Day 1 - Cool, Dark, Wet, and AWESOME!

Greetings Grade 8 Parents:

Well, stop worrying. We are having a blast. We managed to leave this morning by 6:40 which was not bad considering we were traveling with 179 damp kids and anxious chaperones. The traffic was very slow when we headed down 95—bumper to bumper all through the Waltham/Lexington area. It rained or drizzled just about the entire way which was a little disheartening and we were initially worried if it would ruin our long awaited trip. Fear not---we had an awesome day.

Our first stop was Howe Caverns where we first warn them to layer up as 52 degrees is cold when you are in a cave for over an hour. We descended on elevators down 16 stories to the cave entrance. We were in groups of 20 and we learned all about how the caves were formed, calcite which creates the stalactites and stalagmites and the river which runs through the cave and mysteriously disappears. The lighting makes it a bit eerie and the bats live on the other side of the cave. The guides always tell a “mouse” story about how a boy scout brought his pet mouse into the cave and it jumped to the wall and froze there. Just about all of them believe it for at least 15 seconds. We boarded flat bottom boats and “poled” down the river. You can hear a waterfall and everyone thought we were going to go over but they stop you (in the dark) just before the falls. This also adds a little bit of drama to the trip. We ate lunch outside on picnic tables and then headed out for our raft trip. The ride from Howe was about 2 hours.

We arrived late for our rafting experience and it was lightly misting. No problem. All 179 of us piled out of the buses and in an organized chaos fashion we shouted orders to put on a neoprene wet suit top, a life jacket, grab a paddle and head for a raft. Guides were imported from other Hudson River Raft sites and were eager to get us into the water. We were about to raft the “middle section” of the Hudson, not the Sacandaga as was previously planned. This was supposed to be longer—and it was. We pushed off shore and put 19 rafts into action. We had no idea what we were in for as we all tried to figure out how to paddle together in one direction. The river guides were very patient and seemed to enjoy our unbridled enthusiasm. Like little ducks we all headed down the Hudson and were immediately hung up on countless rocks, some more like ledges, accompanied by screaming girls and smiling boys. Brittney Potter fell out of our raft still smiling as we hoisted her back in by her life jacket. The guide in one boat fell out and our own Tina Ciarametaro took the helm, shouted orders as the new captain in command, and rescued their guide and got her back in the raft. It is never a good thing when the raft guide falls out. Many rafts lost a person here and there but it was all in fun and everyone was safe. There were many “ramming: events and huge splash battles and everyone totally enjoyed the two hours in the water. The light drizzle did not dampen our spirits.

Our ride to the Georgian Motel in Lake George was thankfully a quick one as we were all wet. Check in was without a hitch and we got them settled, quick showered and we were gone again by 7:30PM. A short ride brought us to the Fun Spot—a cool place if you are 14. We have the whole complex to ourselves and it includes unlimited miniature golf, go carts, obstacle course, laser tag, in line skating, and games. The food was delicious and they ate plenty as they had really worked off lunch on the river. We are finishing up here and we will “tape them in” by 10:30, and leave the security guards on duty for the night. Wake up is at 6AM, breakfast will be at 7 and then we will head to Natural Stone Bridge and Caves and then to the Wild Center as he head deeper into the Adirondacks..

The students have been absolutely wonderful-- helpful and respectful and we are totally enjoying our time with every one of them. Sleep well, we will. We hope you enjoy the pictures.

Cheryl Forster and all the chaperones