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 takes dedication and sacrifice at a level most teenagers are not prepared to make. He showed them that the rewards of that effort can pay off in the form of a successful perfomance in the biggest parade in the world. Not only did they make a memory they will never forget, they brought great honor to their school, city, and state.

This trip was my first attempt at blogging. I have some people to thank:

• JR again for making this all happen.
• Tom Rouillard for getting me involved and WRAL for hosting this.
• The experienced band parents for their clear guidance and organization.
• My friend Mike H. for sending a video feed to my phone so we could see our children march in the parade before they arrived in person.
• My pod members (Henry, Kyle, Peter, Dan, Dylan, and Adam) who were great and made it easy for us.
• Steve for pickup and drop-off duty.

Go Broughton!