(New) Travel Day!

Everyone arrived at ORF around 7:15am. We said our goodbyes and went through security. After everyone was cleared, we proceeded to our gate. The co-bloggers of the day are Mitchell, Owen, and Sydney. 

Here’s Owen’s take: “Despite the inherent setback of a flight cancellation, our group of intrepid voyagers has ‘Kept calm and carried on.’ Soon to arrive in England, the excitement is palpable.” Sydney similarly observed, “Although the flight cancellation yesterday dampened everyone’s morale, we are still very excited to get to London. Micah and Megan are most excited to visit Oxford, and Vig is excited to see King Henry IV Part I.” Excitement abounds!

Snacking ensued along with card games. Mitchell produced “Exploding Kittens” a game that had me asking some questions. It ended up looking very fun. Vignesh set an amazing precedent with the number of snacks he produced from his backpack. He pulled out an entire loaf of raisin bread along with a host of other items…well done Viggy.

James lamented about having to sit next to a stranger on the plane. I mentioned the aviation law that requires one to have an ongoing conversation with the person next to you for the duration of an international flight. He bought it, albeit briefly. Tara described her sweatshirt as a kangaroo pouch and dubbed her phone as her ‘joey.’

Sydney describes our downtime in the Norfolk airport: “While waiting to board our plane in Norfolk we played a game that we have dubbed Picto-phone, a mixture of Pictionary and Telephone. The funniest part was when Owen started with the phrase, ‘It’s a FERRARI!’ The Ferrari soon turned into a carrot car running red lights.” 

We hopped on our flight to New York when Sidd approached me and mentioned the fun fact that “Alpacas actually say ‘moo’”. Very interesting, I will have to consult Snapple to see if they can add this to their collection. We landed in New York and ate a delicious lunch at O’Neals. Micah ordered a tomato soup and grilled cheese, just to eat the grilled cheese. Love it. Maya put her Crocs into ‘Relax Mode’ because it is more fun. Megan and Sydney have set an incredibly high bar with the amount of items they found in the airport scavenger hunt. Sydney states, “We were given scavenger hunts in our journals and one of the items was a lobster. We had no idea how we would find a lobster, but while we were at O’Neals a Geico commercial came on with a lobster soaking in a hot tub. Everyone started saying, ‘Lobster! Lobster!’ very excitedly and pointing at the screen.” Well done, girls. Noah and Micah’s Nintendo Switches have been the hits of the day. It has brought the group together playing various games.

Student interviews have now commenced. Mitchell discussed the meaning of life and asked questions to Noah, Sidd, and Tara about the trip. Here’s what they had to say: 

Noah – The plane ride from Norfolk to JFK was ‘too short.’ As in, the ceiling was too low. 

Sidd – I’m a little unhappy about the delay, but still having fun with the group. O’Neal’s veggie burger was ‘scrumptious.’

Tara – Having a great experience. I am especially pleased with my first-class seat on the way from Norfolk to JFK. 

The best part about the day has been witnessing the constant student interactions with one another. While there have been many opportunities to pull out phones and tablets, everyone has chosen to converse, play cards, and write in their journals instead. This program is off to an amazing start, all thanks to the incredible organization of Ms. Priddy, the fantastic contributions of Mr. Garvin, and the flexibility and enthusiasm of each and every student. Day 2 coming soon!

Students, families, and friends,

We are thrilled to kick off our inaugural London STEAM program this summer. Starting on May 29th, you will be able to follow along with our group on the ground as they experience all London has to offer. I hope you are as excited as we are. Stay tuned!