2008 OSAA Band and Orchestra State Champioships

Students representing sixty-eight high schools in Oregon performed Wednesday through Saturday, May 6-9, at the 2008 OSAA Band and Orchestra State Championships held at the LaSells Stewart Center on the campus of Oregon State University.

The question just had to be asked, "Amber, How does it feel to be one of the best musicians in the whole state of Oregon?" My daughter and her amazing orchestra took first place in the Strings Orchestra Division and Full Orchestra Division this past weekend. My heart went out to the poor bus driver who drove home 60 plus high school students at 10 p.m. Friday night as they chanted out the windows "We are the Champions, We are the Champions!"

The top winners in each division were:

STRING ORCHESTRA DIVISION:
1st – Reynolds High School, Directed by Ben Brooks - 322 points.
2nd – Crescent Valley High School, Directed by Charles Creighton - 318 points.
3rd – South Salem High School, Directed by Brandon Correa - 306 points.
4th – Sprague High School, Directed by Scott Esty - 304 points.
5th – South Eugene High School, Directed by Richard Long - 302 points.

FULL ORCHESTRA DIVISION:
1st – Reynolds High School, Directed by Ben Brooks - 313 points.
2nd – South Salem High School, Directed by MaryLou Boderman - 306 points.
3rd – Sprague High School, Directed by Scott Esty and Brad Howard - 299 points.
4th – West Linn High School, Directed by Jeff Cumpston - 277 points.

3 Knights and the Clumsy Princess

I did it again. I can’t believe I did it again. Saturday I put together a ride with my favorite riding partner Mark. He and I ride together as often as our schedules allow. We scheduled to meet at Oaks Park Saturday morning and head out and around Sauvie Island and then back to the park. It should be about a 45 mile loop.

So our plans changed slightly as my friend Joe and Mark’s friend Dale joined us. We welcomed the extra riders and we headed out. Now let me set the stage. Mark is like a father to me, a best friend, and the man who was with me a year ago when I was taken by ambulance off Marine Drive when I had a horrible cycling accident. An accident like that can really bond you to the person who was there for you. Joe – well Joe and I go back about three plus years, he’s a great friend and we have a past. (Enough said) Dale, now Dale is a sweetest man on earth. He is 70-years-old has had two hip replacements and can out cycle all of us, he’s a stud. Me, well I am lucky to have these three great men in my life.

So, of course, I am in the lead because being the only woman on the ride I am not about to be at the end of the line. (not really, I just happened to be in front at this portion of the ride) I didn’t hit the railroad tracks at enough of a 90 degree angle and my front tire slide on the track and I went down. I wasn’t going very fast and I fell on my butt which has the most padding so that is good. But my pride was hurt and I was embarrassed to say the least. Of course Mark grabbed me, Joe grabbed my bike and Dale offered to rub my butt. I popped some Advil, shock it off, and was ready to finish the ride. As we pulled away one of them quietly said to the other, “She doesn’t want to be babied, she could be dieing and she’d never let us know it.”

A few days later and my tailbone is very soar, sitting down has become a very painful experience. :(

New Orleans, Louisiana - April 2008

I spent four days in New Orleans this April. What an adventure! What a different place! From the moment I boarded the plane in Portland, Oregon on Friday morning to when I landed in Dallas, Texas for a short layover and then onto New Orleans Louisiana I knew this was going to be a great trip, a great adventure, a time of discover and just plain old fashion fun. Why? Because I love to travel and I love to explore new places.

My flight was great; I sat with a pilot from New York who was heading home. We talked about life and love and how fast things can change in ones life. His New York accent still makes me smile; I love the many different accents in our world.

I was amazed as our flight descended and Louisiana came into sight from my little window. Flat! The whole state was flat. The water seeps up to the shore line and they are like one. There is no defined line of where one starts and one ends. This coast line was nothing like the Oregon coast with its high cliffs and sharp rock ledges. Louisiana is green and almost tropical looking.

The fun began almost immediately as I got off the plane to find a bathroom. I was met with signs in the airport that were in French, English and Spanish. (This really is an inside joke between my two humorous uncles and myself and as I am trying to right about this misunderstanding of bathroom signs I am finding there is no way to describe it without being politically incorrect. As it is not my intention to offend anyone I’ll just let this one stay an inside joke – except to say “Hommes”) enough said!! (~sheepish grin~)

With so much to see and learn about this place I hit the ground running. After a taxi ride from the airport to my hotel in the French Quarters I was off to see the sights. Bourbon Street here I come. Bourbon Street is legendary and full of history and so much. (More than I ever expected)

I quickly found that it doesn’t have to be Mardi Gras to be handed beads, the expectation is still there. As full of history as this place is it is shadowed by a human-filth. Each morning when I would get up and walk to a corner market for breakfast, I would step over vomit, empty beer cups, used condoms and garbage everywhere. The streets are cleaned each morning when the people have long gone back to the dark places they came out from the night before. One truck drives slowly down the streets spraying a bleachy soapy solution on the streets. A second sweeper comes after that and sucks up the vial remains of the night life that this area is so known for. (Yes, I really did have fun, but this surprised me.) So a few times up and down Burban Street was enough for me. Maybe if I were 24, with a group of gals that party scene, anything goes mentality would appeal to me.

So I was set to discover a different part of New Orleans and I did. The rest of my trip was filled with a trolley ride out to the garden district. The homes were amazing you can see the French and Spanish influences in every building. Plantations are in a league all there own, they are breathtaking. I walked along the banks of Mississippi River. I jumped on a bus and headed to a rickety little dock and boarded a swamp boat and took a tour of the swamps and Bayous. I held a baby alligator and I think he even smiled at me. After years of watching animal planet with my daughter and even watching the Crocodile Hunter, I’ve always envisioned alligators as monsters that lay in wait on the sides of the streets in the south ready to snap family pets up or grab children out of their backyards. Prehistoric beast that terrorize the poor people of the swampy southlands. How wrong I was. When you see them in their natural habitat and the way they gracefully move through the water you find a deep respect for them. They are amazing animals and I have a whole new view of them.

The food of New Orleans belongs in it own category. AMAZING!! I started each evening off with oysters on a half shell. I enjoyed crawfish etouffee, gumbo, crawfish tails aka ‘mudbugs’, catfish, grits, and po-boys, hushpuppies, soft-shell crabs. Everything tasted great! I always ended my evening at Ralph & Kacoo’s Restaurant. I sat at the bar and visited with Allen (the cute bartender) each night. I learned a lot about the local life and what it is really like to be a native of this area.

What an amazing trip. As I sit hear and search for the words to describe it I feel I’ve fallen very short as it a place to experience for yourself.

~Sweet Nothings~ set up right on the streets. The music (Jazz) is almost as good as the food.

Crawfish Tails

A bathroom I chose not to use. YIKE!

Mardi Gras mask shops are everywhere. They are all beautiful and uniquely made.

One of about six alligators I saw while out in the Bayous.