Miss CA - Day 1

          This morning we started off right with our Red, White and Blue attire as we geared up to meet the Mayor of Fresno Ashley Swearengin. With gifts in hand there were 59 patriotic contestants loading onto the bus that kindly dropped us off in front of city hall where we joined for our first official group picture of the week! Then we headed inside to present our gifts to none other than the Mayor herself! You may ask why we brought gifts along with us? The  Miss California Organization is a guest in Fresno and has sustained this positive relationship for almost 20 years. In order to maintain this relationship, the contestants are encouraged to bring a little something from the area they represent to share another part of California and to express our gratitude to the host city. As Miss City of Orange I presented a beautiful pin and flag of the city in addition to a baseball cap from my Alma Matter Chapman University (that's still crazy to believe I graduated!). In exchange the Mayor also presented to us a little bag full of Fresno goodies such as raisins, chocolate covered almonds, and even some Sephora makeup!

        Those snacks, while tempting, held us over until we were able to reach our lunch destination at the Habit restaurant. Being a vegetarian my ordering menu was limited, it was either the garden salad or the veggie burger. Since I did not have the chance for breakfast I decided on the veggie burger, plain! Don't worry I did some workouts later to make up for it ;)

       After lunch we headed back to the Radisson hotel (home) where we had a long break until we had to reconvene. Some girls took naps, but I am not really one who can sleep during the day. So, I decided to use that time to organize somethings and collect little things that I needed for the following days. However, that break went by fast and before I knew it we were getting out of our comfy clothes and back into full hair and makeup for our BBQ graciously hosted by the Lester family. They have such a lovely home and it is so nice of them to invite us into their home. Our wonderful food was provided by the Fresno Kiwanis club, and one of the men tried to trick me into eating meat! He said, "it's not meat, it's Seagull!" Nice try!!!! The food was delicious though and the entertainment was very enjoyable with a fun karaoke machine. It started out slow but soon girls were signing up and singing! Even Bob, Noelle, and the hostesses joined in singing the "YMCA" song! The evening was fairly cool (not normal for Fresno during the Summer) and we ended it by taking one more group photo and even created a new version of "Call Me Maybe" that I will try and find the video of and post on here!

     As soon as we arrived back at the hotel, Bob sat all of us down for a little heart to heart followed by a very informative speech from Noelle. She has truly grown since the last few times I have seen her and even since she was crowned Miss California. I am very impressed with what she has accomplished and how the journey has helped her evolve into the woman she is today. It was a very important address she administered and I believe the next Miss California will be glad she heard those words as she begins her adventure, whomever she may be.