The CHS Band left for their annual Florida trip On May 29, 2025. With this being Mr. Colonel’s last trip, he decided to go above and beyond for this trip and add a cruise instead of the Disney stop. CHS band members enthusiastically waited in the gym for bag checks and attendance before heading to the buses for the very long drive to Port Canaveral, in Florida. There, they boarded their Carnival Cruise on the Carnival Glory, and started their three-day cruise journey.
On the ship, band members and chaperones enjoyed the pool and water slides, comedy shows, karaoke, quizzes, live bands, dance classes, and much more. While on the boat, many enjoyed the constant availability of food, whether at the pizza place, Guy’s Burgers, or the student’s favorite, the ice cream machine. At night, students and chaperones enjoyed amazing food in the dining hall, where at the end of each service, the staff performed, dancing on pillars and entertaining the guests. Each night aboard the ship, featured a different theme night, and activity. Students watched Wicked while sitting in the hot tub, danced with staff on 80s night, and partied their hearts away every night. The second day aboard, the ship landed in the Bahamas, where the students enjoyed a boat ride to the Blue Lagoon where they swam in the ocean and sun tanned all day long. After returning to the ship, trip members enjoyed a final day at sea, with fun food, games, parties, and more. Finally, students and chaperones exited the ship and prepared for a fun day of shopping at Disney Springs.
At Disney Springs, members had a fun day shopping, eating, and exploring the area. Popular stores for students to explore included the M&M Store, the Coke store, Sephora, and many Disney merchandise stores. The popular place to eat for many students was the Rainforest Cafe. After a very long day of shopping, trip members loaded back on the bus to the Universal Studios hotel.
After a good night’s rest at the hotel, band members prepared for their performance at Universal Studios! The band performed a number of songs, the list included, “Fanfare Esprit”, “Encanto” with a flute solo from Megan Zimmer, and a trumpet solo from Kendall Nanney, “Razzmatazz”, “Can-Can” and lastly a piece called “ABBA on Broadway” which included two trumpet solos from Kendall Nanney and Alyssa Stehl. After the band’s performance they had a fun day at Universal Studios where they were free to do whatever they wanted.
On the last day of Florida, the trip members enjoyed a final day at Universal Studios full of fun. Trip members enjoyed a day of fun even though it absolutely poured rain for half of the day. Members of the trip finally got back on the bus to start their trip home.
While on the bus ride home, students were informed that we would be stopping at Buc-ee’s and the excitement from the students was off the charts. One Buc-ee’s stop and a lot of driving later, students arrived home finally on June 5.
As someone who went on the trip, I would like to thank Mr. Colonel and all of the chaperones for making this trip possible. The memories made will last a lifetime, and it couldn’t have happened without them.