All State Band 1

 We spent the last four days down in Tampa for Bode's All-State band conference.  We drove down on Wednesday--it is about a six-hour drive from our house, and we lived it up by staying in the JW Marriott.  I don't think I realized how much work this would be for Bode.  He had rehearsals on Thursday from 1 - 5 and then from 7 - 9; then, he had rehearsals on Friday from 8:30 - 11:30, and then from 2:30 - 5:30.  Finally, they had a 2.5-hour rehearsal Saturday morning.  The concert was Saturday afternoon, and lasted about 30 minutes.  Bode jokingly said, "I practiced for four months for the all-state auditions, and then we had 15 hours of rehearsals for a 30-minute concert." Still, I think he enjoyed it.

Thursday night, we took Bode out for a nice steak dinner.  He really likes steak, so Ashley found a nice steak place near our hotel.  Bode had to get dressed up in that he couldn't wear shorts; he had to make do with a pair of my jeans.

I think Bode got a 10-oz fillet.  I should have waited to take the picture because even though the steak was good, the sides were even better (lobster-mac-and-cheese)...and the desserts were to die for :-)

Parents were allowed to watch the rehearsals, but Bode wanted nothing to do with us, so I had to sneak in and take a picture before rehearsal started.  You can see Bode's side profile near the center of the picture.

During one of Bode's rehearsals, Ashley and I made it to the Tampa aquarium.  It was ok--I think we were expecting more along the lines of the Atlanta aquarium, but it was something to do.

The big concert was Saturday afternoon.  Here is a nice shot of Bode and Ashley on the steps leading into the Tampa Convention Center.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take any audio of the concert.  They made this big announcement before the concert that any recordings by people would be considered a violation of copyright law.  We have purchased an mp4 of the concert; we should get a link in a couple weeks.  When I get it, I will be sure to share it with everyone.  I did take some pictures of Bode walking into the concert hall.  I was a little slow, so all you see is Bode's back.

Here is a wider shot showing how large the band was.

The concert was wonderful, and we are very proud of Bode for how hard he worked.  There were 18 trumpets in the All-State band.  Considering auditions were held all across the state, this is a remarkable achievement.

We made it back today, and are now recovering from the conference.  Fortunately, Bode and I have off tomorrow; sadly, Ashley has to work :-(