Well, we made it home safely! I think everyone agrees that this was a FANTASTIC band trip!! The students had so many fun and unique experiences, and speaking on behalf of the adults, I think we were all impressed by the maturity and good behavior students demonstrated throughout the trip. Mr. Anderson and I were just reflecting on how smoothly everything went this past week... not a single trip to the hospital or other major mishap! That is due in part to a lot of people...
So THANK YOU...
...to the students, for being awesome young adults and musicians and earning compliments from people everywhere we went!
...to the chaperones, for being guides, floor monitors, medicine-distributors, attendance-takers, door-tapers, and all-around great people to travel with!
...to ALL the parents who supported their students musically, monetarily, and otherwise in preparation for the trip!
...to the Jepsens, for being our tried and true trailer drivers and getting all our instruments safely to San Antonio! (despite numerous setbacks!)
...to Ms. Swanson, Mr. Wickoff, and all the MCHS administrators who help make trips happen!
...and of COURSE, to Kim Gordon for being our Trip-Planner Extraordinaire and making sure every last detail was in place from initial planning a year ago through our departure!
So this is the end of the trip blog for now. We may be posting links to photo galleries as pictures, videos, and audio files come in, so do check back in a couple weeks for those things. Thanks again, and have a wonderful rest of your spring break!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Greetings from the San Antonio airport!
We made it safely to the airport, and have effectively taken over Gate 7!
Earlier today we visited the Natural Bridge Caverns, which was very cool! Or rather, very warm... the cave was 70* with a stuffy 99% humidity. We got to see some awesome formations though! Obviously conditions didn't make for the best photos ever (especially on a phone), but you get the idea.
Viewing the tallest column in the cave...
After the caverns, we killed a little time at a local mall, letting the kids eat lunch at the food court. As we were walking through the mall, Jon says, "Isn't that Mr. Wickoff sitting with that giant cow?" I said I didn't think it was him, but as we got closer, it became obvious that it WAS in fact our resident school administrator taking a break next to a person in a cow costume promoting Chick-Fil-A (his t-shirt said "Eat more chicken"). This was definitely a "blog photo moment"!
Well this will definitely be the last post before announcing our safe arrival in Chicago. I'll post some final thoughts when we arrive at home!
Earlier today we visited the Natural Bridge Caverns, which was very cool! Or rather, very warm... the cave was 70* with a stuffy 99% humidity. We got to see some awesome formations though! Obviously conditions didn't make for the best photos ever (especially on a phone), but you get the idea.
Viewing the tallest column in the cave...
After the caverns, we killed a little time at a local mall, letting the kids eat lunch at the food court. As we were walking through the mall, Jon says, "Isn't that Mr. Wickoff sitting with that giant cow?" I said I didn't think it was him, but as we got closer, it became obvious that it WAS in fact our resident school administrator taking a break next to a person in a cow costume promoting Chick-Fil-A (his t-shirt said "Eat more chicken"). This was definitely a "blog photo moment"!
Well this will definitely be the last post before announcing our safe arrival in Chicago. I'll post some final thoughts when we arrive at home!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday... time to relax!
After all our performances yesterday and Monday, kids and adults alike were ready to RELAX today. We definitely did that... and had some adventures too!
First off this morning we traveled just outside the city to the San Jose Mission. Very cool place, and our guides gave us a good idea of what life on an 18th century mission was like.
One of my favorite moments on the Mission tour though was when our tour guide pointed out the Yucca plant, a type of cactus. Kevin H. wanted to go have his picture taken with it because it looked like a giant corn. (You can take the boy out of Illinois, but not the Illinois out of the boy, apparently.) The following conversation ensued after Kevin was jabbed with one of the plant's giant spikes. Kevin: "Ouch!! This thing is sharp!!" Ms. Wych: "Well, it IS a cactus." Kevin: "IT'S A CACTUS?!" And so, lesson learned... listen to ALL of what your tour guide says!
After the Mission, we made the 1.5 hr trek to the Twin Elm Ranch. What a great place! VERY nice people, good food, lots to do, and a few hilarious singing cowboys (Dead Eye, T/Roy, and Justin) who lead the horseback rides. During the 5 hours we spent there, the kids were free to do whatever activities they chose. Offerings included lasso lessons, wading in the river, hanging out by the pool, volleyball, basketball, horseback riding, relay-racing, or just sitting around playing cards. All the kids (and adults!) had a fantastic time, and my personal favorite part was seeing the students really enjoying themselves without cell phones for a full five hours!
Lasso lessons! All I have to say about that is that it is HARDER than it looks!
A group shot in the river. Tanner, Allyssa, Kyler, Tyler, Matt Z, Marissa, Dani, Anna, Kyle, Jessica F., Jake, Maegen, Rebecca B, Kasombra, Becky M, Kelly, and Allison!
Audrey, Andrea, Sarah, Emily, Alex, and Mr. Muir are ready to go out on the trail! Audrey was very happy that "if she'd only brought a horn," her horse would be just like a unicorn.
Out on the trail!
The ranch owners organized a number of hilarious relay races for the kids. See video below!
First off this morning we traveled just outside the city to the San Jose Mission. Very cool place, and our guides gave us a good idea of what life on an 18th century mission was like.
One of my favorite moments on the Mission tour though was when our tour guide pointed out the Yucca plant, a type of cactus. Kevin H. wanted to go have his picture taken with it because it looked like a giant corn. (You can take the boy out of Illinois, but not the Illinois out of the boy, apparently.) The following conversation ensued after Kevin was jabbed with one of the plant's giant spikes. Kevin: "Ouch!! This thing is sharp!!" Ms. Wych: "Well, it IS a cactus." Kevin: "IT'S A CACTUS?!" And so, lesson learned... listen to ALL of what your tour guide says!
After the Mission, we made the 1.5 hr trek to the Twin Elm Ranch. What a great place! VERY nice people, good food, lots to do, and a few hilarious singing cowboys (Dead Eye, T/Roy, and Justin) who lead the horseback rides. During the 5 hours we spent there, the kids were free to do whatever activities they chose. Offerings included lasso lessons, wading in the river, hanging out by the pool, volleyball, basketball, horseback riding, relay-racing, or just sitting around playing cards. All the kids (and adults!) had a fantastic time, and my personal favorite part was seeing the students really enjoying themselves without cell phones for a full five hours!
Lasso lessons! All I have to say about that is that it is HARDER than it looks!
A group shot in the river. Tanner, Allyssa, Kyler, Tyler, Matt Z, Marissa, Dani, Anna, Kyle, Jessica F., Jake, Maegen, Rebecca B, Kasombra, Becky M, Kelly, and Allison!
Audrey, Andrea, Sarah, Emily, Alex, and Mr. Muir are ready to go out on the trail! Audrey was very happy that "if she'd only brought a horn," her horse would be just like a unicorn.
Out on the trail!
The ranch owners organized a number of hilarious relay races for the kids. See video below!
Now I already told the story of Kevin's misadventure with the Yucca, but there are a few other "Quotes of the Day" for today.
"Ms. Wych, do you have any breath mints? I got a minnow in my mouth." -- Kasombra, while playing in the river.
"Mr. Anderson, do I need to wear pants for this?" -- Tony J., actually spoken yesterday but I forgot to mention it.
"M'am, do we know who's on this bus? For instance, if someone is in the bathroom when we leave the missions, we won't leave them behind?" -- The Bus #2 guest tour guide on the way to the Mission. No, we never take attendance and prefer to leave as many kids behind as possible... (Kidding!)
"Hi, my name is penguin and I am a cute penguin. -- Emily K" -- submitted by Erin W. via a piece of cardboard stuck under my hotel room door, with a plea to "please post!"
"Ms. Wych, I got stung by a scorpion, what should I do?" -- Kyle A.
YES, you read that last one correctly! No worries, it was a very small scorpion and he's just fine. :) But, I must say, I had NO idea how to answer that question!
So, there you have it! A great day! We're ready for the caverns tomorrow, then the trip home... I'll try to get one more blog post in via cell phone or email, but if not, see you back in Illinois!
"Ms. Wych, do you have any breath mints? I got a minnow in my mouth." -- Kasombra, while playing in the river.
"Mr. Anderson, do I need to wear pants for this?" -- Tony J., actually spoken yesterday but I forgot to mention it.
"M'am, do we know who's on this bus? For instance, if someone is in the bathroom when we leave the missions, we won't leave them behind?" -- The Bus #2 guest tour guide on the way to the Mission. No, we never take attendance and prefer to leave as many kids behind as possible... (Kidding!)
"Hi, my name is penguin and I am a cute penguin. -- Emily K" -- submitted by Erin W. via a piece of cardboard stuck under my hotel room door, with a plea to "please post!"
"Ms. Wych, I got stung by a scorpion, what should I do?" -- Kyle A.
YES, you read that last one correctly! No worries, it was a very small scorpion and he's just fine. :) But, I must say, I had NO idea how to answer that question!
So, there you have it! A great day! We're ready for the caverns tomorrow, then the trip home... I'll try to get one more blog post in via cell phone or email, but if not, see you back in Illinois!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday Part #1.... El Mercado
Well, so much happened today that Blogger won't let me put all the pictures in one post... so this will be a three-part post! However, I'll write the posts starting with the end of the day and ending with the beginning, so as you read down the page, the day progresses in the appropriate order. We started the day today at El Mercado, San Antonio's open-air market. See photo below... it's a VERY colorful place!
Our performance area was... cozy... but we had a nice awning for shade, and Mr. Anderson and I got a good workout climbing up and down the flowerbed every time we had to switch conductors. :) We had a nice little crowd gather as the shops opened up and the market filled with people. It was great to see a few of our MCHS band families who flew in for the performances!
The guard joined us in performing "Tiger Rag" and "Thriller." Kudos to Sam D. for a very era-appropriate routine to accompany "Tiger Rag"!
After the performance, the students had some time to browse through the many shops in this very large open-air market. Purchases included multiple musical instruments (Erin W... the last post in this series will show the end result of THAT), a tiny pan-flute (me), a "Sheriff Rick" badge (students, for Mr. Anderson), and a giant wolf head decoration (two, purchased by Jeff B. and Justin M... not sure yet how they're getting those home on the plane).
Keep scrolling down for pictures of the band at the Alamo!
Our performance area was... cozy... but we had a nice awning for shade, and Mr. Anderson and I got a good workout climbing up and down the flowerbed every time we had to switch conductors. :) We had a nice little crowd gather as the shops opened up and the market filled with people. It was great to see a few of our MCHS band families who flew in for the performances!
The guard joined us in performing "Tiger Rag" and "Thriller." Kudos to Sam D. for a very era-appropriate routine to accompany "Tiger Rag"!
After the performance, the students had some time to browse through the many shops in this very large open-air market. Purchases included multiple musical instruments (Erin W... the last post in this series will show the end result of THAT), a tiny pan-flute (me), a "Sheriff Rick" badge (students, for Mr. Anderson), and a giant wolf head decoration (two, purchased by Jeff B. and Justin M... not sure yet how they're getting those home on the plane).
Keep scrolling down for pictures of the band at the Alamo!
Tuesday Part #2... The Alamo
After lunch at the River Center Mall, the band traveled to the Alamo to explore this historical site as well as perform. What a cool place!
The sea of orange enters the Alamo...
A short video clip of the band's performance at the Alamo. Briefly featuring Audrey S.'s dad, one of a few parents who made the trip to see us! As you can see, we had a good-sized audience at this performance as well. In addition to the people who gathered around the pavilion, many people across the courtyard stopped to listen. Among them was a gentleman from Yorkville who, when I thanked him for listening to us, said that he wouldn't miss it! You'd be amazed at the number of Illinois-ans we've run into here.
The sea of orange enters the Alamo...
A short video clip of the band's performance at the Alamo. Briefly featuring Audrey S.'s dad, one of a few parents who made the trip to see us! As you can see, we had a good-sized audience at this performance as well. In addition to the people who gathered around the pavilion, many people across the courtyard stopped to listen. Among them was a gentleman from Yorkville who, when I thanked him for listening to us, said that he wouldn't miss it! You'd be amazed at the number of Illinois-ans we've run into here.
And finally, the guard performing on the lawn in front of our pavilion. In the background is the biggest, fanciest post office I've ever seen!
All this and it's only 4 pm! Keep scrolling down for the rest of Tuesday's activities...
All this and it's only 4 pm! Keep scrolling down for the rest of Tuesday's activities...
Tuesday Part #3... Boat Ride and Dinner
After the Alamo performance, we returned to the hotel for an hour to relax and change out of our polos and black pants. As I was sitting in my hotel room during this break time, I suddenly heard a loud ruckus out in the hall that... sort of?... sounded like music. Upon investigating, I found Melissa H., Erin W., Kelly M., Andrea A., Angela L., and Emily K. in the hall, all dressed up for dinner, happily performing on the wide variety of musical instruments that Erin had purchased at the Market this morning (I told you that would come up again!). Of course, this required not just a photo, but a video for the blog. For the record... the video cuts out just before Emily falls over. :)
Once everyone had freshened up, we headed down to the Riverwalk for a guided boat tour. It was nice to see the entire length of the River, as well as learn about the history of some of the buildings.
Our boat... as best I can make out, we have Aric A., Becky W., Austin S., Megan C., ???, Corey A., Jake K., Aaron C., Jessica F., Tyler B., Kyler F., Jeff B., Anthony A., and Molly W. Phew!
One of the other four boats that we filled as we pass on the river. I'm not even going to start listing names for this one!
We ended the evening with a VERY big dinner at Casa Rio, a popular Mexican restaurant along the Riverwalk. They had a huge party room set up just for us, and we were served a three-course dinner including chips, dip, guacamole salad, enchiladas, tamales, and a variety of other Mexican foods. YUM! Below, a picture overlooking the outdoor area of the restaurant. If you notice... it's the same view as the picture at the top of this blog that I arbitrarily downloaded off the internet as a picture of San Antonio. A little darker in my picture, but you get the idea!
All in all, a very busy day! The kids had a great time, and what a fantastic experience to perform at these historic sites for such receptive audiences. After all this hard work though, we are definitely ready for a relaxing day at the Twin Elm Ranch tomorrow (many of us prepared with new cowboy hats!). Well, this concludes the three-part edition of Tuesday... see you tomorrow!
Once everyone had freshened up, we headed down to the Riverwalk for a guided boat tour. It was nice to see the entire length of the River, as well as learn about the history of some of the buildings.
Our boat... as best I can make out, we have Aric A., Becky W., Austin S., Megan C., ???, Corey A., Jake K., Aaron C., Jessica F., Tyler B., Kyler F., Jeff B., Anthony A., and Molly W. Phew!
One of the other four boats that we filled as we pass on the river. I'm not even going to start listing names for this one!
We ended the evening with a VERY big dinner at Casa Rio, a popular Mexican restaurant along the Riverwalk. They had a huge party room set up just for us, and we were served a three-course dinner including chips, dip, guacamole salad, enchiladas, tamales, and a variety of other Mexican foods. YUM! Below, a picture overlooking the outdoor area of the restaurant. If you notice... it's the same view as the picture at the top of this blog that I arbitrarily downloaded off the internet as a picture of San Antonio. A little darker in my picture, but you get the idea!
All in all, a very busy day! The kids had a great time, and what a fantastic experience to perform at these historic sites for such receptive audiences. After all this hard work though, we are definitely ready for a relaxing day at the Twin Elm Ranch tomorrow (many of us prepared with new cowboy hats!). Well, this concludes the three-part edition of Tuesday... see you tomorrow!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Austin and Texas State University
Today was a very busy day! After an early breakfast, we loaded the busses for the ride to Austin, the state capital of Texas. There, we spent some time learning about Texas history (okay, and playing dress-up) at the Visitor's Center, and touring the Capitol Building. This state Capitol Building is the largest in the country, and had some very cool features. We learned that most of the desks in the Senate and House of Representatives rooms are originals dating back to the 1800s, and that whenever a new governor is elected, it takes two days to rotate all the governors' photos through the four floors of the cupola. AND, the Bus #2 group got the treat of a tour guide who looked exactly like Clark Kent of the Superman movie. :)
Ryan plays dress-up at the Visitor's Center...
A sea of orange making its way over to the capitol building...
and standing in the cupola area of the Capitol Building.
We received multiple compliments from staff members at both the Visitor's Center and the Capitol Building about how well-behaved and polite our students are... we agree! It's always nice to hear it from others, though. :) After touring the state capitol, we spent a few hours at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, a huge collection of artifacts complete with with a replica of the Oval Office. Then it was on to our clinic at Texas State University. Dr. Rod Schuler was a great clinician, and had a lot of helpful insights for our band.
Dr. Schuler working with the band...
The percussionists....
An attempt at a video of our clinic! The sound quality is not great because it was taken on my phone, but hopefully you get the idea.
After the clinic we headed back to San Antonio and took over the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.
Other "highlights" of the day included Kelly M. getting a full-body stripe from laying down on a line of newly-layed caulk... and Tommy P. asking during the middle of our Q & A session with Dr. Schuler how many Texans actually have a southern drawl. :) Much to our surprise, Dr. Schuler gave us a very detailed description of how the various Texas accents are distributed!
Time for bed... tomorrow is performance day!
Ryan plays dress-up at the Visitor's Center...
A sea of orange making its way over to the capitol building...
and standing in the cupola area of the Capitol Building.
We received multiple compliments from staff members at both the Visitor's Center and the Capitol Building about how well-behaved and polite our students are... we agree! It's always nice to hear it from others, though. :) After touring the state capitol, we spent a few hours at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, a huge collection of artifacts complete with with a replica of the Oval Office. Then it was on to our clinic at Texas State University. Dr. Rod Schuler was a great clinician, and had a lot of helpful insights for our band.
Dr. Schuler working with the band...
The percussionists....
An attempt at a video of our clinic! The sound quality is not great because it was taken on my phone, but hopefully you get the idea.
Other "highlights" of the day included Kelly M. getting a full-body stripe from laying down on a line of newly-layed caulk... and Tommy P. asking during the middle of our Q & A session with Dr. Schuler how many Texans actually have a southern drawl. :) Much to our surprise, Dr. Schuler gave us a very detailed description of how the various Texas accents are distributed!
Time for bed... tomorrow is performance day!
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