Ms. Wheelchair America - Day 1

I made it to South Dakota!! Wow, what a great day so far. I have met some amazing people so far, and I'm so thankful for this experience. And it's only Day 1! Let me walk you through what the day has looked like. (Click on the pictures to see them bigger.)

My friend, Michelle, was gracious enough to drive me to the Santa Ana airport at 8am this morning. I arrived with sash and crown on and got the VIP treatment the entire way through the airport. I had my own personal escort and everything! It was fantastic.

I connected through Salt Lake City where I was greeted by Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee. She and I rode the airplane together into South Dakota along with Ms. Wheelchair New York's mom and Ms. Wheelchair Utah's mom. I arrived in the tiny airport in South Dakota, and was immediately greeted by my mom. So good to see her again! My dad had to stay home and watch the dogs, otherwise I know he would have been here, too.

We walked down to Baggage Claim to retrieve all my bags (quite a few considering all I had to bring!) and met these cute kids who were inquisitive about who I was. I told them all about the pageant and what we were doing here this in South Dakota this week. In the meantime, a few other contestants were arriving at the airport at the same time.

It was super windy when I got outside! Here I am in front of the Rapid City Regional Airport... air blowing in the wind. Ha!

Me and my mom! She is my "companion" for the week, and we were told tonight at our meeting that our companion should know that this week, it's all about ME! I looked straight at my mom, pointed my finger at her, and smiled. I love that this week it can be all about me! :)

South Dakota has many open spaces and lots and lots of land. I haven't seen much of the landscape so far, but from the airplane window and from the few pictures I took from the bus window on our way to the hotel, you can see that there's not a whole lot here.

Riding the bus to the hotel with Ms. Wheelchair Texas, Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee, and Ms. Wheelchair Washington D.C. My friend, Robert, sent me off from California with the beautiful flowers.

Once arriving at the hotel, I checked in and immediately began meeting people. Wow, are there some great women representing their states!! Below is a picture with the current Ms. Wheelchair America, Michelle Colvard, and Ms. Wheelchair Michigan, Amber Marcy. I can already tell that both of these women are going to be lifelong friends. We've already shared so many stories, giggles, and I feel like I've known both of them for a long time.

Finally at about 8pm, we sat down for dinner. I had an amazing time talking with everyone, introducing ourselves to the girls, and talking about the logistics for the week. It's going to be a very busy week with not a lot of down time. It was a long night as you can see it's already 11:50pm and I'm just now getting back to our hotel room to blog and upload pictures! All in all, I'm extremely excited about this week and getting to know all these women and what they represent.

Tomorrow, we're off to see Mt. Rushmore, then to an Abilities Camp, and then a prime rib dinner with some comedian. Wednesday, we meet the judges for the first time with a 5 minute interview, and then Thursday and Friday, I have a 10 minute interview with the judges (one each day). Friday night is my platform speech on stage, and then Saturday the Top 5 are announced. If I make Top 5, I then have live interviews on stage with the judges, and then the winner is announced!!

So, looking forward to posting tomorrow! Thanks again for all your prayers, love, and support!

Blessings,

Alyson