Teacher almost always “beeps” when he goes through metal detectors; this time it was his belt buckle. Not that he’s got a honkin’ big belt buckle, the detectors are just THAT sensitive.

Once inside the park we connect with the rest of the group. Most of the kids in our group this year have never been on a roller coaster before – Jo-Bear included – and are both excited and apprehensive.

We helped them get their feet wet with a small but fun coaster: the Whizzer. It’s also been my very favorite-est roller coaster at Great America since I was a kid.

They thought it was pretty cool too.

As we walked back from one of the rides the kids spied some of their friends getting geared up for the Dare Devil Dive.

There’s NO way on earth that you’ll ever get me on that thing. It’s not that I’m not afraid of heights – being high doesn’t bother me, it’s FALLING from up high that scares the pants off me.

““AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!”

Jo-Bear had been obsessed with all the squid hats around the park and finally decided he HAD to get one. I can’t complain – there’s lots of worse things all over the park that could have caught his eye. If I have a choice I’ll take the squid.

All too soon it was time for the awards ceremony. This year was a “growing year” – the band as a whole was younger and less experienced than other years and it showed. They played their best though, and that’s what matters. I’d rather place last not that we placed last with a band that played its heart out than place first not that we placed first either with a band that only half tried.

After the awards ceremony we got my third-most favorite thing at Great America after Teacher and the Whizzer – a funnel cake! Yes, it’s outrageously expensive. Yes, I know it’s just fat and sugar and really bad for me. Yes, I think it’s totally worth it anyhow!

Teacher likes funnel cakes too, and always lets me have more than my fair share. What a guy!

Be still my beating heart; after almost twenty-four years of marriage I still get weak-kneed when I see him. I am such a lucky woman to be married to such a terrific – and good-looking – guy.

But I digress…

So we rode more rides, walked more of the park, and finally got back on the bus for the long trip home. On the way we stopped at a Mc Donalds so the kids could get supper if they hadn’t eaten in the park.

It was a quiet ride home. Although no-one figured out how to work the DVD player we discovered that “fast play” DVDs would work, so we could put on movies for the kids and few adults who weren’t sleeping.

Back at school it was like Friday morning all over again – except backwards. Finally everything was off the bus, each seat area had been policed, and the last zombie-like kids had gone home so we could go home too.

Jo-Bear had a blast on his first Chicago trip and was looking forward to going again next year. Teacher and I were too, but not right now; all we want right now is to sleep.

We rose bright and early Saturday morning to get ready for competition. Obviously it’s early but few of us are “bright” at this time of the morning.

After breakfast runny eggs and soggy hash browns, with bacon good enough to make up for them Chuck led us in a brief devotion.

After giving last-minute instructions to the students he touched base with the chaperones while we waited for the bus.

After arriving at the school we had the students unpack their instruments, like always. Most of the time the schools don’t have a place to wait for our turn in the warm-up room so we have to stay outside – not much fun when it’s threatening to rain!

This year we lucked out; the school’s cafeteria was near the entrance, the band room where everyone warmed up and the gym where everyone performed.

It was much easier setting up all the percussion gear inside and moving it through hallways than setting it up outside and moving it across a parking lot like most years!

After our performance we posed for our traditional photo.

I like the silly one best.

Now the work is done it’s time to play – Great America, here we come!

To be continued… just one more part to go…

It occurred to me as I was beginning to write this post that I totally forgot to say anything about our clinic! I’ve been using my photos to remind me of what I wanted to say, but this year I forgot my camera on the bus so there aren’t any photos. Duh! Suffice it to say that Stacy did an awesome job as always, despite the kids being more squirrely than usual. I hope that next year we get our morning slot back because I think the kids are more focussed on band when we do it first thing in the morning instead of having “play time” first.

The bus was quiet on the way to the hotel – I think the kids were almost as tired as the adults. That’s the goal; keep them busy-busy-busy on Friday so they’re too tired to wreak havoc in the hotel.

Once we arrived at the hotel Teacher and his teammates started unpacking the bus while the rest of the adults handed out room keys and reminded the kids of the rules.

The parents brought plenty of snacks, so if anyone went to bed hungry it was his or her own fault.

Teacher and I were assigned a small suite with a pull-out couch in the front room. I felt kind of bad that the two of us were in a room that could sleep six when four kids were crammed in rooms with two double beds.

But not bad enough to trade with any of them.

Doesn’t that look inviting?! Forget snacks; I’m hitting the hay. See you tomorrow!

To be continued…

Each year we try to introduce the band students to a type of cuisine they may not be familiar with. Last year we had lunch in Chinatown; this year it was supper at the Parthenon. Yum – I love Greek food!

The walls of the Parthenon are painted with gorgeous Greek trompe-l’œil paintings intended to make you feel like you’re at a Greek villa. They make me want to visit Greece someday – maybe that’s part of the intent too.

Some of “my” kids; as I consider all of the band students to be. They confessed that they were looking forward to trying the Greek food, but were nervous too. Teacher and I were looking forward to it with no reservations.

The first item to come out was this beautiful bread. I’m still trying to lose the last ten “baby” pounds from Little Guy pathetic since he’s almost five I resisted the bread, but everyone else ooh’d and ahh’d over it. It did smell realllly good.

Next up was a showstopper: Saganaki. Not only were the kids impressed by the flaming cheese, most of them thought it was yummy.

Saganaki reminds me of a Wisconsin favorite: deep-fried cheese curds, except that the cheeses are different in each. Saganaki is made with kesseri cheese, while cheese curds are made from… well… cheese curds!

It was definitely a hit; half gone before I could snap a photo!

Gyro meat was next. Teacher and I expected pitas and tzatziki sauce too, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be made into sandwiches because they never brought any. Not that I’m complaining; the meat alone was soooo good; rich and flavorful with a bit of crispness along the edges.

Now I’m craving Gyros for supper!

A beautiful Greek salad followed. I love Greek salad so much I could have eaten the whole thing myself then skipped the rest of dinner, but since we were being served family-style that would have been rude.

Roast potatoes arrived shortly after the salad. I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like, but these were exceptional; cooked perfectly and full of flavor. Yum!

Rice and sauce followed closely afterward. Carb-lover’s paradise! I appreciated how they put the sauce on one part of the rice so kids who didn’t want sauce could have plain rice.

So far I didn’t think we’d had anything too unusual. Sure, most of the dishes had Greek seasoning so they were slightly different and there was the Gyro meat, but I think most kids have been introduced to Gyros already.

Grilled chicken kebabs – taken off the kebab-er – were a definite favorite! I don’t know how many kids ate the veggies, Teacher and I did – yum! but they sure went for the chicken.

Now we have something very Greek and probably very different for the kids: Pastitsio. I’m not fond of Pastitsio because of the texture, but I try it whenever I get a chance. I never liked tomatoes or avocado either, but I tried them and tried them, and now they’re two of my favorite foods! Teacher loves Pastitsio, and is always happy to finish up whatever I don’t eat.

Finally for dessert is one of my very favorite foods in the whole world; baklava! Ten pounds or no ten pounds I ate every bit of my baklava and wished for more.

When we were living in St. Louis Teacher bought me a whole pan of baklava for Easter from a local Greek grocery store. You can bet I ate almost the whole thing myself.

After a quick bathroom break for those that needed it, we flooded onto the sidewalk to wait for the bus.

Here it is! Off to the hotel for a little swimming, then bed. The kids were still flying high, but the adults were beginning to feel the effects of the early morning and busy day.

Me included – is it bedtime yet?

To be continued…

Back on the bus the entire group was zoning out from the early start to the day, the fresh air at the zoo, and our full bellies.

Suddenly the bus pulled over to the side of the street.

I looked out the window to see what was going on and saw these two fellas conversing outside our bus.

“I’ve got a baaaad feeling about this…” I thought.

Boy was I right; it was a stick-up!

This snazzy fella boarded our bus, grabbed the microphone and pulled out a gun, “None of yas move and ya won’t get hurt.” he said.

“Here’s what’s ‘a gonna happen: we’re gonna take a little ride, ya see?” He waved the gun back and forth.

He turned to the bus driver, “Ya heard me; DRIVE! Follow that black bus right in front of ya.”

Turning back to us he continued, “There’s just a few rules ya gotta follow, ya see? “

“Rule One: Ya gotta stay in yer seat.”
“Rule Two: If ya hear gunfire ya duck down in yer seat and cover yer head.”
“Rule Three: Ya gotta have a great time on this Tour.”

I know you’re smart enough to know that we weren’t really being held up; the fella with the gun was our tour guide for the Untouchables Tour.

We drove around Chicago for almost two hours as our guide related the history of Chicago’s gangsters in the 1920s and 1930s – staying in character as a Prohibition-era gangster the whole time. Sadly, the city has changed so much there wasn’t much left from that era, but it was still interesting to hear the stories as we toured the city.

The stories he told us included the history of Chicago from its beginning Did you know “Chicago” basically means “stinking onion?”, and how the Suffragettes and politics affected Prohibition as well as stories about the gangsters. Basically we got an in-depth history lesson that was so interesting you hardly realized you were learning something!

As much as we enjoyed the tour, when it was over we were more than ready to get off the bus and stretch our legs.

Hooray, it’s suppertime!

To be continued…

In the past we’ve usually had a picnic lunch in the park or on the bus the year it poured at lunchtime, but this year we had lunch at Buddy Guy’s – a Blues nightclub.

Like most nightclubs, Buddy Guys used to be adults-only, but has recently started offering programs for school groups like ours. I wasn’t sure what the policy was on photography so I didn’t take all the photos I wanted, but I did snap a few.

Usually our restaurant meals are pre-ordered and served family style ie, you help yourself from a common serving dish, but at Buddy Guy’s we ordered off an abbreviated menu.

Gumbo with cornbread was the appetizer for everyone, but you could choose your own main course: Blackened Blues Burger, Damn Right Burger changed on our menu to “Darn Right Burger”, Grilled Chicken Sandwich, or a Road House Salad.

By the way, the food was surprisingly good; I’d go back in a heartbeat!

A long row of guitars, each with an identifying plate, is displayed along the walls behind the bar. Tony plays guitar and was fascinated by the collection.

The top of the bar is covered with photos of famous blues and jazz artists – old ones that the kids didn’t know like Muddy Waters, and ones the adults knew but the kids didn’t like Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Jimi Hendrix.

I was surprised to see photos of Eric Clapton one of my favorite artists with Buddy Guy; I didn’t realize Eric Clapton was into the same genre of music, or that his career overlapped Buddy Guy’s.

The club occupies two floors, and upstairs there were pool tables and walls lined with framed photos and memorabilia.

In addition to introducing the students to the rich history of music at Buddy Guy’s, we also wanted them to experience live blues.

This artist – Guy King – performed the entire time we were there, and was very good. If you visit his site you can listen to some of his music. He did a mixture of original songs and familiar to us adults anyway blues tunes.

I’m sure the kids got more out of their lunch than full bellies!

To be continued…

Are we there yet?

Hmmm, let’s see… lots of traffic… tall buildings in the distance…

We’re here!

I love Chicago! Driving up a Chicago street equally lined with cars and trees, seeing skyscrapers in the distance, hearing the hustle and bustle of a busy city makes me so happy I bounce in my seat.

An excess of caffeine and need to find a bathroom might have contributed to the bouncing too, but I’ll never admit it.

Our first stop was the Lincoln Park Zoo.

We were dropped off kitty-corner across from the zoo, where the view was incredibly beautiful. Chicago is always a week or so ahead of us in terms of the seasons, so the vibrant greens and colorful flowers were a welcome sight.

I almost wanted to settle down on a bench for for a while, but I was too excited about going to the zoo to delay.

The zoo has always been a special place for Teacher and me. When we were newly married we didn’t have money to go out to eat or to the movies, but every so often we’d spend a day at a local zoo. Some of my favorite zoo memories are:

• Locking the keys in the car at the Potawatomi Zoo and panicking until Teacher got them out.
• Pushing College Boy’s stroller through puddles and trying to win him a ginormous stuffed animal playing skee ball on another trip to the Potawatomie Zoo.
• Watching the rhinos getting it on at the St. Louis Zoo not a sight for the faint of heart.
• Taking Teacher’s parents, College Boy and Princess to the St. Louis Zoo.
• So many trips to the Zoo during the five years we lived in St. Louis that we had the park memorized
• A child care field trip to the Greenville Zoo where it poured the whole time we were there.
• Teacher’s “employee appreciation” family day at the Milwaukee Zoo, complete with family picnic and prizes for the kids.
• Teacher walking next to me so I wouldn’t freak out in the aviary and butterfly house at every zoo we went visited. I’m deathly afraid of birds and butterflies/moths – especially when they’re fluttering near me.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I love going to the zoo, and was excited about my first trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo!

This here thing is called a “bubbler” in Wisconsin, but I understand other parts of the country call it a “water fountain.” I’ve never understood why you’d use four syllables wa-ter foun-tain when two bubb-ler will do, but to each his own. In any case it’s kinda cute and makes me think of Bambi.

Once inside the zoo we broke up into our squads. Teacher and I ended up following this the motley crew chaperone Tony excluded most of the day.

This tunnel made me think of Snow White – I must have Disney on my brain.

Like most kids, our group was in such a hurry that if they didn’t see an animal immediately they went on to the next one. Teacher and I followed more slowly and were there when this black bear walk came into view. I think he’s looking for a snack.

We also saw wolves resting on top of their hill. Some other kids were howling at them; obviously they’re not impressed.

Our squad did stop to watch the otters play for a long time. In all my trips to various zoos I’ve never seen otters play as much as these did!

This one kept swimming down to the bottom of the tank, then toward the top next to the glass.

Right under the surface it pushed off the glass to do a backflip back through the air and back into the water.

It was SO cool!

After leaving the otters we caught the last part of the sea lion show.

I wish our kids would respond as well to bribes as the sea lion did to the trainer’s fish.

In the distance we noticed a layer of low clouds around the Sears tower.

Lilacs are one of my favorite spring flowers; they smell soooo good! There always seem to be lots of lilacs wherever we are on our Chicago trip.

My grandma used to have three lilac bushes on the side of her garage: one white, one lavender and one dark purple. Our house came with two lavender lilac bushes in the back, but they’re old and not doing well so I think we’ll have to replace them soonish.

We rounded a corner and were greeted with a sea of pink – flamingos!

I’m not fond of birds, but flamingos are an exception, because they’re pink and don’t fly. At least I don’t think they fly… do they?

College Boy’s favorite: penguins! I have a lot of respect for the zoo workers – kid poo is bad enough, I wouldn’t want to be cleaning up penguin poo.

This bear isn’t impressed by us humans. Poor thing, he looks utterly bored; I think he needs a friend. Not that I’m volunteering or anything!

On the way out we passed this lady who was singing “You are my Sunshine.” The little girl apparently knew the song because she started singing along with the lady. It was the neatest moment – I wish I’d thought to video it.

Good thing it’s time for lunch; I’m HUNGRY!

To be continued…

Past Chicago trips usually began at some ungodly hour of the morning – last year it was 4:00 am – but this year was different. Since another band booked our usual morning time at VanderCook College of Music we were bumped to the afternoon and didn’t need to leave until 5:00 am.

This is what the drive to school looked like this year: lighter out than usual, but as unfocussed as every year. My eyes refuse to focus until I’ve been out of bed for a couple of hours.

The kids were more awake and lively than usual, and couldn’t wait to get the trip started.

Once again Teacher’s job was to pack the bus. After so many years packing our moving van we moved eleven times during our first thirteen years of marriage, the Vanguard truck, and the Chicago bus for so many years I think he’s lost his amateur status.

That’s the last of it; time for the opening devotion and announcements before we head out.

And we’re off – Chicago, here we come!

Are we there yet?

We usually watch a DVD or two on the way there to help keep the kids from getting too squirrely. Unfortunately this year our bus was a “tester” that the company was considering buying. It was wonderful, except the DVD player would only work with a remote, which apparently wasn’t anywhere on the bus. Between the frustration of trying to figure out how to make the DVD player work and the squirrely kids the trip seemed longer than usual.

When will we get there?

Traffic was light so we made good time on our way to Chicago. Since we had some flexibility in our morning schedule we stopped at a highway oasis before we got to the city.

We were all glad to get off the bus, use the bathroom, and stretch our legs.

Now THIS is what I was looking for!

Apparently I wasn’t the only one in need of a Starbucks fix.

Jo-Bear got in line too, but since I won’t let him have coffee until he’s older he had to console himself with a smoothie. It’s a rough life but I think he’ll make it.

Hey ladies, time to head for the bus!

Come on, let’s go!

Teacher had just introduced the compass rose to his class, so we took a photo of this gigantic one outside the oasis entrance to show them.

Stopping at the oasis was a nice break – I hope we can fit it in every year.

Some of our chaperones; aka the Starbucks Crew!

Now that we’re all caffeinated we’re ready to hit Chicago.

More to come…

Once again Teacher and I are putting our sanity on the line to accompany the middle school band to Chicago for the Music in the Parks competition.

While you’re sitting comfortably in your home, maybe sipping a nice cuppa’ and eating a leisurely breakfast I’ll take a white chocolate mocha and chocolate chunk scone please, we’re huddled in the front of a coach bus, trying to simultaneously wake up and ignore the cacophony behind us.

Since nothing interesting has happened yet you can read about the first leg of last year’s trip while we wait for this year’s excitement to start.

While you’re reading I think I’ll take a nap. Wake me when we get there please!

Some of you may have seen this already, but I thought such a fantastic display of Christmas spirit deserved to be shared again. I wish I’d been in that food court to see it in person… or better yet, I wish I’d been part of the choir!

Now a challenge for you…

What are YOU doing to share the Christmas spirit with others?