Student Reflections: Freshman Mystery Trip to Baltimore

 

As we loaded onto the bus going anywhere, the air smelled of anxiety and uncertainty, with pleasant hints of excitement and anticipation. As the bus barreled north, all early theories regarding Florida and Louisiana were thrown out of the window. We officially had no clue where we would spend the next 36 hours of our lives.

 

Once we had settled in, we prepared to the long haul. People had already brought out their bags of snacks and pressed Shuffle on their Spotify playlists as we neared midnight. The bus had adopted the mantra of “Getting there is half the fun”, as the bus became lively as ever around 12:30 A.M, with a variety of bad freestyle rap and scattered laughs and screams coming from the back of the bus. Finally, after a quick stop in Greensboro, the class of 2022 drifted asleep. Personally, rather than use this wonderful opportunity to get some much-needed sleep, I decided to take a quick 1 hour nap before vomiting my way through motion sickness and into the bus’ front row. With some concentrated breathing and the help of Mrs. Daniels, I felt better and drifted into a better, less nauseous state of sleep. After scattered naps and rest stops, we finally stopped for food about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore at a restaurant that can only be described as the epitome of class: Golden Corral. A breakfast of watery eggs and fake bacon wasn’t ideal, but food was food. Though theories about Boston and New York circulated throughout the buffet line, it was revealed that we would be going to Baltimore, MD.

 

The first thought that rushed through everyone’s minds was an important one: What is there to do in Baltimore? Sure, it’s a major US city and had a fair amount of history, but how are we going to spend a day and a half there? Our question was quickly answered as we quickly arrived at the Fort McHenry Museum and learned about the Star Spangled Banner. As we toured the outdoor museum, our thoughts quickly changed from the War of 1812 to how to deal with the excess of sweat rushing down our backs. The sweet rush of cool air as we walked onto the bus was perhaps the highlight of the trip. We began our bus tour of the city, a tour that allowed several students to get some much-needed sleep. Sleep was obviously nice, but you could hear stomachs rumbling throughout the bus, and, all of a sudden, those watery eggs at Golden Corral didn’t sound so bad. Fortunately, lunch was right around the corner. We were given Subway on our harbor tour, immediately turning the boat into a 5 Star, luxury dining establishment. At this point, we were no longer tired or hungry, but it was still 95 degrees. All we needed was to feel the refreshing rush of A/C. Once again, it felt as if our prayers were answered, as we proceeded to spend 3 hours at the National Aquarium, equipped with what felt like a state-of-the-art cooling system.

 

At that point, everyone was pretty happy, but we were all a little nervous about sleeping arrangements. Nobody was interested in spending another night on that bus, so we all anxiously waited for our bus to pull into a hotel parking lot. After what felt like hours, we had arrived at our hotel and were given an hour to relax before our next activity. Those 60 minutes were refreshing ones. When you’ve spent the last 21 hours on a hot bus, a shower is the most valuable thing in the entire world. We met back in the lobby around 6:30 with high hopes of attending an Orioles game. Our hotel was just minutes from the stadium and they were playing a game at 7:05. Our suspicions were confirmed, as we were given our tickets complete with unlimited food. It was a great end to a great day, and, needless to say, everyone was exhausted once we got to our hotel.

 

The next morning consisted of showering, eating, and leaving. The ride back was much more pleasant than the ride there, and, before we knew it, we were back in the school parking lot. There were a lot of highs and there were a lot of lows, but that’s the point. The uncertainty, anxiousness, and overall randomness of the mystery trip is undoubtedly going to carry over into our freshman year at CCES. We’re on a whole new playing field and it’s going to be a bumpy road. But in the end, if our high school careers are anything like the mystery trip, they will be unforgettable.