1/01/08 Day 7 of KS Band Tour, continued

After the parade, we found our way back to the buses and got back to the hotel to wait for the kids. We went with Jan & Craig and their friends Pam and Bobby (their daughter Natalie is a sophomore in the band) to TGIFridays across Knott's Berry Farm for lunch. Yum, green bean fries with ranch dressing It's too bad all of their restaurants in Hawaii closed last year.

I really don't remember what we did after that, until the Tailgate Party/Banquet/Dance that evening. Isn't that so bad? By this time we were pretty exhausted from the busy schedule and looooong days, including getting up before the kids so we could get them up on time and staying up way past lights out/nightly check-in for chaperone meetings. Plus we had gotten up so early that morning after not sleeping well the night before. Knott's Berry Farm was open late for New Year's Eve and I kept hearing the Ghostrider roller coaster and screaming and fireworks! I thought I was imagining things because I thought the park closed at 6 p.m. but found out later that it reopened later for the Eve.

The original trip plans were for the group to go to Medieval Times http://www.medievaltimes.com/ but when the University of Hawaii Warriors won the WAC Championship with a 12-0 record and were selected to go to the AllState Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year's Day, the plans were changed to have the banquet/dance on January 1 so everyone could watch the game, and go to Medieval Times on January 2 instead. Unfortunately, the game didn't go well http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/02/ln/hawaii801020396.html. Kept thinking that the Warriors could come from behind, as they have so many times this season, but it was not to be. It was so sad, but this was the best season ever! Just thinking about how the team brought the whole state together still gives me chicken skin. Driving home before the last game of the season, I was amazed at the homemade banner hung from an apartment lanai railing on Ala Wai Blvd, the "Go Warriors" sign hanging on Beretania Street by Grace's Drive-Inn, the hand-lettered sign tied to the overpass along H-1 freeway, all the shirts for sale. I ordered "WAC Champion" shirts online from the Rainbowtique and ti-leaf-dyed ones from Crazy Shirts before they were sold out, and also got Sugar Bowl shirts from Longs Drugs. It was cool how almost everyone at the band banquet was wearing a UH or Warrior shirt or black/green colors to support the team.

The Tournament of Roses Parade band liaison and his family were at the banquet and presented the band with awards. We got one photo together as a family...the only one on the whole trip! Ryan is wearing the shirt the kids got from Disneyland for participating in the parade.

After the banquet, got the kids checked in and passed out their snow pants and gloves, and warned them to go to bed right away because tomorrow we were getting up early again for Snow Day!