Friday, March 9

Sarah Godschall:

Today, like every day of this trip, was a good day. As per usual, we prepared ourselves for the day by jamming out all the way to Rocky Creek and got started by wrapping up some loose ends on the projects we’ve been working on- we installed a “caterpillar” horse jump on the trail, planted in the memory garden, and painted rocks for the Kindness Rocks Project, a movement based on the idea that “one message at the right moment can change someone’s day, outlook, life.” Having completed this, we were free to spend the day enjoying each other’s company at the ranch. Some people went kayaking, fishing, explored the trail, and practiced archery. I had an especially fun time at the D Station rocking out on the drums and dancing around with my friends. To me, it was really important to capture and preserve these moments, so I spent a lot of this time taking photos and goofing around. Just like all of the other days this week, Subway provided us with great lunches to get us through the day. While we did not work as much today, we still used a ton of energy and the sandwiches were delicious!

Brian Muscarella, a Villanova alumni who has played a huge role in making this experience possible, and his friends at Adaptive Sports brought hand cycles for us to try- let’s just say I need to hit the gym. While it was an intense workout we had a good time racing around the ranch.

I cancelled out all that exercise with an enormous ice cream sundae (thanks Tracy!) after a short reflection with our group, the staff, and the rest of the community partners that we worked with. A few of us went to see the miniature donkeys. They gravitated to Carter- it was really cool to see him connect with them. At the same time, I got to watch Ryan continue to conquer his fear of animals.  We then said our bittersweet goodbyes, and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch Villanova smoke Butler (Go Cats!). I played one last game of Spades and ended the night feeling content but sad that the week was coming to a close.  I feel unbelievably humbled to be a part of such a supportive group and grateful to have shared this experience with them. It means so much to me that so many people care enough about our group for us to have this opportunity. I truly believe that we’ve grown as both individuals and together as a family- I’m going home inspired to keep spreading LEVEL’s mission.

Connor Hayes:

Friday started out like any other day this week, with a hard wake up and a drive. The only difference was that this time would be the last time we would do this for the 2018 LEVEL Break Trip. I was sad to be here so soon. It felt like we arrived here 2 days ago. When we got to Rocky Creek, we had a little work to do. Once the work was finished, we had lunch and started my favorite part of the trip. We had finished up our work for the week, so we had some free time to fish, throw the frisbee around, ride a hand cycle, and more. I started off fishing of the dock. Rocky Creek had a few rods, but they didn’t have any bait. We ended up using leftover sandwich meat as the bait, which worked surprisingly well. There were these little sunfish right under the dock that would nibble the meat until a slightly larger one would come up and snatch it. I caught a little bluegill early on, but this doesn’t come even close to Matt Marencik’s catch. He had this big, mean fish on the line. It was a massive largemouth bass. It had to be at least a foot, and it was fat. It was so big that when Matt went to bring it up to the dock, the line snapped. That was incredible to watch. His rod tip just dived when the fish hit. The worst part is that a few hours later, the same fish was on his line. Matt goes to bring it up one more time, and the line breaks again. It was brutal, but it was so cool to see that fish. Some time after that experience, I had the time of my life when a number of hand cycles were brought in. These bikes had you sit low in a reclining position. You turned with your legs and peddled with your hands. There was nothing better than going speeding down a big hill. I loved feeling the wind blow by.  The hard part was actually getting up the hill. It was a struggle but it was awesome when you got up there. It was a great workout and a great time. My arms are definitely going to feel it tomorrow, though.

This was the culmination of the trip for me. Every moment was a blast. We had the freedom to enjoy what Rocky Creek had to offer. From fishing to hand cycling to archery to cards, we had so many options to enjoy the day. We spent the day with each other enjoying each other’s company. Everyone was smiling and we were a cohesive unit. I was really sad to end this day, but it finished in the perfect way: watching Villanova Basketball, which ended in the best way possible, a dominating win.

I had a blast this trip. This was by far the best way to spend spring break and I want to thank everyone involved. Thank you everyone who supports LEVEL. Thank you Brian, Tracy, Randy, and Scarlett for being so great to us. Thank you to Tim Mann for providing us with Subway all week. Thank you to the staff at Rocky Creek and Triple Play for making this week so special. Thank you Greg, Matt, Steve and everyone who came on this trip, it was so great to spend the week with you all. This was a truly amazing experience.

Brandon McNabb:

We started out the day putting together a "caterpillar" horse jump down by the "C" station of the discovery trail. We needed to dig holes, pour concrete, and attach the structure to two wooden posts. It was a team effort, and we were able to complete our task before lunch. After that, we got our hands dirty and did some gardening. We planted all types of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and did some necessary weeding in the memory garden at station M.

Since it was our last day at Rocky Creek, and we had wrapped up most of our projects, we were able to spend most of the day enjoying our new home. Some people challenged themselves out at the archery range, some people tried their luck with fishing, and some people got to meet the Donkeys. I chose to do archery, which ended up turning into Lorenzo and I spontaneously fencing using the arrows. Also, Brian's friends at the Adaptive Sports and Adventures Program brought out a couple hand-cycles for us to try out. It was definitely a little challenging learning how to ride a bike using your arms to pedal, but it was also incredibly fun and an eye-opening experience. Of course throughout the entire day, everybody was laughing, dancing, and just having an amazing time with one another. We finished the day up by doing a little reflection, eating ice cream sundaes, and creating kindness rocks. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.