Alcatraz 2010

Our class has one field trip a year....one BIG one at least, and it is usually to Alcatraz.  I have said it before and I will say it again, I have a love/hate relationship with field trips.  I hate them at the beginning of the day and love them at the end of the day. 

Speaking of the beginning of the day...this was the time on the clock in my classroom as I made my way out to gather my kids for the bus.  This 5:48 beginning of the day is the part I hate.  The running around putting name tags on everyone, making sure everyone went to the bathroom before getting on the bus, introducing everyone to their chaperon for the day.....UHHHH!!!  It is constant madness until the bus pulls away from the curb and all 28 students and 23 parents are accounted for.

Fast forward two minutes and forty-three seconds after the bus pulls away from the curb.  We are driving down Lodi Ave., on our way to I-5 and so excited, that is when I realize....I FORGOT MY CELL PHONE!!!  Now, you have to understand that I had given each chaperon a detailed itinerary of the day and at the bottom was my cell phone number to contact me in case anything happened.  My partner in crime, Kristin I Don't Go Anywhere Without My IPhone Burrell, was my hero.  Without her I think it is very possible that I would have had a breakdown several times throughout the day....you know the day where 28 parents trusted me not to lose their kids in a huge city like San Francisco.

Next drama...the weather.  The weather for the nine days leading up to the trip was raining and cold.  Raining and cold every time I checked weatherchannel.com.  I warned the kids that they had to layer themselves and they had to wear pants.  Apparently the weather Gods were looking down on us because we had the most beautiful weather possible.  It was unbelievable and I could not have asked for a better day.

On our way out to Alcatraz...

Here is the happy bunch who got to ditch school for the day and play!

And finally...we end the day at Pier 39.  Did I mention that the weather was perfect and it was a gorgeous day outside!  I'll be ready to do this again in another year.