Every other year, the Junior and Senior bands go on a tour somewhere in this fine country of ours. In the past, the groups under the direction of John Olson have gone to places like New Orleans and Washington D.C. among others. The purpose for these excursions is to attend band festivals in different states and different regions. The groups play a few songs on a foreign stage in front of new people, not only to improve themselves and gain new experiences, but to see how we stack up against bands from all over the country. This year, the band took a trip to St. Louis, Missouri to attend the St. Charles “Music in the Park” band festival.
The musical group, which consisted of about 80 students, left school on Thursday, April 20th for a good old-fashioned 12-hour bus ride. And if you think that that’s an extremely long time to spend on a bus, let me assure you, you’re right. So, after a few movies, a few games, and a few naps, we arrived safely in Eureka, Missouri, where our hotel was located. The first night was spent relaxing and stretching our limbs at the hotel. Some people took advantage of the pool, while others went shopping at the nearby convenience store, and others just laid down in their hotel rooms to recover from the trip. By the morning, though, everyone had gotten over the ordeal and was ready to get back on the bus!
This time, we only drove for about a half hour to get to the city of St. Louis itself. There, we went on a sight-seeing tour that consisted of shopping at the St. Louis Union Station, visiting the Gateway Arch, and taking a ride on a riverboat tour of the Mississippi River. The first stop was a pretty free experience. The old train station had been converted into a very nice mall with lots of landscaping, fountains, shops, restaurants, and fish. The students were allowed to wander this mall at their leisure, and after lunch we got on board the buses once again and went over to the arch.
If you’ve never been to St. Louis before you might not know that you can actually go to the top of the arch, but that is exactly what we did. We didn’t ascend the imposing, 630 foot structure by stairs or a conventional elevator, but via pods that were winched to the top by cables. The experience was harrowing to say the least, what with the pods being very claustrophobic and the ride being a full four minutes. After we evacuated the pods, we stepped out into the observation deck, which was a long room with small windows along either side. The view from the arch allows you to see everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything. The arch is the tallest thing in St. Louis. Even the tallest building in the city is a few stories short of 630 feet.
After we were winched back down the arch, we all went down to the river and boarded the “Tom Sawyer” riverboat. Though the boat ride itself was fairly dull, having very little to see along the river, most students took the opportunity to work on their tans on the hot, sunny deck. The ride took us up and down the St. Louis section of the Mississippi, and we got to see exciting things like grain docks and power plants! Awesome! Anyway, the ride was soon over and it was about time to go to the band competition.
After a fairly short bus ride, we arrived at St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Missouri. We unpacked the cargo bays, which were full of instruments and uniforms, got dressed and started warming up. The junior class was up first, so they practiced a bit and went on stage. They did a fantastic job, though the stage was terrible, and then the seniors were up. They did a good job too, though there were some technical difficulties, but they are to be expected when a large group like this one takes their show on the road and plays on a foreign stage. After we suffered through the concert, we went back to the hotel for a good, long night’s sleep.
The next morning began what we had probably all been waiting for: Six Flags! We drove the extremely short trek to the park and covered ourselves in sunscreen. It was a very hot day, probably somewhere in the mid 80’s, and the park was surprisingly empty. We didn’t have to wait very long for any rides. The longest that I personally waited was about a half hour for the Mr. Freeze ride. This rollercoaster is reminiscent of Valleyfair’s Steel Venom in that it starts off one way, goes vertical, then goes backwards, but Mr. Freeze was a lot more exciting and included loops and twists. The other really memorable ride was Batman. This was a hanging “inverted” rollercoaster that went through tons of really smooth, really fast loops and twists. If you ever get a chance to go on this ride, I recommend that you ride in the very front. I give it my star of approval.
In the afternoon we, along with the other bands involved in the competition, went to the picnic area in the park for food and the award ceremony. After our fried chicken and popsicles, we sat down on the lawn and were presented our trophies. Our results were probably less than desired, but we still got a decent score and two trophies to prove it. After we collected our booty, we got back on the buses to conclude our vacation. After an evening in the hotel, we went to bed very tired and, in some cases, very sun-burnt.
The rest of the trip simply consisted of all the kids loading themselves on the bus the next day, and heading off for another 12-hour trip home. We returned to Park Center at about 6 in the evening on Sunday, April 23. This of course was a great way to end our weekend: sitting on a bus all day, but at least we had a lot of time to relax and do homework in the evening! In all, the St. Louis trip was a pretty fun one. It wasn't over-booked with activities, but there was still plenty more to do than just play music and go home. It was a great opportunity to play on a new stage, hang out with friends, and of course see the sights. And remember, all three Park Center bands will be performing in the PC Auditorium on Thursday, May 11.
