Several weeks out of the summer +/- 100 kids, instructors, drivers, chaperones, cooks & other would pile onto a couple old Greyhound busses, a motor home and some years an equipment truck and go forth from Vancouver, WA (NW corner of US) to all over the US & Canada.
The Corps directors main goal was to have fun. How we did at the shows came second. This organization truly was about the kids, and not about politics or anything else. Each year the directors made sure that at some point on tour we got to an amusement park, as well as doing quite a bit of sight-seeing along the way. Through Drum Corps I have seen more than I ever could have dreamed otherwise. While I loved Disney World and Disneyland, I would have to say I really liked Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio above all the others.
One tradition my Corps had was "initiation night". One night during the summer was selected by the "vetrans" in the corps, and the "newbies" were initiated into the Corps. As ominous as this sounds, it was pure fun.
On the selected night, the vetrans patiently waited in our sleeping bags on whatever gym floor we were on that night for the newbies to fall asleep. Once they were asleep we armed ourselves with squirt bottles and shaving cream.
[album 23857 InitiationNight82.jpg thumblink]
Our days were primarily spent traveling. This is what my summers looked like for 6 years during my teens.
[album 23857 PinkSpiritLady81.jpg thumblink]
The above is a picture of my sister-in-law, PinkSpiritLady in 1981. Seated just below her is my Hunkka-hunkka Hubby. At that time he was merely her pesky little brother. It wasn't until many years later that our relationship evolved.