PLAY TIME! (NOT just THE MUSIC KIND)

Hello from Busch Gardens!  The time is now 3:07pm EST.

The orchestra had a great time at the exhibit hall and lots of fun things were played and acquired.  Parents, expect to see lots of free pencils lying around when your students come home! 

We enjoyed lunch at the Convention Center at noon and saw some PSYE friends from the University High School orchestra.  After the excitement from the morning, the exhibit hall, and lunch, the students’ energy just sort of… crashed.  We’re still trying to adjust to our busy schedule with the time difference, so lots of yawns and table-side naps were seen after lunch and in the lobby of the hotel once we returned to get ready for Busch Gardens.

The buses arrived to pick us up at the hotel right when we were having a PSSS group check-in – perfect timing.  Busch Garden tickets and meal vouchers were distributed and we headed straight for the buses at 1:15pm. As we drove through Tampa, the bus was a bit quiet.  Students were napping, some resting quietly, some on their phone.

But then, about 25 minutes into the drive, we turn a corner to see this HUUUUGE towering roller coaster.  As of lightning struck the bus and the re-energized every weary passenger, the fatigue melted away into rumbling chatter, giggles, and shouts.  Miraculously, no one was tired anymore.

The 68 of us piled off of our two charter buses, hopping and skipping with eagerness to bolt through the front gates of the park.  Since it’s mid-day Friday, the park is fairly empty and we funneled our way through the security check rather quickly.  That was about an hour ago and the orchestra is off with their buddies, dispersed amongst the park and enjoying this beautiful day!  

If you’re not familiar with Busch Gardens, I could describe it as a half theme park, half zoo.  It’s like Knott’s Berry Farm meets the San Diego Zoo.  It’s huge and since we’re only here for a total of 3.5 hours, the students are strategically rushing to hit every corner of the park and every highlight.  Many of them have good training in this thanks to Disneyland :-)

Below are some photos of the park taken by our awesome chaperones.  Photos of students will be coming soon.  Also, do know that any photos I post this weekend are highlights taken by a combination of staff/chaperone iPhones.  After the conclusion of the tour, we’ll compile all of the photos from this weekend and send out a link so you could see ALL OF THEM!

That’s it for now.  I’ll post again this evening after we send the students to bed (around 11pm EST).  We leave Busch Gardens at about 5:45 EST, head to the hotel, and then have about an hour to get ready to go see the Jeremy Kittel concert at 8pm EST.  If you’re not familiar with Mr. Kittel, I highly recommend checking out his website and YouTube videos.  He’s an amazing musician who really knows how to rock out on the violin: http://jeremykittel.com/

-         -  Bella