From Finals in 7th place!

Ready for the final show! The kids are getting warmed up now for their final practice run-thru. I have a 900 mile trip back to Boston after the show and then another 750 back to home.

Stay tuned for my final batches of pictures after I return home.

Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words.

GO BAC

From Fairfax, VA

We now have a down day in Fairfax, VA. Show is tomorrow nite and today has been spent cleaning up loose ends with some equipment maintenance, shopping, and organizing for the next weeks schedule.

Our volunteer kitchen crew did a great job covering for chef Ron's week off but they were all ready for a rest when relief came at the end of the week in Atlanta.

We again missed beating the current world champions by the narrowest of margins. We have two more opportunities to meet them before Indy. If they were'nt so darned good, we wouldn't be so excited to be running neck and neck with them I guess.

We were in Salem, VA yesterday and the hills around the site reminded us all of New Hampton--it seems like such a long time ago! Today in Fairfax, it is very similar--and the weather is much milder as well. THe corps had a laundry and Walmart evening after leaving South Carolina. They seem to be in great spirit and are working hard on the final cleaning of the show.

The next few days will be hectic from a drivers perspective as we are traveling from Westchester, PA up to Lawrence, MA, then back down to Allentown, then on to Buffalo, then Massilon, OH all back to back--lots of miles in the last week before finals. It will be an exciting series of shows in Indy....can't wait!

Will see more of you in Lawrence for the home show.

Curt

Pre-show in Murfreesboro, TN

Well here we are at Atlanta weekend! Murfreesboro 2nd half tonite and the Georgia Dome tomorrow. We are still in good position ahead of several of our perennial rivals--seems the scoring was tough last nite here in Murfreesboro for the first half of the line-up so we will see where we end up. New show changes are in and the corps is doing a clinic in the main stadium here this afternoon before dinner.

We are again housed in dormitory rooms at Mid tennessee State University so we are all quite comfortable. The weather is quite a bit cooler than it has been and that is also a relief.

The pix below are from last evening's practice in Booneville.

Another long run tonite into Atlanta so I need to take a nap!

See ya'all tomorrow in Hot 'Lanta.

Again in Hattiesburg, MS

We met Phantom again in Hattiesberg, MS last night...both after intermission--first us then Phantom. We won it again by .7 point. The latest changes are being integrated and we are setting up for the final run into finals now. Murfreesboro tomorrow nite, then Atlanta. The kids are tired but still getting better.

For the last two nites, and again tomorrow nite, we have been staying at community colleges with dorm rooms. Its nice to get a semi-private room with its own shower for a change--hot water, and no bugs!!

The weather is actually cooling off a little today although the sun is very intense, the temps and humidity have been quite mild for this time of year here.

Another 250 miles tonite to Murfreesboro and a clinic for us at a community college there. Its is a widely attended show as is Atlanta. We are all looking forward to backing up our position with a good showing Friday and Saturday.

Will see many of you in Atlanta I'm sure.

Curt

From San Antonio

The coprs has had a busy and successful three days. First in Houston, then, Friday night in Dallas. :It has been a long time since Boston has beaten Phantom on the field--Friday nite we beat both Blue Stars and Phantom to post a third place finish behind Cadets and Crown. Last nite, in the Alamo Dome, the tables were turned back only slightly with a margin of only 5/100 of a point behind Phantom and .2 behind Blue Stars. It was a great first-dome performance for the kids and they had a very good show.

Today is a half-free day and the busses will drop the corps at San Antonio's Riverwalk for an afternoon of "chilling" in Texas. THe trucks and Souvies will deprt mid-afternoon for the 424mi run back to Louisiana.

Save for the score from one judge, we came within a nick of beating the reigning World Champions and the show continues to improve. IT will be an exciting final few weeks now up to August.

We have another layover in Hattiesburg prior to going to Murfreesburo and then Atlanta so stay tuned.

We are beginning to have minor mechanical failures with equipment now. THe generator is overheating in the food truck (think we have that fixed now) --some broken stands, a propane flow problem, and a turn light not working in the U3. These are kind of standard fare for mid tour but are more items on the list to get done during our "off" time!

More pix coming.

Its really gresat to see you all during the summer--this blog is becoming its own little group of followers--its very cool--thanks.

Curt

From Houston

Here are a few more pictures I have been taking. They are mostly from rehearsals prior to our rain-out in Orlando. Everyone was so disappointed with the rain-out although we did get to do a small stand-up show.

The weather is now getting hot--just like the show performances. Our scores have been consistently moving upward--even as some other corps have remained nearly constant. We seem to be causing quite a stir and the judges are enthusiastic about our show--what a refreshing change from years past!!

We have a show tonite in Houston and tomorrow near Dallas--those scores averaged will determine our position seeding for the big San Antonio show Saturday--the first real big regional.

Then its on to LA again, Tennessee, and then Atlanta. The way the kids are responding and working hard, all on the tour are excited by the possibilities for the second half of the season.

This tour has been more difficult to blog from since we are moving nearly every night. Sleep takes priority since I am driving a vehicle full of sleeping volunteers.

In general, our accomodations have been better this season than last although we still encounter cold showers and dirty facilities from time to time. I continue to be amazed by the gap between the "have's" and the have-not's" regarding school facilities. Unless one sees it first hand, it is impossible to understand.

Enjoy the pictures and I hope to see more of you all in Atlanta or sooner.

Curt

Quickie from Valdosta, GA

Fast update durinbg ESL:

New Pix.

See you all in Orlando.

Curt

Annapolis, MD and Pittsburg, PA

We had a good show in the US Naval Academy stadium in Annapolis, MD. and broke 70 on our second outing. Below are a few pix from the pre-show rehearsal.

We are housed near Pittsburg now and the Eat-Shower-Load is set for 3:00. The designers are continuing to tweak the drill and the kids are getting more and more confident in their performances.

We are starting to see a round of colds and congestion setting in so have a number of kids resting for the next day or so.

We're off to Dublin, OH tonite after the show--about a 200 Mile run--perhaps 5 Hours for the trucks.

We had a scare during the first show with the new gator--it stalled and would not re-start during our trip back to the trucks after the show. We had to use about 10 people to push the loaded trailer and gator up the hills and back to the truck. After a little trial and error, I was able to get fuel flowing again and the gator re-started. It ran fine for the Anapolis show last nite. Seems that it might have been a little crud left in the fuel system from manufacturing.

The crowd response has been very encouraging for the first two shows and we are getting a few of the first-show bugs out of the system.

More pix from Dublin.

Curt

Show Day 1--Chambersburg, PA

Sorry about the "outage" the volunteers and equipment were staying at a different location in Quincy from the corps so I had no access to the internet. Here are a few pix of move0ut day, Spring Fling, and the Everette and Quincy stay. The Bunker Hill parade was a real blast as was the Fling. It was a 10 hr drive for us down to Chambersburg and the show is in a few hours now. The corps is really excited and the show is looking very good for early season. Hope you can all watch the Annapolis show on-line.

Housing info should be available on the Crusaders .com site. I am always a day behind or more now on the road so my info may not help finding us in time.


Everyone is healthy and the weather is cooperating so far. Possible thundershowers this afternoon but it looks good right now. We are at a nice middle school and the facility is clean and spacious. No turf but two large fields to work on.

I'll try to catch up a little this week since we will be settling into the roady system.

The Sr. corps was great at the fling and also came to Quincy to give the kids a cook-out of dogs and burgers on Tuesday nite. A little break for the kitchen staff and a treat for the kids. We returned the favor with a full dress show performance on the turf at Veterans Memorial Stadium--all were enthusiastic to say the least.

Gotta go now. Watch the show on-line, and enjoy the pix. More to follow.

Curt

T-0 Move-Out

Today is move-out day. It started raining hard at 10PM last nite and was pouring by breakfast. Its still raining on and off now but the corps is carrying on with visual rehearesal in spite of the weather. Mental toughness! They are learning the drill for the closer now.

Spring Fling is tonite then a couple of days of parades and rehearsal in the Boston area before we depart for Chambersburg, PA.

Connections to good, fast internet services will now become subject to coverage area issues so updates might be a little more sporadic. I will try to continue with the pix and commentary tho.

More later..

Curt

NH Show Morning

It was fog and mist for the morning breakfast and visual practice this morning. The corps is on a modified schedule today. They are doing a clinic after lunch for a small high school band group. Then it is warm-up for the show at 7:00. After the show, the corps will have dinner with the clinic kids and do a full Eat, Ship, Load (ESL) practice before snack at 11:15. The ESL practice is to get the sleeping area cleaned and the rookies familiar with the routine of packing up and then re-deploying their sleeping arrangement and clothing.

It was chilly last nite so Chef Ron was the star of the evening with a tasty corn-bread-topped beef stew casserole for dinner. Snack included hot chocolate, of course. This morning, we had fresh-baked corn/cheddar muffins or carrot-cake muffins and cereal or oatmeal.


Lunch today was started with a cheer as the first members to hit the line saw the home-made strombolli/calzone with pepperoni and cheese.

The weather is predicted to remain dry until 8:00 tonite when rain will again begin for the remainder of nite and early tomorrow. So with some luck, we will get to do the first public showing of Core of Temptation, the Boston Crusaders' 2009 Show. See the video trailer here.

Day 17 Rainy Day in NH

Yesterday was perhaps the last of the sunny days we will see in New Hampton. It started raining a little after midnite and is raining steadily now at mid morning. The forecast is for rain, fog, mist, and steady temperatures in the mid fifties for the next several days.

Yesterday was a modified schedule and a free nite after 6:00PM. There was a movie scheduled for the auditorium at 9:30 and many of the kids made the hike to the Subway. I drove about 8 kids in the Baritone line to get subs. Another group supported the local pizza delivery shop with perhaps 30 pizzas ordered and delivered. The ping-pong tournament was in full swing as was final dot book updates and cell phone time. Most of the corps went to sleep early and also enjoyed an hour of extra sleep this morning with the delayed wake-up call to 8:00AM. Breakfast this morning was pancakes, oatmeal, and cereal in the rain.

Practice this morning is indoors--I suspect visual and run-through will be in the rain on the turf this afternoon.

Tomorrow is the show for the New Hampton community--if it is raining, it will more than likely be an indoor stand-up show. Show is scheduled for 7:00PM.


Clean-up of areas is underway during breaks and each member has now practiced re-packing, and getting ready to load out several times.

Hopefully this rain pattern in the Eastern States will lighten before the shows begin--last season we were in rain nearly every day for the first couple of weeks.

Thanks for all the comments and feedback. I try to pass on all of the "say hi to ....." messages I get. It surprises most of the kids when they find out you are seeing them on-line!

Curt

Free Night!

It was a great weekend here in New Hampshire! Sunday evening run-through was done in full uniform and was quite a nice performance. Over the weekend, the weather was cool and dry except for a very light sprinkle late on Sunday. The pit got to do a trial equipment truck load and figured out how to do the big puzzle. We have a couple of new keyboards and one 5 octave marimba in the "fleet" and it is longer than the width of the truck. Sunday evening, the Crusader board of directors came up for a meet and greet with the corps. The kitchen staff prepared and served another full thanksgiving dinner complete with cranberry sauce and stuffing.



The expanded uniform crew is very busy with some new practice flags, uniform final fitting, and adjustments.

I got the new speaker stands assembled Sunday and they fit the speakers as designed. This will be a welcomed change from the makeshift stands we used last season.

The weather is clear and sunny this morning with a forecast for some rain Tuesday thru Friday. Hopefully it holds off on Wednesday evening for the NH preview show.

I'm now trying to finish the growing list of final projects before move-out.

Curt

Count-Down to Departure

We are beginning to count down the days now before departure. Little tasks begin to get jammed up into the diminishing time left before we leave for the summer. The weather is being super--low 70's and cool evenings--perfect corps practice weather.


The food delivery arrived and we spent the remainder of the afternoon storing the food away. We also got the walk-in refrigerator working again so all the cold stored food from the portable refer had to be moved into the kitchen truck as well. Its a lot of lifting, bending, and hefting heavy boxes up the steps. After everything is put away, there was a brief opportunity for a rest in the shade for the hard-working kitchen volunteers and staff--then its up and going again for the next meal.




My newly finished speaker stands will be mated to their respective speakers this weekend, and the other pit equipment is being packaged up for easy roll on to the show fields.

With only a couple of exceptions, the corps is still healthy--remarkably, and unlike last year, there are NO orthopaedic or athletic type injuries.


Lunch today was our first salad bar extravaganza of the season and you can tell by the heaping plates that the members really liked it. Dinner was salisbury steak, mashed potato and gravy, green beans, and fresh carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

Breakfast this morning was french toast casserole, cereal, and fruit salad. Taco bar for lunch today and bacon cheeseburgers for dinner. No one is going hungry.




The corps is now working on the closer for the show. The first full run-through in uniform will be the friends and family of New Hampton performance next Wednesday e.vening. We are all looking forward to seeing the corps in full uniform again.

Its going to be an exciting summer!

Cheers,

Curt

Two Perfect Days in a Row

The weather has been nothing short of spectacular for drum corps practice for the last two days. Warm, sunny days and crisp cool evenings. It is supposed to be nice throughout the week now.

If I miss pictures of your member in the section overviews, it is probably because they were not in place for the pictures--alot of uniform measuring, fitting, special visual work being done during the day and often each section sends two or three members at a time. I'll eventually get them filled in.

The corps is generally healthy with only a few doctor runs..a bug in the eye, upset stomach, a pulled muscle, etc. The schedule is becoming the master at this point though--lots more kids asleep well before lights out in the evening--and some pretty tired looking troops in the breakfast line after stretch/run. But the feeling is very positive and they continue to work very hard. In a matter of a few days, the entire show will be on the field and full-show run-throughs will be performed. The clock is counting down now for departure from New Hampton.

THe first laundry nite was done Monday or Tuesday. On a rotating basis, each section gets to use a laundry facility in one of the dorms here on campus. The rain and cold nites have run many of the kids out of clean clothes by this time.

THe refrigeration repair has begun this morning on the food truck and the second large food delivery is scheduled for today. Its always a special "treat" to see 300-400 cases of food show up and get dropped off in the parking lot!

More later..

Curt

Wind, Cold, now Sunny and Ideal

Saturday evening the corps Hornline performed a few chorales for the New Hampton School Alumni Reunion. The pictures are courtesy of Karen D. After the performance, the reaminder of the evening was a free nite for all members. Most made the pilgrimage to the Subway or ordered a pizza for delivery. A few were treated to a dinner out by alumni or friends and family. A few caught up on dot book entry or sleep. Everyone was back at the schedule first thing on Sunday morning.





Sunday began looking like an excellent day--overcast and cool but no rain. After lunch, the wind picked up to storm strength as a severe frontal system raced across New England. Our re-ballasted pop-up tent canopies survived but one of the large rental tents used by the reunion party took off and ended up on top of the school roof. The winds gusted up to 45 MPH and the temperature dropped thru the 50's. By the last show run through at 8:30, the temp was about 48 with a wind chill well below that with NW winds still at 20 MPH.



Today, the morning dawned crisp and clear after frost and freeze warnings overnite. It has quickly warmed up into the 60's and a full schedule of outdoor visual and ensemble rehearsals is in progress.

Lots of guard pictures are here today again courtesy of Karen D. and todays lunch line photos by me. Breakfast this morning was egg casserole, cereal, etc. Dinner last nite was stuffed pork chops, scalloped potatoes, and veggies. A special treat at lunch today was chocolate milk.

We missed a day of posting because the high winds took out the school server room a/c unit and caused the network system to go offline.



Last nite's show run through included everything through the ballad. despite the cold, there are enthusiastic whoops and hollers when the final run of the day is called--

More later,

Curt

SUNSHINE! or What's that big orange thing in the sky?

After a rainy 2-1/2 days, the rain finally stopped Friday mid-morning and allowed the corps to do a regular on-the-field rehearsal. Thursday nite was spent doing visual work in the hockey rink and Friday, although it was overcast and dreary, saw a very energetic rehearsal schedule.


This morning, the sun is out and it has warmed up considerably, so the sweatshirts are off, the sunscreen is going on, and the day will progress with visual blocks this morning and an ensemble this afternoon on the turf field.

The Hornline will perform a few short chorales for the New Hampton School Alumni Reunion tonite before having a free evening. You can see more about the New Hampton School and its history here on their website.

Thanks to a couple of very generous supporters, we now have two brand new pop-up canopies for our food line. Since loosing the canopies in the wind, we were forced to serve inside the gym--it is a much longer re-supply hike from the kitchen during meals. This morning we are back outside with the breakfast service.

Speaking of food, thanks to Chef Ron, John, and our new kitchen staff member, Kristen, we have been eating in the typical Boston style. Roast beef, Lasagna, a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie; pizza, ribs, lo mein, omlettes, and this morning for breakfast we had fried eggs with hash browns and corned beef hash.


Measuring and fitting of uniforms continues now and it won't be long before uniforms are assigned and tried on for the first time. We are also beginning to run equipment load-out trials to get the new members familiar with the packing sequence and resolve any issues before we need to leave for real.

As she has for the many years now, Linda will fit and tailor each uniform so the corps looks flawless on the field. Since most of the members trim down as the season progresses, she will fit them again before finals and make any adjustments before the "Big Show".

Every day now there is more of the show being assembled on the field and in sectionals. It is clear that the focus during winter camps on fundamentals is paying off. The members are beginning to show signs of being stronger and we have no injuries. Even the normal course of sniffles, upset stomach, and dehydration seem to be near nothing--hopefully that trend continues.

Thanks for stopping by,

Curt

RAIN!

THURSDAY.....Still raining this morning. It rained hard all day yesterday and all of the rehearsals were done indoors. The full ensemble playing in the gym was the acoustic analogy to The End of Days!! Loud isn't descriptive enough.

Of course all the meals also had to be moved indoors since our two 10 x 10 Easy-Up canopies were blown up and over the kitchen truck on Tuesday during a very windy afternoon. They are both now destroyed so even the serving line needs to be indoors now.

This morning, the rain was steady but not as hard as yesterday so the decision was made to do the drill block on the turf field. The kids are coping without complaint and are getting the job done. They should be ready to put the next major segment of the show on the field later today with a full music and drill block.

Rumor has it that there is a free evening coming up this weekend and the corps will also be doing a performance for the New Hampton School annual reunion on Saturday afternoon. They will play some of the non-show music they have learned over the winter.

The rain is supposed to taper off by Friday and we are forecast to have a very nice weekend.

Curt

Move-in Day 4

Everyone is falling into the routine now. All of the kids are healthy for the most part and the weather has been spectacular albeit a little chilly--especially for that ensemble block just before dark. We had frost warnings the temperature dropped down to the mid-thirties for a time overnite.

Our first food order arrived on Tuesday and the entire brigade of volunteers made short order of putting it all away. The walk-in cooler on the kitchen truck is awaiting repair parts so we have a large refrigerated trailer parked next to the kitchen for storing the food.

Active music blocks with drill began on Tuesday and the first run-throughs of the show have been very exiting.

For the next few days, I'll feature pictures from the various sections. The weather has turned to rain today and it is predicted to stay until Friday so the large parts of the hornline and Guard will take a while to do.

Work has now also begun on the uniform tailoring....cant wait to see the first uniformed run of the show--it makes such a difference in the visual aspect of the show that the first run is always eagerly awaited. The corps performs a "Thank you dress performance just prior to departure at the end of move-in for the town and school of New Hampton. It has grown in attendance each season and many people have been asking already about when it will be.

Enjoy the pics and thanks for the feedback.

Curt

Here we Go Again!

Well, it's Memorial Day, 2009 and I am in New Hampton, NH for the beginning of "Move-In" with the Boston Crusaders. We got in early in the wee hours of Saturday morning and grabbed a few hours of sleep in the van before being awakened by the kitchen truck rolling in to the parking area. It is all very familiar--siteing the truck and kitchen trailer, doing all the hook-ups, and waiting for the first group of 09 Crusaders to begin arriving from the airport.

Here are some sights of the various activities and settings here at the New Hampton School. The School is a prestigious, academic and athletic oriented co-ed prep school with wonderful facilities and a friendly local population that enjoys interacting with our group each May for several weeks.

For those new to this Blog, you might be interested in the first two or three archived posts from last season. I describe a little about my motivation and reward for being involved with the Boston Crusader activities, and a little insight into the daily activitiy of a tour volunteer. It might very well turn out to be the most rewarding thing you have done in a long time--and it provides a priceless opportunity to observe real growth and development of your young Crusader Member. For more information on volunteer opportunities and scheduling, please refer to the Crusader web site, or contact them in Boston.

For all of you that followed the tour through my Blog in 08, Thank You!! It was very cool to meet all of you at the various events and to enjoy watching the number of Blog "hits" go through the roof as more and more people checked out the tour. We had thousands of hits from around the world, and many, many regular check-ins.

All of the pictures from the 08 tour are now available on the Picassa picture hosting site by following the link at the right of this page. Included are the pictures from finals week, on the field pictures from Retreat, and a few pictures of the finals banquet. You can download any pictures you like or order prints from Picassa if you prefer.

I will be here for the entire move-in period and on the full tour. I have enhanced my photo capability and also will be focusing on more individual member photos and activities this season. Stay tuned, the show is really looking awsome!

Saturday, about 2:30, the first full bus load of arrivals showed up. THey all spend a while getting checked in and setting up their bed roll in the gym. After several more busses come in, the first dinner was served from the kitchen truck by Chef Ron, and the Corps was together for some rehearsal and practice time till snack at 10:30.

Each nite after snack, there is a personal time for socializing, showering, catching up with drill notes, etc prior to lights out at midnite.

The wake-up call of "Good Morning Boston" comes at 7:00 AM followed directly by physical training--either running, stretching, ab and core execises, etc. before breakfast. Breakfast on Sunday was cold cereal, waffles, oatmeal, juice, milk, and of course, PBJ's.

The entire weekend was spent on learning drill and it was done efficiently and with great enthusiasm. As the sun set behind the pines, and the temperature dropped through the mid fifties, the horn-line moved from outdoor warm-ups to indoor sectionals. Guard was practicing indoors and the pit and battery went to seperate practice venues until Sunday late snack at 10:30 and lights out again at midnite. They were tired puppies Sunday nite!


The weather has been pretty nice so far--typical warm days and cool nites. 38 F on Saturday nite as a cold front swept through and the overcast skies cleared to a crkystal clear, cloudless day by lunch on Sunday. Today is similar--perfect clear, 70 F and breezy. It is supposed to remain this way till Wednesday nite when rain moves in for a day or so.

Enjoy the pictures and check back often.

Curt