92: The One on the Road Pt 2: The Trip

The Class of 92 in the Windy City

My journal account of the senior class trip is pretty sparse, unfortunately.  It's not that I didn't write. I wrote everyday of the trip.  But it was almost entirely the ruminations of angsty teen.  It's really too bad, because it really was a pretty epic trip. And when I wasn't too busy being miserable, I managed to have a great time.  And that's what I tend to remember.  I remember that I was miserable, but those emotions don't come back when I think about the trip.  Our senior class trip has strangely proved to be more fun in memory than when I experienced it.  

Tuesday, April 7, 1992

The Forgotten Day

We arrived in Chicago in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 7, 1992 (I'm guessing they didn't have strict rules about how many hours bus drivers could be on on the roads in those days). 

I remember being very tired as we set out seven hours or so later, to see the sights Tuesday morning, but that's about all.  The only reason I know what we did is the photos I took.  We went to Brookfield Zoo in the morning and the Art Institute of Chicago in the afternoon. 

Wednesday, April 8, 1992

The Famous People I Didn't See

Wednesday morning we did a river cruise tour of downtown Chicago, and then did some shopping at the Water Tower Mall in the afternoon. It was here that I missed the first of two opportunities to see someone famous. At our 30 year reunion last month, Heather Caplin and Jacque Chamberlain regaled me with their story of running into Axl Rose at the Water Tower Mall.  That's right, the temperamental lead singer of Gun's N Roses!  In 1992, it didn't get much bigger than that.  The songs off their double album Use Your Illusion I & II, ballads like "November Rain" and "Don't Cry" as well the song featured in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, "You Could be Mine" were all over the radio.  Even as the Seattle sound of "alternative" bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were remaking the rock world, Guns N' Roses was the last triumphant middle finger of 80's style hard rock.  Heather and Jacque can tell the story better than I can, but  I know they were able to exchange a few words ("Do people tell you you look like Axl Rose?" and "Yeah, I get that a lot") and they trailed him through the mall for awhile before his security finally chased them off. 

I didn't take this photo, despite that I had a camera with me on Wednesday, April 8, 1992.  Heather and Jacque didn't take it either as they figured they wouldn't need their cameras for a trip to the mall. This is a Getty Images photo probably not even taken in Chicagol

Heather and Jacque say that when they told their friends who they'd seen, their classmates didn't believe them!  But I believe them. And it's not just because their excitement over the encounter is still there 30 years later. I did a little research and confirmed that it was very likely Axl Rose would have been in Chicago that day. GNR had a show booked at the Rosemont Horizon in the Chicago area for April 9, 1992--the next day.

I can't be too sad about missing Axl. That was a case of being in the right place at the right time and I wasn't.  The second opportunity, though was my own choice.  I had an opportunity--like everyone else in my class--to see the NBA legend Michael Jordan and his equally legendary team the 1992 Chicago Bulls play the Milwaukee Bucks.  On the other hand, I could go see the award-winning, hot-off-broadway, "Hamilton" of the 1990's, play Shear Madness.  Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little.  The audience-involved mystery was not exactly a once a in  life-time experience.  In fact, Shear Madness would turn out to be the second longest running play in American theater and you can still see it today. In fact, you can see it right now at the Kennedy Center.  Honestly, it wasn't memorable. I don't remember "whodunnit" or anything else about the play for that matter.

On the way to Shear Madness instead of on the way to see Michael Jordan. Now that's sheer madness. The "turban" I'm wearing was lent to me by Chandra or Geri, because I'd lost my coat and somehow that translated into me needing a hat.

Ralph Rosenow, Chandra, and Geri on the bus with me on our way to the play.

It was worth $19 in 1992.  Do you know how much that ticket is worth today? (The stub is worthless, but a standard ticket at the Kennedy Center will cost you $58 for a seat at tomorrow's performance)

But it was more than seeing Jordan on the court that I missed. I also missed seeing him after the game. I'm not sure of the details (since I wasn't there. . .grrrr), but I'm told that somehow some of my classmates were able to get down to where the athletes were exiting the arena after the game.  They saw Jordan leave the building, sign a few autographs for select fans, and then get into his high end sports car.  I'm told that Frank Modeste was bold enough to step in front of his car, causing him to stop for a moment while Frank did. . .I'm not sure what, perhaps take a picture? Then they watched Michael Jordan peel away and drive off into the night.  Now that's a story for your grandchildren!

I didn't take this photo either.  Because I wasn't there!

Illicit Activities

Silliness in the hotel room

The other thing I remember from the class trip, which also took place on Wednesday, was a certain amount of rumored partying that went on that night. It was partying that I had decided I was going to join. I can't remember which room or rooms these illicit activities were happening in and I'll never know if they actually happened. Because when I slipped out of my room, ready to break the rules, Dr. Vining happened to be standing right outside the door:

 "Hi, Sean.  What do you need?" She asked.

"Oh! Hi Dr. Vining! I was. . .uh. . well, I was. . .uh. . . Actually, I'm just gonna go back in my room here."

And that was that.  My roommates and I did end up raiding the minibar--poking holes in the bottom of the cans, puffing up the snack bags so they looked full, and refilling the bottles with water, in attempt to hide our theft. As a seasoned trip leader now, I'm appalled that our chaperones didn't think to ask the hotel to clear the minibar in the rooms ahead of our arrival.  There wasn't enough in the bar to make for much, but still.  I'm glad now that my party plans were foiled.  I don't think I'm cut out for that life, and knowing my mindset, I don't think it would have gone well for me.

Thursday, April 9, 1992

Stuck in the Chicago: The Ordeal

Perhaps my most vivid memory of the class trip was one of abandonment.  I, along with a couple of classmates were left behind by the class at the Museum of Science and Industry.  We waited for hours in the brutal cold before we finally gave up and took a cab to what we knew was the next stop on our itinerary. It's been suggested that it was our own fault, that we were late for the pick-up.  Well, we're not gonna litigate those little details right now.  All I know is we were left behind, and in the days before cell phones there was nothing to be done about it, but wait--which we did for awhile--or set out on our own, which we finally did.  Here's the account from my journal (one of the few class trip events I actually wrote about):

"We left the hotel sometime after 9:30 and were dropped off at the Museum of Science & Industry. Waited around for about half an hour and then Lena, Tonya, Linda and I took off for the Shedd's Aquarium, about a 10 minute drive [on the bus], and thus our adventure began.  We looked around there and met Chris and Carissa who told us that they were going to pick some of us up at the aquarium when it was time to go.  We'd already been notified of the change from pick up at 7 PM to pick up at 4 PM at the Science and Industry Museum.

Anyway, we went over to the Planetarium, ate and saw the sky show. Afterward we went to the Field Museum for a little, and then around 3:40 decided to head back to the Museum of Science & Industry for our pick-up. 10 minute bus ride, remember.  That 10 minute was almost an hour back. We got back about 4:30 and missed our rides. 

Now Dr. Vining had said that in case some people didn't hear about the four o'clock pick up, they'd send a bus back at 7 to get them. So we figured we'd stay and wait for that bus.  We ended up waiting 2 and a half hours, and the bus never showed.  It wasn't bad. Lena was really mad and Linda was quite cheerful and Tonya and I just made the best of it.  It was cold, though.  We about froze.  Finally, just after seven we decided to take a cab to Hard Rock Cafe where the class was supposed to go next.  They weren't there so we took another taxi to the Sears Tower where we found everyone. 

I can't believe they let this happen.  The sponsors are so irresponsible. Went to Hard Rock, then left. That's all."

Friday, April 10, 1992

Jennifer E and Chandra on the bus ride to North Carolina, Friday, April 10, 1992

Me and Jenny Burrill getting ready to raft

Greg Wedel, Captain of our ship (or our raft anyway)

Rafting

On Friday we began the long journey home, with two days of stops along the way.  The first stop, after an all night drive, was in North Carolina for white water rafting.  Even thought it was my first experience rafting, I don't remember much about it at all.  The most memorable rafting trip I've been on so far was an all day excursion with  my 8th graders in tropical North Queensland, Australia in 2008.  Our senior rafting trip just didn't stand out for me like that. I did, however, take quite a few pictures.

After rafting, we hopped back on the bus and continued on to Cohutta Springs, Georgia where we'd spend the Sabbath hours at the Adventist camp there.

Saturday, Apri1 11-Sunday, April 12, 1992

Greg and I at the Braves game, Saturday evening, April 11, 1992, Atlanta, Georgia

Mae Williams and Rachel Berlus enjoying the game.

After a quiet Sabbath at Cohutta Springs we continued on to Atlanta.  We spent the evening watching an Atlanta Braves game.  Afterwards, my roommates--Chris Cotta, Greg Wedel, Jeff O'Connor--and I stayed up all night being hyper and crazy.  Sunday morning, we continued on and by Sunday afternoon we were back home again.

I have to applaud our sponsors who planned the trip for us-"Captain" Coolidge, Mrs. Kovalski, Mr. Pomeroy and Dr. Vining.  They planned a full and complete class trip with a variety of experiences for us.  I admire their' courage in leading two coachfuls of seniors on this trip. I personally am quite happy taking 8th graders on trips--they can't get into the kind of trouble high school seniors can! I wish I hadn't been so morose during the trip, but I'm glad my memories are positive at least. It's quite possible that my recollections of that trip helped shape the kind of trips that I plan for my students today.  At the end of May I'll be taking 20 8th graders and seven chaperones on an epic trip to Oahu, Hawaii.  Hopefully they'll have a great time in the moment and in memory as well.