"That song's catchy." "So is the black plague."

I could not have asked for more out of my Senior trip for orchestra. We were all skeptic about going to Branson, but it turned out to be one of the best trips ever. Some of the past trips include: Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years.

Thursday
We left the school at 7 and drove for most of the day. We stopped to have lunch at Sonic and had dinner at Mel's Hard Luck Diner. The waiters and waitresses sang to us, and the food there was pretty good. Then we went to see the Duttons. It was a great show; I had seen them before on America's Got Talent. Here is a video of them. Then we returned to the hotel. Our beds were sleep numbers that came with a remote, so my friend and I were complaining our bed was at 100 and it was too soft and our roommates bed was at 5 and too hard. It took us two hours to figure out the remotes were switched. My friend and I thought we were too fat and broke the bed.

Friday
We left the hotel and headed over to Silver Dollar City, which is like a small Six Flags. It's an amusement Park that had a lot of shows and many things to do besides ride roller coasters. We went into a house where the rooms were either sloped or upside down. It felt like the room was moving.

And the view at the observation tower was beautiful. Driving up there through Arkansas we had so many breathtaking views. I would love to live somewhere like this one day.

My friend and I also searched around the park for a present for our director. Every year the seniors pitch in and get her something and everyone signs it. In the past they have been license plates and posters. Our class got her a ukelele. We all signed it, and it looks really cool. Definitely the best senior present ever.
We also stopped to watch some Kenyan acrobats.

We went to dinner at Lambert's afterwards. The waiters throw rolls to you and you have to catch them if you wanted one, and the food was amazing. We got back to the hotel, they handed out senior gifts, and the seniors gave the ukelele to our teacher. Everyone was an emotional wreck at the end.

Saturday
We had our competition Saturday morning. We went to a mall afterwards, then Dixie Stampede. It's like Medieval Times but with cowboys. South side won, woo. Then they announced the competition winners when it was over, and both Non-Varsity and Varsity got two trophies each. A successful trip, indeed.

Sunday
Woke up early to head back home. It was an eight hour drive back, but it was a lot of fun.
I'm going to miss Branson, and it is definitely my favorite trip the orchestra has taken.


Solo/Ensemble was yesterday morning. My ensemble went really well. We played "The Bird" by Haydn. A dubstep remix is definitely needed. My solo went alright. I played a random E flat that I have never done before, but I'll find out how I did Monday.

The end of the year banquet for orchestra is in a few weeks. I've spent most of the morning finding really sad songs for the slideshow with pictures from throughout the year. Some of the songs include "In My Life" by The Beatles, "Love of An Orchestra" by Noah and the Whale, "Friends" by Elton John, and "Old Friends" by Simon & Garfunkel. It's going to be a sad ending to a really great four years. Orchestra is what I'm going to miss most when I graduate; my closest friends are there. I do plan to continue playing in college and for the rest of my life. But it just won't be the same.

"It is so rare in this world to meet a trustworthy person who truly
wants to help you, and finding such a person can make you feel
warm and safe, even if you are in the middle of a windy valley
high up in the mountains."
-Lemony Snicket.