My last blog post was made just after we arrived at our hotel near Long Beach; we had to leave soon for the choral festival we were singing in that evening. Well, the weather was finally warm (first time on the trip!), and I'm not exactly sure how they found the time, but some of the guys managed to take a quick dip in the hotel hot tub.
Then off we went to Cal State Long Beach, where we were greeted by crowds of high school and college choral singers waiting in line at various food trucks brought in for dinner.
The schedule was kind of crazy and not everyone got to eat before we had to warm up and do our onstage sound check. The festival was a lot of fun (at least for me!) and it was great to hear the fine work of six other college choirs. As the only men's chorus and the chorus that came from the East Coast, we were definitely the most unusual group on the program. While each chorus sang, the other conductors wrote comments about the performances for us to have after the event. Some of the comments we got were, "Beautiful resonance!" "Beautiful balance of parts." "Beautiful tone." "You are a fine ensemble." "Magical ending!" (to the Wesley) "Gorgeous! Great shape and intensity." "I am melting in this tone!" The audience, made up of eight high school groups from the afternoon and the seven college groups from the evening, really loved us. It was a great way to end the concertizing part of our tour.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and tried to find someplace to eat that wasn't fast food, but everything was closed except for Tommy's Original Hamburgers. (For those not from Los Angeles, it was an iconic stand downtown for many years until the founder died and it was franchised.)
Our hotel was next door to a roller rink, a miniature golf course and a mini-amusement park. We decided to go skating, perhaps a poor decision for some of the less coordinated Club guys. (Yes Paddle, I'm talking about you.) But a good time was had by all, I think.
After skating, everyone went to bed early and a good night's sleep was had by all. Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly how it happened, but no one died, so we're ahead of the game!
The next morning while we were loading the bus, I walked by SnoCone, who was on the phone with his mother. When he saw me he said, "You've been blogging the entire tour?!?" When I said yes, he said that his mother wondered why he wasn't in any of the pictures. So this is for SnoCone's mother.
Goiter was the last one on the bus (he decided to take a shower when we were supposed to be departing--kids today!), but the late start didn't hurt us in the end because our flight was delayed. Checking in is always fun (not), but we all made it into the airport and through security (with only a few requiring strip searches).
As you can see, everyone looks very cherry and full of pep. I thought that singing a song would help, and after overpowering the naysayers, we sang a rousing chorus of 10K and the Good Old Song. TSA agents left their posts to listen, the gate agent thanked us over the PA and asked for another selection, and all the people in the waiting area cheered and applauded.
The view from the plane was spectacular, with clear skies and great sights to see (the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Park Observatory, the Grand Canyon, etc.) Some guys on the plane chose to sleep, and others chose to read, study or talk non-stop for five hours. You'd think they'd've been all tuckered out by then...
After claiming our bags, the guys loaded up a UVa bus that came to meet us and had another several hours to go before arriving back in Charlottesville after 1 a.m. But they have today off, and school doesn't start back up until tomorrow. Enjoy your break! :-) And congratulations on a fun and successful tour!
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