On July 3, the AGLP participants enjoyed a fabulous day of driving. We were on an eight and a half hour road trip from Homer to Palmer. With nothing to amuse ourselves but the scenery, many of us dozed off. We were rewarded for this act with dinner dish-duty. This is a super fun job everyone seems to want.
     At lunchtime we saw a sight that cheered and reminded us of home: the golden arches (McDonalds, for those who aren’t familiar with the famous sign). There was a full-out sprint to get there first and fill up on greasy junk food.
     We were soon on the road again (some of us with queasy stomachs). Portage Glacier was yet another stop. There was a spectacular view of the glacier and an interesting visitor center we got to explore. After that we found another mouth-watering sight: ice cream! As you can tell, we can all eat. The Phat Van (each van has a nickname) surely earned its nickname that day. They probably ate more than any of the other vans combined (if that’s possible).
     We were back on the road again (sensing a pattern?) headed towards our final destination of Palmer. Our super fun road trip was coming to an end (thank goodness). When we finally reached the church, we were all so exhausted from such a long day of driving (and sleeping) that all we wanted to do was get into our sleeping bags. No way! We still had a lot to do. We got to walk downtown and explore the open shops before dinner. Then after hug time we were supposed to get some rest. Note how I said “supposed”. We were all so restless and talking went on for hours. Then people like Abby Genise thought it be fun to hit innocent people over the head with a pillow. This caused some chaos, of course. After everything was finally over, we finally calmed down and drifted into a peaceful sleep, dreaming of ice cream and McDonalds.

      In the few minutes of free time that were available today, an incredible match of Ultimate Frisbee was organized. To play this game all that was needed were two teams, a Frisbee, and an area to play! About sixteen players participated in the intense game. Each team had their own weaknesses and strengths. According to Gabi their team was pretty hard working. “Our team started out strong and in the middle got a little shaky. All we had to do was step up the game, and that’s what we did…even though we lost…eight to four.”
       Roger Graves, another member of this same team, agreed with Gabi’s description of the well-rounded team. He also added that the team had good offense and good defense. Roger described the opposing team, with their star player, Ken Smith. “We only lost because of Ken who could catch anything that went up and threw with incredible precision,” said Roger. Yes, Ken really was their star player. Many players from both teams described his Frisbee talents. “Ken is a stud. Ken is a Frisbee god,” Mike Williams described. Andrew Mickus agreed with Mike. “Ken really was a Frisbee god. He came out of nowhere and totally blind-sided us,” Andrew said. Ken himself had an explanation for his gifted abilities. “I think that my having more experience playing Frisbee allowed me to incorporate the other talent of my teammates that provided us with our winning margin,” said Ken.
       Even though many say that Ken was the reason for the team’s victory, other teammates contributed as well. One of these teammates was Brandon Jordan, who focused on defense. “I played excellent defense. I was guarding the goal…the entire time,” explained Brandon. Another contributing teammate was Kelsie Wood, the team’s cherry picker. “It was easy for me. I just stood there and scored,” said Kelsie. This team had a higher advantage once David Doud joined. He described his warm welcoming in great depth. “They treated me like a king. They respected me for my Frisbee ways. My team was awesome; we kicked butt and put the game into our hands at an unreachable level.”
       By the end all team members could definitely say that they improved their Frisbee skills, even some of the girls. “The girls may not be the best, but we still had fun,” commented Jill Napierala. The girls were known for their unique Frisbee catching technique, which is known as the “gator.” It is called the “gator” because the method involves catching the Frisbee by slapping both arms together. According to Hannah Richardson, “the gator never fails.”
       Despite the “gator” method, in the end, the Ken-less team wasn’t able to pull through and win the match. Andrew Mickus, however, still stood up for his team and described their strengths. “In my opinion we worked cohesively as a unified and diversified squad. “Our opponents appeared quite flustered at our vicious onslaught from which we completely and utterly overcame the opposition,” said Andrew.