National Skills USA

This summer is flying by. Ha ha We made another trip across the country. This time down south to Atlanta. We enjoyed the direct flight avoiding wasting time sitting waiting in a random airport somewhere. 

The next day we headed for the convention center to spot Mark in this long line of participants. The man in the middle is Greg's past instructor Mr. Merle Saunders. 

We finally spotted Mark. I was surprised at how many people were competing. 

There were 15 stations.This was wiring a circuit, 

There was also a written test. 

We couldn't see all of the stations and they took a while so I walked around. I was delighted to see the other competitions this was the baking station. 

There was also hospitality where they set tables and made a salad at the high school level, and an alcoholic drink for the college section. I was surprised to learn that colleges also come and compete. They do different types of skills. In Mark's contest the college kids did a lot more with electric vehicles. 

This station spoke to me it was the building maintenance where they cleaned different surfaces. This was specifically for special needs students. I walked to an advisor and she explained some of the expectations. 

Electrical wiring. 

Checking back in on Mark. He finished early with most stations. This is around 3:30 the contest started at 8. 

A sample food offering from the chefs. 

Brick Masonry. Some were really well done and some were lacking. 

Welding fabrication. 

Welding artistry. 

Plumbing. 

Not all the baking products were perfect I was honestly surprised how many things were burned. I can only guess that elevation differences and different ovens. The saddest part of the day was all the food was just thrown away. 

Cabinent making was a team of three. 

A more tasty looking table. That was a lot of food to make in 8 hours. 

Another meal sample. We were very hungry by this time in the day thee were hard to just walk past. 

The next day I snapped this cute picture of little kids cooling down in a fountain shaped like the olympic rings. 

That day we headed to the Atlanta temple. They outfitted us and welcomed us very warmly. We really enjoyed our time there. I happened to hear a lady asking how to get an Uber back to downtown, she offered to share her ride. We crammed into a little car and enjoyed visiting with the driver while we waited in rush hour traffic. 

Later that evening after Mark learned he was not top 3 we walked to a chicken restaurant in the pouring rain. The storms really surprised me how intense they were how loud the thunder and lightning. Each night was a storm and often we were out walking in them. The rain was intense and soaking. The dinner was worth the walk.  

After that Mark insisted we go to a Nitrogen Ice cream place. They start with cream sugar and add-in's. Then they add nitrogen gas to freeze it. It was very good. Food was tricky this trip. It was very expensive about $60.00 per meal. Some were good and some were gross. I was so sad to not eat dinner one night because it was so spicy. 

A few final pictures this was another team of three that was building a mock house this contest allowed 3 days to complete the mock-up. 

Another welding section where they did a variety of welds on different metals. 

I was so impressed with the students abilities. I did not take pictures of the medical or computer skills. There were also job interviews, speeches, customer service, design, barber and hair dressing, cosmetology and the list goes on and on. There were 16,000 students competing. The competition was less exciting than National FFA but it was inspiring to see so many proficients kids. This is the future of our country. 

Greg and I have sincerely enjoyed our quick trips away from home. We have nothing to do but watch and decided what to eat for the meals of the day. Its hard to have so little to do, but we enjoy the time to rest and explore. The last night there was a terrible storm that knocked out the control tower at the airport. This led to many delays and cancellations at the airport which was still being worked through the next day. We finally left 3 hours later and were so thankful to get back to the west.