I am a part of the Strolling Silver Strings, a performance group ran in Norfolk, VA. Most of the time, the members of this group and myself are very serious, and concentrate on one thing: performing for people. But who doesn’t deserve a little down time, right? So every summer we take a trip for a week, and this past summer it was the Big Apple.
That’s right, New York, New York, and we departed on June 23rd, 2007, to stay and relax for a week. But some things didn’t go so well, so here’s some advice for the next road trip. First things first, if you’re on a Venture bus, never estimate the temperature.
It was an 8-9 hour bus ride to our hotel right outside of New York City, in New Jersey. It was also around 60 degrees on the bus all the way up there, as well as the way back. (Mind you, its June, so shorts and tank tops were basically the only thing to wear.) So, whenever you get onto a bus, bring a blanket, or a winter parka so you can stay warm.
Also, make sure you bring socks, because my toes were turning into icicles, no joke. So that’s step number one. Second thing, when you pick room assignments, make sure everyone in your room likes each other.
If not, its going to be a long week. For example, we had 4 people sleeping in our room. Half of us didn’t like one person.
So the first night we were there didn’t go over so well, complete with tears and some not-so-nice things said. So I had to play mediator and help everyone like each other. That was not to fun for the first night in NYC, trust me.
Oh, and one more thing about room assignments, make sure you have enough beds before you go on and say that someone else can come and crash in your room. For the first night, one person slept on the floor of the hotel room. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to sleep on an hotel floor, anywhere.
Lastly, never follow anyone in your group who doesn’t know where they’re headed to, and don’t trust them to know unless you know for a fact that they have some sense of direction. Imagine it being around 11pm, in the middle of New York City, and following someone who is supposed to be a group leader around, trying to find your bus, so you can go back to your hotel and go to sleep. We almost got hit by so many buses, an ice cream truck, and taxi cars, it wasn’t even funny. (We eventually found the bus and did get back to the hotel, but that’s besides the point.)
So make sure you have a leader who is actually from the city, or have your bus driver pick you up where he dropped you off. It’s going to save you a lot of time. So the next time that you’re going on a trip, anywhere, not just to New York City, make sure you have warm clothes for the bus ride, make sure everyone likes each other in your room, and make sure that you can follow someone who knows where they’re going. Have fun!
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