TWB Trip 1 2017 Experience: Day 10

Hey y’all! It’s the Sleepys reporting live from El Capitan State Beach in beautiful California!!! This morning we were woken up at 6:00am to the beautiful sound of our wonderful counselor Jon banging an empty water jug around our heads!! We are feeling the love!

After struggling to pack up our dew-ridden bags and tarps, we loaded up the bus and set out on our next wonderful adventure, waving goodbye to Disneyland Anaheim RV Park! For breakfast we were served a gourmet traveling assortment of cinnamon buns that came in the flavors of cinnamon, strawberry and raspberry along with an actual whole banana per person!!! WOW!! We love the Bashfuls being the cooks! Unfortunately, Carolina Girl didn’t realize that the food was right under their legs and they went almost until lunch before they finally realized the treasure trove they were sitting on.

Lizzie Love found John Wayne's footprints!

Brogan Brown found Harrison Ford!

Michael Jackson memorial on his Hollywood Star!

We regret to inform our parents that the Hollywood bowl was closed thanks to the presence of one of the most legendary rock bands of all time, Queen. There are two sold out shows tonight and tomorrow night with Queen headlining and Adam Lambert as a guest! We arrived there at 9am and even though the concert wasn’t until 7pm, they still were not having us. Some people were able to glimpse the outside of the bowl while others had to settle for downtown Los Angeles since the GPS in Miss America decided to take us on a wild detour. Since we were not allowed entry to the bowl, we headed straight to downtown Hollywood to perform a legendary TWB trick on some unsuspecting tourists.

We held auditions to discover who the loudest and wildest screamers on our trip were!!! Rylee Gaus and John Gray Blount emerged victorious after performing some of the most ear piercing screams we have ever heard. Our celebrity, the amazing Hannah Tulloch pretended to be an actress in 13 Reasons Why and the upcoming Pitch Perfect 3, so we headed to the Chinese Theater with a plan in mind!

Screaming contest!

One of our winners of the screaming contest, John Gray Blount!

Everyone scattered along the street to make sure we were all spread out to try to not look suspicious. Matt Harkey was the one who gave the signal to tell Hannah and Jon to start walking down the street. With Rylee and John Gray providing the first screams, other TWBers proceeded to swarm and scream for Hannah and Jon Alliss, who filled the part of her bodyguard. After a few moments of screaming and getting Hannah to sign body parts and papers, us TWBers faded back and let the unsuspecting tourists beg Hannah for pictures and signatures. Hannah proceeded to sign everything from foreheads to booklets and took countless pictures with her fans!!! Jon was keeping everyone at bay; making sure people didn’t touch her and getting people to hurry up and take pictures! Many of us had conversations with other tourists about Hannah and what she had starred in; it was hilarious. People started to look her up and kept asking what show she was from. With 82 TWBers, anything is possible!!!

Jon tackling John Gray!

After the prank, we proceeded to walk around for one hour and shop! We didn’t need too much time here, since all of the stores were your typical tourist shops. Many kids came back with souvenirs that we’re sure everybody back home will love!! Many of us even came away with several mixtapes that were given to us on the street. Our very own Seth McCachern even paid $20 for one!

After leaving Hollywood, we started the drive to UCLA!!! It took WAY longer than it should have, thanks to LA traffic but we survived!! Upon our arrival, we caught up on research starting with Laura Parris on Hollywood Studio, Sarah Whalen with UCLA, Callie Matthews on Hollywood, Caroline McCrorey had the Hollywood Bowl, Isaac Allison on Beverly Hills, and Mary-Anna Chewning with Hollywood (Part 2).

UCLA group picture!

Sarah Whalen presenting her research on UCLA!

Callie Matthews filling us in on Hollywood!

Isaac Allison telling us about Beverly Hills!

Laura Parris telling us about Hollywood Studios!

Mary-Anna Chewning talking about Hollywood!

After research was over, we ate an amazing lunch of sandwiches that included everything from pepperoni to cheese puffs while relaxing on UCLA’s beautiful campus. After lunch was finished, we were given until 2:00pm to explore the campus and visit the bookstore. We even had coupons for 10% off!!! All of the parents will love that!!!

Group picture with the BRUIN!

While many of us browsed around the bookstore, others darted for the mini Apple store within the bookstore to call and FaceTime home!!! Several of us found the food court and filled up on smoothies and more Panda Express!

UCLA - Rylee Roller, Griffin Law, Lillie Griffin, and Kirsten Tevepaugh!

When we left, we made our way to the campsite but we encountered a few bumps in the road… The anti-freeze on the bus was leaking and we were forced to take a slight detour to the nearest auto part store to find a quick fix. We were stuck on the side of the road in the burning hot bus for about 30-45 mins while our counselors helped Mr. G fix the bus!! After this incident, we continued our lovely journey down the scenic Highway 1 where we were awed by the beautiful sights with the ocean on one side and mountains on the other!

Everyone faking a smile because the bus reached 83 degrees inside!

Matt Harkey and Grant assessing the problem!

Now that we are at the campsite at El Capitan Beach State Park, some are taking the opportunity to wade into the Pacific Ocean and explore the beach! The cooks made us all an amazing dinner of chicken alfredo with bowtie pasta, Caesar salad, and garlic bread! Many of us even got seconds!!! SO yummy!!! Tonight we had a sing-a-long and made s’mores around a REAL CAMPFIRE!!!!!! We will all be wrapping up in our tarps tonight, since there is a heavy dew that will come off the ocean upon us tonight. We head to Monterrey on Highway 1 tomorrow and San Francisco for the night!!!