It was a good day overall

Alarm goes off at 4:45am on a Saturday and I wake up thinking it MUST be time to get tn the truck and head out to go fishing, but no such luck. Pop into the shower, throw on some clothes and head downstairs and load up the 4-Runner, 'cuz BABY, IT'S MARCHING COMPETITION DAY!!!

Of course, it was raining... well, that might be a bit of an understatement... it's friggin' POURING... Continue loading up food and provisions for feeding a 50 member marching band and supporting parents, and thankfully one of our Alumni parents is bringing their world famous BBQ trailer to the event to grill **18** tri-tips to feed this hungry mob (couldn't have made it through this event without them!) Also many other parents bringing salads and desserts, so it's all good.





Students and bus arrive at 6:15, trailer is already gone, everyone gets last minute instructions and away we go... 58 seat bus and a caravan of parents going off in two directions. Arrive in beautiful downtown Lodi about 7:40; still pouring down rain and setup the pop-ups for the band to change into uniforms. As they begin exiting the bus, we hear a chorus of "What IS THAT SMELL??"... sigh I tell them "It's Lodi.. welcome to the place where some of your food comes from. This is what it smells like before it hits the market." =)

Weather obliges us a bit for a half hour, but before we step off into the competition zone, it was apparent we would need the ponchos, so on they go... everyone but the Drum Major and the Drill Team... not because they're tougher, just because they need to be able to move beyond the constraints of the poncho. Our division has 7 bands in it (based on size of band, not school as in past years) and we're 5th to perform in our division. Everything went off without a hitch, nothing dropped, no one broke formation, percussion sounded strong.



Then the sky broke open and it started pouring... so we skipped the group photos, and loaded in the bus to head to the picnic area for lunch. Fortunately, the weather again obliged us and it stopped long enough for the voracious horde to graze. They sat around all butterflies and fears gone now that comp was over for the week and enjoyed each others company... tough to believe at times that 50 students between the ages of 14 and 18 from all different backgrounds and walks of life with only the Marching Ensemble as a common bond can get along so well. About an hour into it, the sky opened up again and they all ran for the bus while parents cleaned up and packed everything away as if we had never been there... leave only footprints, take only memories, right??



At 1:30 we all piled into the beautiful Grape Bowl Stadium (fortunately photos NOT available) and waited for the announcement of the results... and with 34 bands competing in 6 Divisions, plus Jazz, Orchestra and Middle Schools. believe me this takes a LONG TIME TO GET THROUGH... and it's longer in the rain on aluminum bleachers without backs. Nearly 90 minutes later, we get the Division D outcome and find out it's 3rd Place for the SRVHS Marching Wolves... not bad for our first comp of the season!!



Back to the bus and caravan of cars to head home for what seems like a much longer 90 minute drive than the one this morning... sleepy and tired kids pour off the bus, unload the trailer, lay around on the floor for a quick debriefing and get congratulations from their Directors... everyone gets an Extreme Sour Belt and to touch the trophy on the way out the door.

Practice starts again on Monday Night, and there's a nationally televised football game to perform at on Thursday evening, and another comp in Merced next Saturday... with an even earlier drive off time =)




Great bunch of kids, glad to be able to work with them all.