving right there. I just don't know how he does it. I'd be a total mess.

We found a corral for Trots-a-Lot to ride in. He also keeps an eye on the back of the bus for me.

Our concert was at ARC of the Three Rivers. This confused me all day long because we were ultimately headed to Pittsburgh, famous for the convergence of the three rivers there. 100 points to anyone who identifies the three rivers that merge in Pittsburgh without using technology for assistance in the comments. I'm going on the honor system here.

Anyway, we're singing at 2 or 3 ARC facilities on this trip. They have programming for people with disabilities...something of a community center. Three Rivers is fairly small, and their administrative offices were having an onboarding event, so our audience was somewhat limited in number. I always tell people when I'm talking to them about singing that we've sung for one person before (which is true!). As I would tell the youth later in the evening at devotional, sometimes the small places are the, well, the more important places for us to go because they don't have as many folks. This was a good example. My contact there told me that she's been working at that location for 12 years, and nobody has ever come to offer a program like this for them.

Nobody. That was heartbreaking. She was so appreciative, and the clients were as well.

Evie shared at our devotional time that she was worried about what to say or how to connect with this audience. We don't have a lot of practice at it, and I'll admit I had similar qualms. But she just started talking...and they started talking. Maybe it was the magic of the music. Or maybe it was the work of the Spirit.

The ARC fed us lunch after we sang, too! Fruit and veggie trays and sandwiches. It was delightful. We never ask for anything when we go to sing somewhere, and we were grateful for their generous offer to host a meal for us.

Doritos. I forgot there were also Doritos.

And also Hawaiian Punch.

Speaking of punchy...it did take a while for us to cycle through the sandwich line, and while we were doing that some of the youth headed outside. It was a lovely day for...whatever this is. 100 Cowden points for the winner of the "caption this picture" contest in the comments...

Returning readers will recognize this guy and his bus. Mark has been driving me for years on all kinds of trips. He's driven me as far as Los Angeles, and he's driven me on a short trip like Chattanooga. I rely on him not just to get us where we are going safely but also to be where I need him to be every time. He's never left me hanging or in a lurch. And he anticipates potential issues if he notices a schedule crunch so we can work it out before it becomes an emergency. Thanks, Mark!

From the bus: twinning is winning! Man, those shirts look sharp.

We made a rest stop at the Pennsylvania welcome center, and our trip is beginning to take shape. There has been some destination-oriented chatter on the bus, and I'm honestly not sure how many people still don't know the details of the trip. But I know there are a few!

We had a fun photo contest today. I asked the youth to post photos with forced perspective. I had a number of amusing submissions, but this was my favorite. To my knowledge, Addison is the only youth ever to ride Sir Trots-a-Lot.

I didn't get a good picture, but we came out of a tunnel and arrived in Pittsburgh. There was audible cheering on the bus, and it was cool to hear the excitement. It was beautiful, but the way...the drive and the arrival. As we were arriving in the city, I announced where we were headed.

Don't judge me. We went to Dave and Busters. I know you can do that in Atlanta, and Pittsburgh is a long way to drive to go to DB. But it was a lot of fun...and as you'll see in the pictures, the youth weren't the only ones who enjoyed unlimited gaming for a few hours.

Ellen was teaching Mariann how to drive.

Epic Hungry Hungry Hippos. I didn't see this game, but it looks like fun!

Classic hoops featuring Taylor and Rachel.

Arcade axe throwing. A couple of folks actually got their axes to stick. I couldn't ever make it work.

I don't have any idea what this is.

Human claw machine. They lower you down, and you grab something like one of those claws. Reese chose the banana. I don't know why.

To be clear, games are serious business. It's not all fun and games. Well, it is. But it doesn't always look like it.

More racing.

Leanne is supervising here to make sure it's all going according to plan.

And the hippos are still hungry.

Virtual reality gaming? Where was this when I was younger?

Leanne supervising again. I told you...the chaperones were digging it too.

And the director. Michael posted up at guitar hero and was there basically the entire evening. I joined in...haven't played GH in forever. It was so much fun!

Dance dance revolution?

So then after you play the games you can use the tickets to buy little rewards. I suspect this gift will keep on giving...

After DB we headed to our hotel. Pathfinder 1 (formerly Chaperone 1) had gone ahead and secured our room keys, so when the bus arrived we were able to move quickly. Good thing because we had some things to accomplish at the devo time and also needed to get to bed at a reasonable hour since the next morning would be (was, as I'm writing) our earliest of the trip. And of course we still had to check everyone into their rooms.

Hal reminded us about the origin of some of our music and its importance. A good perspective to remember.

It was another good day. Doing the important work of lifting spirits and coming together as a group. In short, we are doing what we came to do. I'm grateful for that. Grateful to be a part of it.