In my last entry, I know I focused on how disappointed I was that the Mexico trip was changed. I knew at the time that I had the wrong mindset when I was typing it all out. It was just one of those things I had to get out of my system. All of you should understand that concept.
In this entry, I want to share with you the most memorable parts of the last Florida trip I attended with Koinonia. This was back in 2006, by the way.
**blind alligator in lake behind cabin...and learning how to run "to escape" it from Dave (wish to go on lake in rowboat):
The campgrounds we were staying at had a lake behind the main cabin. Many people went out in the paddle/rowboats at night. I was not one of them. I went out on that lake once because hardly anyone else had the "balls" to attempt the feat. The funniest part about the whole situation was Dave, the campus minister for Koinonia, explaining if you ran in a jig-jagged pattern, it would be easier to escape an alligator on dry land. Haha. I'm not sure if it is an effective escape method to this day. I don't really want to test that out.  I believe I even dreamed about being chased by an alligator that week. My brain amazes me sometimes. Haha.
**Daytona Beach:
There was this middle aged guy with "dunlap disorder" (his belly had "done lapped over his belt, or in this case, his swimming trunks) who had BLACK hair all over his body. It was disgusting and almost made me lose my appetite. I was eating pizza at the time with friends. Notice, I said ALMOST. Haha, I like food. Then, while we were also eating, we were observing people on the beach. We were tourists and even WE could see that one guy was also a tourist. He seriously had swimming trunks and combat boots on at the same time! No joke. It was hilarious!
A group of sleazy guys came up to the group of girls I was hanging out with at the time and tried to convince us to party with them later. Haha, whatever. I was about to say something or do something if one of them hadn't stopped touching one of my friends' shoulders. They left me alone. I believe "combat boot" boy was one of this group. Haha. "The Lurker" came over and they left at this time. Haha. I jokingly say that Daniel (the lurker) "saved" us. I'm pretty sure we could've handled ourselves but we were sure glad to see Daniel at the time.
I had a freakin' blast ramming into the oncoming waves while playing in the water. I wasn't very far out in the water at the time. I like to say that I went "body surfing". In a way, it is very true.
On the way to the beach, our van passed the Daytona Speedway. I took a very blurry picture for one of my friends since she (and her family) are Nascar freaks! She was ecstatic to have a blurry picture of the race track. Haha. She cracks me up sometimes.
**Public speaker?:
At the time, Dave's father-in-law was the pastor of a church in Jacksonville, FL. We stopped by there for a day and went to church the next morning. Well, all of the group (all 20 or so of us) was required to introduce ourselves in front of the congregation. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a terrible public speaker. So, I will say as few words as possible just so I can get out of the spotlight quickly. Haha. That is exactly what I did that morning. After the service, the church had a potluck dinner in the honor of our arrival. One of the congregation came up to me and with a grin on his face, said "So, communication major, huh?". I just laughed and agreed with him because I knew he was being ornery. That's the end of that story. Bummer of an ending, huh?
**pine cone ceremony at camp:
This was one of the more touching and deeper aspects of the whole trip. I guess it is a tradition. The last day at the campgrounds (before returning home), we were told to find a pine cone that "spoke to us" in some way. It was supposed to represent the many layers to a person (vs. how a pine cone is formed). That night, we had a bonfire where we sang and shared with each other. At the end, each of us was supposed to throw our pine cone in the fire and, if we wanted, to share with everyone what that pine cone represented. For me, it represented my past and my wish to be free from it (for the most part). I shared but I was very vague. That was a huge step for me though because I don't talk about feelings and such with most people...if anyone.
**"Let's rake the trees!":
Two boys were mocking Dave at the time. He had us raking the campgrounds for 2 days straight. Once we got everything done, he tried to make us rake the woods! Yeah, right. We had HAD enough. Haha. This is coming from someone who will rake "for fun" if I am in the mood to do so.
**Dave's crazy driving on the highway:
Okay, so Dave's driving is notorious for its craziness at times. This particular time, he had made a navigational error. Rather than finding a safe place to turn around, he suddenly did a U-Turn through a grassy culvert and back onto another stretch of highway (going in the opposite direction) so he could backtrack and fix his error. I was in the van which was pulling the trailor with all of our luggage in it. That was the same van which was FOLLOWING Dave. We had to pull an impromptu U-Turn as well just so we didn't lose Dave. That was NOT fun! It was memorable however. I could tell you stories about his driving in Mexico (or here in Joplin) also, but I won't.
**The Adventures of Scottie:
Scottie is nothing but a big kid. He has a special affiliation for Superman. That is why that label is up there for this section. Haha. The basic gist of the situation is this...Scottie got shaving cream'd at night. He was sleeping and someone put shaving cream in his hand then tickled his face with a feather. You know the drill. He went to scratch his face and got shaving cream on it. A few of us were the only ones in on the prank. I was honored to be able to watch the spectacle. It was hard to not roar with laughter and avoid waking him up in the process of the prank.
I'm almost positive there was an ongoing prank war between some of the boys and girls in the group as well. I just cannot remember what it was all about. Enough said.
**Group hug!:
Scottie and Scuba (Steven W) had an ongoing "game" that week. They'd look at each other & then at whomever was their poor victim of the moment. In that moment, they'd conspire against the poor person. In seconds, they'd group hug (like a sandwich) that person. Well, some of us got to talking and thought they should get a taste of their own medicine. My friend, Liz, and myself were 2 such people. Scuba happened to be sitting between us in the backseat of the van at some point in the trip. I got Liz's attention, conveyed what I had in plan, and she agreed. Within seconds, we had group hugged Scuba...in the process, shocking him to death. Let's just say that people know I don't particularly care for hugs. All week, I was threatening Scuba and Scottie (on the premise of them group hugging me) with "death". Haha. So, I guess I got the "death" part down...without the scarring incident happening.
**Yankee?:
I didn't go to Disney World with the rest of the group...when we were in Orlando. Instead, I stayed at the motel and swam in the pool part of the day. I relaxed some also, which was needed desperately at this point in the week. The alone time helped my frame of mind considerably. We had been going almost non-stop all week and it was hard to find alone time. I'm one of those people who has to have alone time once in a while. Anyway, while swimming, there was this lady there who was from either Alabama or Florida. She saw me swimming and commented on how "I swam well for a yankee." Haha. I was confused on why she was calling me a yankee at the time but appreciated the compliment.
I did end up eating dinner with Gerald and Scuba...who had bypassed on the DisneyWorld also. They had tried, in vain, to find a cheap golf course to play on...so they had been relaxing all afternoon also.
**Lost in Orlando...
Gerald, Scuba, and myself went to pick up the group from Epcot. We had no problems getting to our destination. However, on our way back to the hotel, we got lost. We obviously found our way back, but it was humorous all the same that we got lost.
**Butthead elementary friends:
I have a friend who lives in Orlando, FL. I had told him in advance that I was coming on the trip. I told what hotel we were staying at when we got into Orlando. I kept trying to get ahold of him. He never got back to me. That made feel like I wasn't worth the dirt underneat his feet...actually, lower than that specified dirt. This wasn't an isolated incident with Justin, by the way. To this day, he has no idea that he hurt me so...or that he continues to do so everytime he spurns my attempts at friendship. I know we have changed since elementary school, but that is no reason to be so rude, in my "humble" opinion. He did not mar my day or the rest of the trip with his behavior, just so you know.
**Topless...Tim the Talker and the "milk" incident:
Tim (aka: Tim the Talker...that boy rarely shut up) rarely wore a shirt. We don't know what he had against shirts to this day...and nor do we care. Haha. Enough said about that. The funny incident happened on our return trip to Missouri. We were lodging at a hotel for the night before getting back on the road. I forget where we were at the time. This hotel had a continental breakfast that was self-served. I guess as Tim was heading back to his room, Jesse was heading to breakfast. Tim stopped Jesse and said, "Dude, don't drink the milk!". I'm not sure how the conversation flowed from there. All I know is that it came out that nothing was wrong with the milk. He was so naive that he had drank WAFFLE MIX...and thought it was milk. This is also the same boy who, upon raking for the first time in his life at the camp, could not figure out how to use the rake. I'm not making fun of him. That is the pure facts!
And now I am done with this. In conclusion, the Florida trip was a great trip in its own right.--Robyn 
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THIS IS THE ENTRY I POSTED BACK IN 2006 AFTER THE LAST FLORIDA TRIP I TOOK WITH KOINONIA...You don't have to read if you don't want to. Most of it will be a repeat from the content above. Ironically enough, this is the entry that revealed to Daniel K. that I had nicknamed him "the lurker" (due to the trip). It fit at the time. Haha.
Spring Break and such
4/07/2006
I thought I'd drop in and tell everyone about my Spring Break trip to FL...which is long overdue. I am still working on my spanish presentation but my aunt is going over the "translated article" right now so I have some free time. I hope this one doesn't get erased.
I will be putting it in event form, not paragraph form. There is too much to share that way and I don't have time OR the motivation to type it in that form. Haha.
1) LONG van trips (to FL, within FL, back to Joplin)!!!
2) Church at group leader's f-in-law's church (Jacksonville).
3) Went to Jacksonville Landing. Some people ran through the fountains. I took a picture of one person who did it. Haha!
4) Rode in van for almost 2 hours to the camp my group stayed at (with 2 showers for almost 20 people...it was CRAZY!). Went swimming at nearby lake (We couldn't swim in lake behind the camp due to 'gators, but I did go canoeing despite that fact.)
5) Raked for 2 days, for about 8 hours in total, with about 20 people (& bagged up about 450 lawn bags full of leaves). I don't want to see another leaf in awhile...if I have to rake it up. I like raking so that should say something. Haha.
6) Went to Daytona Beach for a day. That was a fun and interesting day. I enjoyed attacking the incoming waves. Hehe. I didn't enjoy it when the group of girls I was hanging out with got hit on by sleazy boys though. I was never so glad to see "the lurker" (another story for another day). Hehe.
7) Went to Orlando for a few days. Got stood up by my friend Justin. Oh well, life goes on. Some people went to the various DisneyWorld parks but I stayed in the motel and relaxed (swam in pool, watched tv, ate dinner with Gerald and Scuba, got lost with them later on when we went to pick up the people at DisneyWorld--haha). I needed to relax and I didn't see the point of spending $65 for DisneyWorld. I'm poor. I have to save my money, not waste it on useless things!
8) "Dude, don't drink the milk!" (A guy on the trip actually drank a cup of waffle mix and thought it was milk! I wish I could've been there to see his face. Haha.) That was Tim the Talker. Yes, he got a nickname on the trip just ilke "the lurker" did. Haha! Tim was silent very rarely on the trip so he earned that nickname well.
9) Came back to Joplin and became excessively busy again. Oh well.
Bonus) Scottie got shaving creme'd...which I got the dubious honor of attending/observing. It was freakin' hilarious because he woke up awhile later and realized something was up but had no idea what had happened.
--"You swim well for a Yankee."--some AL/FL resident told me that. When did I become a Yankee? I'm from the Midwest, for heaven's sake! Haha!
--Also, I gave Scuba a hug...in Scuba-Scottie style...with the help of Liz. He didn't expect it...from me, nonetheless. I have the reputation of hating to be hugged...much less hug others. Haha. |
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