Day 7: Friday, 6/7/2024

It's all downhill from here...after a quick stop at North Highlands UMC, we headed home. No concerts because of the length of the drive. I usually start with a picture of a waffle iron or pancake maker because waffles are the best. And there were waffles at our final hotel. But something else caught my eye while I was enjoying my waffle. It was this headline:

I didn't actually pay attention to the context, though I'm assuming it's about cricket the game. Nevertheless, what went through my head was...how do we know the cricket was upset, and what can we do to calm him down? Followed immediately by, "Nooooo! Jiminy!!!!"

We got on the road again, but not before an epic photo bomb by Mark.

For whatever reason (that still escapes me), the youth really love Buc-ee's. I don't see the appeal. They are less excited about all the other stopping places. Except...

Bless his heart, he is my son.

We stopped for lunch at a place with a bunch of options. Typically the chaperones spread out with the youth, but for whatever reason we all had a hankering for McAllister's, and that's where most of us went.

Not pictured: Leanne and Camille

Let me say a word about this group of folks. They are the best. They care about the youth. They sacrifice their time to be a part of the trip. Some of them have children on the trip, and some don't. I absolutely and without question would not be able to do this if it weren't for these folks. I'm so grateful for them.

Back on the road, I put on the movie. I say "the movie" because there is only one movie that has been required watching every tour I've ever done. The Princess Bride is a classic, and we will always watch it. I know half the bus ignores it completely, and I don't care. It's tradition.

Mark pointed out the bus selfie opportunity when we got behind this truck with shiny back doors.

Shortly after, that's when it happened. An unprecedented second stop at...Buc-ee's. And this time, we actually got to meet Buc-ee.

I'm smiling, but I'm dying a little inside.

Slightly more famous than Buc-ee, I also got a selfie with these two. Which reminds me. When did people start doing selfies with the normal front facing camera? Apparently that's how people do it now...and I'm old.

Because of the schedule, it made sense to pick up a little extra food at Buc-ee's and then skip a full dinner stop. There's plenty of food to choose from. I actually tried the BBQ for the first time, and it wasn't bad. The banana pudding wasn't great, FYI. So here we are having our picnic.

I asked Michael if he was qualified to drive that, and he said not only was he not, but they came and told him he couldn't sit on it.

And that's when things started to get a little weird. I thought people usually rode horses, but here Mark gives Trots-a-Lot a ride.

So we took a quick group shot and got back on the bus.

There was significantly more engagement with the next movie: Moana.

I think about half the bus was singing along with the songs, including Leanne. Worth noting: when I heard singing coming from the back of the bus, it usually sounded good! You might think that's normal for a bus with a choir on it, but that's not usually the case. Usually they mostly shout when they sing on the bus, and it isn't pretty. Not on this trip!

As much as I love this trip and these youth, I do love the feeling when we come around the bend and see Atlanta in the distance. It means we're almost home. It's sad the trip is almost over, but it's good to be home too.

We unloaded the bus and cleaned it up. Mark drove away. I checked the youth out. We're not completely done, of course. We still have homecoming Sunday tomorrow. But the traveling part of the 2024 Youth Music Mission is behind us, and it was such a good trip. Top 3 ever. It went smoothly with just enough hijinks to keep it interesting. I feel like we accomplished what we set out to do. We built relationships with each other. We built relationships with God. We lived our faith into the world. We had waffles for breakfast. What more is there?

Sunday morning. Until then...

Peace and love,

John