Tuesday - Trip Day

We arrive downstairs to go for breakfast to hear the wonderful news from a front desk clerk we've never seen before that we were indeed supposed to have free wireless internet as part of our hotel package. The kids are so excited! Everyone gets their wireless codes, and we discuss with the front desk how they are going to reimburse everyone who has already paid for it. Hmm ... they will have to get back to us on that one!

Vivienne, one of the YSC students, hadn't been feeling great. We decide this morning that we should have her checked out, and she and Caroline head over to the local hospital. (she's fine)

The rest of us decide to head out for breakfast this morning .. some of the kids have never been to an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) before. Since this is a US icon, we must indeed add this to the long valuable list of life experiences. I have to say that they didn't even bat an eyelash when we said we needed a table (or a couple of tables) for 30.

Lunch on judging day (tomorrow) requires planning ahead, and we spot a Subway across the street. I go over and grab a whole pad of their takeout forms. While waiting for our breakfast, we have the kids pre-order subs for tomorrow that we will go and pick up for them during the morning of judging.

We're back at the hotel by 9:30 and the plan for the day is to head to Santa Monica. The kids have worked hard getting ready for tomorrow, and we like to spend the day before by getting out and seeing something of the city we are visiting. Ray, Leanne, Spencer and Dustin rent vans and everyone piles in for the trip to the beach.

It's Sarah's birthday, and a loud rousing chorus of Happy Birthday is sung on Santa Monica Boulevard!

Everyone arrives back late afternoon. Popular souvenir of the day is the California Lifeguard sweatshirt. Most of the students have had some combination of pizza, ice cream and slushies for lunch. And there are a few, well, hmm ..., lobsters. No, not the kind you eat, but the kind when over-wintered pasty white Canadian skin hits California sun for the first time this season. Rest assured, it's not because we didn't remind them SEVERAL times that they needed sunscreen, but because they were distracted (by lifeguard sweatshirts, ice cream and the ocean!)

Tonight's entertainment is LA Live - an entertainment hotspot in downtown LA. ESPN Fun Zone, a bowling alley, and a dance club are all open for the students to attend. With different food in each setting, students are encouraged to move around to the various locations and have some fun. Adults are hosted in the "Conga Room". We tell the group to relax and have some fun, and to check in with us at the front desk when they come back. The first arrival is Michael at 8:10 pm. An IISEF veteran, he just wants an early night. Slowly but surely, the rest arrive back in pairs or small groups and check in with me at the hotel lobby. Some want to tell stories about the evening, others simply need a little encouragement for the morning as they are nervous about judging. Finally, all but four have arrived back. The second last group back tell us that the dance was disappointing ... pressed further, it's really because they couldn't get up on the stage to dance. They do, however, let us know that the last group are up on stage dancing. Without telling tales, it's not exactly the students we thought would be last back on the night before judging day as they were out dancing on stage!!

When we do bed check at night, there's a lot of sleepy kids. A day of fun and sun, followed by a night of games and dancing has left them tuckered out. Good thing ... tomorrow is a big day!