This will be my final blog entry for the Broughton band trip. We arrived home safely and our adventure is complete.

Today started at 4:30 AM this morning. We had to get our pod in the lobby and ready to go by 5:40 AM. We left at 6:00 for the airport. Our flight left LAX at 9:00. We landed in Charlotte at 4:30 PM. The bus ride to Raleigh arrived at 8:30 PM. All travelers were tired and very quiet from a week's worth of go, go, go. JR was waiting for the bus when it arrived at the school. He did not look tired at all.

This has been in incredible experience for us as chaperones and especially for the students in the band. They had a huge opportunity, a huge amount of pressure, and they absolutely delivered. I was impressed not just with their performance on the field and in the parade, but also their behavior the rest of the time. I really enjoyed being part of this.

JR has taught these students, especially on this trip, that excellence does not come automatically. It

Thursday, January 3, 2007. We had a whale of a time today. After a comparatively late breakfast, we journeyed to Sea World in San Diego. The day was cool, but Shamu didn't seem to mind. One of the band members was chosen to greet Shamu close up. That was a treat. Those that sat in the "splash zone" probably wished they had not. Both the Shamu and Dolphin shows were impressive.

From there we went to Seaport Village on the bay. It was even colder with a good breeze, so the band members wearing shorts were ducking for cover. We ate and shopped and headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow: Back to Raleigh!

Great day yesterday- up early to visit the floats on day after the parade!!  Very cool to view them up close and see what exactly they use!  Potatoes, limes, lettuce, oranges. and a bazillion flowers!!!!  The Tournament of Roses certainly know how to let the public enjoy the whole process from the pre-parade preparations to the post-parade viewings!!

Off to Universal Studios- a first for many of us!!  The backlot tour watching how television and movie magic make the screen was unbelievable!  I can't wait to watch Universal Studios movies and TV shows more closely!!!

I really thought by the end of this trip that Uncle Troy was going to get the award for "Best Purchase in LA" with his Louis Vuitton loafers, but I'm afraid a group of freshman came in number one!  While at Universal, JR was presented an Academy Award from the freshman class.  One of his JRisms, especially to the freshman class is, "its time to take off your diapers

Having a close-up view of the floats today at the Post Parade Showcase of Floats was wonderful. As we walked by each float, we got to see the intricacies of the designs and notice a variety of new details. Many floats used green apples, oranges, celery, potatoes and much more in addition to the unbelievable array of flowers.

Then off to Universal Studios for a fun-filled day.

A quick poll in the hotel hallway just now yielded the following results for the highlight of the day: The Revenge of the Mummy was the most popular ride (which was “great if you went on it three times”), Water World because it was “fun and interactive”, the Studio Tour where we visited movie and television sets, House of Horrors which was “really cool” and the Jurassic Park ride “just cuz I want to be different”. Several kids also mentioned a mummy who was walking around the park during the afternoon – a great photo op.

Speaking

Hey folks, we just uploaded a new photo gallery to the Broughton Band web site (www.broughtonband.com).

It includes photos from yesterday's Rose Bowl Parade!

The pictures includes shots from me and Helen McGee, another band parent. Helen got the greatest shot of J.R. smiling, which is somewhat unusual. I mean he was smiling the whole time he passed by our bleachers.

It was obvious that J.R. saw us because, as Cindi points out in a previous blog, we screamed our heads off. I know I was hollering and leading the charge when I wasn't snapping pictures.

I mentioned it to J.R. at dinner on the Queen Mary and he laughed it off saying it was a grimace "because my feet were hurting so much."

I know better, though. Just looking at that picture this morning proved it.

Besides, I've been unable to wipe the smile off my face since yesterday. I'm sure he feels that way, too.

It was so good to eat dinner with the kids last night. I couldn't have