Quirky Stops

USY on Wheels allows us to visit famous sights as well as quirky places that you wouldn't of stopped at otherwise! Not all of them are strange, but some are unique places you wouldn't stop on a family vacation. 

The birth of a Cabbage Patch Kid

1. Babyland General Hospital (aka home to the Cabbage Patch Kid): On the way to Atlanta we stopped to visit BabyLand General Hospital where the Cabbage Patch dolls originated. There you could watch a birth of a Cabbage Patch Kid. It was very strange and hilarious at the same time. One of my staff members, found it in and was very excited to go. It was quite an interesting experience. If you are interested in watching a Cabbage Patch birth here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JyJp0ajrPY. (You might need to sign out of your school google account.)
2. Idaho Potato Museum: If you love potatoes you should definitely stop there. It's small museum all about potatoes and the history. They have display case containing a wide variety of Potato Head toys. They also had a cafe where you could eat a bunch of foods with potatoes. (I think they had potato flavored ice cream.) However, I'm not a fan of potatoes and didn't try anything. The cool part was that if you bought a souvenir, you got a mini potato bag to carry your purchases in. 
3. Stone Mountain: Near Atlanta, there is a mountain called Stone Mountain with an engraving of Confederate soldiers. However, it was weird to be in a Confederate monument. The quirky part was watching a laser show on the mountain. The laser show included music and artists originated from Atlanta, Star Wars puns, famous girl characters in entertainment and my personal favorite a cross country road trip! 

Shabbat, Shabbopping and Shabbuddies

Every Friday night and Saturday Jews around the world celebrate Shabbat. Shabbat is the day of rest. That means that we couldn't drive anywhere and do sightseeing, use the elevator or our phones among other things. (Although, we did use our phones in our rooms and did ride the elevator if the stairs weren't easily accessible.) Shabbat is always a great time to bond as a community!

We also participate in the classic USY summer trip traditions of shabbopping and shabbuddies. Every Friday we go shabbopping at either Walmart or Target to stock up on snacks, food for lunches, toiletries, etc.

In addition, everyone buys a small gift for our shabbuddy. Shabbuddies is similar to Secret Santa where everyone picks a stick with another person's name on it. The catch is that you have to give it too someone else to give it to your shabbuddy. The point is to try to get something meaningful or very funny!

Shabbuddies are revealed at the end of Shabbat and was one of my highlights of my week! I probably have never laughed so hard as I did then.

Top memories from Shabbat:

1. My Shabbudy gift from Louis (a staff member). I remember complaining that I haven't gotten my gift yet during free time on Saturday afternoon. Somebody handed me my gift when I was getting my medicine from Louis I opened my bag. I found a package of corn seeds, sugar packages, a cool little squishy Woody I would use as a fidget and some lip balm/gloss with a poop emoji on it! I couldn't stop laughing for a while. I showed off my gift to friends and admitting I was very confused on why. I learned that I was corny, sweet and Louis I hoped I would have a sh**ting time on Wheels which I totally did.
2. Playing the game Waa at lunch. Waa is a game where you pass a ball of energy to another person in the circle. When the energy is passed to you, you say Waa and put your hands together and bring them above your head. The other people next to you have to put their hands together to "cut" to the side of them. We were playing at lunch at seated at multiple tables. Half our bus was there. Whenever one girl got passed the energy she would always shout "Laaaarrrry Waa!" (Larry was another staff member.) Everyone joined in when the pattern was established. It was very funny and one of my favorite memories! 
3. Shabbuddy reveals! Many of the stories behind the gifts were very funny!