My travelling has now come to an end for awhile finishing with a recent trip to Indianapolis for the National FFA Convention. On a 13 hour bus ride things can get a little uncomfortable. Sleeping on a dirty bus floor was definitely not all that great although it does bring back to wonderful memories of my trip to Washington DC this summer.
First off we left Ed's house at 9pm and stopped in Red Wing and Pine Island to pick up those chapters. And then we were off to Indianapolis. So we stop and we're like it must be like 7:00 and we all actually slept through the night, so we go to mcdonald's and order our food only to look at our phones and find out that it is 3:30 AM! i repeat 3:30 AM! Now don't ask why we would stop at 3:30 for breakfast but we ate and got back on the bus. Only to stop at 7 am for breakfast round number 2. Got back on our bus and drove to Fair Oaks Dairy. This is a farm that has 30,000 cows on 10 different farms. We saw one of the 10 farms that has 3,000 farms. It was very impressive and as a dairy farm kid myself I was very excited to see this farm as well as the 72 cow rotary parlor. Moving on from their we drove until we stopped for lunch at noon ate and got back on the bus to go to our hotel which was very nice however was, i kid you not, 1/4 mile long in just one hallway.
Then we got on the bus in our nice little blue jackets and scarf things and a goat. And went to the opening ceremony which was actually quite exciting. Then we went to the lady antebellum concert with easton corbin which was actually quite fun!
Thursday we boarded the bus a 7 am and went to the career fair and spent 5 hours collecting free stuff!! wow! it was fun. then we went to do our radio interview which my own mother and grandmother didn't even listen to! then we went to the talent show and another session.
Friday morning we went to the Indianapolis Speedway, needless to say i never need to go back there. We then went back to the career fair for another 2 hours. Then we went to a session where we watched Charlie Tank, a member of the Randolph FFA, recieve the national vegetable gardening proficieny award which is a great honor. We then returned to the hotel and went to applebee's for dinner and a night of swimming and talking.
Saturday we went to watch some fellow Randolph FFAians recieve their American Degrees and boarded the bus for home.
Besides the whiny kids that cause other FFAers to hate us and all of the fast food we ate, this was a great trip! Ed will definitely be taking me back next year!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
welcome to the wonderful world of dairy!
so, last week I went on this super freakin amazing, most awesome trip that I have ever been on!! yes that would be the National 4-H Dairy Conference held in conjunction with world dairy expo in Madison, Wisconsin. It was freakin' sweet. Here is a little recap of the 4 days I spent with the most amazing people I have ever met.
Sunday: after almost losing a kid on the ride to Madison as well as almost being killed we made to Madison around 3 pm. From there we took a group picture, got moved into our rooms and began the weeks festivities. We had a pin exchange where we traded things with people from around the country and Canada in attempt to learn all 180 names from there we ate a not so delicious supper. First dance lessons!! oh boy is all i have to say.
Monday: ABS baby!! boliver!! freakin' sweet! any ways we toured ABS and their bull facilities. from there we went on various tours of many different places including the National Dairy Shrine, Hoards Dairyman Farm, Hoards Dairyman publishing and the Nasco supply store. Although alot of walking and listening it was quite the enjoyable day. We then returned back to our little hotel thingy and enjoyed some free time. We then ate again a not so delicious meal (although not NEARLY as bad as our lunch). Once again we had dance lessons!! woohoo! not gonna lie I really enjoyed these.
Tuesday: We toured the Guenther Heifer Raising facility as well as the Sassy Cow Creamery but really just the organic farm. Then we got the wonderful opportunity of touring the cleanest, fanciest, biggest farm I have yet to be on at the Crave Brothers Farm and also cheese processing plant! wow! is all I have to say. it was amazing! Then we had a decent meal of hotdogs and continued our dancing skills in a barn dance which was super fun!
Wednesday: We enjoyed some seminars that we signed up for to learn more about all the great dairy industry has to offer everyone and then we had the opportunity to go to the World Dairy Expo. After enjoying a short lunch with the breed associations we were given 4 hours to look around. Now, if you have never been to WDE you are for sure missing out. Free stuff everywhere and the most fricken awesome cows in the world! now for most people this doesn't make a difference but as a dairy kid it's awesome!! After this we got all dressed up and went to a dinner and then we prepared for our last night and dance. The dance was a little awkward as they usually are especially cause the lights were on but whatever I have nothing hide. and of course Minnesota were the trend setters wearing our it's gonna be a hot time in the old barn tonight tshirts we got for free.
Now Wednesday night. After returning to our rooms at like 11 our chaperone told us that we didn't have to go to bed as long as she didn't have to tell us to be quiet. Well, me being me, i of course stayed up to past 3 am when everyone decided we should maybe go to sleep. (not going to lie that I am still trying to catch up on sleep from this fun filled week, but it was worth it!)
So, in conclusion, this was the fricken best trip I have ever been on. mostly because of the people i have met through it but also the things i learned. If you have the opportunity to go on the National 4-H Dairy Conference take it!
Also, when deciding to do chair races in the hotel, check to make sure the security guard is not watching you.
Oh and one more thing... do not, i repeat DO NOT sing shots in an elevator with 10 boys and 2 girls, bad things will happen.
Sunday: after almost losing a kid on the ride to Madison as well as almost being killed we made to Madison around 3 pm. From there we took a group picture, got moved into our rooms and began the weeks festivities. We had a pin exchange where we traded things with people from around the country and Canada in attempt to learn all 180 names from there we ate a not so delicious supper. First dance lessons!! oh boy is all i have to say.
Monday: ABS baby!! boliver!! freakin' sweet! any ways we toured ABS and their bull facilities. from there we went on various tours of many different places including the National Dairy Shrine, Hoards Dairyman Farm, Hoards Dairyman publishing and the Nasco supply store. Although alot of walking and listening it was quite the enjoyable day. We then returned back to our little hotel thingy and enjoyed some free time. We then ate again a not so delicious meal (although not NEARLY as bad as our lunch). Once again we had dance lessons!! woohoo! not gonna lie I really enjoyed these.
Tuesday: We toured the Guenther Heifer Raising facility as well as the Sassy Cow Creamery but really just the organic farm. Then we got the wonderful opportunity of touring the cleanest, fanciest, biggest farm I have yet to be on at the Crave Brothers Farm and also cheese processing plant! wow! is all I have to say. it was amazing! Then we had a decent meal of hotdogs and continued our dancing skills in a barn dance which was super fun!
Wednesday: We enjoyed some seminars that we signed up for to learn more about all the great dairy industry has to offer everyone and then we had the opportunity to go to the World Dairy Expo. After enjoying a short lunch with the breed associations we were given 4 hours to look around. Now, if you have never been to WDE you are for sure missing out. Free stuff everywhere and the most fricken awesome cows in the world! now for most people this doesn't make a difference but as a dairy kid it's awesome!! After this we got all dressed up and went to a dinner and then we prepared for our last night and dance. The dance was a little awkward as they usually are especially cause the lights were on but whatever I have nothing hide. and of course Minnesota were the trend setters wearing our it's gonna be a hot time in the old barn tonight tshirts we got for free.
Now Wednesday night. After returning to our rooms at like 11 our chaperone told us that we didn't have to go to bed as long as she didn't have to tell us to be quiet. Well, me being me, i of course stayed up to past 3 am when everyone decided we should maybe go to sleep. (not going to lie that I am still trying to catch up on sleep from this fun filled week, but it was worth it!)
So, in conclusion, this was the fricken best trip I have ever been on. mostly because of the people i have met through it but also the things i learned. If you have the opportunity to go on the National 4-H Dairy Conference take it!
Also, when deciding to do chair races in the hotel, check to make sure the security guard is not watching you.
Oh and one more thing... do not, i repeat DO NOT sing shots in an elevator with 10 boys and 2 girls, bad things will happen.
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