the power of duct tape . . . and other tales

We began our next leg of the trip from Boston to New York on Wednesday morning. Once again, we piled into the trusty (?) bus to shiver our way down the road. The heater didn't work in the bus for the whole trip, so unless the vents were totally shut off, it didn't get warm. I just got in my sleeping bag and slept the time away.

If it wasn't cold enough, the vent that had been rattling at the front of the bus finally gave way. (Remember we're doing at least 70-75 mph.) You can see Steve looking a little perplexed about what to do. Anita stopped the bus and two students ran back to look for our missing hatch. It was not to be found.

So we turned around and went back at least a mile, let Steve and three kids out, and picked them up down the road. They had no luck either. Once they were all back in, I scanned the road ahead, and there it was! Right in front of us, laying up against the wall in the median, was our missing vent cover. The pictures show Steve's rescue of our hunk of plastic. So what did we do with it??? Duct tape and a bungee cord.

Driving the bus through the Bronx was quite the experience. Two thumbs way up for John. We got cut off literally right and left. I'm so glad I don't have to live with that many people around.

While in NYC, we stayed at an Adventist school called Northeastern Academy (215th St. subway stop). To get from the subway to the school, you have to climb 11 sets of 10 stairs, or 110 stairs. Wait, it gets better . . .

The girls stayed on the 4th floor of the building (88 steps) in an empty classroom. The guys stayed on the third floor in the library. The showers were on the "0" floor, or 5 floors (110 steps) below our room. The day we got to the school, we each had at least 2 trips from the bus to our rooms, plus another when we went to Target, and one more after ice skating. We affectionately called our temporary home the "butt and thigh master."

I was really excited about the Wednesday night activity, but it was a surprise to the students, so I couldn't tell them. We got on the subway for the first time, testing our door dodging and subway car surfing skills. One time, Janelle, Anita, John, and I got in one car with only 5 students and Steve had the rest. After that, we tried to distribute everyone more evenly.

Our subway stop to go farther down into Manhattan was 50th St., so you can see that we had to ride south a while when we went sightseeing. This picture is from our walk. Steve always walked in front and Janelle and I took up the rear, making sure no one got flattened by a cab or left after an intersection.

At last! Rockefeller Center! I think most of the kids really liked the idea of going skating, even those who hadn't ever gone before. I think every single student got out on the ice, at least for a little while. It was really windy at the street level, but down on the ice wasn't bad.

Janelle dragged Steve around the rink.

Me with Prometheus, who supposedly stole fire from the gods and gave it to the people. Wouldn't that melt the ice?


Me with Cheslea and Helen. They stayed with me in the hotel in Boston.





I had a lot of fun taking panning pictures of the kids going by. We skated until after dark, so it eventually got pretty hard.

After skating, we were warmed by cups of hot chocolate paid for by Becky's Principal's Fund. Thanks!!!