Phil Tour...
I suppose it’s about time for an actual update. I know I promised that I’d update more often, but things have been pretty crazy lately, so yeah...
A couple weeks ago I went on tour with Philharmonia. We left early Friday morning and made our first stop in Wilcox where we played an educational concert for a gym full of kids. I suppose it went alright. I think we inspired lots of the little ones to play an instrument which is always good. *sighs* Ah, music...*dazed look* Anywho. From there we drove over to NMSU where we had a clinic. We got quite a lot done on one particular piece which is always good. The brass didn’t play much, but I got to watch Andre play Tetris on his cell phone which made up for it. =P From there we made the hour long drive over to El Paso where we spent the remainder of the trip. Once we arrived we checked into our hotel. The hotel itself was pretty nice. It had this little art gallery thingy on the first floor that was pretty interesting. Anyway, after a while we went to dinner. We were all supposed to go to this one steak house, but because it was a Friday night and the place was packed only the first bus (my bus) could go. Being a vegetarian at a steak house did limit my options, but I managed to find something off the kids menu which was mighty tasty. Yay for mac ‘n cheese! =P After dinner we went back to the hotel where we spent the rest of the night.
As for Saturday...We woke up fairly early and made our way over to the convention center where we rehearsed for about 3 hours. After rehearsal, we went to this mall where we ate lunch. Instead of eating, I walked around with a few people. The mall was filled with lots of interesting stores which made for a good lunch break. After lunch we went back to the convention center for more rehearsing. Then we went over to this ranch. Because it had been raining the past few days, and still kind of was, we weren’t able to roast marshmallows and ride the hay ride like we had planned, but we still managed to have some fun. After dinner we went exploring. We looked at all the animals and found our way to this lake. It was so cold, but really relaxing. My friend Regina and I spent most of our time at the lake making faces at one another and taking pictures. It was rather amusing if I do say so myself. =P After a while we loaded the buses and headed back to town. I unknowingly got onto the bus that was going to this bowling alley. I didn’t know many people on the bus, but by the end of the night I managed to make quite a lot of friends. =) I bowled my best game ever (150) which was pretty cool. After bowling, we headed back to the hotel where we spent the rest of the night. I was really tired and just planned on spending the night laying in bed reading, but my roommates had other plans. A little while after I returned they came in with about ten other people ready to party. Instead of being upset I joined them in their salsa dancing and music making. It turned out to be a pretty fun night.
Sunday was the final day of the tour. We woke up, loaded the buses, and drove over to this Mexican buffet thing. The restaurant was pretty cool. There were chairs hanging from the ceiling and brightly colored murals painted on every wall. It was quite an experience. From there, we went over to the convention center again and rehearsed a little more. We then got into our formal wear and played our concert. The concert went pretty well. There were some little mistakes, but overall it went well. For the last two songs, we had some highschool students from schools all around El Paso play with us which made it interesting. There was one trumpet player who wasn’t too bad. He didn’t have very good technique, but his tone wasn’t all that bad. It was so cute! He was so amazed with how good we were. He just kept going on and on. It made me smile...ah, to be appreciated! What a lovely feeling! =P Anywho. After the concert we changed back into our street clothes and loaded the buses and made the long, long, looooong drive back home.
So yeah. That was our tour. It had some downfalls, but overall I suppose it was pretty alright.
Here are some pics from the ranch! I’m sorry Regina...I had to. Please don’t hate me?? =D
A duel broke out over who could have the last chicken breast...
And the fighting continues...
Here would be my dear friend Regina and some little bunnies...I'm not sure why the pic is so tiny...hrm...
BUNNIES!! and a fence...
GOATS! and a lot of fence...=\
This would have been cool had it not been winter...=(
This would be the hay ride that we didn't get to go on...*shakes fist at rain*
I thought this tractor looked kinda cool...
A deer!! =)
Random door...kinda scary...
The lake entrance...
This was a little bridge to this cool little house...What on earth is on that rock? =S
The lake! =D Oh man Regina...what a great facial expression! =P
And now for the REALLY funny pictures!!
lol...this one didn't work too well seeing how SOMEONE couldn't keep a straight face! =P
She stole my camera! =O Here would be me trying to get out of the picture...didn't work too well...
lol...whooooow...good times...
Blasted camera! And after all that work! =P
And now for my favoritest one!
*can't stop lauging* Oh Regina, you make me smile! =P
Welp, that's all folks! Hope you enjoyed! Write more later, promise!