Tater Nation!! This is #spudicus coming at you from the I-65 in Kentucky! We’ve been busy lately, and we have a lot to update you on! We’ve been down to Newnan, GA, Louisville, KY, Long Island, NY, and back to Louisville! There’s been plenty of movin’ and groovin’ recently, so let’s jump right into it!
Since we left off in Bristol, TN, the team had the chance to visit the Cancer Treatment Center of America location in Newnan, GA! We had a gap in our schedule so we were able to make our way down and I’m so glad we did! Ricky Ayers and his team made sure the team felt right at home at their facility! Not only did they allow us to stay in the hospital hotel, but also gave us full access to the hotel cafeteria, a golf cart to move our luggage, and hooked us up with some CTCA of America swag! We had the chance to set up our Big Helping program. Our visitors couldn’t wait to sign their name on our board to support the CTCA! This event was great since our hotel, truck parking and event were all in the same spot! We got to hang out and speak with plenty of hospital employees and patients that warmly welcomed us!
Next, we made our way over to Louisville, KY! We had the opportunity to be a part of the Thunder Over Louisville celebration. This event kicks off the Kentucky Derby Festival celebration! Festivities include carnival rides, food trucks, games, an air show and firework show to cap off the day! We got to park the truck right on Witherspoon street right in the middle of the action! We got to have some truck food and even get on to have some fun on the rides! Spuddy Buddy made an appearance and got some pics with some big potato fans!
After Louisville, it was time for our biggest challenge of the tour… driving in New York City ! We made our way through New Jersey and got to the George Washington Bridge! It was a tight fit through the toll booths but #spudracer got us through! Luckily we were able to get an escort through New York City into Hempstead in Long Island! There we got ready for our event at Hofstra University for the Live On New York Event! Live On New York is a non-profit with a mission to educate and enroll New Yorkers on organ donation and its benefits. We met up with Roxanne Watson who is not only a volunteer and advocate for Live on New York but an organ donation recipient herself. It was incredible to hear her story and watch her and fellow volunteers educate Hofstra students on the importance of organ donation and how you can save lives just by becoming a donor. Our Big Helping came through again in a big way to help support Live On New York!
After New York, it was back to Louisville to continue the Derby festivities! We had the opportunity to be a part of the Pegasus Parade which is a Louisville tradition that goes back to 1956! There were horses and ponies used in this parade which made it very unique compared to some of the other parades we’ve been in. Every entry that had horses participating had a a team behind them that carried shovels and rolled trash bins down the street in case any of the horses had an “accident”. I had never seen anything like that before and it made me laugh and gave me an appreciation for the parade and the participants! It was great to see local college, high school, middle school and elementary school groups participating from marching bands to step dance groups!
Man! What a crazy, fun stretch of the tour that was! Tiny Tater is gonna be coming by next week with some updates about closing off the Kentucky Derby! Be sure to tune in for that!
