FLOOR - 1 MARIA - 0
PLANKING: (a new, quite ridiculous fad) to lay horizontally across any object or the ground with your arms by your sides, aiming to occur in daring situations or a brotherly display of core-strength. Thank you urbandictionary.com.PLANKING (Miss Delaware's version...) : To lay flat on your stomach in front of over 100 of Delaware's finest politicians, legislators, senator, and the rest of the important people of my state....
Let me just start from the beginning.....
The Delaware State Fair. A family tradition for so many years...except for me. I have never been to the DSF before, but as is Miss Delaware tradition, you end up spending a couple days there.
DAY 1: I went during Senior Day. I arrived in the late afternoon and met up with one of my wonderful board members, Chuck, who had the ever-so-wonderful job of showing me EVERYTHING! I don't know if it is all that fun of a job to show a newbie around the fair...but, hey, someone's got to do it. I got to meet so many people!! SOOOOO many! He showed me so many exhibits and barns filled with all different kinds of animals.
-On a side note: When my family lived in Butler, Pennsylvania, we lived on a little farm. No cows for us (bummer....check last post....) but we had many goats and....rabbits. Lots and lots of rabbits.
Being in this kind of environment reminded me of those good old days so I could tell that I was in for a great time. Chuck and I watched the ice cream making contest and had the arduous task of taste testing them. Gosh, life is so hard sometimes...NOT. I had a television interview with WMDT channel 47 news and Chuck helped me pick out some absolutely beautiful jewelry. After many, many pictures, we met up with Chuck's friends and their 5 year old son (who became my date for the night) to ride on the rides!!! Considering I love rollercoasters and scary rides almost as much as I like breathing, I was very much into it. Did we ride on the rides for over 2 hours? Maybe. Maybe not.
The highlight of my night? I was riding all the rides wearing my crown, my sash, or both. The final ride of the night was the log flume. Yes, the log flume. Whoever decided that hollowing out LOGS, sticking children and Miss Delaware's in them and shooting them off a 50 foot drop into a pool of freezing water was BRILLIANT. I love my life. No...this was not the best part....I took off my crown and my sash while walking up to this ride. As I got in line with my wonderful little date, I saw a mom talking to her daughter in line saying that she wasn't going to go on it and that the daughter had to ride by herself. Thinking nothing of it, I walked up to them and said that the good old log could seat three people so she could ride with us. She was very grateful to me, and the girl, who was around 13, was obviously relieved she wouldn't be riding it alone. As I exited the ride when it was over, Chuck came up to me with my crown and sash so I could put them on. The BEST part of my day was the reaction from the family of the girl that I had just ridden with. The mom came running up to me and gave me the biggest bear hug I think I have ever gotten. She couldn't believe that I was Miss Delaware and that I had asked to ride on the log flume with her daughter. It was one of the most heartwarming experiences I have had as Miss Delaware to date.
Note to everyone - treat everyone nicely no matter who you are or what the situation.. Chances are you wouldn't want to ride the log flume alone either....
Throwing the egg to Jack Markell for the win!!!
Photo (as are most on this blog) courtesy of Dave Chambers
We got to meet so many incredible adults and kids who are so passionate about farming and raising their animals. I am telling you, if half the people in the world were as passionate about something as these people, the world be A LOT better off.
SIDE NOTE: BUCKET LIST!!!!!! You all know the drill about my bucket list and I am honestly just too lazy to explain it again so check my last couple posts. Number 21 on my bucket list? Riding a mechanical bull. No big deal. I made this happen. I guess that when a person with a "Miss Delaware" sash rides a mechanical bull, it can become a huge spectacle ...which it did...nice. Regardless, I feel that this should be my career path considering I kicked that bull's butt.
After riding rides (p.s. NEVER ride the Pitfall with your crown on...) and WINNING on the mechanical bull, it was off to change into a dress for the Governor's dinner! At this dinner, I would be wining and dining (minus the wining part) with the Governor and every politician, senator, representative, and important person that Delaware has to offer. Not only would I be rubbing elbows and eating with them, but I would also be performing for them......
PLANKING. SEE THE TOP OF THE PAGE.
As I introduced myself to the esteemed crowd as the new Miss Delaware, it was overwhelming to hear the applause from all of them. SO COOL! I told them a little about myself and that I would be performing two dances for them, one in soft shoes and one in hard shoes. The first dance in soft shoes went well. I could see people craning their necks to catch a glimpse of my dancing. COOL. After I was done, I quickly changed into my hard shoes. Me, being the smart smart person that I am, totally forgot to check the floor to see how slippery my shoes would be on it.....bad thing. Halfway through my dance I slipped. Actually, it was past the point of slipping. It was a catastrophe. I fell. And by fell, I mean WIPED OUT. It wasn't even on my back either. It was flat on my face. This is how it looked......
Pretend that this is a girl. With dance shoes. And a dance costume. This is EXACTLY how I (almost) fell.
Well....after that incident, I picked myself up and kept dancing. After all, that is was the Ultimate Bro, Michael Flatley, would do. Besides my major FAIL of the day, possibly the entire year, everyone loved it and that was the icebreaker I needed to meet almost everybody in the room and make some great contacts!! The day ended with autograph signing, picture taking, and a concert by The Band Perry and Josh Turner. I may just be a country music convert after that....Josh Turner is a pretty nice looking man...and I don't say that about many guys...
Other fun things of the day?
- Watched horse races!
- Interviewed with channel 16 which will be aired on Sunday :)
- got to hold chicks and baby bunnies!
- saw Babe, the pig, and his 1,000 other relatives...
- fed a giraffe named Twig
Pictures to come soon!!
Stay chill and don't embarrass yourself like I did,
MARIA CAHILL
"I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13
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