Like most who went on the trip, Caitlin Van Zandt (Ashlee) admitted it was life-altering. "I am a changed person because of my experience. I really am," she said. "I didn't realize it went beyond New Orleans before we got down there. I knew the Gulf was hit, but I didn't know how bad. I didn't know how bad things were still. It looks like a Third World country." It also prompted her to give back in another way: offering to donate her pay from the special episode. "We just want to do more and more," she added. " I am just going to turn in that check."

However, the trip wasn't all work and no play. A few volunteers spent a night out on the town sampling the region's amazing food. "A group of us: Kim [Zimmer, Reva], Kurt McKinney [Matt], Michelle Ray [Smith] and Beth Chamberlin [Beth] went out to a local place and had some crab claws and gumbo," Chappell admitted. "So, we got one night out!"

After a long, hard week of hanging drywall, assembling cabinets, painting, sweeping and even buying furniture, everyone gathered to greet the happy homeowner. "She was just shaking and overwhelmed," Chappell said. "I mean, we all were!" And when it was time to board the plane back home, no one anticipated the difficult good-bye. "As anxious as I was to see my family, I started to cry a little bit because I didn't want to leave," she added.

Everyone also agreed that they couldn't have done it without the Hands On volunteers. "These Hands On folks are some of the brightest, most motivated people I've ever encountered," Newman praised. "They have about 80 full-time volunteers down there. I don't think they really knew what to expect of us. I think they thought it was going to be about makeup and hair and broken nails," he laughed. "I think that what we do here worked out nicely for what we did there. Every day we face a situation where there's this monumental task before us and we just do what we have to do to make it all happen. Down there, it was almost the same." Smith agreed. "What they do every single day is a very different thing. They're so special and when all the cameras and the glitz and glamour's gone, they're still rocking on; they're still making it happen."

Can't get enough of the GL cast trip at the Gulf? Additional webisodes can be found on www.findyourlight.net.