Alternative Spring Break 2012: Avery County, NC

This week has made a huge impact in all of our lives and we’ll never forget it. The amount we’ve learned here and the people we have met are extremely inspiring. We have all bonded so closely as a family, and none of us want to leave. ASBNC2012

What a day. Digging deep trenches, pouring heavy concrete, and painting on thick smelly tar to seal the foundation—we are all exhausted. It was a day that required a lot of teamwork and a lot of stamina to get all the work done that we did. Three cheers for ASBNC:)

After we worked a tiring half day at our second site we traveled a short half hour up to Linville where the beautiful Grandfather Mountain is located. We arrived and drove all the way to the top, making our way through winding roads and scenic views. Once at the top we parked and crossed the mile high swinging bridge. The views were incredible, and we all enjoyed sitting on the rocks and taking lots of pictures. After, we went to the gift shop, and finally came back to the community center where mot of us passed out. Great day!

We spent the morning at our second site working in the mud leveling it out for scaffolding. Others worked in the sloppy trench around the house removing mud and we also worked on digging a three foot deep trench for piping. It was a tiring morning. Above is Ross with a pick ax working hard.

Tomorrow we will be here. Hello, Grandfather Mountain!

On our first day on one of our work sites we all had a great day. It was a chilly start, but the sun came out and warmed us up quickly. The outside crew worked on shoveling dirt to fill a ditch, moving gravel, cutting pipe, cutting roots, and planting grass seed. We were a muddy mess, but the yard is starting to look better. The inside crew painted around the house, caulked, and touched up the molding and holes in the walls. We got to know Terry and Mike a lot better, the construction supervisors on our trip. The neighbor had an adorable dog named Banjo, who everyone loved, especially Cameron and Regina who played with him. Overall our first day on a work site in Avery County was great!

The always entertaining game of Paper Pass. Each person has a pile of 15 pieces of paper, and starts out with a short anecdote (we chose your favorite childhood memory). The next person draws a picture of what’s written, and the game continues the same way. The game gets crazy when interpretations of drawings go wrong. It was a great way to spend our night.

Monday night spaghetti dinner! We all enjoyed it thanks to Regina, Prarthana, Nazia, Jarae, and of course Bobby dancing in the pantry.

Since Felysia had never been sledding, we decided to venture outside. Terry, our construction director, found us a red metal sled to use. The hill was daunting at first, but we all survived…for the most part. Ross and Bobby made a ramp, which was probably a mistake, but it was definitely an experience to remember.

Bobby and Prarthana went exploring outside in the snow and wrote this little message on our van. This is going to be a very cold week in Avery County.