DAY 9 - SUNDAY

Our departure time of 8:30 this morning came way too early for us after the long day and wonderful evening last night.  The moms have performed their final room check of the tour (they always find something left behind!) and we are on our way to St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott which is about a 35 minute drive.

Before entering the church, we stopped for the obligatory photo!

Then it was time to go inside the church to take a look around and warm up our voices.

Once you have walked up the steps to the church you need to pause and turn around for a great view (sort of like looking out our own church doors in Ft. Lauderdale).

The church's organ is in the choir loft in the back of the church.  After vocal warm ups and a brief rehearsal, we left the choir loft to sing "In This Very Room" from the steps of the sanctuary using the nearby piano.

Then we quickly hurried back up the steps as I had to play the first hymn!

In addition to singing four of our anthems, we sang the hymns and the parts of the Mass.  Since the organ faces away from the altar area, the organist uses a mirror to watch what is happening in the sanctuary while he is playing.

Here are a couple of excerpts of their singing in the church.  The first anthem, "I Lift My Eyes", is divided into 2 videos but you still get to hear Amanda's solo.

 

 

 

  



Before the Mass began, we saw a familiar face in the congregation.  Cathedral Choir member Mary Lynn Lovejoy (who now lives in the Boston area) came to hear the kids sing!

 

When the Mass was over the kids went down from the choir loft to meet some of the people.  We are thankful to Joseph Cipoletta, organist at the church, for inviting us to sing this morning!



After the kids had changed clothes for the baseball game, Mary Lynn, her daughter and Matt Jackson posed for a picture.



The Mass finished in less than an hour, so we had time to stop at Chipotle for lunch before heading off to Fenway Park.

 



After a healthy Mexican lunch, it was time to "play ball" and Fenway Park was our next destination.

 

The girls came ready to support the Red Sox!



We all passed through security before entering the park.

 

 

We had prepared to be in the sun throughout the game, but we had great seats and were under the cover of the upper deck.

 



 



The Redsox did not have a good game as the outfielders had a tough time of spotting and catching fly balls in the blue grey sky.  With the score 13-5, we left in the top of the 8th inning to beat the crowd.  Our great bus driver, Bob, was waiting for us.  Since we had a little extra time before our 8:00 flight, we stopped at the Hard Rock Café for dinner.

From the Hard Rock, it was a short drive to Logan International Airport and our JetBlue flight to Fort Lauderdale.  Unfortunately, the plane that would take us home was coming from San Francisco and was delayed.  Still, the kids found something to occupy their time.

In just a few short hours, we were home where smiling parents greeted us at the baggage claim.  There were lots of smiles and hugs!  And just like that, the 2015 Kirk Singer Concert Tour had come to an end.  My special thanks to Lesley Karentz and Susana Pocock who were our chaperones for this trip.  They truly made it special and memorable.  Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and prayers.

DAY 8 - SATURDAY

We awoke this Saturday to another beautiful, sunny Boston day.  After our short subway ride into town, we started out on this morning's activity---a tour of the USS Constitution.  Although the ship is in dry dock, we were able to walk aboard and take a look around (top deck only).

 

 

 

 

From the ship we ventured into the museum where there was much to see and do.  There were many stories about the battles the Constitution and even some hands on activities.  The kids also etched their names onto one of the copper panels that will be part of the restoration of the hull of the ship. 

 

 

 

On our way to Faneuil Hall, we had a view of the Bunker Hill Memorial and Boston's famous North End.

Since it was a Saturday, and a beautiful one at that, the market place at Faneuil Hall was crowded.  For lunch we ordered pizza and sat outside.



After lunch, some of us enjoyed some ice cream (or a cookie) at Ghiradelli's.

 

 

After lunch, the underclassmen had time for shopping while I took the seniors on the senior activity: a Segway tour of Boston.

 

 

But before we could take our Segways on the road, we needed a little training.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a great tour of the city.  Along the way, our leader would stop and take pictures of us and points of interest along the way.

 

 

To see all the pictures of the Segway tour, click here.

 

The seniors and I arrived back at Faneuil Marketplace to find the underclassmen all "shopped out" and waiting for us.

 

 

 

On our way to the subway station, we had a chance to visit the New England Holocaust Memorial.  It is a memorial for all the people who died in the Nazi concentration camps.  Etched in each of the six towers (each tower representing a concentration camp) were the numbers of the prisoners who died at that camp.  It was quite a moving experience.

 

 

Our hotel is about a five minute walk from the subway station and we have to cross over Interstate 93.  Here's a view from the overpass.

 

 

We had about 3 hours to clean up and prepare for our Farewell Dinner.  We took a picture before heading to the subway.

 

 

As we were leaving the hotel, the shuttle driver offered us a ride to the subway station.  That made the kids very happy.  Once everyone (including 2 other hotel guests) had filed out of the shuttle bus, the driver called one of the moms over and asked where we were going.  When she told him we were going to the Prudential Building, he offered to drive us.  That really pumped up the kids!

 

Our dinner was at the Top of Hub, which is on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Building

 

We arrived early (thanks to the shuttle) but we only had to wait a few minutes before we were seated.  The kids had a table right at window and the view from there was spectacular!

 

 

Two and a half hours later it was time to take the subway back to our hotel for the senior roast and senior speeches.

 

 

Since it was after 11:00 p.m., the hotel allowed us to use a meeting room in the lower level of the hotel so our laughing and screaming wouldn't bother the other guests.  First, the underclassmen put on a skit to roast the seniors.

 

 

Then each of the seniors gave their speeches in which they share their feelings for everyone on tour.

 

 

It was now close to 1:00 a.m. and time for bed as our last day of tour begins tomorrow at 8:30.  It was an awesome day, capped off with a first class dinner and memorable night of sharing.  Thanks for your prayers and support (and those of you who prayed for good weather!!).