Day #3

Though it may be hard to believe, today was our busiest day yet. The morning began with two groups heading to either the local go-kart track or the Titanic museum. Both were great experiences! The Titanic museum featured tons of amazing artifacts, including a watch that stopped at the moment it hit the water. There was also a chance to feel how cold the water was and see how long you could keep your hand submerged - it was FREEZING, and very few people lasted more than five or ten seconds. Those headed to the go-kart track enjoyed a beautiful, sunny morning of relaxing after a fast-paced couple of days. Bumper boats were also a big hit!

Zach and Caleb racing around the track

After lunch and a quick stop at the hotel to change, we headed to College of the Ozarks for our contest performance. College of the Ozarks is a unique school at which students work 15 hours per week in exchange for full tuition reimbursement. They also have a beautiful campus, complete with a prominently located cow pasture! We had a successful performance and mini-clinic, and received a high first division rating from all judges (including a "I+" from one judge!).

We quickly loaded the buses again after our performance, and headed to McFarlain's for dinner. This place has the right idea - they serve pie before the main course! Following dinner was our clinic and performance at the Andy Williams Theatre, home of the Cat's Pajamas show. Our clinician was very complimentary, and our pre-show performance was very well received!

After completing our last performance of the trip, we settled in to enjoy The Cat's Pajamas Vocal Band, a five-person a capella group. What an entertaining show!! They sang music from all decades and genres, and featured a bass/beatboxer who was absolutely fantastic. Shortly into the show, we all got a VERY good laugh when our own Kim Gordon was selected to come up on sage for a song and dance routine with the group. She was a great sport and went along with everything they asked her to do, including being tied to a chair!

 

By the second half of the show, you would have thought you were at a rock concert! Large groups of Minooka students were standing, clapping, and dancing in front of the stage, screaming every time one of the vocalists passed nearby. We were even approached by other show patrons saying that the amount of fun our students were having made the evening more fun for them! After the show, the Cats came onto our buses to joke around with the kids and thank us for coming. They were really a fantastic group on all counts, and highly recommended if you ever make it to Branson!

Cats entertaining us on the bus before we leave

When we finally returned to the hotel for good, the kids got to hang out for a bit and enjoy some pizza before bed. They had a LOT of energy to burn (to say the least) after a flurry of photos and signatures with the Cats after the show. Below is a group that gathered in the hall with Merlene, our wonderful tour guide!

 One of these things is not like the other... (an attempt to name everyone: Dani, Charles, Chris, Cory, Austin, Eric, Rebecca, Haley, Becky, Courtney, our tour guide Merlene, Jill, Natalie, Kayla, Peyton, Violet, Melissa, Abbie, Becca, Halie, Marisa, and Brittany)

Finally, everyone headed to bed. Below is an example of how dedicated our chaperones are to our students' safety - they take door taping to a TOTALLY new level. (Stay tuned... tomorrow we will reveal whose door this is...)

A definite highlight of the day was the number of compliments our students received regarding their musicianship, behavior, and enthusiasm. Both clinicians, employees everywhere we went, and fellow audience members all had SO many nice things to say about our students. We are so lucky to have such an awesome group of kids to work with every day!! They have really represented our school and community well while in Branson.

Overall, a great day! Tomorrow we head back to Minooka. We are hoping to leave Branson around 8:30 am, giving us an estimated arrival time of 6:30 pm. I think everyone is looking forward to the bus ride... we are exhausted!