I went clothes shopping the other day. It's very different during COVID. I didn't try on clothes at the store because the fitting rooms were closed. Didn't ask but it looked like the deal was "take home to try on, bring back here if you don't like it," because people were in line with one or two items. Fortunately the clothes I got all fit pretty well.
As soon as I saw one shirt I knew it was for me, because it reminded me of one I wore a lot in high school. (I probably ought to iron it first before posting a picture though.)
Wish I remembered what the photographer had said. We all thought it was really funny, as you can tell from Matthew's expression. Think this was taken at a church near where we lived in VA, where Andrew had a band with friends in our neighborhood. The photo made it into my yearbook along with a quote from 2 Peter.
A year or two before we moved, we memorized Hebrews & 1, 2 Peter in Bible Quiz. I used to recite verses to the time on the clock. The chapter I got to know most that way was Hebrews 11 (when I had trouble getting to sleep), the Faith chapter and one of my favorites, but also to some extent Hebrews 7 (when I woke up). That year I made it to Nationals as an individual, which I think was new at the time. You had to be a high-scorer at Regionals (ours was KS, NM, OK, & TX), which was around mid-May. That year, Nationals (around the 4th of July) was in Palm Springs, CA.
Seems like individuals had a day or two of events, while the main team-based competition ran the whole week. One event I remember was a quoting bee, like a spelling bee except given a reference you had to recite its verse before time ran out. I found our stash of pictures from that trip and I think this was an individual quiz competition, like the team-based one except every quizzer for themselves:
Seems like the National event coordinators did what they could to help book everyone in the same hotel, whose conference rooms we used for quizzing, to make it easier for everyone to be ready to go. (40 teams total, I think, and given a minimum of 2-3 quizzers, 1 coach, and 1 official per team, we're talking about a lot of people! All other tournaments including regionals tended to be fewer days and fewer people, so in those cases everyone would find nearby hotels and drive to the venue, usually a church.) I think our resort was called the Esmeralda. Very classy! Don't remember if I was in the picture with all attendees on its staircase, but I did find one with just me...
I used to get nervous before/during events and would carry things with me to settle my stomach, like over-the-counter medicines or mints. I still sometimes carry breathmints or gum but they aren't always mint-flavored anymore. I think around that time I consulted a doctor who suggested (but not prescribed?) something for anxiety, but I think we ultimately decided not to.
Individually, I didn't do too well that Nationals, but that was ok because we made a vacation out of it, and drove over with our mom's parents. Mom's mom Judy grew up in CA (further north I think), and says that her family moved there with the Joads in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. We met one of her cousins on this trip too. Later, I think she and Mom's dad Don split off to see other family. Here she is with Mom and Matthew, who had saved up to buy a camcorder and is to this day into animation.
Think that was the Joshua Tree National Park. Matthew's shirt (themed after the TV show Survivor) was from a year or two before, when we all competed in a swim team. Speaking of swimming we all stopped by the coast (the album says Carlsbad) to swim in the Pacific. Normally when I hear beach I'm reminded of sandy ones we'd go to. Think this one was a little more pebbly. I also seem to remember a surfer with a white swimsuit and board kindly helping us figure out how to use rinse-off showers near the streets.
We tend to avoid traffic but I'd swear we drove near San Diego just to see it. We also went to a water park. Think it was Knott's (like the jam) Soak City. I made bad clothing decisions that trip. Don't think I packed flip flops because I remember the ground being hot! We may all have had tennis shoes like Matthew has in the middle one.
Looks like it might be Andrew, then me, then Haley in the bobsled.
I also decided to wear black. Should have taken cues from Mom and Grandma! Grandma also drove a white car, which was a good idea when its engine overheated once on our trip. Don't remember when I got that shirt but it's my yardwork (raking, in VA) shirt, and I still wear it. It's a little dated though; says Pluto is a planet.😉 This is us at San Juan Capistrano.
This is the first trip I remember that we did a lot of sightseeing on. Later, when we moved out east, and especially when Dad got bit by the geocaching bug, we did even more. The next time we made it to Nationals, held in AZ my last eligible year (high school senior), was over Acts as a team in VA. Having a very dedicated teammate who could think and quote really fast helped a lot! A strong team could go much further more easily than an individual, I think. Both CA and AZ were really neat places to visit to top off all the hard work those quiz years!
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