The year 1993 was the first such trip I made with the band, for an appearance at the Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Gatlinburg, located in eastern Tennessee. It was also the first time being outside Florida since early childhood. But comparing the '93 trip to the same excursion last April, they are almost identical experiences -- except for being four years older, around different people than before, and having a new duty. Please note that most of the detail comes from the 1997 trip. I'll do my best to distinguish events from the separate trips.
DAY 1 -- The date of departure in 1993 was April 28. I remember the morning being cooler than normal, and fellow classmates in high spirits for the upcoming adventure we had waited so long for. News cameras were around covering our leaving, and my father accompanied me until the last minute with his video camera. Around 10:30 the three charter buses departed HHS and headed north on Interstate 75 for Atlanta.
The trip came two weeks earlier in 1997 than four years prior. On April 16 I arrived at the school around 7:30, about to miss three days of final exam reviews at the university. I began taking pictures instantly with my Minolta XG-1, as most everyone there expected. When buses arrived around 9:30, all the luggage and instruments were loaded in a timely fashion, and at 10:30 -- just like 1993 -- we drove north.
During the '93 trip, our first stop was at a rest area just outside Gainesville. While buying refreshments and such at the vending machines, a mechanical error developed in one of the buses, delaying us for approximately one hour. (As I waited in another bus, I noted the passage of the Plant City High School band headed for the same final destination.) The delay would have been longer if it had not been for Joey Young (class of '93) using his mechanical expertise in assisting the bus driver and others in fixing the crippled bus and getting us back on the road. But that wasn't the end of bus problems. More to come.
In '97 our lunch stop was in Gainesville, just off of I-75 on a local street lined with several fast-food outlets. Most everyone chose McDonald's while Mr. Farmer and others stopped over to Burger King. I decided on Long John Silver's, while a few discovered a delicatessen in a plaza behind the restaurants. At that time a recreational event witnessed often during Gatlinburg '97 occurred: Football throwing.
It was mid-afternoon during both trips when we crossed the Georgia
border. The next rest stop was at the Turner County rest area, coincidentally
both in '93 and in '97. Not much had changed in the four years in between.
Four years ago following the Turner stop I probably just listened to my
Walkman or read a newspaper I bought at the stop. Not the same this year;
I had created an entertaining game for the students to participate in,
called "Name That Showtune." It involved an audio tape containing 68 television
theme songs and the kids had to write down which TV show the theme is featured
in on an answer sheet. The showtunes ranged from as recent as "Second Noah"
to as early as "The Partridge Family," with "Mary Tyler Moore," "Webster,"
and many others in between. Top prize for the person or team of two who
guessed the most TV shows correctly was a traveler's check worth $20. Most
everybody took part and seemed to enjoy it, although one did complain about
it being "a waste of paper."
The '97 trip was also plagued with bus problems, even though a different company was used. Outside Macon, the caravan was held up 15 minutes due to a personally-unknown problem on the third bus. It was evidently minor, but threw us off schedule.
By early evening we reached the outskirts of Atlanta, and at 7:11 (1993)
and 7:12 p.m. (1997) crossed the Atlanta city limit. Both times the overnight
Atlanta stay was at the Masters Inn Economy in Tucker, just outside Atlanta.
The hotel had been nicely remodeled from the last visit,
and they welcomed us with open arms, despite the misspelling of the school's
name (Apr. 1997). By that time it was too late to take the scheduled
tour of Stone Mountain and spend time at North Point Mall, so those had
to be skipped in order to satisfy our stomachs with dinner at Piccadilly
Cafeteria, which became a familiar site during the trip. Confusion mounted
as one Piccadilly closer to the hotel was passed in order to get to the
one we were supposed to go to. We returned to the Masters by 9:30 and headed
to our rooms to unload and unwind. Again, some kids chose to play catch
football or kick the soccer ball. Others played pranks with water guns
or water-filled balloons. I elected to go next door to the Amoco and try
my luck at the Georgia Lottery. Curfew that night was 11:00 for the students,
but I'm sure the students had indoor activities of their own. I and fellow
chaperone Jan Kehoe -- who assisted me with the "Showtune" game -- helped
me check the papers from the game played earlier. I don't remember much
of the evening goings-on from 1993, but I do know I was roomed with three
kids from the class of '96, unlike my single occupancy this time around.
DAY 2 -- Rise and shine at 6:00. I woke up one hour earlier to take some early-morning pictures. Back to Piccadilly at 7:30 for breakfast, then we were scheduled to head for Tennessee at 9:00, but it wasn't to be. Bus #3 lost its brakes, and all 40 or so occupants of that bus were crammed into the remaining three. Because of Mr. Farmer's interest in my game, I was transferred temporarily to the first bus to administer the "Showtune" game, and some of the folks from bus #3 were able to join in the fun of trying to remember the music from past television shows. Finally around 10:30 we were on our way.
The difference in pressure from the altitude began to do a number on my ears, especially in 1993, as I had never experienced such a difference before. Of course I wasn't the only one with the complications. As we moved through the north Georgia hills in '93, we entered North Carolina on the way to Gatlinburg and took a breathtaking tour of the Great Smokies through the National Park. In 1997 we went straight into Tennessee, through Chattanooga, along the interstate highway and then travelled south into Gatlinburg through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge.
At around 1:00 in '93 and 2:30 in '97, we reached Gatlinburg. As we arrived in 1993, one of our buses was unable to make a sharp turn and couldn't get out of it because it wouldn't go into reverse. The male travelers had to push the bus out of its predicament. Our hotel in '93 was the Ramada Inn Four Seasons, a modest two-story hotel located along the main thoroughfare of the city. This year it was the Travelodge on Airport Drive, a four-story setup with an indoor (and outdoor) pool, sauna, and other amenities the Ramada lacked. The Travelodge was making some remodeling improvements during our stay. Again, bus unloading and key distribution took place before Mr. Farmer and chaperones let the students free for wandering around until early evening. In the hotel parking lot, Mr. Farmer tested his throwing ability with the football with students at the other end.
During the 1993 trip, I toured the
city alone. My first stop was the skylift, which went up a mountainside
to a small gift shop on top. I also went to Ober Gatlinburg onboard a sky
tram and experienced some of the attractions there -- some that come to
mind are the alpine track and a bear nibbling on a crutch someone unfortunately
dropped into his pit (Apr. 1993). At 6 all students were to report
to base to get an update on the schedule from Mr. Farmer and then were
allowed to continue the sightseeing. At night I spent some time with a
few chaperones, then long-time friend Jay Cromer (c/o '94) and some of
his pals invited me to eat with them at the Wendy's inside the so-called
"mall." After that I walked around by myself, enjoying the sights and sounds
of Gatlinburg, until curfew. I also recall witnessing a cruel prank pulled
on Mr. Farmer in the hotel parking lot: A few students -- mainly c/o '94,
myself excluded -- planned to have one of them fake a dehydration problem
as the others involved in the trick ran to Mr. Farmer for help. He went
crazy after hearing the news, and once he leaned over the "disabled" kid,
she sprayed shaving cream all over him. Needless to say, Mr. Farmer was
extremely ticked off.
It started the same way this year.
I revisited the gift store on top of the skylift and made more purchases
this time, taking shots all along the way. The view at the top is absolutely
beautiful(Apr. 1997). I stumbled across some students while roaming
the streets and stayed with them a while before going back to the Wendy's
where I ate four years ago. This time I decided to take a look at the "mall,"
definitely not the same as Tampa's version of a mall. On the third floor
a wandered into an antique shop that sold old license plates, which immediately
caught my attention. I purchased a few as possible prizes for the "Showtune"
game. Students I encountered frequently asked that I take a picture of
them at certain locations. As I was going back to Travelodge, I caught
up with Jan Kehoe and her daughter Jori (c/o '97) and did a little touring.
At night we and others went up to Ober Gatlinburg. I took on a challenge
I had never done before: Ice skating. The touring concluded
with a bite to eat at the Dairy Queen at Gatlinburg's version of the Space
Needle. One who was with us had never eaten hamburgers from DQ, and said
he actually may eat there more often.
By bedtime I was exhausted, sore, and ready to sleep.
DAY 3 -- This was the day of
competition at the music festival in both years. In '93 breakfast was held
at Denny's; this year we held the ritual at a local eatery. In '97 we also
took the same tour of the Smokies as we did in '93 on the way up. But there
was one big, major, significant difference: SNOW! It was much colder
than '93, and precipitation was likely in the area the night before, so
as our buses drove up the mountains, a light dusting of snow and hanging
icicles were identified. Many, including myself -- a native Floridian --
became very excited, while others just brushed off the event and some even
ridiculed those who were anxious to get off the bus and play in the white
stuff. (In fact, a chaperone did not understand what people meant when
they said "don't eat the yellow snow.") At the outlook at the border of
Tennessee and North Carolina between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, North Carolina,
everyone rushed off the buses into the snow-covered grass and constructed
snowmen and started snowball fights. Pictures were being taken left and
right -- not just by me, but anybody who held a camera in their hands.
Several walked a short distance along nearby nature trails. The fun in
the snow lasted about 90 minutes before, reluctantly, all were ordered
to board the buses and return to the city to prepare for their main work
there. (Oh, another significant difference: The Park Service changed the
wording on the border signs!) (Both pics: April 1997)
Around
noon (1997) Miss Fullam and the Dancerettes (left, Apr. 1997)were
scheduled to perform their show in front of the judges. Highly impressive,
I must say; they executed difficult maneuvers virtually flawlessly, and
had the full support of all fellow Terriers. At the Gatlinburg Convention
Center in 1993 I performed with the band (right, Apr. 1993), but
in '97 I was the spectator watching my successors play their hearts out
in this competition. Held in a hall alongside the Hazardous and Solid Waste
Management Conference oddly enough, the Big Red was the final band to perform,
at 9:00 that evening. Bands from Escambia County and Coral Gables had performed
before us in our division. As anybody with any other organization would
say about their group, we did an outstanding job and thought we'd have
an excellent chance of "taking the gold," so to say.
In '93 the band played in the afternoon, and by day's end the band received high honors from the judges. A pizza party was held at the Ramada for the accomplishment.
At 9:30 (1997) awards were given. Several individual musicians and sections of the Big Red Band were acknowledged by the judges for excellence. The Dancerettes earned first place for their level of dancing, and the orchestra took first place. (This situation is kind of strange; a local rival of Hillsborough's also participated in the Orchestra division, but Mr. Farmer suggested the two be placed in different divisions because of the lack of instruments the other band performed with.) The judges, highly experienced in the field of music, gave each symphonic band a superior rating, but the numeric ratings between first and third were just two points. Unfortunate in a way, Hillsborough was on the bottom end of those two points and settled for third place. I swear there was dead silence in the auditorium for about two seconds when that was called; you could hear a pin drop. Finally there was applause and Mr. Farmer accepted the trophy. The Coral Gables band ended up with first place.
The chaperones were dumbfounded. The students were shocked and upset, and it showed in several of them. But Mr. Farmer attempted to persuade them that our placing wasn't expected, but is a great honor and nothing to be ashamed of. I agree.
Back at the hotel Jan and I stayed with Jori and some of her friends, trying to cheer them up. I also brought along the remainder of the "Showtune" answer sheets to check and determine winners. It wasn't until about 2:30 in the morning the next day when I finally fell asleep.
B>DAY 4 -- Our last hours in Gatlinburg. It was cold and dreary as light rain fell overnight ('97). It was time to load the buses for departure. We ate breakfast at the same location as the day before, then looked around at the scenery of Gatlinburg for the last time as we left the city limits.
Along the road (Apr. 1997)
I announced the winners of "Name That Showtune" for bus #2. Third place
winners received a large bag of M&Ms candies; second place got Tennessee
and Georgia license plates I had bought from that mall, and first place
for that bus would get gift certificates to a movie theater and a fast
food restaurant. The traveler's check, it was decided, would go the the
grand prize winner -- the highest scorer -- of the two buses participating.
At a rest stop just inside Tennessee, I switched to bus #1 to announce
the winners there. Third place still won M&Ms, but second place received
license plates and a Gatlinburg "one size fits all" T-shirt; first place
received more-valuable gift certificates to a music store, and the check
plus $16 cash went to the grand prize winners, who were the team of Kimberly
Gryn and Guy Margalith (both c/o '98). The added cash was determined by
the number of themes nobody was able to guess correctly at $2 per theme.
Some of those were "The Greatest American Hero," a later version of "Alice,"
"The Bradys" -- a short-lived 1990 series which uses an instrumental version
of "The Brady Bunch" theme -- and a local morning news program.
At 2:30 or so we returned to Atlanta to spend the remainder of the day
at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park, also in 1993. The original departure
time from there was to be 8:00 p.m., but students and chaperones alike
negotiated with the bus drivers for a 10:00 departure time if everyone
returned to the buses no later than that. As one person put it, "The question
isn't what are we going to do; the question is what aren't we going
to do?" (Apr. 1997) I was accompanied by the mother and daughter
Kehoes and several other students. Not too much had changed from the last
time I was there four years ago. I remember the airbrush stand where I
bought a shirt with a bulldog-like mutt on the front with "H.H.S." above
it for $28 in 1993, and like then, as I attempted to ride the "Ninja" rollercoaster,
it was shut down, but this time I was right in the seat of the thrill ride
when operation was halted due to threatening weather. People ran everywhere
trying to find shelter 
from the heavy
rain and dangerous lightning. I thought the day would be over, but the
storm passed with about an hour to spare. Our group went on the skyride
and began yelling familiar band-related themes to the people below -- such
as the attention cue, which actually had some students respond back to
us! Our promise was kept; all were ready to leave at 10:00 sharp. While
going back to the Masters Inn one last time, one chaperone told me he had
actually taken the MARTA transit system to check out the Freaknik African-American
college student celebration in downtown Atlanta. On the 11:00 news at the
hotel room I saw a roving reporter formerly with Channel 10 in St. Petersburg
that I usually saw each morning, reporting on traffic jams caused by Freaknik.
DAY 5 -- Time to return to Tampa after four fun-filled days. In '97 we made our final breakfast stop at Piccadilly, and football throwing resumed after the meal. A stop was made in central Georgia to make phone calls and stretch, then for lunch, it was the same food places in "Gator Country" (Gainesville) as on the way up. Again I chose to dine at Long John Silver's and there was more fun with the football. I did my best to use the rest of the film I had in the camera, which wasn't very much. And, the final similarity to the 1993 Gatlinburg trip, we arrived back at Hillsborough High around 5:00 that evening.
