Have you ever been to Corning, NY?

I have!

But, before I tell you all about my adventure to the glass blowing capitol of the world, I did something pretty fun before that too.

My mom came to visit! And on top of that, Kate Marie (Miss DC) came up to surprise her boyfriend Steve. Which means, I got to hang out with both of these rad women on Thursday. ALL DAY! That night we all went out to din, and Paul came too. So do you want to hear the funny thing about all of this? Well, I think it's funny. You may not. Steve and Paul are brothers. Not like, good guy friend brothers, but they share a mother and father type brothers. And about that I do not lie.

Anyways, I got up the next morning and started my journey to (Cary, my roommate, is currently singing broadway showtunes and commercial jingles at the top of his lungs in the shower. If some of these sentences do not make sense it is because I am halfway laughing. Internally.) Corning, NY. Or to be more accurate, the village of Painted Post. Soon after my arrival the Mayor of Painted Post, Sandy, Miss Finger Lakes, Lorna, and a CMN representative, Sarah, all picked me up and took me on a tour of Painted Post. We then headed off to an awesome family run restaurant where everyone seemed to know everyone. Then the Colonial Days pageant. Starting teeny, going to Miss. I love being on the other side of things. It means I can relax! But these girls were pretty awesome.

Just hanging out with the ladies at the Colonial Days Pageant.

But get this ... after I left the pageant I got to go to .... drum roll please .... WAL MART! I really like Wal Mart. Specifically their America's Choice sparkling Peach and Black Cherry Water. So I bought two cases FOR ONLY $2. That's how much my ATM charges me to take money out of my account. Cloud 9.

After a quick rest we headed to the Colonial Days Parade. On the contract it said that approximately 20,000 - 30,000 people head out to this parade. And not to think people were exaggerating, but y'all, this is a small town. An awesome man, Greg, drove me in a smokin' silver Mercedes convertible and as we turned the corner the contract was verified. At least 20,000 people there. As we passed the grand-stand I was definitely called out for not having shoes on. Kind of like the reverse of a "show me your shoes" parade.

I also visited a whiffle ball tournament that, by word, goes on day and night for 3 days. Lots of food, bats, and beer. I stopped by to say hey to all of the people participating. And one of the men admitted to having cut the article out of the paper that prefaced my visit to the village. In my bathing suit. In his wallet.

With that said, I hopped back in the car and began my trek back to Manhattan. Apparently I was speeding because I got pulled over for that. Un-luckily, I was also on my phone talking to Ken my business manager after my appearance. In true stealth form I quickly pulled out my crown and banner into the passenger seat of my car. Inconspicuous for the girl who only wears her crown and sash at pageants and parades. Unfortunately, Officer Jason Fletcher still gave me a ticket. Notice I made that a non-plural ticket. It was for the cell phone. Not my speed. (Thank the Lord.) I'm having it sent to Ken Nelson's home address. Kidding, kidding.

Back home it was for an early Sunday morning winding up paperwork and loose ends as Miss New York. It's insane this is almost over.

Wah wah wee wah.

PS: Lisa, I forgot to tell you about the ticket. Though I was not hiding it. Like that one time I hid something and you found out after Bryan and Dad and didn't think I loved you the most anymore. But I did. And I do. Promise.


I know my phone is ringing in five minutes.