Started serious then ended with some horsin' around

This morning we woke up and had our first meal at the college! We started our adventure with a tour around Berea College's Child Development Lab. We met Tammy who gave us a tour around the center. It is a great place with many children. We got to look into many classrooms and we especially loved the rooms filled with babies!! Our goal is to hold them and play with them before we leave! We can't wait to start giving hearing screenings.

Berea College's Child Development Lab

With nothing planned for the afternoon we decided to take a trip up to Lexington to tour the Kentucky Horse Park. The Kentucky Horse Park has many museums, statues, shows and activites all related to horses! They host many big events including the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010.

Everyone was excited to see all the horses!

We started by seeing a show called Breeds of the World. This show introduced a few different breeds of horses and gave some history as we watched them be ridden around the arena. We learned about the American Saddlebred. Palamino, Arabian, Haflinger, Morgan and a few other breeds. We got meet and pet all of the horses when the show was over.

The American Saddlebred Horse.

You can't go to Kentucky and not ride a horse. So Bre, Ang, Ashland and I went for a trail ride.


Learning how to control our horses

Bre and I are ready to go on Cowboy and Gambler!
 

Ang looking like a movie star on her horse Star!



And we are off!

Jill, Hailey and Ted decided not to go horseback riding so they stayed back at the barn and pet the horses!

We made it back to the barn with everyone still on thier horses!

Ashland riding for the first time! She loved her horse Tank. We were all very proud of her!

Today was a great day that ended with a college dinner and movie night at the dorm. The food here isn't too bad. Tomorrow we are up early and off for our first day of "work" screening the children at headstart.

<3 Haley

Sunday Funday

Hello everyone!

After our journey through the cross country trail, the Kentucky crew woke up early on this Sunday morning to start the day off with breakfast. We went to the Dinner Bell Restaurant and enjoyed eggs, pancakes, bacon and much needed coffee! During breakfast, we talked about our first night in the dorms and we decided on what our adventures would be for the day.

At the Dinner Bell Restaurant. May 12

After breakfast, we took a ride to Fort Boonesborough State Park and we learned about the history of a settlement. While at Fort Boonesborough, we met a group of interesting and very talented people who taught us about life during the 1700s. From weavers to wood workers, we were all amazed with what we saw. The group learned about how clothes, towels and blankets were made from old fashioned weaving. After this visit to Fort Boonesborough, we all have a better appreciation of hand-made items!

Here is a picture of us girls in front of Fort Boonesborough. Beautiful weather!

Linda, a weaver, taught us all about intricate techniques of weaving.  In the top right picture, she is using an original weaving loom. 

After learning a great deal from Linda, us girls came across a man named Bob who had an extraordinary talent and hobby. Bob had his Cabin set up in Fort Boonesborough that is filled with his own had-made items. Bob made everything from eating utensils, rifles, knives, tools and weapons. These items were made from wood, animal bones and more. Bob's collection was unbelievable!

Here are pictures of Bob. On the right is Ashland and Bob, her new hero!

On the top left, a collection of Bob's knives and utensils. On the bottom left is a cow horn. Bob carved a very detailed picture onto it of a cabin and wilderness all with a pocket knife. On the right is more of Bob's hand-made items such as rifles.

During this journey, we met more people and learned about other types of work. It was interesting to learn about the history of Fort Boonesborough, Kentucky.

On the top, a woodworker. This man made everything from eating utensils to field work items. On the bottom, A woman who spins cotton into clothes.

Overall, our trip to Fort Boonesborough was a lot of fun and filled with history. The land was beautiful and was great for some adventuring in the woods! 

Here are some great views of Fort Boonesborough!

After our trip to Fort Boonesborough, we worked up an appetite! We decided to have a late lunch/early dinner (or what we like to call, "Linner") at Hall's on the River. Although we had to wait a while to be seated, we took this opportunity to explore the grounds around the Kentucky River and to take some group photos. Our favorite thing to do!

During our relaxed exploring, history was made. We took this awesome picture that will now be the cover of our new CD, "The EC Country Sweethearts". Our new album comes out at the end of May :)

At Hall's our crew enjoyed lots of different meals. I think our favorite food was fried pickles! Beer Cheese soup, fried banana peppers, and smoked chicken wings were delicious. We had a great time at Hall's with many laughs and story-telling.

We also did the Elmira College Link-up...with a twist

Here is Ashland Hall in front of Hall's on the River. What a perfect place to go to!

After we ate, us girls had a few hours to relax in our dorm. It is nice to enjoy the A.C! It's really cool to be living on Berea College's campus. We have our own little lounge with our rooms surrounding it. I'm having a great time hanging out with these girls. We walked into town and went shopping in the craft stores today!

We were excited to venture out into the town today

To end the night, us girls decided to take a trip to A&W for some root beer floats and ice cream. But first, we needed to make a quick stop to wal-mart for some necessities.(twice in two days!) On the way back to the car, Ashland and I were stranded in the parking lot! Ang, Haley, Jillian, Hailey and Ted drove away to A&W without Ashland and me! Thankfully, it was only across the street, haha.  Be prepared for a prank war!

Ashland and me making our way to the rest of the gang. Very funny you guys! haha

Today's adventure was certainly one for the books. We had a free day to do anything and I wouldn't change it any other way! This trip to Kentucky is a lot of fun and I'm grateful to spend this time with an awesome group of people.

What a great way to end an eventful day. 

Well that's all for now! Tomorrow we will be going to Berea College's Child Development Lab for the first time. Wish us luck and stay tuned! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

-Bre

We're here!!!

After three days of traveling through 6 states we finally made it to our main destination of Berea Kentucky!! The car was definitely very full with 6 girls, 1 professor, and more than enough luggage.

Jill and Hailey crowded into the back of our family van!

The 7 of us took a "selfie"!

After settling into our new homes we were quickly off to a local, delicious, mexican restaurant (my favorite!!) Our table was filled with tasty burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas.

The 6 of us girls went back to the college to explore, after a fun filled trip to wal-mart. We went on a nice hike on the colleges Cross Country trail after we had done a little bit of exploring of the campus. We journied off into the woods and make our own adventure! 

Bre and Ashland looking off into the Appalachian mountains

The fountain at Berea College

The stream we found while walking the Cross Country trail

Lots of fun together!

To end the night we are hanging out, together playing cards, sharing lots of laughs in our new home! Check back tomorrow for more stories from Berea!!

-Ang

Into the Woods... But Not Too Far

Hey Y'all,

We started the day off with a nice breakfast at our hotel, after a restful night on the comfy hotel beds.  We were well rested and ready to start our journey down Skyline Drive, which takes you through Shenandoah National Park along the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.

Bre, Ashland, Haley, Ang, Jillian, Hailey

Ted drove us through the winding roads of the Appalachian Mountains and we stopped at almost every outlook for the first few to enjoy the magnificent mountains.

Our Staten Island girl Bre has gone Country after being in the car for two days so far with all the Country music we have been playing on the road trip so far. REEEEEEEEED

Of course we had to do the Traditional Elmira Link-Up at the overlooks, while looking at the beautiful scenery of the mountains.

Elmira College Link-Up

Some of us wanted to be in the pictures with the beautiful mountains, so that led to many "Selfie Photo Ops".

Bre

Haley and Hailey

And some lounging around on the rocks pictures as well.

Bre and Ashland

The many stops at the overlooks also led to many opportunities for photo ops, including a very cute piggy backs picture of all us girls.

After driving about half of Skyline Drive, we took a pit stop for some "REAL" hiking on the Appalachian Trail!!!!  We started at the white blazed marked tree and headed off on our journey through the treacherous and possibly dangerous forests and woods.

But before we did that we had to stop for another round of photo ops, this time it was each of us wanting a picture with the Appalachian Trail marked tree.

Haley

Bre

Ang

Jillian

Ashland

Hailey

And then we were off to explore the into the woods... but not too far.

Once us girls returned safely from our hike, we certainly worked up an appetite and enjoyed a delicious meal at Skyland, a restaurant that overlooks the mountains.

We then headed back onto Skyline Drive and headed on to Beckley, West Virginia where we would be spending our second night of our fine adventure to Berea, Kentucky.  We ran into some rain in West Virginia, but luckily our time spent in Shenandoah National Park was sunshiny and clear.  We ate dinner at the Tamarack: A Taste of West Virginia.

The Tamarack served up some good ole country and home cooked meals of West Virginia from yummy pie to some nice fresh vegetables.  At the dinner table, I was able to share some of my knowledge of the South with the girls, since I am the only one on the trip, who lives below the Mason-Dixon Line.  It was fun and hopefully the girls will come out of this trip with a nice Southern accent.  Before heading back to the hotel for a well deserved nights sleep, we walked around The Tamarack to view all the crafts made by local West Virginians.  

Tomorrow we are finally headed for our destination of Berea, Kentucky!!!



-- Jillian Colon

And We're Off

Hello all!
This is your first officer speaking (aka Hailey). please prepare for an exciting adventure ahead and keep all arms and legs in the vehicle at all times...Well that was not to difficult for Jill and I seeing as we were all snuggled up into the third row of our spacious Suburban. Our navigator (Ashland), and other equipment specialists, Bre, Haley, and Ang, all found our ride quite comfortable as well. As you can see from the picture below Ashland was super excited and at this point Bre was sleeping :)

So we started our trip off right with a delicious breakfasts at Light's. Omelets seemed to be pretty popular this morning.

After our breakfast we hit the road and jammed out to some tunes intermingled with crazy comments from all of us nutty girls. I don't know how Ted is going to handle us for the entire trip hehehe.

But all in all we made it to the Hampton Inn in Front Royal, Virginia for our first over night stay and I think we are all pretty pooped after the car ride. Not to mention STUFFED from our Italian feast at a local restaurant. And exhausted from giggling at our neighbor's noises at dinner hahaha!

Kinda cut Jill and I's head off, but you get the picture

So day one is coming to a close, but keep you eyes peeled for tales of our adventure hiking part of the Appalachian Trail tomorrow!

ciao, Hailey