Are we there yet???

"Are we there yet?" We have all heard it and said it..... This was the phrase of the day on my most recent big adventure.

I recently took 40 middle school children to the Seattle Science Center. It was a jam packed day that began at 5am. My own son was off school so I decided to bring him along with us. He felt that at 3:20am that we were going to be late and woke me up to share in his panic....we weren't supposed to get up for about another 40 minutes. He then returned to bed but me....not so fortunate, so...the day began at 3am!

45 tired people entered the bus at 5am and we were off for the first leg of our 4 1/2 hour school bus ride! Now I want you to imagine back to your school bus days for a minute....now not so bad to remember as a kid, right. As an adult, well, that's a different story. Assuming both of your legs comfortably fit facing forward in your seat, it is still no way to spend the next 4 hours of your life. There is also the knees up on your seat approach, this works temporarily untill all the blood rushes out of your legs and the pins and needles begin. The only option is to toss and turn and distract yourself in good conversation. did I mention I took 40 middle school age kids?

2 hours fly by...I am laughing out loud right now.....Only 25 "Are we there yet's" have been noted. Rest stop #1....oh boy. This fabulous rest stop had no real working bathrooms. Yes, I did say rest stop. Isn't that their main job??? Who owns rest stops because boy they would get an earful! It did however have 2 full port-a-potties! FULL! I was desparate so I used one but almost stepped in vomit to use it. OH the memories made!!! The other my son used and when he opened the door the smell was so horrible I almost vomitted myself. Maybe that is what happened in my port-a-pottie?>?? Only half of the students were brave enough to use them so back to the bus it was!

Another speedy 2 1/2 hours go by but this time about 35 "Are we there yet's". Finally I was able to tell them, YES we are (and mean it)! The day flies by at the Science Center. Watching the students in my group of 10 weave in and out of the 50 other school groups that were there that day was about as fun as the whole port-a-potty incident. In all seriousness, seeing the students learn about science when they all claim they hate it...that was priceless! The I-Max was somewhat of a bust for them but the laser show made up for that entirely! We ate lunch right in font of the Key Arena and were given some oh so fragrant smells of herbal remedies as we ate. We unknowingly walked all 40 students through a street fair. That wasn't stressful at all! It reminded me of the movie UP where the dog sees the squirrels. We made it to the Space Needle together and those who had never been were in awe, so for me the stress was well worth it. The day completed with the oh so fun visit to the gift shop! Then back on the road.


We were on the road for about 15 minutes before the "Are we there yet's" started back up. This time it was referring to dinner. Before we made it to Mc D's we were stuck in a Memorial Day road construction traffic jam! The kids really got to experience one more true Seattle site.....for over an hour! this is when the "Are we there yet's" were flowing like the rain and snow that was beginning outside the bus!
After 5 1/2 hours on the bus we finally arrived home to the school!

Overall, we realize we spent more time on the road than we did actually in Seattle, BUT from my perspective worth the ride! We often get caught in getting from point a to b and don't always look at the road along the way. I have learned through my disease that the ride is where the memories will come. I hope that I have given each of those students a memory that they will take with them as they move on in life. I believe that is the greatest gift that I can give them on my last days there.

The bus was filled with "Are we there yet's" but we were "THERE" the second we stepped on that bus.....

Enjoy your journey today!