Rossville senior high band and choir members recently returned from a trip to the Windy City. Here's a brief recap of our time in Chicago.
28 Rossville senior high band and choir members, as well as 11 chaperones, were prepped and ready to set out to Chicago at the planned 10:30 PM departure time on Wednesday, March 13th. After initial calls to the charter bus company, it became evident that something had gone awry. Arrow Stage Lines and our travel company Director's Choice had had a miscommunication and our leave day was incorrect on Arrow's calendar. Told to "sit tight," we kept ourselves busy with kickball, basketball, reading, snacks, and naps until we finally heard word after midnight that a driver and charter bus would be en route soon.
We finally loaded the charter bus at 1:30 AM on Thursday, March 14th, and were on our way to Chicago! We picked up a relief driver in Kansas City and drove all through the night, arriving at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago shortly before noon. After enjoying the museum and eating lunch, we departed for VanderCook College of Music, where the RHS Band performed for and received a clinic with Professor Stacey Dolan. Once we were done at VanderCook, it was time to zip over to Navy Pier and load a ship for the "Student Spirit Dinner Cruise" in Lake Michigan... not before our driver (of a 56 passenger coach) accidentally went down a one-way street the wrong way and, while attempting to a multiple point turn-around, back into and knocked a Chicago street light completely over. We blocked traffic for about 10 minutes while pictures/documentation was taken, and then got dropped off JUST in time to load our ship and begin our dinner cruise in the bay. It was a very fun cruise dinner, with the entire 500+ capacity passenger ship all to ourselves and the crew. Once we finally had our fill of food and fun, we unloaded the ship, loaded the coach, and headed to our hotel just outside of Chicago, near the O'Hare airport for a much needed night of quality rest to conclude Thursday, March 14th.
Friday, March 15th we started the day at Millennium Park for a photo op at Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean," while it was overcast, drizzling rain, and below 30 degrees. We then walked over to the Art Institute of Chicago for an hour and half guided tour of the history of Modern Art. After the museum, groups split up to grab lunch, we were able to stop across the street from the Art Institute and see members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra protesting outside Symphony Hall, they are on strike as the negotiations over wages and pensions continue - so all performances are currently canceled until an agreement can be met. Once everyone had filled up with lunch, it was off to the Shedd Aquarium for a few hours. We capped off the day with dinner at Giordano's (Deep Dish Pizza) and then had a few hours to relax at the hotel and swim.
Our final day in Chicago, Saturday, March 16th, was a whirlwind. We started the day by driving to Michigan Avenue (also known as Magnificent Mile), which is a stretch in downtown Chicago with lots of shopping and stores. The weather was much nicer today, with sunshine and a cool breeze. There were a lot more people in Chicago today due to the St. Patrick's Day parade being at noon, and the streets were packed. The river is dyed green and people were celebrating everywhere! After sightseeing and shopping, we had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and were entertained by some live bagpipe music. We departed Hard Rock Cafe for Willis Tower and SkyDeck Chicago - lots of people overcame/managed their fear of heights as we went up 103 floors to the observatory floors and the glass step-out boxes. After SkyDeck, we returned to Magnificent mile for a bit more shopping and dinner before ending our trip in Chicago with a fantastic performance by The Blue Man Group at Briar Street Theatre. We made it back safe and sound to RHS on Sunday, March 17th around 9:00 AM, extremely tired and sore from the long bus ride, but with lots of great memories from a great trip.
Go Dawgs!
Garrett Jones
Rossville Jr/Sr High School
Band & Choir Director
For an additional 19 photos taken on the trip, go to:
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