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