Chicago, Chicago, Chicago!!!

The whole group in Chicago

Kayla in Millineum Park

Skyscrapers, elevated trains, Chicago River, Lake Michigan, Millenium Park, and a boat ride are a few things we experienced today. It was a wonderful, sunny, warm day in Chicago. We met in the lobby at 9:30 after a free continental breakfast at the Hostel, then had a walking tour to the Chicago River. We rode a boat into Lake Michigan and back into the River and learned about some of the beautiful buildings. We were done by 1:00. I was so very tired, that after we let the kids go for free time, I found a chair along the river under a tree and took a little nap (nap #1).

Most of the kids went to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, then wandered around doing a little shopping. I went to Walgreens and picked up some traveling supplies and things we needed for the trip. I did a little bit of shopping for Kayla, then headed back to the hostel for a nap before dinner. My little nap turned into an almost three hour nap (nap #2)! Now I am up late on the computer because I am not tired....

Mike cooked an amazing cornflake chicken dinner for us with REAL mashed potatoes and a VERY fancy salad! Thank you Mike, it was delicious, and very appreciated. I usually only get REAL mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, so this was a treat. The kids loved it, and they needed a good home cooked meal. I did my part by helping in the kitchen with clean up.

After dinner, some of the kids went with Jan to the Sears tower to go to the top. They returned by 11:00 pm and we had ice cream sundaes. We encouraged them to get to get to bed because quite a few of them are getting sore throats, tummy aches, head aches, etc...

Tomorrow is another free day in Chicago until our train leaves around 9 pm. We will be giving them some other ideas of things to do and places to go. Chicago is a beautiful city, and I am glad to have seen it.

St. Paul, Minnesota and Mall of America!

Getting on the train to Chicago

St Paul, Minnesota and the great Mississippi River

The inside of the Mall of America

Inside the Mall of America , again

The Mall of America was great fun! I have attached some photos to give you an idea of its size. We (the chaperones) were so tired from the night before, that we went back to the apartment after just four hours and crashed! How could we have just spent only four hours in the greatest mall in America? Such a shame! Jacqui went to bed by 6 pm, and after watching a little news, I was in bed by around 9 pm. The next morning (Sunday June 28) we started early by meeting downstairs at 6:30 am. Our train was to leave at 7:45 and we wanted to collect the kids from their host families. The train was about an hour late. Everyone was happy to be back together and they all had their different stories and experiences to share.

Our train ride to Chicago, IL was 8 hours today. We got in about 5:00 pm, walked a few blocks to the Chicago Hostel, and then let the kids go free for the night to forage for their own dinner. The adults went to a little restaurant a few blocks away and had a great dinner together. It was a good day. Tomorrow we get a tour of Chicago.

How do you describe a 24 hour train ride?

Beautiful Montana!!

Everyone sleeping on the train from Glacier to St Paul

Big time flooding during the night of the train ride

Valou (Belgium), Flo (Belgium), and Chris (Switzerland) relaxing.

It's LOONNNNNGGGGG and oh so BEAUTIFUL!!!! Actually, we wore the kids out so much the day before with rafting and hiking, and then they had to get up early to catch the train, so they all pretty much slept all day on the train. We were worried that by sleeping all day that they would be up all night talking and playing, but it didn't happen. We had a pretty strict train guy this time that kept walking up and down shushing them. They actually had a good nights sleep too; they were cramped, but slept. Every time I tried to read my book, I would nod off to sleep. I was wore out as well. We need these train rides for rest!

We arrived in St Paul, Minnesota this morning at about 9:00. The kids were farmed out again to Rotarian Host families for 24 hours. Seven of the boys went to a family with a swim pool and elevator in their house. I have already run into several of the kids at this huge mall, including Kayla! We had an apartment ready for us when we arrived. We did our laundry, showered, then headed to the Mall of America- the largest mall in America. It is large There is an actual amusement park with roller coasters in the middle of the mall! There is also a water park in here! Every store you can imagine is in here as well. You would need a week to see everything; a bit over whelming in fact! I looked at a few stores, got some lunch at Long John Silver's, and then settled down at a place where I could go online (Starbucks). Tonight we will catch back up on our sleep before we get back on the train in the morning for a few hours to Chicago, Illinois.

White Water Rafting in Glacier Park, Montana!!!

White Water rafting in Montana!!! It was soo fun!!!

Glacier Park, Montana

Maria (Brazil) and Kayla ready to go rafting!

Me, Jan (Denmark), Melody, and Jacqui (New Zealand) ready for rafting too!

Wednesday was our second day in Seattle, WA. We only had until 2:00 pm until we needed to leave for the train, so everyone got free time to buy groceries for the 18 hr train ride ahead to Montana. They also wanted to do some shopping and relaxing together. At 2:00 we walked the two miles to the train station.

The scenery was breath taking! I wanted to read my book, but the view outside was so spectacular, I couldn’t. After about two hours, we went through the second largest tunnel in the world- 8 miles of pure darkness! (I just thought it was an interesting fact.) The night on the train was uneventful and restful for the most part. Some of the kids didn’t settle down until about three hours before they needed to be up. We are so far north; it doesn’t get dark until about 10:00 pm. The days are very long in the summer in the Northern states.

We arrived at Glacier Park just after 8:00 am Thursday morning. Our appointment with the rafting company was at 10:00. Some of us suited up in wet suits and wind jackets, others in just the jackets, depending on their cold comfort level (which is very low for me!) The ride was actually a bit chilly, and the water was FREEZING! Rafting down the river was SOOOOO fun! I know I keep saying this day was the best day ever, but this day really was the best day ever! We had a fun bunch in our raft, including Melody and the five chaperones, and five kids (Chris, Peter, Haruko, Mumbi, Kayla). There was a lot of splashing, falling off, jumping, and laughing going on in our raft! The river was exciting and really swift in some places. It was an exciting 2 hour ride.

After the ride, everyone was absolutely famished! They attacked the food, eating what they could until the hamburgers were cooked. It was a very good meal. Here’s something funny. They offered three different kinds of cookies; Oreos, chocolate chip, and peanut butter ones. The Oreos and chocolate chip cookies disappeared very quickly, but the peanut butter ones lingered. Peanut butter is such an American food; these foreign kids are not familiar with it or do not like it! It’s strange to think that something my own children ate almost every day of their lives is something that is only eaten in America, and not the rest of the world.
After the Bar BQ, some of us went back to our rooms and rested while the others (including Kayla) went on a SIX mile walk to get ice cream! No thanks- I watched a movie, got some souvenirs, and bought a coke, and took a nap. We are letting the kids stay up late tonight since they have 24 hours on a train to rest, but I think they are so tired from the day that they will be out soon.

We had another Bar BQ for dinner tonight then played a volleyball game against the local rafters! It was a full day. Now we have a 24 hour train ride ahead of us as we head to St. Paul, Minnesota; home of the largest mall in America!

A sunny day in Seattle, WA

Playing in the fountain near the Space Needle

Mumbi (Kenya), Akiko (Jap), Franzi (Germany), Lina (Switz.), Haruko (Jap), Melody and me on the Monorail.

The whole gang today!

The fish market at Pike Street Market

Today we started the day at 9:30. Our first destination was the Pike Street Market. It was delightful and exciting; so many great smells, flowers, fish, and crafts. Everyone was given just over an hour to look around and shop. I found a little butcher shop that sold landjagers from Germany; they were so delicious! It has been years since I had eaten one. I bought some fruit, nuts and groceries for the train trip tomorrow for both Kayla and I.

We walked a few blocks to the Monorail that took us to the Seattle Space Needle. Both were a fun ride. The view from the Space Needle is amazing. The kids just love taking pictures of themselves; that's all they did up there. They even make the funniest faces at the camera! The kids are having so much fun together, and I don't even think they know or care where they have been or where they are going next! It's just a matter of being together with each other.

We were done by about 2:00, and had the rest of the afternoon off to shop and get lunch. I spent a wonderful afternoon with Kayla. We got lunch at a great little Italian restaurant and then went shopping. She needed some shorts and a medium sized purse to carry her belongings on day trips, rather than her big backpack. I also got a haircut. We had a very nice time together. It was another day of walking, walking, and more walking!

This evening some of the kids went to a baseball game. Some kids didn't even know what baseball was; it truly is an American-only sport! The rest took a ferry ride in the evening to see the Seattle nighttime lights from the water. I hear it was beautiful. I had a headache, so stayed in :( . Tomorrow we have the first half of the day off to explore Seattle on our own, then leave for the train station at 2:00. We have a 16 hour overnight train ride ahead of us to Glacier National Park in Montana.

Getting to Seattle, WA

Just part of the gang waiting in Portland for the others to arrive

Finally, a picture of Kayla and Emilia I had to beg her to take this with me; something about not wanting to hang with mom...

Today, Monday, June 22, started with a bus ride from Portland, OR to Vancouver, WA. From there we boarded a train to Seattle, WA. It was about a 3 1/2 hour train ride and we got to Seattle about 4:00pm. We walked a very brisk (nobody walks slow!) 2 miles to our hotel, the Moore Hotel. It is close to Pike Street Market, and the rooms are nice. I am on the 6th floor. Tonight I will be doing bed checks at 11:00 with Jan to ensure that all the kids are in their rooms.

You know, I walk fast. I am usually in the front, and people usually have a hard time keeping up with my pace. NOT with this group! This is a very fast group. I am kicking it into high gear to stay in the middle! I am really proud of Kayla and her ability to keep up with all of us as she usually runs on a slower gear than me, and she is keeping up with them better than I am! BTW, Kayla had a great weekend with her host family. They took them shopping, to a rose garden and a mansion. They even sent them off with a great lunch for the train. She went with Johanna (Austria), Flo (Belgium), and Sally (France).

Dinner was on our own. We, the chaperones, went to a great little Mexican restaurant just down the street from the hotel. I am not sure what Emilia or Kayla did for dinner. Some of the kids went to a movie, Star Trek. I stayed at home and played on the internet, did some research on activities that our group can do in Seattle on Wednesday, and caught up on the news. I wanted to hear about North Korea's threat to bomb Hawaii on July 4th.

Tomorrow will be fun with Pike Street Market, Space Needle, and Mono Rail.

Beautiful Sunday in Portland, OR

Jan, Jacqui, Me, Melody, Kathy, Mike at the Columbia River Gorge

It was a beautiful Sunday in Portland, Oregon. We hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls, an amazing waterfall that compares easily in awe factor to any in Hawaii. In fact, the ride to the falls is filled with so many other beautiful water falls, it's almost like the Hana Highway on Maui. Anyway, the walk was steep (again), and it was slippery, but it was refreshing and fun, and oh so breath taking! We also visited the Columbia River Gorge, and the Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery.

When we returned to our hotel in the late afternoon, we only had a couple of hours to do our laundry before we were to be ready for dinner. Dinner is at Melody's sister's house (Kathy). We ate Salmon (that she had actually caught, I thought that was neat), steak and potatoes. It was delicious! Thank you very much kathy for opening your home up to us, you have a beautiful family. I enjoyed every minute I had with your family. We played a game that we have at home- Catch Phrase. Everyone had a wonderful time! Poor Niko (hee hee). Of course, the whole evening was full of laughter and good times and good jokes! I think we are all ready now for another week of chaperoning 50 fantastic kids to Seattle and to Glacier National Park.

Overnight Train to Portland, OR

Above is Mumbi (Kenya) and I

This is Wallace (Brazil) checking his email on the train

Kayla finds Felipe's back (Brazil) is a comfortable pillow!

The chaperones go out to dinner with Melody's family in Portland, OR

Actually, sleeping on the train was not so bad. Maybe because I was just so tired and needed the rest. With the help of my ear plugs and mask, pillows and blankets, I slept OK. Chaperones tend to be the last ones down and first ones up, with the exception of a few REALLY chatty ones!

The kids have a great time on the train. They play card games, computer games, nap, and talk endlessly! They have been very well behaved and we even had some great compliments from the train staff, and that is wonderful for a group as large as we are. Our trip was 18 hours from San Francisco to Portland, OR.

At the train station we introduced the kids to their new weekend Rotarian family. The families will take the kids they chose to see the sites of Portland, OR. I look forward to the stories they will have to share when we get back together tomorrow; they will all have done different things. Kayla and Emilia are each with different families.

Meantime, the adults get to recharge our batteries. We are at a wonderful hotel with a beautiful river view. We went to a fantastic Cajun restaurant with Melody's sister, Kathy, Kathy's daughter, Nicky, and her best friend. It was so much fun! I really can't remember when I have laughed so much, really, it was fun beyond belief. It amazes me how people from different countries like Jan (pronounced Yohn), Jacqui, and Niko, and great leaders like Paul and Melody, and Rotarians like Mike and I were strangers a week ago, yet have come together to form an amazing group of leadership for these 50 exchange students!

San Francisco Cable Cars, Hills, seals, and more!!!

Today we started our day in San Francisco with a Cable Car ride. It was exilarating! I can't believe how hilly San Francisco is. I mean REALLY steep hills! We walked to China Town from Union Square and had a great lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Then we took a bus to Lombard Street, a famous crooked street. The bus dropped us off a few blocks from the crooked street so we had to climb more hills and more hills! The grade is so steep that this particular area has to have hairpin turns for a car to go down. See the picture above. We walked up the stairs to the top of that, then walked all the way DOWN to the Wharf (some of them ran down for a bit, and that is another picture above). Now my legs really hurt! I am super, super tired! So many hills!

We walked to Pier 39 where we watched what seemed to be hundreds of sea lions resting, loving, nursing their babies, and fighting for space. It was awesome. I got some great pictures and even video of it. After another leftover spaghetti dinner at the hostel, we caught a bus to the train station. Our Amtrak train left at about 10:30pm, and we are still on it the next day, Saturday. Our trip time from San Francisco to Portland, OR is about 18 hours.

I will blog tonight after we get the kids settled in their Rotary Host families for the weekend. We, the chaperones, have the weekend off.

Riding Bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge!

Today was definitely one of the best experiences of my traveling days. When I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on my bike today, I was almost in tears. It was so beautiful; the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, and in the company of 46 wonderful people. Well, not really, because everyone was ahead of me! I was bringing up the rear, but that was my duty, and I'm sticking to my story. It was about a ten mile trip. We went from Fisherman's Wharf, over the Golden gate Bridge, and to Sausalito Island, then a ferry ride back to Fisherman's Wharf. I do believe I will be sore tomorrow. Unfortunately, neither Kayla nor Emilia went on the bike ride. They had a downtown sight seeing tour and met us at the Golden Gate Bridge.

We made a wonderful dinner for the 57 of us in the cafeteria of the Hostel. We had spaghetti, salad, and this amazing, wonderful sourdough bread. We even bought the sourdough bread in shapes of a turtle, a bear, and a lobster! Some of the Brazilian kids made the most delicious dessert for us tonight: some caramel like balls rolled in chocolate sprinkles. Yum, Yum!

It was a very busy day, with lots of exercise and lots of fun! I am getting to know most of the kids names now; then just realized today that they are trading name tags! I need them to wear their correct name tags for at least a few more days! Tomorrow we are seeing more of San Francisco, including China Town, and riding a cable car. We have such FUN every day!!!

Getting to San Francisco

Today we took the subway to the bus, the bus to the train, the train to San Francisco, another bus from SF to the Hostel. It was a long day of traveling. The Amtrak train was especially nice. Not a lot happened today, just lots of transfers. Everything and everyone was well. The kids are having lots of fun hanging out and getting to know each other. It was another good day.

We got to the hostel about 8:00 and got into our rooms and had pizza downstairs. After that, most of the kids went for a group walk along Fisherman's Wharf. One thing that really impresses me is how frugal this group is. Some have pitched in together to buy bread, meat and cheese for sandwiches to share on these long traveling days. They just don't waster their money on junk. You can tell they are making smart choices and stretching their money as far as possible. You don't see that in many American kids. I am really impressed.

Today's picture is the group picture from yesteday in front of the Getty. We have 50 kids, 7 chaperones. Tomorrow will be a fun day starting with a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Wallking, walking, and more walking....

Today was filled with plenty of walking, and we covered alot of ground! We were dropped off at the Farmers Market in Hollywood, and walked to a fabulous shopping center called The Grove. The bottom picture is our group walking in The Grove. I enjoyed looking around at the American Girl doll store and Bath and Body (which we don't have in Hawaii). We were only there for about an hour. In fact, we don't stay anywhere for more than an hour, usually. That seems to be the attention span of the group!

After The Grove, we drove through Beverly Hills, saw Bel Air, and the UCLA campus. We spent an hour at the Getty Museum- our one and only museum on the tour. An hour was enough time for the kids (me too, hee hee) :) I asked the guards which was the most valuable painting in the museum, found it and took the photo you see above. Vincent van Gogh's painting "Irises" is $68 million dollars! I did make an effort to stare at it for a bit and enjoy it and try to understand why it would be worth that much, but alas, staring didn't enlighten me. I just have no art appreciation in my genes. I had this problem in Italy, and that's NOT a good place to lack art appreciation....

After the museum, we went to Venice Beach. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day! Venice Beach is full of unique characters and shops. Lots of cool things to see and do. We walked clear to Santa Monica Pier. We were told to meet at the carousel. Here's the problem: some of the kids thought the "carousel" was the ferris wheel, others thought the "carousel" was the merry-go-round! We'll need to be more specific next time, as different countries call things differently. Maybe we should have drawn them a picture. By the way, I went to the ferris wheel (wrong place); the meeting spot was the merry-go-round. My bad!

Our last stop for the day was at Melody and Paul's house for a party. We had great Chinese food, great music, and some real big laughs! What a fun group we have! Thank you Paul and Melody for hosting all of us at your house! The kids were photographed with their country's flag. The top photo is Emilia and Cami, both from Chile. I hoped they would photograph Kayla with the American flag, but they didn't have it out. It's not the normal routine to have an American girl on a foreign exchange trip! Today was a fun filled day and the kids are tired. The hotel is much quieter tonight because we wore them all out! Tomorrow we head to San Francisco....

Hollywood

I would like to introduce to you my fellow chaperons: (L to R)Mike from CA, Michele from Italy, Nicholas from Germany, me, Jacqui from new Zealand, Jan from Denmark, Paul and Melody from LA (train tour founders).

Today was a day of rest for many of our kids as they arrived throughout the entire day. We checked them in to their rooms, gave them their t-shirts, went over the rules, exchanged phone numbers and various other things. In the evening we walked to Hollywood Blvd and saw the Kodak Theatre and other cool things that I can't remember the name of. I saw the sidewalk with the hand prints and stars for the famous actors and actresses. It was loud and noisy and lots of people, so I didn't stay long. I don't particularly like large crowds in touristy areas, but it was neat to see the bright lights and flashy signs of Hollywood Blvd. The Chaperons broke away from the kids and enjoyed a dinner meeting at Hooters.

Last night was a very late night for Kayla, Emilia and I. We left Honolulu at 4:30 pm, got to LAX at 1:00am. Our luggage must have been the very last one to come down because it was past two before we got it! I was just so relieved to see it finally: I didn't really care about the lateness of it. I was glad it wasn't lost! We first found a shuttle that would take us to our hotel in Hollywood for $15 each, but after waiting over a half hour for it to arrive, we made a $50 deal with a taxi driver to take the three of us to the hotel instead. We were a bit wound up, even though it was almost 3am, so we unpacked our duffel bags into our new train bags that were waiting for us on our beds. We also had our t-shirts and name tags waiting for us. Nice hotel, nice rooms, nice shirts. Everything is going great. Tonight Emilia and Kayla are both in different rooms with other girls, and I am sharing a room with Jacqui. It was a day of many new friendships.

I am learning lots of names, but have so many still to go. I really enjoy watching these kids interact; to see who the natural leaders are and how they affect others. Their are the loud ones, the quiet ones, and the chatty ones. They all are great kids. This whole group of people is going to be great together! I can't wait for tomorrow.....

What was I thinking?! 35 days away????

All our bags are packed and we're ready to go...it's been challenging to pack for this trip. We will be gone for 35 days, but can only take a duffel bag and back pack with us. How do you pack for that long in that little space? At the top of my list was my laptop, camera, video recorder, and phone and all the associated chargers. That didn't seem to leave enough room for the things I might REALLY need. I had to leave my blow dryer, my blue tooth (just too many electronics), my very adorable dogs, and I know there's something else I left; I just can't remember right now! I have to remind myself that this trip is just to the mainland, not to Africa, so I should be able to buy anything I need. There will be clean water, good food (as in healthy for you to eat), and reasonable accommodations. No worries, right?

35 days!!!! What was I thinking??!!! I have never been gone this long before. Can I leave my clients, my husband, my dogs, my very comfortable bed, my privacy for that long? What was I thinking? Will it be fun, will it be stressful, will it be a good thing? All of these questions are flooding my mind this morning as I make final preparations. I even take an exercise walk this morning to relieve some of my anxieties.

And the food. What will happen to me if I am eating on the road and on the go for over a month? Who wants to gain 20 pounds on vacation? I eat so healthy at home, will I be able to maintain my habits on the road? Let's think positive: I will be too busy to eat much, to active chasing all the teenagers, and too happy to gain any weight (I gain when stressed, lose when happy). Sounds good, right? I'll let you know...

My flight has already been delayed an hour, but I was notified by email, so we didn't leave early. Man, technology is great. I have packed three great books to read: Inca Gold, Cell, and The Woods. Well, I am off on my adventure. Next time I log in, I will be with the group and on the mainland. Our hotel tonight is in Hollywood! How awesome is that?

Train Trip planning and packing

Today is Monday, June 8th. I am spending this week preparing my business clients for my absence for 35 days, packing for the train trip, getting the girls ready to go, and doing last minute chores, errands and bills. The week before traveling is always exciting as it is the beginning of the unknown; an adventure about to begin. I have to remeind myself that this trip will be a lot easier than some of the ones I have been on. I will be in the United States the whole time and I will have access to conveniences like electricity, clean water, good food, money, and stores. If I forget something, I can buy it somewhere!

I will leave Honolulu on Sunday, June 14th and fly to Los Angeles where I will meet up with the rest of the group. I am one of the chaperones for 50 Foreign Exchange Students from 20 different countries for the whole month! I am also taking my daughter, Kayla, and Emilia Parraguez, an exchange student from Chile who has been living with us since January.

Some of the places we will be visiting on our train trip around the United States are: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Glacier Park, St. Paul, Chicago, Niagara Falls, Boston, New York City, Lewes, Washington D.C., and New Orleans.

So join me for my adventure! I will update again soon (this is my first blog ever, so bear with me as I learn to navigate. I am sure I will get better with time)!