Taylor Marching Titans Band Trip to Cleveland
Early mornings, water slides, coasters, baseball and rock and roll lead to a busy, fun-filled weekend for the Taylor HS (IN) marching band. Jump on board as MTC Trip Journalist Chloey Johnson recalls the ups and downs of her band trip to Cleveland.
The first day began before the sun even rose. We started the morning off with Dans Donuts and a bunch of tired teenagers waiting to fall asleep on the bus. The bus ride started quietly until everyone started to slowly wake up. The closer we got to the stadium the louder and more anxious we got.
When we approached the stadium, everyone got out of their seats and quickly exited the bus. We all grabbed our instruments and went up a few floors to record the national anthem. We got it in one take! After that we got Chick-Fil-A for lunch and headed to the Cedar Point Waterpark.
When we arrived at the waterpark, we got our tickets, found our groups and started swimming. After crazy on and off rain, our experience at the water park was sunshine and it was perfect weather! While we were at the water park we had a lot of fun with the slides, lazy rivers and even the wave pool where one of our kids supposedly faked his death and a lifeguard jumped in to save him! Um, he was just trying to see how long he could hold his breath. He might not ever do that again!
After this we went back to the hotel to unload our luggage. We loaded up the bus again and headed to Dave and Busters for dinner and arcade games. We ate some amazing food and had a blast playing games in the arcade. Some people won some pretty cool prizes too! Shortly after that we got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel to finally get some good sleep. Overall, I think the first day was a pretty great way to start off this trip.
The second day of our Cleveland trip was just as fun as the first day, maybe even better. The day started off with a trip to the Cleveland Zoo. It was so cool to see all the different species of animals in their habitats. We walked all throughout the zoo and saw animals we definitely don’t see on a daily basis.
After the zoo we headed to lunch at Rascal House Pizza. We ate all-you-can-eat salad, pasta, breadsticks and pizza; it was all so delicious. When we left the restaurant we got on the bus and went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I could see the excitement on so many kids’ faces and even adults too that we were finally there.
Going into the building there was already so much to look at. We went to the basement exhibit first and saw so many things. We saw so many items that famous musicians have either worn, performed with or used in their lifetime. We got to read about them and get to know more about them and their music careers. We even got to sit and watch a video about multiple artists, their famous songs and the year they were popular.
There are five floors so it definitely took a while to get through but it was all so worth it! When we all got out of the building we were climbing big red letters and got a large group photo in our marching shirts. After the picture we walked to another Cleveland sign and got another group picture. Then, we walked to the Progressive Field to watch the Cleveland Indians game.
We got there and all sat down until the game started. Just before the game officially started, we got to see ourselves perform the national anthem on the big screen. It was such an incredible experience! When the anthem was over we sat down and started watching the game, it was very close the whole time.
The score was 1-1 until the very end when the Indians hit a home run and won the game! Being there as a group was so fun and it was so interesting watching a pro baseball team for the first time. That was a first experience for a lot of people including me and I could tell everyone had a great time. We finished off the night by watching amazing fireworks at the stadium. It was such a great way to end the second day!
Day number three of our Cleveland trip – the last day. The whole day was spent at Cedar Point where we were riding rides, playing games and eating every ninety minutes.
We started off by splitting into our groups and getting our food and drink coupons allowing us to eat every 90 minutes and get drinks every 15 minutes. We got our tickets then boom, we were in the park riding roller coasters and having a great time together.
The only bummer was how long the lines were especially for the huge roller coasters that were all less than two minutes each. The good thing about standing in those lines was that we all got to know the people in our groups better by talking and spending quality time with one another. I actually witnessed a pretty tragic incident while in line for a ride. While we were in the line for the Blue Streak, two people passed out on the ride. Also, a man took bags out of the bag boxes which caused the police to arrive. When we finally got to get on the ride, it shut down for maintenance. It was a crazy experience that I don’t hope to witness again.
After that incident we went and ate some delicious lunch at a French fry place. After lunch we decided to try for more rides even though the lines were incredibly long. Everyone continued to have fun throughout the whole day and ride as many rides as possible. At the end of the night, we all met at the front of the park and watched one of our friends try the BeanBoozled jelly beans as a tradition. After he tried all the jelly beans we all went on the Midway Carousel together for one last hoorah!
It was so neat to see all the smiling faces not just today but all weekend. Everyone had an amazing time. Hopefully we can do it again sometime because this was an amazing trip. I could tell everyone had a blast these last few days with one another and I hope the band grew closer throughout this whole experience!
Music Travel Consultants offers journalistic opportunities for students in performing ensembles who have interests in both writing and music. For more information on our Trip Journalist program, click here.
