This is a copy of a diary written by our middle daughter, Kathryn, 10 years old, who took it upon herself to write during the race (We did ask if we could publish it and she said sure). She accompanied David L Mendenhall, my dad and team captain, and mom on the Texas Water Safari this year. Nobody else suggested it and we were amazed that she wrote so much (she wrote over thirty page when we typed it out it was over 7 pages). We may have a writer in our midst. Here it is: The grammar is unchanged, a few spelling corrections were made and pointed out. We hope you enjoy it as we did.  http://pages.prodigy.net/the.mendenhalls/kathryn.htm

Day 1

Daddy and me are driving in the Suburban to Grandpa?s house. We are listening to Parent Trap ?bad to the bone? song. We practically have it full blast. Daddy makes really good sound effects. The Suburban is really comfortable because Daddy was smart enough to put the pop-up cushions in it. I just finished a bag of candy worms. This is going to be so fun! I can tell by the way Daddy is acting!!! We got to the house now. Grandpa is at work. Grandma is home. Daddy forgot his spare paddle, life jacket and flares. We all are going to Temple to go to Academy. Daddy is really mad at himself. Its kind of quiet in the car because my ears are popped. Its a really long drive to Academy. Its all the way in Temple. Finally...after half an hour we?re there. Daddy got all the stuff he needed at Academy. We are now traveling home. My ears aren?t popped any more. Tonight I was told we?re going to eat at Hallmark. I usually eat a club sandwich there. I might have something different for a change. As every second and minute passes I get more and more excited about the boat race. After about half and hour Grandpa got home. We are now about to go to Hallmark. Grandpa is being really funny right now. I had a platter of pork chops for dinner. It was delicious. I am going to watch Ever After tonight!!

Day 2

I woke up really early this morning at 5:30 woken up by people (everybody) getting ready for the trip. I ate a toaster strudel for breakfast. We?re in the car waiting for Grandpa to close the gate. We have to run some errands before we start the trip. First we went to the gas station down the road for a bag of ice, a bottled drink for each of us, and Daddy got some p.m. pills that will make him go to sleep fast. Now we went to Mcdonald?s for a second breakfast! I had three pancakes and a circle sausage. We ate our stuff in the car on the way. We are listening to the Beatles. Grandpa is reading the newspaper and Daddy is reading a big book. How can people read while music is going so loud???? I?m going to have a small rest. I?m kind of tired. Back from my small rest. I?ve drawn some pictures too. They are pretty good. It?s raining outside of the car now. After about a 2 hour sleep in the car we are finally at San Marcos. We can?t check in until 10:00 so we are going to H-E-B but I don?t know why. After H-E-B we went to check in at the place where Daddy checked that he had all his stuff for his race. After about walking around for 1 hour waiting for Daddy to be done, we are now going to look where Daddy?s next place (checkpoint) is going to be. Then went to Suburban way to eat lunch. I had a cold cut trio as usual. Now we are in the car going to check into Motel 6. We also are going to inspect the room we get and make sure we like it and also make sure there is enough room P.S. Daddy?s words on the car window are coming off really badly because of a bunch of rain. There are no rooms available right now for about an hour. So we are going paddling then we will come back. I was kind of wrong. After waiting around for about an hour, then we went boating. After that I went for a swim in the river. After that I waited in the building for a couple more hours drying off waiting for Daddy?s meeting to be over. It seemed like God was switching the rain on and off. It was getting cold so I went to sit in the Suburban. After about 10 min. after being by myself in the Suburban., everybody piled in the car out of the rain. Right now we are in the car going back to the motel. In the car we are talking about how we are glad we brought sweatshirts and jackets. We got back and called Mommy. Then we watched Anna and the King on T.V. After it was over, we went out for dinner. I had a club sandwich, it was good. For dessert I had an oreo sundae. It was delicious. I tried to get the bear out of the machine but it didn?t work. After dinner we went to the gas station. We filled up and Grandpa bought a few things inside. While I was waiting in the car I was pressing my face against the window making faces, Daddy was too. When we got back I took a shower. Now we are watching T.V.! Daddy just turned it off and started reading his book. I have nothing to do because Grandpa just went to the store and Grandma is in the shower. I am going to draw. After I drew I did my hair and brushed my teeth. I drew some more. Its bed time. Goodnight!

Day 3

I was woken up really early by the light. I woke up at 5:30! THE RACE

We are in the car going to have breakfast at Jim?s. I?m still excited about the race. Who wouldn?t be? For breakfast I had a strawberry waffle! I t was delicious. We are now in the car on the very bumpy road going to get ready for Daddy?s race. Grandpa is making me in charge of the pictures. He just gave me the camera. It only takes 27 pictures. How is it going to last a whole week? We are now at the river and everybody on the team is running around getting ready. While I?m listening to sounds I can hear a train, footsteps, and lots more. In the river there is a swan that keeps putting its head in the water. I think its trying to get food. I don?t know. There is a lot of people walking around. Daddy is sanding his boat. I?m seeing a lot of birds land on the sea weed in the river but I don?t know what they are called. I?m going around taking pictures now. I?m bored! There are millions of water bugs in the water. I?m finally not bored anymore because Daddy let me sit on top of the Suburban. I heard that the race starts in a whole other hour. I?m not going to last unless there is something really fun happens. The race is starting in 5 min.! We left early so we could take some pictures of him. We are done taking them and now in the car going to the first check point. I?m glad I?m the photographer. I get to pick when to take all the pictures. We just went to a certain spot to take pictures. We waited and waited for about 1 1/2 hours for Daddy to come down to the river. I took a picture. Now we are in the car and going to the store. We are there. First we went to the bathroom, then we picked a sandwich each, got some extra stuff, bought it then left. Now we are going to Staples check point next. We are at the checkpoint. I already ate my disgusting refrigerated sandwich. It was chicken fried steak! I forgot the camera in the car so I got the keys from grandma and ran back, got it, and ran back to lay down. Daddy passed and gone. We are in the car going to the next checkpoint. I was wrong again. We are taking a break and going down to the river to wait and meet Daddy. We sat on the shore for about an hour, we saw Daddy and switched water jugs. After that we got back in the car and went to the store H-E-B , got a couple of things, went to the restroom then left. By the way, on the way to H-E-B I had a long nap. We are now at the 2nd check point waiting in the car. We walked down to the checkpoint. Daddy came in about half an hour later. We took care of Daddy in about 5 min. then he was off. We?re off to the 3rd check point. It?s burning hot. Especially in these cotton shirts. We?re here. I?m probably going to take a shower. I don?t know what else I?m going to do. I didn?t get to take a shower.

Day 4

I missed daaddy the last two stops because I fell asleep last night. The first one I missed was the one where everybody stood on the bridge and watched for boats. I took off my shoes and dipped them in the water for a couple hours. I got tired of waiting at about 9:30 pm. I also wanted to go to sleep. The other one I missed I didn?t know a thing about because niether of my grandparents didn?t wake me up. All I know is that I missed Daddy there. We are at the 5th checkpoint now. We have to wait at least 4 hours before he comes down river. I have so much time and nothing to do. I think I might go down to the river and skip rocks. I don?t know what else I?m going to do. I didn?t get to skipping rocks but I sat in the front for a while watching a lady with her big tan colored boxer dog and a puppy (a black labrador). After I watched them I asked Grandpa if I could have a chocolate bar. He said yes. After I had a chocolate bar Grandpa went back to his nap. Grandma did my hair in braids so my neck wouldn?t be so hot. Grandma & Grandpa are napping again. I asked Grandpa if I could go down to the river. He said yes. There is not many people down by the river. There is only about one person in the river swimming. I haven?t seen even one boat come down the river yet. I?m sure I?ll see some boats later. Grandpa decided to come down with his chair and everything. I?m on the hill right by where everyone is. It?s nice and peaceful up here.(Kind of)! There is milions of grasshoers here at this check point. There is a nice breeze coming in. It is really refreshing on a scale 1 to 10. It helps because the sun is burning fiercely. I?ve seen alot of boats come in. Alot more boats are due. It?s getting noisier everhour. About 2 more hours before daddy pulls in unless he is early or late. Alot more boats are leaving now. Grandpa made me go back up the hill to get some sun tan lotion on. I came back now. So far one boat came in during this 15 minutes. 1 hour later - There is only one boat on shore and all I?m doing is sitting down on my towel. I?m bored but I don?t want to miss daddy on this stop. I?m going to go up the and get the camera. It?s like a desert here. The sun is a killer. I can?t wait for daddy to come. He?s finally here. He?s actually not hot. He said I could go swimming at the next check point. He says he?s going to stay for a while and eat a meal. He?s staying here for about three hours for a nap. I?m going to pick up my towel and stuff and take them up the hill a little where everyone else is. I just ate half a cucumber and am in the care sorting out things so I have room to move around. It?s a little messy. After that I went to the dressing closet to change into shorts. One hour later daddy woke up got ready then left. We are now going to Pizza Hut to eat (yum yum). I had Dr. Pepper, hot buffallo wings, and breadstricks. We are now at H-E-B pantry foods again (Same difference). We?re back from the store and grandpa let me get some candy. I picked out a stick of shock tarts. Too bad your not allowed to give daddy any food at the checkpoints and through out the race. He would like some of my shock tarts. He likes them. Well we are in the car going to the 6th checkpoint which is called Cheapside. I put a blanket over my legs so all the flies, that are in the care won?t land on my legs and make them itch. We are there. from the way things are looking and the sun is going down, I can see that I?m not going to be so hot like the last checkpoint. I?m sitting at the checkpoint now. Granspa says it should be 2 1/2 to 3 hours before he comes up shore. I?m going back up to the car to get a towel to sit on and the camera. I?m back. I?ve been laying down for about an hour. This guy has a dog that is a really good getcher and loves the water. The guy keeps throwing a stick far out into the river and the dog plunges into the river and gets it. There is a tall lady with the cutiest toy dog. I got a chance to pet it. There is also a lady with a baby and all the baby equipment. The baby is chubby and really really cute. She left one hour later. The time is 8:30 pm. Daddy should come in soon. I just went up to the car to get an extra towel, head light, shock tarts, and a project (small). I?m working on. I?m going to work on it right now. Well, I can?t work on it because, I can?t see what I?m doing in the dark. I?m going to eat some shock tarts now. It is now 9:14 and daddy should be in anytime now. There are too many cute dogs around here. I keep going around in a circle petting the dogs one by one. Alot of boats are coming in so dady should be coming in right about ............... now (9:57 pm) We are at the 7th check point now. It is dark and really late. grandma is already asleep laying right by me. I?m about to lay down and go to bed. Good night.

Day 5

I woke up about 6:40 am this morning. I caught daddy leaving out of the window. After that I closed my eyes but I didn?t get to sleep. Grandpa got me up and said daddy found something for me. It was a whole shell broken into two. Now we are off and grandpa is seeing if there is a motel room open so we can settle and take a shower and a bath if we want. There is a room we are going to. I am going to take a shower. First I have to wait for Grandma to take a shower. These motel rooms are really nice. They even have an alarm clock, queen size bed, refrigerator, small T.V., huge mirror, and a big long counter. I?m amazed! While I?m waiting to take my shower I?m going to watch T.V.! I?ve taken my shower now, brushed my teeth, and hair. We are now watching Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are in the car going to H-E-B pantry foods again. Later- Back from H-E-B and we are going to the nursery where you give water to the boaters if you need it. But before we go there we are stopping by McDonald?s to get an egg mcmuffin each to go in the car. Yum! Yum! That was good! We are now at the nursery! While we were in the car coming to this stop I drew a sea picture. There are millions of grasshoppers around here! We?ve been here for about an hour. Grandma is in the car and Grandpa is half asleep and half reading. Once you get what it feels like to be on this trip you really like it. I?ve been on this trip before but I was only 6. I can?t really, remember it. I am 10 now. That was a long time ago. We were the only ones here until another guy came along for his team. That doesn?t matter to me though. I?ve been walking around for about 1 hour. There was a huge shell and flint pile I found and was determined to keep some bits that I found were amazing. About two hours later at 1:26 daddy came in. He stayed until 1:40 something. By the way, before Daddy came in grandma and me were having fun swatting flies. Right now all of us are in the car going to the gas station for gas, ice, and to go to the bathroom. We all said we didn?t want to go in those disgusting port potties! Ewwwww!!! Believe it or not this is the last day of the race. This has been a very adventures experience to me. It has been slow and fast, same difference. We are now at KFC for lunch! Yum! Yum! I had a potpie. It was delicious with all the vegetables and chicken in it. We are across the street now at the store. Grandma and Grandpa went in but I stayed in the car. I really wanted to start working on swatting the flies. They are back in the car and we are off to the 8th checkpoint which is in the town of Victoria. These flies in the car are getting on my nerves. They usually go away during the evening. We are now at the checkpoint. There are three boats at the shore. I?ve been sitting in the car for about an hour doing nothing. I?m bored. 1 1/2 hours later daddy pulled in got his fold out blow up bed to sit on and ate a meal. After that he took a walk around with me to stretch his legs. Then he put his tiger balm on and took a nap. He is still napping right now. Grandma is talking with people at the edge of the river. Grandpa is reading his book in the car. More and more people are leaving from the river every hour. I feel like there is nothing of me. It feels like I am part of the wind and there is not one person who exists and is called Kathryn Mendenhall. This is not a bad feeling. It is a good one because it makes me feel cold, instead of felling like part of the sun. In 15 minutes we are going to wake up daddy and he is going to leave. There are a lot of teams and soloists that have dropped out. But I know daddy won?t drop out. I?m proud of him and I know he?ll make it. 1 1/2 hour later - He left and we are going to H-E-B again to get some ice and lots more. Later - back from in the store and in the car going to the 9th checkpoint called Dupont. In the store Grandpa bought me a small chair to sit on. Before we go to the checkpoint grandpa stopped by the Texas drive-in for some gizzards for all of us to eat. I?ve never had a gizzard, but I?m going to taste one to see if I like it. While we are in the car grandma and had a long conversation while waiting for grandpa. 10 minutes late grandpa is in the care and we are off to the checkpoint without any more stops to do. 15 minutes later we?re there. There are quite a lot of people here. So far I?ve only seen one boat! I remember this stop from 1997, but it looks a little different. Daddy is not going be in probably for another 4 hours! Right now the time is 8:10 pm. that?s a long time. I went back to the car to eat some dinner. I?m going to eat a heat up meal that daddy gave me. It looks good. 20 minutes later - Yum! Yum! That was delicious. I?m going down to the porta potty. 2 minutes later - Those porta potties are gross! They stink really bad unless they?ve just been cleaned! I am putting insect repellent on then going down to the river. I?m going down there and its getting a little quieter. Meaning there are less voices talking. I?m going to draw some. About 5 minutes later grandpa came down and said to come up to the car, take a nap. That way I wouldn?t be tired when daddy got here. Sleep tight for a short nap! 3:30 am - Grandpa forgot to wake me up when daddy got here but that?s ok, because I would have been really tired. I?m going back to bed. Grandpa had to wake me up at 3:30 am because Grandma slept in back and I in front. Good night! (for the rest of bed) 10 minutes later - I tried to sleep but I just can?t go back to bed. We are at the gas station to get ice. I stayed in the car with grandma. But after grandpa got ice he went in with me and we each got a drink and a little breakfast roll. We are now going to the next checkpoint called Tri-valley. This actually the last checkpoint. I know he is going make it, especially if daddy is at the last checkpoint. Grandma told me not to talk about quitting the race around daddy; otherwise he would have the encouragement to. I just finished my mini breakfast pecan pie right as we got to the checkpoint. It?s quiet because a lot of people are sleeping in their cars! Grandpa says we will be here till 7:3-/ I?m coughing a lot so I am sucking on a cough drop right now. I was also itching on my legs, so I just put some Elecon on. I see that grandpa & grandma are asleep. I?m going to take a nap. I just can?t fall asleep. Grandma woke up and said she needs to lay down. So we switched spots so I?m in front and she?s in the back. I?m just going to sit and watch out of the window since I?m so bored. In the morning - It is about 7:00 am. I fell asleep last night in the car. Daddy should be coming in soon unless he slowed down last night. There are tons of bird?s nests on the bridge. All the birds are flying around in the air doing nothing, (to me)! They might be doing something but I don?t know. At this checkpoint there is a lot of fish and gars coming up from the water and jumping around sometimes. I have been sitting here for about 1/2 hour. Later - a couple of boats have come by. It is about 8:35 am and seems like daddy is slowing down a little. Later it is 9:05 am now and I am bored! I made a stem chain but all I?m doing with it is swinging it around. It?s 9:25 and daddy is here. Daddy stayed for about 45 mins. Right now he is leaving. We?re in the car now going to the FINISH LINE! The town is called Seadrift. It takes about 1/2 hour to get there by car. We?re here. The ocean is amazing! There is this really cute dog kind of like Sophie except bigger and older. It?s a golden lab. I?ve been looking out with the binoculars for a while. I haven?t seen a thing. I went to the swings for about half and hour then came back. Grandpa and I waited in line. I was tired of standing up so I went to sit down. Grandpa is saving my spot until he gets to the front of the line. Then he will give me my spot back. Later - I?ve eaten now. It was O.K.! I?m just sitting around listening to all the prizes that are being given out, I wish daddy was here; he wanted to be here for the awards. About one hour later daddy came in; later on he got a plak. Grandpa liked his trophy daddy had made for him before the race. For about 2 hours I swam in the gulf finding shells and all. Right now grandpa is putting the boat up on the car. Grandma is lying down. I?m going to have a drink of water. There is no water so I?m having a squirt. We have everything and are driving down the road, (or there, to a motel where taking showers is free because Safari volunteers paid for them. Daddy is in the shower. Grand parents and me are in the car waiting. Grandpa and Grandma are wining at each other. While waiting for daddy I fly swatted a little bit. I needed to go to the bathroom so I went into the same room as he was and went. I checked out what they provided to. That was a pretty nice hotel. We are at a gas station right now waiting for a drink for grandma. Daddy is taking a nap. He woke up after two minutes rest for a needle to pop his blisters on his hands. It looks really gross when the fluid comes out. Ewuuuuuuuuuuuu! I?m watching daddy pop all of his blisters. He just went back to his nap when he was done. I?m just sitting here watching out the window. Daddy said to call mommy on grandpa?s cell phone. I did. They were home so I had a little chitchat with mommy for a couple of minutes. It?s going to be a long drive home. We got the ice for my feet. Daddy went back to his sleep. I?m sitting doing nothing except looking out the window. For dinner we went to McDonalds?s. I had McNuggets with fries and a chocolate milk shake. It was delicious! Daddy is sleeping again. We went to a gas station to go to the bathroom. Daddy bought some trident. I?m going to sleep! About 1 hour later daddy woke me up and we were at Grandpa?s house. I got a bucket of ice for my feet then went to bed. I barely got any sleep. I woke up about 6 something and took a nice cold bath. It made me feel much better. Then I went to bed. About 2 or 3 hours later daddy woke me up. I went into the kitchen, got a bucket of water for my feet, put my feet in it, and then sat down for about 1/2 hour. Daddy took a couple minutes on the phone with mommy. I went to go brush my teeth. Instead of brushing my teeth, I was very hungry so I had a toaster struddle and a cup of water. Grandpa is sitting outside petting the dogs. My feet are still hurting. Now I ?m going to brush my teeth I spent about an hour brushing my hair! Grandpa, Grandma and daddy are having a conversation out on the perch. I?m going to watch cartoons in the computer room. I watched Scooby-Doo! It was funny! I also watched the Flintstones. When it was done daddy and me left. My feet were itching really bad. Daddy took me to Albertson?s to get some medicine for it. We also bought some cold soda?s cause we were thirsty. After that we walked down to Schiltzsky?s deli. I got a pizza. It was an individual of course. If it was a big one I would only eat one slice. On highway 35 on the hill there is a fabulous view. Daddy and me played a game. It was the ABC memory game. It?s fun game on a care trip. We are listing to Parent Trap CD. I said to daddy ?Do you dare me to make a 18 wheeler honk its horn?? He said I don?t mind. I did it and he honked his horn. Funny !!! I put my medicine on my feet. We are listing to Beatles now. I cleaned all the trash in the car. We are almost home. It?s 2:06 and we?re in Cedar Hill now. This has been a fun and fascinating trip. All I can say is ?Thank you Daddy for a great, fun, and long adventure!!!!?

THANK YOU
Dedicated to my family
By Kathryn S. Mendenhall (10 year old)