Main Street Electrical Parade

At age two we took Mackenzie to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. Twelve years later she marched in their evening Main Street Electrical Parade. I think about all the kids that will never get the opportunity to visit Disney World much less get the chance to march in one of their parades. I hope Mackenzie and the entire Gulf Coast High School band realized how significant of an event it was.





On Saturday morning we dropped Mackenzie off at the high school at 5:00am so she could jump on one of the six chartered buses that would take her to Disney. The band was allowed to roam the park until 5:45 pm.  Once they were taken backstage to dress in uniform all cameras and cell phones had to be turned off due to strict Disney policy. Mackenzie said the parade was mostly a blur to her.  Since this was her first parade she had to focus on the steps and notes rather than getting to enjoy the crowd. She did mention that families were lined up along Main Street three hours prior to the start of the parade.







By midnight Mackenzie was back in Naples and totally exhausted. However, there is no rest for the weary. The Gulf Coast Band already has another parade scheduled, the Macy's Holiday parade at Universal Studios in December.

9/11 Rememberence

Friday night during halftime, the GCH and PRH marching bands took the field together with over 600 members. As recognition of the 9/11 anniversary, the bands played America the Beautiful followed by a trumpet solo of Taps.

Naples to Venice

There is a reason that Venice, Florida is known as the Shark Tooth Capital of the World. It is one of the best places in the world to search for fossilized sharks' teeth. Sharks actually shed their teeth and grow new ones, and may shed thousands of teeth in their lifetime. Thousands of these specimens wash up onto the Venice Beaches. Since we had Labor day off we decided to take a day trip to Venice.







We were not as lucky as we had hoped. Because we lacked the proper tools we only came home with a few teeth.  Next time we plan to purchase a "Florida Snow Shovel" in advance of arriving at the beach. This device will help us scoop, shake and sift the sand.



The day was not a total loss.  The kids got to experience an old-fashioned soda fountain with old style decor, marble counters, music and memorabilia from the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's. The flavored sodas were amazing.  Darin's favorite was marshmallow coke.

Opening Night

After weeks of anticipation Mackenzie's high school hosted their first home football game.



The Gulf Coast band looked so much larger in their uniforms.  They took up almost the entire field.







This year the school is trying some new by placing the band in the end zone in order to alleviate overcrowding in the stands. Mackenzie didn't get to sit down much at all. The drumline seemed to play the entire time.  



The members of the band are given the 3rd quarter off to grab a bite to eat from the concession stand and are allowed to mingle with their friends in the stands. But once the quarter ends they are back to work. 

Opening night ended on a high note (pardon the pun), Gulf Coast's new head coach (a former Gulf Coast player) won his first home game and was given the game ball.

Band Camp

Mackenzie started band camp on August 6th as a freshman cymbalist on the drumline.  She had never participated in band and had never even held a cymbal.  The two weeks of band camp was going to be a real learning experience for her. The first week she attended from 8am to 3pm each day. Marching in the August heat can be brutal! As a surprise, fire trucks came on Friday to cool the students off with water.

The second week Mackenzie attended camp from 4pm to 9pm each evening.  By now, she was starting to get blisters on her fingers and bruises on her hips from her cymbals but she was not discouraged. She was loving it, the cymbal line had started to bond and the drumline was asked to perform at Freshman Orientation. That Wednesday morning, Mackenzie should have been sitting in the auditorium along with all the other incoming Freshman, but instead, she was performing for them on stage. How awesome was that?
On the last evening of band camp, the parents were invited for a parent preview show and BBQ.  It was the first time we got to see Mackenzie perform.

The drumline is always playing when the band enters the stadium.

Gulf Coast High School has one of the largest bands in the state. Almost 400 kids if you include the dance and flag line.

 At 7:10 each morning Mackenzie has a percussion class with the above students. 

School started on Monday and the band has been busy. They performed early Monday morning at a school wide pep rally and again on Thursday evening for a parent pep rally.

We are hoping that Hurricane Isaac blows through Naples quickly since our first home game is this Friday.

Here is a sneak peak from the parent performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkpO63XDgw&list=UUySZSA7Pz4MqZ31wO1S0KcQ&index=1&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsG7DzvzYEE&list=UUySZSA7Pz4MqZ31wO1S0KcQ&index=2&feature=plcp

San Antonio

Everyone knows there are two reasons why you visit San Antonio ...
 
...to see the Alamo
,
... and to visit the Riverwalk during the day


...or in the evening.



But in San Antonio, we found a lesser known gem.  The Drury Plaza Hotel along the bank of the river. Speaking of banks, this hotel is the former Alamo National Bank.  The registration desk is the original teller window and the bank's safe is still located in the basement.



I enjoyed the history and fine details within this hotel.  The kids, well, they enjoyed the rooftop pool.  And when I say rooftop, I am talking the 22nd floor in downtown San Antonio.





This was an amazing view for two kids from little ole Naples, Florida.



Even though the sun has set on our two week tour of Texas at least we can say that we went out with a bang.  Mackenzie fell in love with San Antonio and hopes to return.  We had to drag her away from the Riverwalk the morning we left. Mason hopes to return as well.  We had to drag him away from all the tourist trap activities around the Alamo such as Ripley's Believe it or Not and Tussaud's Wax Museum. What 10 year old doesn't love those kind of places?

We are back in Naples and preparing for the start of school on Monday.  We have a high schooler in the house, big gulp!

Next post: band camp
 

New Braunfels

The shortest drive between cities was from Austin to New Braunfels, only about 30 miles.  We spent the morning tubing down the Comal River.  The Comal is a much calmer river than we are used to.  That day the water was crystal clear and the kids spent more time snorkeling from their tubes rather than riding any rapids. We enjoyed the leisurely 2 hour ride but would have preferred more action. Maybe next time we will try the Guadalupe River instead.



After tubing we headed to historic Gruene for lunch. 



We ate at the Gristmill River Restaurant which used to be a cotton gin.



It is situated on a bluff that overlooks the Guadalupe River so you get a view of the river and other tubers. It felt like we were eating in our very own treehouse.  It was one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.



While in the New Braunfels the kids were starting to feel a little homesick.  We had been gone for almost two weeks and had covered a lot of miles.  Little did we know that our last stop, San Antonio, would spark their interest to the point where they weren't ready to go home just yet.

Next post: Remembering the Alamo