Winter Break Blog

     This winter break I went everywhere and did everything.  I traveled as far south as Texas, and as far North as Duluth, Minnesota.  Activities spanned from running a 5 minute mile to missing a flight and finally eating like a king for the past five days.  

    Beginning on December 15th, my break began.  I aced my Spanish exam and hustled out the school building to hit the airport.  My flight to Texas was very quick and everything went smoothly.  It was about 5 o'clock when we landed, and until that point I was running on a bowl of cereal for the day.  We got our bags, and hit the road.  The drive to my grandparents house is a long one, but we made a Bucee's stop so it was all okay 

    For those of you who haven't experienced Bucee's, it is life changing to say the least.  We drove up and the essence of America hit the inside of my nose.  For as far as I could see there were gas pumps, jacked up trucks, and dudes with rat tail mullets galore.  It then occurred to me that Bucee's might be the single most profitable establishment in the world.  I cannot remember a single time that Bucee's had been empty.  While we filled my grandfathers truck with the purest diesel money can buy, we stepped into American Paradise.  Aromas of fresh brisket, pulled pork, steak, burritos, fresh baked chips, tater tots, bacon, and fried everything filled the air.  It was the smell of redneck landia.  Guiltily, I grabbed some fresh chips, a chicken burrito, and a pulled pork sandwich for the drive.  Bucees never ceases to amaze me.  Every single gas pump was pristine, the colossal bathroom smelled like cinnamon, and the drink machines had an even spread of syrup verse carbonated water.  As I walked out, I saw a printed sheet with job offerings.  It was insane.  163,000 yearly to clean the bathrooms.  300,000 to manage.  Buccees was providing service for the ravenous consumer population of America, and also creating jobs for 100s of thousands of people.  I was impressed. 

    When we got to my grandparents house, my trip to Texas felt like a blur.  I attended my cousin's volleyball tournament, and was the all time QB for my little cousins football games.  What was most memorable for me is the relationship between my younger brother Luke, and my younger cousin Garyson.  This relationship is like bread and butter.  They are each in the fifth grade, and born two weeks apart.  From the very beginning, Luke and Garyson had been a dynamic duo.  Garyson was the brains, and Luke was the muscle.  Together, they were unstoppable... until Gramma told them to stop stealing cookies off the counter.  The dynamic duo lasted about two days, and then they couldn't stand each other.  Luke would push Garyson around, and Garyson always came up with some snarky to say.  I couldn't stand it so I decided a good game of football would settle the beef.  I thought wrong.  The trash talk was foul.  The hits in this game of two hand touch were nothing short of NFL worthy.  Kalen and I fell to pieces as Luke and Grayson left it all on the field.  After 4 overtimes and lots of crying breaks, Luke won the game with a stop on D and a Hail Mary touchdown (A perfect pass thrown by yours truly).  

Unfortunately, class is wrapping up and I only made it through 5 days of my break.  I visited my family in Ohio for christmas, and then flew to Minnesota to visit my girlfriend and her family.  We ate like kings, and I sprinted a 5 minute mile through the Minneapolis airport just to watch the gate agent shut the door to the flight I narrowly missed.  I ended up taking a shuttle to Duluth that night.  My break was nothing short of amazing and certainly exhausting.  

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