Trip to Ashland 2008

Ashland: Day 4 - The trip back home

2008-05-30T20:28:00.001-07:00

Well, the trip's over. Everyone had a great time, even those who had various illnesses. We had our fare share of stomach and respiratory ailments, unfortunately. Jake believes it was all caused by swallowing huge amounts of river water on the rafting trip!

The bus ride home was uneventful (unlike the ride back to the hotel from the science museum, where a student--to remain nameless--somehow locked herself into the bus bathroom and couldn't get out).

As a reminder, there are more photos than just those shown on this blog. There are links to the right that will bring you to an online photo album where you can download print-quality photos (at least for 5x7), plus a few low-quality videos. Feel free to email me (jdefauw@tehiyah.org) any photos you would like me to include in the online album, or maybe even add to the blog.

So long!

Mr. D

Ashland: Day 3

2008-05-30T00:51:00.000-07:00

It's late after a long day, so I'm going to keep this short (I hope). First, a reminder that all pictures in this blog, plus a bunch more, can be accessed by clicking the slideshow at the upper-right hand corner of this blog. Or you can click here.

Today started off with a tour of the three Oregon Shakespeare Festival theaters in Ashland. We could only take pictures of the outdoor theater.

The students (especially the girls) were excited to see that the actor who played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream was our tour guide!

After the tour, we had a chance to walk around town on our own for a while--students unhindered by chaperones, and chaperones unhindered by students! Both groups behaved reasonably well, by all accounts.
We had about an hour before we needed to get ready for dinner, so we stopped in the Science Observatory, a hands-on museum in Ashland. They had a whole room devoted to making massive soap bubbles, which Anna thoroughly enjoyed.

After a light dinner at Sizzler, we went out for a night of rollerskating. It was obvious by the amount of bruises that this was the first time for many, but all ended the night with smiles on their faces. (And brought back memories for a few teachers!)

Ashland: Day 2

2008-05-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

We started off Wednesday with white water rafting on the Rogue River. It was cold and rainy, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves anyway! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of the action due to the very wet nature of the activity.

Below are some pics of the crew on Wednesday night. We started off with some Middle Eastern food at the restaurant, Pilaf, in downtown Ashland. From there, we walked over to the theater (yes, still in the drizzly rain, but a short walk) and watched a quite modern--and lively--adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Everyone agreed that it was--in 7th grade vernacular--awesome! And the teachers agreed with the students for once!

Aaron's dressed and ready to go.

Some dressed with a little Shakespearean flair!

Mr. Gory is not liking the weather!

Dueling camera shots.

At Pilaf. David showing his chompers, ready to eat!

Getting ready for the play to start.

Click on the slideshow on the upper-right corner of this blog for more pics.

Ashland--finally!

2008-05-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

We finally rolled into Ashland at about 5pm. The kids quickly found their rooms and proceeded to trash them. Well, we hope not, but we're dealing with 7th graders, here.

Pizza was delivered (and inhaled by the boys) at 6:15 pm. No time for a nap--we needed to be back on the bus and downtown to the theater (about 5 minutes from the Cedarwood Inn) by 7:30pm, dressed in our bar/bat mitzvah best. We watched an excellent production of The Clay Cart, adapted from a 2,000-year-old play from India. Kids thought the first act was a little slow, but the play really took off after intermission with faster pacing and more comedy. Very funny!

We made it back to the Cedarwood Inn at 11:15pm and hit the hay. Big day tomorrow with white water rafting (!) in the morning/afternoon, then a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the evening. Unfortunately, they're calling for 65 degrees and rain all day. That's okay--we'll be getting soaked when rafting anyway! Oh, and no outdoor plays this year, thank goodness.

Pictures to come later.

Bus Trip to Ashland

2008-05-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Thirty-five Tehiyah Day School 7th grade (plus five chaperones and a bus driver) left Tehiyah at about 9:45am on Tuesday after a short wait for a new bus. The first bus had a transmission warning light come on. The driver, Art (also with us on the 6th grade trip last week), didn't want to take a chance on such a long trip--and through mountains--and ordered up another bus. The transfer to the second bus went smoothly, and we were on our way!

On the road!

The students settle in.

Many shared iPods on the trip.

Kids found many ways to pass the time on the six hour drive. Hearts, anyone?!