Bands Of America (BOA)
Grand National Championship
Overview
6:43am
With fuzzy slippers and arm-loads of treats, the band members and followers left Webster High School for their journey to Indianapolis.
Movies are already running on the TV's as the buses pulled away in the light rain.
8:30am
Everyone stretched their legs at the Angola rest stop on the New York Thruway. No rain here.
10:06am
Now past Erie, Pennsylvania, the rain has started. Hopefully our practice stop in Ohio will be dry.
1:05pm
In Ashtabula, Ohio, the band had a great practice.
The drizzle which greeted the group as they started, let up before practice ended and did not wash the smiles off of their faces!
The convoy is back on the road.
4:43pm
Caught in traffic on the Columbus, Ohio beltway, the convoy is making slow progress.
Broken clouds are letting some of the sun shine through (fortunately no liquid sunshine!).
A reliable source claims that the followers bus riders have consumed 700 pounds of goodies.
10:25pm
The invasion has happened - the hotel has been taken over by Webster!
Rain added some confusion to the bus unloading, but they perservered.
Lights-out is scheduled for 11pm.
Departure for the Dome will be at 7:30am, with the preliminaries performance at 8:45am.
1:00am
The food and drinks for the upcoming days were finally sorted and prepared by the adults.
5:00am
Due to one of our earliest performances yet, the wakeups began at 5am.
7:00am
On schedule, the buses headed for the Dome greeted by a chilly, but dry Friday morning.
Instruments in hand (for the musicians), and in uniform, the band is excited and ready.
8:15am
Boosters, appreciating the warmth and the dryness inside the RCA Dome, are all sitting together loosening up their vocal cords, getting ready...
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9:05am
A great show! As one observer put it: "They caught all their rifles, they hit all the notes, they nailed it!!" Now it's back to the hotel for breakfast followed by a rehearsal. Then the long wait...
10:20pm
Tonight the band learned that although they received a Division I rating for their performance, they did not make the semi-finals.
The band ranked 12th in class AAA and 18th overall for the preliminaries competition.
They did learn from the director that plans are already underway for next year's program. For now, they will sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the show.
Today, the band took a side trip. Instead of attending the semi-finals, they visited the zoo. Then back to the stadium to watch the finals.
9:00am
After a big breakfast, the convoy is back on the road again.
Clear skies, chilly, frost on the ground.
They're in good spirits and looking forward to getting home.
12:30pm
Currently on the Columbus beltway, the group will be stopping around 1:30 for lunch.
4:40pm
The convoy is in the Cleveland area and on schedule.
The followers claim that they have enough food to travel for three more days.
But, the playing cards and the restrooms wouldn't last that long. ;-)
6:40pm
At a rest stop near Erie, Pennsylvania, the students are on a feeding frenzy. Besides the boxed dinners, they have eaten 15 cold pizzas (in 2 minutes), 2 dozen apples, 30 pounds of bananas, and 3 dozen muffins. And they're still eating! The convoy plans to be on their way by 7pm.
8:35pm
Just passing the Angola rest stop on the New York Thruway.
9:40pm
The student buses are pulling out from the Batavia-area rest stop. On the home-stretch!
10:30pm
The weary travelers were welcomed home by a cheering crowd of family and friends. It's time to say goodbye to the 42 graduating seniors and to get some sleep!