Aloha!
This has been a great year for host families and last night
was no different. There were more than a few tears shed by the families
as they waved good-bye to the boys and got their final hugs in. They really enjoyed having the boys and once
again, we were invited back anytime.
That has been a recurring theme with these boys this year. They have really won over the hearts of
thousands of people so far and are making a great name for the LOLCB/Minnesota.
The day started like any other, first by getting the boys in
their seats, counted, then getting all the necessary meds distributed to
whoever required them. Then, we pull-out
the journals and recap all the events from the past day while it is fresh in
our memory. The boys have been
doing very good job with their
journaling. It helps to journal when you
have so many good things to write about!
I hope that is being reflected in the letters home as well.
A bit further down the road, we had Jeffrey, our “Officer of
the Day” come forward and give the Daily Report. The “Officer of the Day” is a new position we
created this year to help give some more responsibility to the older boys. They are responsible for taking attendance in
the morning, handing-out vitamins at lunch, carrying in the banner that we
present to the host families, and a few other small tasks throughout the
day. It was become a fun position to
have. About 10 boys or so have done it,
with more yet to come. I plan to make a
few small tweaks to it, but I think it could be a staple in our program for
many moons to come.
Aaron recapped the previous night’s performance with the
boys and gave them a rating of 8.8, which I believe is the highest of the tour
so far. They are doing fairly well – it’s
just really tough to get a score over 9.
The boys then had a few hours with their games and Ipods while we went
the rest of the trip into Niagara. They
had very little time with them the past few days, so they were more than a
little excited to be playing with them again.
At Niagara Falls, we took out our lunches and used the
restroom first. Today’s trip to the
falls was just a short one – about enough time to check-out the Horseshoe Falls
and eat our lunches. We also made time
to check-out the Nikola Tesla statue that is built on the site. Pretty cool.
The boys were obviously impressed by the massive size and power of the
falls. They will be experiencing it firsthand
tomorrow…More to come.
After lunch, we went little crazy and thought it would be a good idea to stop and resupply while we had the time. Instead of making a list of what batteries, disposable cameras, headphones, toothbrushes, etc. we needed and buying them with a staff member, we just brought everyone in at the same time. To my surprise, it actually went okay! The boys behaved themselves for the most part and proved very useful when I needed someone to transport the 8 cases of Aquafina. (For those keeping track at home, we go through about 2 cases per day.)
After Target, we drove to our motel in Tonawanda, about 15
minutes away. The boys got checked-in to
their rooms and had about 45 minutes to rest.
They need their rest so much right now.
All the running around we have been doing the past few days has taken
its toll on the energy levels of the boys.
They are exhausted, and so are the staff. Sunday Night we plan to give them a night-off
in their rooms to relax, play games, and rest-up. It will be an early bedtime.
Although we were in a motel for this stay, we still arranged
to have a concert in nearby Lockport, NY.
Lockport is a community on the Erie Canal with several locks and
dams. The church we are singing in was
built in 1855 and holds several beautiful Tiffany stained-glass windows. The rock that was blasted-out of the canal
was used to erect this massive church more than 150 years ago. It also has some other interesting features,
like the organ in the middle-front of the church that has an underground
passage way to get back to the choir room.
The organ also rides a platform up and down, depending on the needs of
the church for that day. I’ve been to a
lot of churches in my days, and this one was certainly unique!
The people at First Presbyterian in Lockport couldn’t have
been nicer to the boys. For starters,
they spoiled them with grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, with plenty of fresh
fruit, beans, veggies and other fixings to eat.
After the concert, they had an outdoor reception in the courtyard with
cookies and punch. (Sunday morning, they
would again roll-out the red carpet with a full spread of breakfast, including
fruit, homemade cinnamon rolls, and breakfast pizza in three different
flavors. It was pretty impressive!)
The concert went along well, although it was quite warm in
the church without air conditioning. The
doors/windows were open to provide a nice cross-breeze. While the boys were singing, I took a short
walk to check-out the locks on the Erie Canal to see if it would be something the
boys would like. I think they will find
it very interesting!
After the concert, the boys had their cookie and boarded the
bus back to the hotel. In all honesty,
it wasn’t the best behaved afternoon for our little cherubs, so we had a little
“quite reminder activity” to help refocus them for the last six days of the
tour. They are doing fairly well on the
whole, but they are so tired right now.
I think the activity got the point across. Our expectations of the boys do not waiver
depending on what day it is.
At the hotel, it was showers for everyone and hit the
hay! Sunday should be a great day, with
a church service in the morning, a surprise/unplanned trip to the locks around
11, and a few hours to do “Cave of the Winds” and “Maid in the Mist” in the afternoon
before relaxing at the motel for the night.
Dinner might be at “Old Country Buffet” as well.
P.J.
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