Caifornia & The Canyons - Westcoast Connection!

For the past three weeks, I have been working with a company called Westcoast Connections - 360 Student Travel. I was a trip leader on a teen tour for 21 days of California & The Canyons. There was a group of 48 teens, aged 12 - 14 with 7 staff.  I was saddled with the job of "trip blogger" as I have had some experience with blogging in the past. ;-)

While blogging, I had to include each trip member's name at least once, but for these copies of the trip blog, I have deleted their names. Just for privacy and what not. Hope you enjoy hearing about my adventure across the west coast!

Click "Read More" to read the blog that I wrote for this trip :)

Day 1 – Welcome to Trip 12!! 

On the early morning of July 1^st, 2012, 48 tired, nervous and excited trip members embarked on Westcoast Connections California and the Canyons tour. Kids from all across North America (and even China) arrived at the San Francisco airport to be greeted by their enthusiastic trip leaders and director. After a snack and meet-n-greet, we headed to the airport to unpack, unwind and get to know each other.

Our first tour event was heading to Chinatown. We took the cable car to get there and man was that a thrilling ride! We toured around Chinatown, window shopping and exploring this unique area of the city. At dinner, we celebrated a trip member's 13^th birthday by singing her “Happy Birthday” and later passing around cupcakes! After a long day, we tucked into bed and got ready for the rest of our San Francisco adventure. 

Day 2 - Prisons, Piers and Baseball, Oh My! 

Our first full day in San Francisco started off with a trip to Alcatraz, the most infamous prison in the United States! On the ferry ride over, a lone hungry seagull provided us much entertainment as it attempted to steal food from us! We learned all about Alcatraz's history, famous inmates and escape attempts through a guided tour. Some of the trip members even spoke about wanting to learn more about the history of the "Rock"... Something that I'm sure their teachers next year might be interested in hearing! ;)

The sun was shining as we headed to Pier 39 and Fishermen's Wharf. The trip members explored, shopped and filled up on Boudin bread! Ghirardelli Square satisfied our sweet teeth with chocolate treats, milkshakes and ice cream. This included a 5lbs gummie  bear that ended up being the 49th member of our group. Unfortunately, it met its yummy yet timely end before we headed to Oakland for a baseball game. We cheered on the Oakland A's as they took on the Boston Red Sox. With an exciting 2nd inning, the A's scored three runs with a final score being 5 - 1 for the A's! When we got back to the hotel, it was hard to imagine we had done so much in just one day! 

Day 3 - Golden Times in San Fran! 

On our last day in San Fan, we began the morning with a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge! We walked on the bridge and took in the breathtaking views of San Francisco city, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate. After the photo ops, the staff taught the trip members "the move". In honor of Westcoast Connections 30th anniversary, every single trip in 2012 will be taught a specific dance move. There will then be a video compilation of the move from various landmarks all across the world! The kids really enjoyed this and are excited to be a part of WCC history!

Our next stop was Sausalito, a small quaint town across the Golden Gate Bridge. We played a game where each group was given a single pen. The object was to trade it for something "bigger and better" from other tourists. When we regrouped, we had collected: A bag of approximately 100 batteries; a borrowed bike; an expensive brand name t-shirt; a borrowed dog; an umbrella; an inspirational banner; a lucky Buddha; a pair of printed leggings; and a brand new bag of twizzlers... What a collection! Thanks to our expert navigation skills, we accomplished something that no other trip did... Walked up BOTH ends of Lombard Street! You can definitely say that Trip 12 will have the most fit calves in all of Westcoast! Our final event of the day was... Bowling!!! We slipped and slid our way to strike and spare glory. Each lane competed against themselves, setting their own goals and succeeding them! Now it's time to pack our bags and get ready for our outdoor adventures. See you in Lake Tahoe! 

Day 4 – Floating on the Fourth of July 

After a really early wake up call, we boarded the bus and headed to Nevada to do some white water rafting! It was a beautiful, sunny day and the water was really refreshing after our bus ride. Each group had a blast with their guides, navigating down the stream. Since it was a holiday, there were a lot of other people on the water too. A lot of “Happy 4^th of July”s were wished between Trip 12 and the other rafters enjoying the river. There were friendly splash wars between a lot of the boats, resulting in everyone getting wet regardless of if they swam in the water or not!

When we arrived at Tahoe Valley Campsite, the trip members learned a valuable life lesson… how to pitch a tent! Every evening when we camp, the trip leaders plan an evening “program” for the trip members. This evening, we planned a trip Airbands competition! With a staff leader leading each group, the trip members picked a song that they thought emphasized a theme of “Independence Day” / “Fourth of July Celebrations”. The object was to create a dance and lip sync to the song. Our Fourth of July ended with ‘smores around a campfire and bundling up for our first cold night in the tents. Happy Independence Day, everyone! 

Day 5 – Sunshine in Tahoe! 

We started off the morning with a boat cruise across Lake Tahoe. It was a gorgeous yatch, with sundecks, music and refreshments. We had great beats and wonderful scenery all around us.  After our boat cruise, we headed to the beach to enjoy a day in the water. After some great bbq burgers and hot dogs, we took turns tubing, waterskiing and wake-boarding. 

Day 6 – The Wheels on the bus go round and round… 

Today was a travel day, but we were able to keep everyone entertained for the 8 hour bus ride from Lake Tahoe to Ventura, California. There is no boring down time on a Westcoast Connection trip! We watched movies, chatted with seat partners and listened to music. When we arrived at our new campsite, our site managers had already set up our tents! What luck! The dinner crew began making dinner and we had a relaxing night here. (This was a night I had to do a hospital visit with a camper, so I'm not 100% sure of what exactly went on back at camp haha)\

Day 7 – Chillin’ in Ventura 

Today was our pancake breakfast and we all did our laundry, a new experience for some of our campers! In the afternoon, the trip members were given options for what they wanted to do. Some stayed at the camp, chilling and painting nails (boys included!). Games of football and basketball also happened.

We travelled to Italy for our dinner tonight! Pasta, garlic bread and Caesar salad was on the menu. After dinner, it was movie time! The trip members had the option of either going to Katy Perry: Part of Me or The Amazing Spiderman. Most trip members chose Spiderman, but there was a small number of girls dedicated to Katy (including me, the staff assigned to that movie)...We also had our second birthday of the trip and had cake back at camp to celebrate his birthday!

Day 8 - Life in the Movies 

Welcome to LA! We trekked out of Ventura straight to Universal Studios for a day of movie history, thrilling rides and yummy food! Trip 12 started with the whole group going on the Backlot Studio Tour. We saw the outdoor sets of Desperate Housewives, the Bates  Motel from Psycho, and a collection of film cars (the Delorean from Back To The Future, Knightrider's Kit and the Jurrasic Park vehicles). It was so cool to see these pieces of film history!

The tour also had some interactive parts. There was the King Kong 3D experience where we "travelled" to Peter Jackson's Skull Island and witnessed a battle between Kong and dinosaurs. There was a simulation of a 8.4 Earthquake (which they used in an episode of Bones), a robotic Jaws encounter, a car explosion from The Fast & The Furious, and a Mummy simulation. The rides at Universal were great. The biggest hits were the new Tranfomers ride and the Mummy indoor roller coaster. We had a fantastic group dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then explored the City Walk area of Universal.

Day 9 - Welcome to Hollywood! 

Trip 12 experienced their first taste of Hollywood today! We started off exploring Venice Beach in our staff groups. They visited the temporary henna tattoos (don't worry, they'll have faded by the time we return them to you!) and got a variety of designs on their hands and feet. We shopped, people watched and enjoyed the boardwalk. Our next stop was the UCLA bookstore where we dressed up in UCLA spirit. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the UCLA campus using the pool, gym, or enjoying a rest in the dorms.

After the UCLA facilities, we went to Hollywood and Highlands! We checked out Mann's Chinese Theatre to see the handprints of the stars. We took pictures in view of the Hollywood sign and bought souvenirs. Our last stop of the day was at Diddy Reise for ice cream sandwiches. These were not your average ice cream sandwiches either! You could pick the flavor of ice cream as well as style of cookie. It was delicious, albeit not so nutritious. ;) 

Day 10 - Music, Fashion Police an Laughter
Our third day in LA involved a trip to the Grammy museum, seeing a comedy improv show and exploring the LA Farmer's Market and Rodeo drive. The Grammy museum was really interactive and informative. Touch screens outlining the history of music, clothing from famous stars (such as Michael Jackson's Thriller video jacket), and musical instruments to play!

"I'll meet you at 'Third and Fairfax'" is a famous saying that describes the location of the Farmer's Market in LA. We had lunch there before heading to Rodeo Drive. We strolled down the street in style, window shopping along this famous, luxurious shopping district. Our evening program was a visit to the famous Improv Comedy Club on Melrose. The comedians enjoyed poking fun of our group ("bieber haircuts") and telling hilarious jokes that had some of the trip members laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.

Day 11 - It's a small World After All!
The morning began with a visit to the Museum of Tolerance. We learned about anti-bullying, violence against women and a very interesting personal story by Matthew Boger about acceptance and non-judgement in todays society. It was a very sobering and informative experience. We were very proud of how respectful our group was at the museum.

After the museum, we headed to Disneyland! The trip members enjoyed rides like "Space Mountain", "the Haunted Mansion", " Indiana Jones" and of course, "It's A Small World!". Everyone watched and enjoyed a spectacular fireworks show, with Tinker-bell and Dumbo flying high across the sky! It was a magical day.

Day 12 - Hang Ten, Dude!
After a bus ride from Los Angeles to San Diego , we had a day at the beach! Despite the overcast skies, the water wasn't too cold and the sand was soft and comfy. We were fascinated by the small sand crabs we found under the wet shore. They were so quick and tiny! There were also games of football and volleyball. However, the most rad part of the day was... Surfing!!!

Day 13 - Monkeys, Detergent and Lasers! 

We started the day off at the world famous San Diego Zoo. We took a tram ride around the zoo to get a good overview of it. We saw lions, baby leopard, elephants, polar bears, flamingos and more! Not to mention the amazing giant turtles.

Next stop was laundry! Time to get rid of those smelly t-shirts! Everyone was a pro today and have gotten the hang of doing laundry! After dinner, we hit up laser tag. I actually came in 2nd!!! Unfortunately, this was the end of the trip for our campers who were on the California Sprint (the shorter version of the trip) so we said goodbye to 5 trip members.

Day 14 & 15 - Viva Las Vegas!
Welcome to Vegas, baby! We arrived at the Monte Carlo and the first thing we did was jump in the pool! There was a lazy river where you could float along down the water on tubes, as well as a wave pool, regular pool and a hot tub. We tried to go to the stratosphere but unfortunately, the rides were closed due to inclement weather. Who knew it could rain in Vegas? So instead, we hit up the Bellagio Fountains and watched the water show. The trip members had a great view of "Paris". We then walked the strip to get a feel for what Las Vegas was all about. While we were picking up snacks in CVS we had our first "famous" sighting! We met a European basketball star! He was double the size of all of them.

The next day in Vegas, we went to the Forum Shops in Ceasars Palace. We came back to the Monte Carlo pool and enjoyed an afternoon in the hot tub and lazy river. After swimming, we arrived at the Stratosphere and voila! Perfect weather! Trip 12 went on their choice of three rides: Insanity, Big Shot, and X-scream. I went on the X-Scream. We also spotted Fab Melo (the basketball star from Syracuse who got drafted to the Celtics) while they were dining at New York, New York. The New York, New York roller coaster was a big hit! Our last stop in Vegas was exploring the M&M and Coca-Cola shops. Myself and the rest of my staff team enjoyed a Coca-Cola sample pack with Coca-Cola products from around the world.   

Day 15 – Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’…. 

Today was a travel day to the Wild West! We left Vegas in the morning for our journey to Bryce Canyon. On the way, we stopped at Zion National Park and got our first taste of mountain life. It was gorgeous. Tall mountains surrounded the Zion Lodge where we ate lunch.

We stopped for dinner at a Chuckwagon in Kanab, Utah. It was a Wild West themed dinner where we enjoyed “traditional” western foods, such as roast beef, biscuits and lemonade. Before we chowed down, they had everyone dress up in costumes and act out a western movie. Many of the old westerns starring Gary Cooper and John Wayne were filmed in Kanab.     

When we arrived at camp, we had a little surprise cooked up for the trip members. It was Color War! We told the trip members they would be placed in only 4 tents (2 boys and 2 girls). Everyone was confused as to what was going on and why 20 people were being placed into each tent. Our camper captains pre-planned the questions they were asking and got the group going. Once colour war broke, the captains and teams were announced.  We had two teams: Team "Room" and team "Sorry". We chose these team names because the campers got a kick out of the Canadian accent the staff use when saying these words.

Day 16 – Colorful Canyons 

After a camp breakfast of French Toast and fruit, we went to Bryce Canyon for a hike, We hiked the Queen’s Garden trail, which culminated at a point where you could see a Hoodoo that resembled Queen Victoria. The views were magnificent.

The excitement from the Colour War the previous night carried over to the campsite, where the teams were full of spirit. They battled ferociously in various activities. There was a silent lunch, apache relay, photo scavenger hunt, football game, trivia, cheer off, song and skit. Everyone enjoyed themselves as each team competed with great passion and enthusiasm. In the end, the white team came out on top.

Day 17 – Grand Canyon! 

Today we woke up and headed to one of America’s greatest landmarks: The Grand Canyon! It was a breathtaking view and something that we will stick with us for a long time. We hiked a trail for a little over an hour to get some great photo ops. We jumped on the bus after the Grand Canyon and headed for Flagstaff, Arizona. We enjoyed a dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and ice-cream at Dairy Queen! It’s so sad to think that we only have two more days together. : (

Day 18/19 - The Desert and Skee-Ball! 

We left our hotel in Flagstaff and headed off to Sedona, Arizona for the Pink Jeep Tour! We rode around in fabulous pink jeeps all through the Arizona desert. It was very bumpy! We  jolted our way through rocky red terrain to have gorgeous views of the canyons. Although we didn't get a glimpse of Arizona's more famous wildlife  (like rattlesnakes or mountain lions) we did see a couple green lizards suntanning! At one point, we explored the desert by foot to pose for pictures. I decided to touch a cactus and now currently still have a sore finger...

After exploring the main street in Sedona, we packed into the bus and Matt drove us to our final stop: Scottsdale, Arizona. We had dinner at Dave And Busters, a restaurant with an arcade attached to it! Everyone had a blast playing the games and we had some big winners! When it came time to cash in the tickets for prizes, we got a lot of varied loot! Bouncy balls, candy, kazoos and stuffed animals were all enjoyed by the trip members. It was a great night out and we can't believe tomorrow is the last day!!!

Day 20/21 - Our Last day! :(  

We started the day with a sleep in and the lunch at the Cheesecake Factory! Yum yum! The kids were stuffed! After we gorged ourselves at the Cheesecake Factory, we headed back to the pool for some lounging in the Arizona sun!

The evening will consist of our banquet dinner and a couple of surprises for the trip members honoring them for being such great participants! There will be a dance after dinner, with a DJ spinning tunes all night long! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we will have to head to the airport early in the morning. It's been a wonderful trip. All the best Trip 12... YOLO!!!!