On the Train

We spent a wonderful couple of nights with our daughter in New York City. We went to a famous coal fired pizza oven place and did some shopping. I picked up a high capacity battery for my phone because I thought I might need it while I tweet and blog from the shows.
We are on the train from NYC to Boston and, though we were a bit late getting off, this is the way to travel. I have a 110 V socket right next to me, a comfortable seat and a quiet and pretty quick ride.
Both Kathy and I are looking forward to getting settled in so we can start helping. Also we are looking forward to seeing our son and all our "carrot" people friends, both old and new!
That is it for now, but I am using the mobile blogger, so I will try to post little bits more often.

Monday before the Saturday...

It is the Monday before the Saturday that we join The Cadets on their tour. This year, Kathy and I will be volunteering together and I think it will be much more fun to work together than at separate times like we did last year. Later this week we will be making the first leg of our journey to New York City to spend a little quality time with our daughter, Carlie, who interning there this Summer. We will take an early train on Saturday to Boston and meet up with the tour about mid-day.

We have begun our packing and this year seems to be a bit easier (to me) to pack. I am packing all of my shirts that wear well when you are hot and sweaty. I have quite a few of the various types of Dri-Fit, Under Amour and other types of shirts that do not show sweat, dry quickly and keep you cool. I have also packed a number of shorts that wear well and are comfortable. Of course, lots of socks and underwear and one sweatshirt if it gets cold. I am sure we will pick up some Cadets shirts and other items while we are on tour, so that should round out the clothes.


We are packing the air mattress, sheets and pillows because they are needed when we stay overnight at a school. Liam asked us to bring him a few small items so we have picked those up for him. Also, his childhood nanny from Germany, Manja, sent him a box stuffed to bursting with chocolate as a bit of a graduation present, so we will bring the boy that as well. Jay Travis asked me to bring up some Christmas lights to use for decorations, so I have packed them up as well.

That is about it for now, I will be posting from the tour so stay tuned.

Matt

Sunday Morning

Yesterday went by pretty fast. The kids were busy and all the volunteers we were busy getting food made and served. Breakfast was pancakes, sausage and fruit. Also the ever-present cereal, oatmeal and fruit, etc. We did have a bit of an emergency as the coffee pot was found to not be working. We had some instant coffee so that was available, but Neil volunteered to hit the Dunkin Donuts and pick up a box of coffee for the food volunteers, which was awesome.

The refer on the truck was not working so we were using coolers and ice and all that jazz. The repair guy came, found the leak, fixed it and the unit started cooling right away. Darren (the souvies man) went out and came back with a 100 cup coffee maker, and we ran a pot to test it out and the coffee was good, so we were set for Sunday morning!

Registration

We arrived in Northern New Jersey and got to The Cadets registration with 15 minutes to spare. I checked in with some old friends while the boys registered, dropped their gear and attended a welcome Hop talk. I put my stuff away and inflated my mattress and headed down to see what needed doing. Snack was to be hot dogs and fixings, and Kevin and I were on to get it done. We had some great new volunteer faces and many of the tried and true, so the work was easy and fun. We are just still up late because snack started a 1. So goodnight!
Matt

Cadets 2012 Begins...

Hello All,

Today we drive up to New Jersey for the first winter camp of the 2012 season. Liam and I are headed up with an additional 3 fellows who are auditioning for The Cadets. The ride is a bit longer today due to a change in venue, and the car is a little more full, but it should be a great trip and a fun camp. I will be making Light Tomato Bisque soup for lunch tomorrow, so that is awesome. I will write another post from camp!

Matt

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off To Finals We Go!

Through the magic of modern communications, I am writing this entry as we drive to West Virginia, where we will overnight with my little sister and her family. Tomorrow we will head off with them to complete the remainder of our 12 plus hour drive to Indianapolis, IN to see our son and The Cadet perform in the DCI World Class Finals in Lucas Oil Stadium. If you had told me one year ago that I would spend my entire vacation volunteering and then driving 700+ miles each way to see them again, I would have laughed in your face. What a difference a year can make! I wondered how this incredible year started; it was our son, Liam who started it all for us. Last November, he asked that his birthday gift be to tryout for The Cadets. But I think that the core values of The Cadets and the people involved with them has drawn me like a moth to a flame. My fellow volunteers are some of the best people with which I have ever worked. That goes for the volunteers who showed up on weekends over the winter as well as those incredible people who joined the tour. These people are amazing, each and every one, but most especially the ones that stayed with the tour for long periods of time (Patti, Kevin and Bob). They have my utmost respect and gratitude; and remember, they were taking care of my son too!

Though I had less direct interaction with the staff and admin team, I was able to observe how they interacted with the members, and it is clear that they are doing this to help them become the best they can be. As I have followed George's posts on both facebook and his blog, it is apparent that he is, and has always been, in this for the members. I have enjoyed his posts and I have attended a few "Hop" talks and that core belief has always shone through.

I can speak from my experience, and I bet that it is the same for the other volunteers, staff and admin; it is the members who draw us in and ignite in us a desire to help. I have said this before, but it bears repeating: these kids are the best, they are tributes to the families and friends who helped make them who they are. As a parent of a rookie member and a person of a certain age, interacting and supporting these young people gives me hope for a bright future for this country. They are some of our best and brightest and I am glad to have been able to help them in my own small way.

Right now, they are the verge of giving the 3 most important performances of this year and I know they are contemplating them with all seriousness and gravity, but I would like them to know that I already consider them champions in every way. They have given me and my family an undeniable gift, and for that, I will ever be grateful to The Cadets.

So that is why we are making this long trek across several states, picking up family and some friends on the way, and heading to Indy. We want to support this organization and most especially the members, because they have worked so hard and given of themselves so much to become The Cadets 2011!

Matt

Best Field and Facility

After the Georgia Dome, we headed North to our next housing site: York Comprehensive High School in York, SC. This facility is hard to explain without over-using superlatives. The field was so nice, the turf soft and easy to walk on; the buildings clean, new and roomy. The showers were excellent and they even had an industrial sized washer and dryer that was free to use. A real benefit when you find that only certain clothes that you brought on tour do not chafe and feel good in the heat. Getting those clothes clean means you can wear them again and be comfortable.

The Field at York Comprehensive High School

We spent a nice day at this facility and then headed to the show site in Rock Hill, SC. Sadly, the show was cancelled due to thunderstorms, so we packed up and headed on to Buena Vista, VA, our housing site for the Salem, VA show.

Here is a shot of my bed on the RV. I had been able to get a egg-shell pad from wal-mart so it was much more comfortable than it had been. I also got a fan and some additional hooks that made life on my bunk a little easier.