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Spring Tour Handbook Quiz Answers!

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 18:37:58 -0700

1. How far does the water fall at Multnomah Falls? 620 feet

1. What is the mascot of Century High School? Jaguars

1. The city of Long Beach is on what type of land form? Pennisula

4. The richest man in the US lives in Washington. Who is he? Bill Gates

5. When did the first Starbucks open? 1971

6. How tall is the space needle? 605 feet to the top of the antenna

7. Name the most famous classic rock musician born in Seattle:
Jimi Hendrix

8. What mountain range do we cross between Seattle and Ellensburg? Cascades

9. What year did Spokane host the World’s Fair? 1974

10. What city is Central Valley High School in? Spokane Valley

11. Coeur d’Alene is located in a part of Idaho nicknamed after this item found in your kitchen: Idaho “Pan Handle”

12. How many times will we cross the Columbia River during our trip? 4

Wednesday - Spring Tour Day 8 - Medford & Home!

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 17:05:53 -0700

No tour is ever perfect! Our major mishap happened about 4:00am on I-5 south of Salem when Eagle 3 lost a wheel! We were able to pull over to the side of the road without incident and just a few sparks as Eagle 3’s spring tour came to an early end - or an extension! The bus doubled back around and met up with us and we transferred important items from Eagle 3 to Eagle 2. Eagle 3 was towed to a local shop for repairs we were all back on our way within the hour. Sounds like Eagle 3 will be laid up for the week. Our morning breakfast stop was in Medford and we said goodbye to Dennis and hello to Ben, who was our driver when we left the Concert Hall one week ago.

The rest of the trip continued smoothly as we came back home to familiar surroundings of Central California.

What a week it was! The students will be adding more blogs over the next few days telling their stories and adventures of Spring Tour 2009. It was an unforgettable week of memories and experiences that are sure to be with us for the rest of our lives!

Tuesday - Spring Tour Day 7 - Coeur d’Alene & Pasco

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 22:30:40 -0700

Early, early morning! We were up at 6:30am and leaving Central Valley by 7:30am on our way to Coeur d’Alene. What a beautiful school! It was just remodeled about 7 years ago and it’s a wonderful facility.

It was just a short 40 minute bus ride to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the Coeur d’Alene Resort. We boarded the “Spirit of Coeur d’Alene” cruise boat and left on our two hour cruise. Breathtaking! It was a bit chilly up on deck, but the view was spectacular. Many of the students stayed below deck in the warmth and played cards, wrote blogs, or just enjoyed each other’s company and the view.

After docking and a group photo, the students were turned loose to explore downtown Coeur d’Alene. Many of them had an opportunity to experience Hudson’s Hamburgers, a staple of Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene for over 100 years. These burgers are simple. Single or double. Cheese or no cheese. Pickles and Onions. That’s it. No fries or anything else. Add a little ketchup or spicy mustard if you like. As you can read in some of the blogs, many of the students have found the Hudson’s Hamburger to be their new favorite food! Hudson’s has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on the front page of USA Today.

We left Coeur d’Alene for a quick stop in Spokane to fuel Eagle 2 and then we were off for the two hour drive to Pasco, Washington for our final concert of the tour. We started of with a short rehearsal with Pasco Band Director, Kevin Clayton, where he rehearsed a piece we would play combined with Pasco at the end of the concert.

Pasco’s Jazz 2 & 3 as well as their Symphonic Band were featured in an early concert at 5pm. They all sounded very good. Very good jazz bands! The 7pm concert featured Pasco’s Jazz 1, CW’s Jazz 1, Pasco’s Wind Symphony, and CW’s Wind Symphony. Every performance was just outstanding. The Wind Symphony really played their hearts out in their finals performance of a number of our songs from this year. It was an emotional set of music and a perfect way to end tour. Instant Concert brought the house down once again.

After packing up Eagle 2 and having one more round of pizza, Dennis and the Charter Bus pulled up. He had most of the day off at the hotel to rest up for the long drive through the night. Dennis has played such a huge role in the success of our trip. We are in debt to him!

Lights out on the bus!

Monday - Spring Tour Day 6 - Ellensburg & Spokane

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 21:43:20 -0700

We rose early from our last hotel stay to prepare for our recording session at CWU. The breakfast was provided by the hotel and the students were in good spirits as we drove to the campus. We had left everything set up from the night before, so it we just walked on stage and began our warm up. The students played with such focus and intensity! Recording can be a stressful time, but the students pushed through two and a half hour to get great takes on all of our songs.

The students had lunch at the Student Union Building and got the “college student” experience before we boarded the bus for Spokane. After just a three hour drive, we arrived in Spokane and set up in the Bing Crosby Theater. The stage was cozy, but the theater was beautiful! After our soundcheck we took a walk over to see the falls that are right in Riverfront Park and then the kids were on their own for dinner in downtown Spokane.

Our concert was awesome! Central Valley’s Wind Ensemble performed first and they had a great performance. We took the stage and the student played up a storm! It was an inspired performance and an unforgettable evening for all of us.

We stayed the night at Central Valley High School in the gym and had more games of Dodgeball. We also had interesting and exciting performances from all of the students who had received mail. To get their mail, the students have to sing for us. Like I said...QUITE interesting.

We’re off to Coeur d’Alene for a cruise in the morning and then Pasco, Washington for our final concert before we head home. See you then!

Sunday - Spring Tour Day 5 - Seattle & Ellensburg

Sun, 5 Apr 2009 16:24:20 -0700

Our Sunday began with a wonderful complimentary breakfast at the hotel. We had a little more time this morning, so many of the students slept until 8pm, before we checked the rooms, loaded the bus and departed for Seattle.

We got to the Seattle Center at about 10:00am, so we had a little time to kill before our reservation at the Experience Music Project. We took a little walk around the Seattle Center and thoroughly entertained ourselves with the big automated fountain. A few of the students got a little wet!

At 11:00am, it was our time to enter the EMP and wow! So much history of rock n’roll! Just amazing information, actually instruments used by famous rockers, and a whole interactive floor where the students could try their hand at guitar, drumset, vocals or keyboards. Or they could put a band together for the opportunity to go on stage! Music history is rich with many movements and musical groups that came from the Seattle Area.

After lunch, a number of us went up in the Space Needle. What a view! Seattle is just a spectacular city and there is no better what to view it than from the observation deck over 500 feet in the air. The weather today was absolutely spectacular. It was supposedly the first days of sunshine in months. Guess we brought it with us!

We left for Ellensburg in the afternoon. It was a short 2 hour drive over the Cascade Mountains. The scenery was beautiful! There were even people skiing, too! The traffic heading west back into Seattle was backed up for miles as everyone was returning home from spring break. Fortunately for us, we were heading east and it was smooth sailing.

When we arrived at Central Washington University, Mark Lane who is the associate director of bands, met us and rehearsed us for a couple of hours. He also showed us around their music building. It’s gorgeous! It really opened the students eyes to what a college music experience can be, especially for those considering majoring in music.

After the rehearsal, it was back to check into the hotel. The students got food, swam in the pool (it was crazy in there again!), or just hung out in their room or the lobby. Room check was at 11pm and lights out at midnight (we hope!).

Tomorrow we record in the morning and then off to Spokane for the concert in the Bing Crosby Theater.

Saturday - Spring Tour Day 4 - Seattle, WA

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 12:55:37 -0700

Everyday continues to be just jam packed with excitement! Our day started of with a three hour bus ride and a sad departure from Long Beach where we said goodbye to the go-karts as we passed heading out of town. Our trip took us through windy roads as we made out way up to Bremerton through parts of the Olympic Pennisula. Beautiful Scenery!

After getting the bus in position to board the ferry, the students had a few minutes to step outside into the beautiful sunshine and buy a Starbucks as we waited for the ferry to arrive. The weather was spectacular! A perfect April day! The ferry pulled up and with the kids all back on the bus, we drove onto the massive ferry. Three lanes down the middle, one on each side of that and a couple of 2nd level lanes too! Not to mention it’s longer than a football field! The kids got off the bus and went up to the passenger to enjoy the breathtaking view as we crossed Puget Sound.

Upon arrival in Seattle, we unloaded at Westlake Center Mall and walked to Pike Place where we spent the rest of the day taking in all of the unique shops and food. The weather continued to be a highlight of the day as rain is normal this time of year. We regrouped at 7pm at the mall, shared our stories, and drove off to the hotel. The kids swam in the pool, we enjoyed good conversation in the lobby, and hopefully everyone got some good rest!

We’re halfway through the tour as of tonight. It’s off to the Experience Music Project and the Seattle Center/Space Needle tomorrow!

Friday - Spring Tour Day 3 - Long Beach, WA

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 10:03:35 -0700

What a day! We woke up in the at Century High School at 6:45am and we were on the road just a little after 8:00am. We took Highway 26 west to the Oregon Coast and even saw a little snow on the way! We crossed the mouth of the Columbia River via the four mile Astoria Bridge. Our first stop of the day was at Cape Disappointment State Park where we hiked an incredible amount through mud and slippery terrain up to a beautiful lighthouse over looking the cape. Following that experience, we spent a few hours shopping and enjoying each others company in long beach-some of our kids even went horseback riding on the beach! We held a joint jazz band and wind symphony concert at Ilwaco high school. The turn out was not our best, but they were a great crowd. We ended the day with a midnight walk along the beach and having a splendid time with one another...there were glow sticks involved...:)

Thursday - Spring Tour Day 2 - Portland, OR

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 09:51:09 -0700

Spring Tour has been adventurous thus far! We hit the road on Wednesday night at about 10:00pm headed for Medford, Oregon on our way to the Portland Area. The trip through the night was smooth as most of the kids slept. We arrived in Medford at 6:30am for showers and breakfast at a local YMCA. Very refreshing and good planning on Mrs. Nalchajian’s part! The YMCA Staff was very helpful and accomodating and were very complimentary of our students.

We also switched bus drivers. Dennis, our favorite driver from Golden Eagle, was rested and ready drive for us for the rest of tour. We continued up Interstate 5, making a quick lunch stop in Salem, Oregon.

Our next stop was to be Multnomah Falls, but we instead made a short stop at the hospital to have student checked out after getting hit in the eye with a small ball on the bus. Thankfully everything was okay with no major damage done!

We were then off to Century High School for dinner, a concert, and an overnight gym stay. Dinner was awesome! We had French Dip and Mac & Cheese all provided by Larry Hills and Mimi’s Cafe (thank you!!). The concert was for 100+ elementary/middle school band kids who are part of an evening music program at Century. Those in attendance were very complimentary of the performance!

After the concert, the students setup their sleeping bags for the gym stay and were able to unwind with some exciting games of dodgeball...the official sport of CW Band!

That’s it for our first official day of tour! More to follow...