Rain out

So, we worked pretty hard all day and a few hours into it we found out our box of lunches and bottled water didn't make the trip. Apparently it was left at the Bates Motel.

After four hours of hard labor we were not only hungry but very very thirsty. All we had were a few bananas, a couple granola bars, some oatmeal raisin cookies and 1 bottled water each.

But, like the good little troopers we are, we powered through.


Once we got all the insulation up, we were ready to hang siding.


And here's us hanging siding ...


And more siding


And some more


This is as far as we got the first day. But quite impressive considering our co-workers left around 2 p.m. and then it was just Matthew, Shannon and I finishing up.

We left at 5, starving, covered in mud and with a 2-hour drive ahead of us. We pulled up at the Fairfield Inn in Berea around 7 and walked in covered in mud. I wondered what the guy at the desk thought of us when we checked in.

Anyway, we all got to our rooms (which were fantastically clean and comfortable), showered, and headed out to dinner. Determined to have an AWESOME dinner after the lunch debacle, we went to Malones, a very fancy steakhouse in Lexington.

After a couple bourbon sours and a really nice filet, we headed back to our rooms. The plan was to leave at 7 to head back to finish up our siding project the next morning. But alas, it was not in the cards. There was a nasty storm that came through and we couldn't go. We had all booked late flights out that night so we ended up checking out, grabbing breakfast and heading to the airport to try to catch earlier flights home.

We were able to get a noon flight that was supposed to stop for an hour and a half layover in Atlanta and were supposed to get to Baltimore around 3:30. That did not happen.

They diverted Matthew to Ohio and Shannon was heading somewhere else for a vacation so I ended up alone and with a VERY LONG and unexpected layover in Atlanta. Oh, and when I got on the plane headed to Atlanta the flight attendant actually said "We won't be doing any drink service on this flight so grab a bottled water if you want one. We don't want you spilling drinks all over yourself like the last flight. Brace yourselves, it's gonna be a rough one."

Now I'm not flight shy at all. I actually enjoy flying and don't tend to get too nervous about it. But having your flight attendant say "brace yourself" will make anyone nervous!

Anyway, needless to say, I did make it home -- sometime around 7 I think. It was a rough flight but not the worst I've been on. I was just happy to be home :)

We were all pretty bummed about not being to finish our work on the house, but it still felt good to put in a day's work for such a good cause. I highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for some volunteer work to do.