Mr. Marks Blog

Saturday Night 12:19 am (PT)

Well the last two days have been great and a lot of fun...The kids have been wonderful and have handled the few little bumps in the road very well. The internet issue is fixed but I am too tired to really fill you all in tonight. I plan to in about seven hours when I wake up (7:30 am pt). Check back tomorrow morning for more info...

Sunday Morning 6:30 am (pt)

Well a bit of sleep helps. I can now add graphics and even keep my eyes open. No promises about the typos....

Here is recap of day one and two...

Day 1 - After the early start from MPHS at 5:00 am we were off to the airport. The group arrived at the airport at 6:15 and had no problems with check in. All went as planned and even the tuba got a seat ont he plan. Strong head winds and a busy JFK runway made us about 30 minutes late. Beautiful view from the window over the Califronia mountains

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Mr. E and I were not happy about the buses that met us at the airport but we dealt and headed off to In-N-Out Burger... They were great there and most of the kids loved it...Next it was to the hotel and we got things sorted out. The band went off to the park first and the Broadcasting kids stayed at the hotel to shoot the first morning show and put the groceries in the rooms (thanks guys...That was awesome) The band was off to Disneyland. Mission number one: Group ride of Pirates!!! Fun time with the marcing band group talking about memories of the fall and the 6 from the trip in '06 final got to se pirates in California!!! The band spent four hours in Disneyland and met to return to the hotel early (9:00). It started raining on the way back but we need sleep for the performance the next day. The broadcasting kids finished their four hours at the park around 11:00. We were all asleep when they got back...A picture of Disney's newest princess and her band on day one.

Day 2:

Wake up at 6:00 and off to the park at 7:00 am. Big performance day. The kids played great and the guest conductors looked great in their matching suits. They just wanted to look like me..(HAHA) MPTV should air the concert on Monday or Tuesday. We had a great crowd and the MPTV folks filmed all the fun. Then the MPTV kids were off to Indiana Jones while the band packed up. Thanks to Mr. Garde and Mr. Prokop for all the packing of the truck.

With the performance for the day over it was off to Small World for an optional group ride..That was a lot of fun!!! Next we had a few minutes off and then a group meeting of band and broadcasting at The Abe Lincoln Experience. The kids all saw the attraction together and learned about the 16th President and the Civil War. Our history lesson for the day. Next it was geography time and we headed over to California Adventure across the plaza for some time to see the other park...Some experienced art at animation and some learned about cooking at the bread and tortilla factories. Personally I enjoyed a few moments to eat lunch at the sourdough place...Amazing clam chowder!!! Some rides for all and Mr. Prokop and Mr. Garde got a chance to relax after the work of the morning...

Before	After

At 5:00 pm it was back to Disneyland for dinner at thunder ranch...Family Style all you can eat BBQ....

Bucket of Meats	Desserts!!!

After dinner some more rides and a large group of us met for the fireworks!!! Great view from about 30 feet from the castle!!!

Then back to the hotel around 11:45...In the true spirit of covering all subjects...I must have been about Phys Ed yesterday...My pedomitor read 32018 steps or 15.16 miles in one day!!! CRAZY!!!!

Day 3...

Off to Hollywood!!!!! What a great and long day...

First we left the hotel around 9:00 am for LA. The drive was about an hour with narration the entire way about the area and the towns we were going through. Once we arrived in LA we took in sights from the bus including the Grammy Museum.

Then it was off to the music center of LA. This included a stop where the kids were able to get out and walk around. First was the LA County Music Center. This was the site of the Oscars for many years and the home of the LA Philhamonic...Then a jog down the street (Woke us up!!!) and we were at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Amazing biulding... We shot spots for MPTV at both location.

LA Music Center	Disney Concert Hall

Once our tour of LA was over we went back to the bus and headed for headed for Hollywood and Universal. The day was filled with great shows and clinics on movies and of course the entire group on the back lot tour. I got meet Curious George...That was cool. At the end of the night some shopping at City Walk where the Dalai Lama was visiting which caused 3 camera crews from local news. The MPTV kids got to tour a news truck. Some pictures and we were on our way to 90210....

Hollywood Sign	Seniors buy the Globe	KTLA Truck

After the Universal day we went to Beverly Hills and Sunset Strip. Great tour giudes on both buses pointed out the sites and the stores. One stores requires appointments and a credit check that proves a salary of $100,000.00 per month plus $10,000 min first purchase...Crazy!!!! It was neat and then back to the hotel. The kids had a great time but asked to go to bed when we got back at 9:00. So 9:45 tape in and sleep. Most are still asleep but I actually got 6+ hours of sleep for the first time. Today we are off to the Recording Session at Disney Animation and the kids get to make the soudtrack for famous cartoons. The broadcasting kids have animation and leadership classes for 6 hours...Some rides at the end of the night and then maybe off to Downtown Disney for some shopping time... Be Back with more updates soon!!!

Day 4...Been Busy but here it is...

We started the day at Disneyland backstage at the recording studio. We had a clinic with a disney conductor who worked us through three cartoon soundtracks which we recorded. The kids did a great job but sorry no pictures back stage at disney. After lunch it was off to the park for a well deserved break. After a few hours of rides we met for the Pixar Play Parade.

After the parade it was back to Disneyland for a few hours of Shopping and Playing...First order of business the marching band rides the nemo ride MINE!!! The juniors and seniors had a special treat and we went off to Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel to check things out. We got there on the new Mark VII monorail...Awesome Time...

Day 5...

Early start with a meeting in front of the hotel and then off to the park for our workshop about California History...Awesome experieince and the group I was with (Go Trout!!!) had blast with our obsticle course. Then 3 final hours of park time. We split to the park of our choice and many got to see Caption Eo..Bye Bye to Disney and hopefully we will back in the future...Then off to do our final performance and a bit of a beach party to end the night. Some packing is going on now and in the morning back to NJ to get ready for the storm!!! What a great week and an amazing oppurtunity for these kids. They were great and they have done MPHS proud!