Youngsters from the Saffron Walden Young Carers Group are currently on the trip of a lifetime in the USA after raising the money themselves to get there.

Saffron Walden Reporter: Anna and the group wait patiently at the airport for their flightAnna and the group wait patiently at the airport for their flight (Image: Archant)

In total, £24,000 was raised through car washes, quizzes and other fundraising events to take 11 members of the group to Florida.

The carers group, which is based at Fairycroft House, is made up of young people in Saffron Walden who look after members of their family on a regular basis.

Among the 11 to make the trip to America is aspiring journalist Anna Percival, who is writing an online blog for the Reporter about her experiences.

Here is her first entry...

The opportunity of a lifetime is exactly how I’d describe this trip. The 11 of us are going to America and getting to experience things that we may not be able to experience again, certainly not going on a trip with such a large group of friends.

Yet, despite all the awesome things we’re getting to do there are a few cons. One of these was the ungodly hour that we had to arrive at Fairycroft House so that we could catch our flight.

When we all arrived it was like seeing the living dead dragging themselves around trying to act like normal humans. Clearly we aren’t a group of people that can function at 5:30 in the morning.

However, there was still a buzz of excitement and soon enough we were on our way to the airport. As a first-time flyer the whole process was completely foreign to me and, I won’t lie, it freaked me out a little bit because I had literally no idea what I was supposed to do.

Looking back now, my panicking was completely unnecessary and the whole thing wasn’t really that bad.

Unfortunately, this was when another of the cons of the trip happened. We were all ready to board the plane when we received the disastrous news that our flight had been delayed. Now, this would have been fine if it was just for an hour or so but, oh no, it was delayed for 8 WHOLE HOURS! Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, we were able to board our plane. It wasn’t the most comfortable I’ve ever been, but it was totally worth it.

Watching the take off and seeing everything from the sky above the clouds was pretty breath-taking, especially as I’d never seen anything like that before.

After a ridiculously long flight and losing the will to live we landed in Orlando, and I think it’s safe to say that everyone was glad to get off that plane.

Until that point it seemed like a dream and that we weren’t actually going to America but when I heard the first American voice it was sort of like “wow, we’re actually here” and I could hardly believe it.