Double the Fun

Yay for summer vacation! Time for another entry in the Saiki-delic blog!

However, this trip is a departure from our modus operandi.

R flew out on Thursday to meet his parents in Hawaii on their trip to attend his uncle's 88th birthday party and serve as their Uber driver for a week. From his posts on Facebook, it looks as if he is really suffering in paradise - forcing down saimin, reluctantly shopping at Crazy Shirts, and enduring gatherings with ohana. What a good son!

As for me and the boys, we left LAX this morning...

...and landed at O'Hare this afternoon. We picked up the rental car and promptly headed over to Steak 'n Shake for a late lunch.

Their shirts describe them to a T -- the musician and the baller!

Um, wait a minute. 

Hawaii. 

Illinois. 

Not fair, you say? I agree! Poor R is missing out on sweet corn, gondolas from Avanti's, Monical's pizza, and all of my mom's good cooking! Plus, the three of us will take a side trip to Cincinnati to visit Kings Island (for the boys) and two NPS units (for me). But not to worry, we will meet up with R and my in-laws when they fly back home to Chicago, so he will still get his dose of heat and humidity!

When I was planning our itinerary, M checked the Drum Corps International tour schedule. He realized that it might be possible to see the Tour of Champions competition at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. This band mom (and former marching band geek) was more than happy to oblige. So, I booked an early flight and bought DCI tickets online (center section with a high vantage point per M). Needless to say, my trumpet player has really been looking forward to today.

  

The weather was not too hot or humid, so it was very pleasant to sit and enjoy all of the performances this evening.

Colts (Dubuque, IA)

The Academy (Tempe, AZ)

Crossmen (San Antonio, TX)

Blue Stars (La Crosse, WI)

The Cadets (Allentown, PA)

Santa Clara Vanguard (Santa Clara, CA)

The Cavaliers (Rosemont, IL)

Phantom Regiment (Rockford, IL)

Look at that spacing!

We were all really impressed by the Santa Clara Vanguard show. Even the baller thought they were great! They were so amazing - such full sound and clean, sharp drill!

Knowing that it would end late, I decided to get a hotel room for us rather than drive all the way to my parents' house afterwards. Unfortunately, the closest one I could book was an hour away in Peru, so we didn't stick around for the awards. But our guess was that Santa Clara would win, with the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment following behind.

Update:  They did!