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