Sooo...that was Thursday. Friday was much better. We got up in time, we all ate in time, everyone was unpacked and downstairs to the buses on time... We weren't entirely sure that the truck we rented for the equipment would make it to the stadium, though. They had issues on the way from P'cola involving the transmission. We moved the on-field percussion to the buses so that we'd at least have bass drums and snares on the field if the truck couldn't make it.

Fast forward a bit, and we all get loaded and leave for the stadium...and when I mentioned a few weeks ago that we'd play in the college stadium I was wrong - we played in Dolphin Stadium. An NFL stadium. Shoo! I took about a bajillion pics and put them all up on my photo album - feel free to check it out! We pulled up and parked, and were escorted by a FHSAA agent throughout the entire experience. They had that down to a science - there was another game after ours (4A, I believe) and they were SERIOUS about getting us in and out in time.

We got many thanks for being on time, and everyone was very good sports about what we had to do before the game. We played for a "Fanfest" which was supposed to be a pep rally/tailgate sort of thing before the game started...loooong before the game started. It was pretty much us and the cheerleaders, and a few hardcore fans that made the drive and got there (two hours) early. They played stands tunes and had a good time, then we fed them (and the cheerleaders...but again, I won't go there) sandwiches, chips, and such. They got to go shop a little at the souvenir booth (I bought a purple screaming monkey - nothing whatsoever to do with football, but it ROCKS!!) and then we headed into the stadium.

They marched in to the cadence, up the round-about ramp and into the concession area that surrounds the stadium...it was loud. We got them out into the stadium and got them seated, and the melee started. The game was good - really good. The halftime show was amazing - the kids sounded great and looked awesome. They put them on the big screens, too! The other band was a "Battle of the Bands" sort of band...high-steppin', mace-humping, and dirty dancing. Shoo. They didn't put them on the big screen. Heh.

The last 4 minutes of the game were the worst...the slight drizzle we'd been experiencing most of the day turned to a steady near-rain drizzle. We were ahead, and then suddenly we weren't. We got the ball, and then lost it...they scored again. We lost by about 10 points...the first loss of the season. It was heartbreaking. The boys on the team were crying, the cheerleaders were crying, the girls in the band that date the football players were crying, and the color guard was crying... They played a great game, but couldn't pull it off at the end.

We got them back on the bus after a pep talk, and headed for another mall. I talked Pete into giving them some extra time OFF the bus since we had a12 hour bus ride to look forward to. My back was in a terrible state by this point. I had the leftover Lortab in my purse and knew I'd have to take at least half of one to get home without crying in front of the kids. I wanted to eat first, because I'd be useless as a chaperone if I took even HALF a Lortab before eating. Pete decides that he doesn't want to eat Japanese (he ALWAYS eats Japanese when we stop at a food court - ALWAYS) again so we look around, and I spotted a SUSHI place. We about killed 3 people on our way to get in line. We both had sushi and I took a Lortab. We agreed that even though the team lost, it was a pretty good day...the only thing that could make it better would be ice cream. Lo and behold, there's a Hagen Daz at the other end of the food court!

So we wandered around for a while and then headed back to the buses. We get on the road, and the kids around me in the bus talked to Resa in Korea (she called for an update), and then told TJ happy birthday when I called him. A couple of them sang, too. We left the mall around 7 or 8PM, and pulled in to PFHS at 6AM. It was a long night. I found two positions that I could sleep in with relative comfort...the Lortab helped a LOT.

So all in all, we did get the drama out of the way the first day. The rest of the trip was quite nice. Except the eternal bus ride. We leave on the 29th to go to Jacksonville...I'm in denial right now. At least that's just a 6 hour ride...