On The Road

Lawton Chiles High School
Tallahassee, Florida

It was spring break. We were traveling by charter bus to NY. The three days included a concert by the NY Phil, seeing Newsies on Broadway, and performing on the deck of the Intrepid.

Now it was cold on the Intrepid’s deck for a band from Florida. We’re used to playing in 85-degree weather and it was near 35. While performing, one of my senior flutes locked his knees and passed out falling and hitting his head on the hard metal deck. This required a short ride to the local emergency room for a possible concussion. Our parent nurse went along and I stayed with the band for the rest of the tour. Hours went by until we learned if the student was cleared to travel. Long story short, he was cleared; we picked him and the chaperone up for the trip back to Florida, and stopped for a snowball fight in VA. It was the first time for most of our students. We learned how to find two cellphones lost in the snow. Great food, fabulous tour guide, great kids and chaperones! One of the best trips in 27 years of teaching!