JCL Party!

By Rachel Cannella

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca White

On Saturday, May 14, the JCLers of CCA gathered at the Cannella home to dance, sing, eat, play ping-pong, jump into the pool fully clothed, eat some more, dance some more, and simply engage in general shenanigans. We all had a truly fabulous time; who knew that Latin could be such fun? Even Mr. Wooden enjoyed himself as we plugged his IPhone into a pair of speakers and let MIA blast throughout the game room, and as we munched on chips, hamburgers, and fruit. It’s been such a great year of JCL, from school meetings to fundraisers to regionals to state, and this party was a wonderful way to tie it all together. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!

Anne of Green Gables

By Martha Hague

Photo Courtesy of Mrs. Nan Greynolds

This year, the Drama class at CCA put on a Reader’s Theatre style presentation of Anne of Green Gables for their end of the year play. The show ran about 45 minutes and was performed using scripts, crates as sets, and uniforms as costumes. They performed it at an elementary school, W.T. Moore, and a retirement home, Westminster Oaks. On Tuesday, they performed for the CCA community. Everyone was pleased and proud of the students. The cast list ran as follows:

Grayson Heathe: Young Anne

Rebecca White: Marilla

Collin Earnest: Matthew

Jason Greynolds: Gilbert Blythe

Zaim Ipek: Mr. Spencer

Nick Smith: Mr. Phillips

Anna Brooks: Josie Pye and Ruby Gillis

Martha Hague: Older Anne

Rachel Cannella: Diana Barry

Luke Shulla: Stationmaster

Christina Morrow: Jane Andrews and Rachel Lynde

Josh Shackelford: Charlie Sloane

The class would specifically like to thank Mrs. Shackelford for her patience, diligence, and leadership. Without her the play would have been impossible!

Sunny with a Chance of Fun: The 2011 CCA Pool Party

By Becca White

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca White

On the morning of Thursday, May 19^th, 2011, each Christ Classical Academy parent, teacher, and faculty member frantically checked his/her phone for the daily weather report. Mother Nature had a habit of always sending rain on the night of CCA’s annual pool party, and no one expected this gathering to be any drier than the last. However, to everyone’s shock and surprise, the sky remained cloudless and a perfect shade of blue the entire day! So at 7 p.m. sharp, all the CCA families donned their swimsuits, gathered their freshest bake goods, and headed off to the Trousdell Aquatics Center.

The children frolicked, the parents chatted, and the teenagers laughed as the surprisingly sunny night began. As usual, the snack table was full of an array of tasty macaroni salads, a dozen different kinds of brownies, and every potato chip you could think of, but every morsel of food disappeared faster than the kids that ate it. By 7:30 the infamous yellow Trousdell waterslide had already gathered a line of at least fifteen, and children of every age had begun to splash and wade through the refreshing pool.

By the time 8:30 rolled around, the CCA parents started to pack up their beach towels and swim goggles, gathering the younger children and warning the older ones that it would soon be time to go. Kids of all ages, now sun-kissed, sopping wet, and full of sugar, dried off and prepared to go home and get a good night’s sleep. All in all, the 2011 Christ Classical pool party remained a sunny success, despite the event’s rainy past.

EXAMS: Eating away our energy, yet establishing our education!

By Anna Brooks

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca White

Exam is a word dreaded by every student around the globe. They aren’t just tests, they are mega tests designed to break your will to live. And if you know anything about CCA, the regular tests are already designed to kill you, so the exams are extra horrifying. The Logic exam basically asked us to elaborate (in a brief paragraph) on the meaning of life, the Omnibus 12 page exam involved endless columns of historical true/false which slowly make you want to kill yourself, and the Latin exam gave a 49 line chunk of an ancient text to be translated by our feeble brains. Yet, I stand before you now a warrior who has survived the battle against these said exams. And I have to say that the feeling after is quite rewarding. Despite all the struggle, fear, anxiety, panic, and consideration of suicide that previously possessed my mind, after all the exams, there is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment that would be lacking if we hadn’t been forced into submission to take them. And though many may disagree due to the amount of stress that would enter their lives because of these exams, I would venture to say that exams are important. They reinforce everything that you have learned all year, helping you remember it all, and showing you how much you have learned or improved. So, next time I consider faking illness to miss an exam, I’ll think about the wonderful feeling of completion and accomplishment that comes with finishing that exam, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll make it through the grueling journey and enjoy the fruits of my labors.

Graduation

By Spencer McArthur

Photo Courtesy of Mrs. Becky Healy

The 2010-2011 CCA graduation was held on May 26^th at Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The graduating senior was Catherine Billings; the graduating middle school class consisted of Caleb Cannella, Mary Kathryn Healy, Spencer McArthur, Cameron Robertson, Jackson Sellers, and Sam Shiner. A traditional CCA ceremony was held, including the sword presentation to the middle school class. The winner of the Daniel Award was Spencer McArthur. As a follow-up, the new ninth-graders took a two-day trip to Wild Adventures the following weekend where they learned what awaited them in high school and had a blast in the process.

The Class of 2011

by Mary Kathryn Healy

Photo Courtesy of Mrs. Becky Healy

Cate Billings was the 2011 graduate of Christ Classical Academy. She came here two years ago, and has enjoyed it immensely. When asked what she enjoyed the most, she replied, “I enjoyed the small environment and being able to get to know people. I loved getting close to the teachers and soon began to look at them as parents.”

She said that CCA has helped her grow by “learning about God in Bible class with Pastor Hague. It has really challenged my walk with Christ.”

She also said that CCA is different from the bigger schools she has gone to because of its “having not as many students; teachers know you understand the work before moving on, instead of throwing the work at you. Here the students want to learn. The students are different: they were more friendly and welcoming. At other schools you have to fit in.”

Cate will be attending Converse for College. It is a small women’s college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, founded in 1889. Cate will be riding horses for Converse. She has grown up on a horse, and has competed for a long time. She is excited to continue riding through college.

Congratulations Cate! You are such an amazing young woman, and CCA has been a better place because you were here! You deserve all the best, and we are all praying for you as you enter into this new stage of life!

Becca and Anna in the bus!

After second period on Thursday, April 7, the CCA Junior Classical League carpooled to Florida State University School, from where we would depart for the 62^nd annual State Latin Forum. We arrived shortly after 11:00 AM, loaded our luggage on the bus that we were sharing with FSUS, and left for Orlando at noon. Almost seven hours later, we arrived at the retreat center where we were staying. Everyone went to the welcome session, where we were forced to wear Roman togas. After the rally, which included a ten minute screaming competition, everyone went back to their rooms for a bite to eat before the first Certamen competition. The CCA level two Certamen team came out in second place in the first round. After that, everyone went to the pool until curfew at midnight.

Playing Cards while waiting for the award ceremony to start

On Friday morning, we woke up early to prepare for the academic tests at 8:00 AM. After showers and breakfast, we all convened in the main meeting hall for testing. Students took their two tests, for which they were preregistered, and were quietly ushered into a seat at one of many circular tables, where we bubbled in their tests, turned them in, and left. After the tests, everyone did their own thing with their weekend buddy. After lunch were the second and third rounds of Certamen. The team fought hard in these rounds, but came out in the bottom nine teams, meaning that we would not move on to the semifinals. However, this meant that we were free to spend the rest of the day however we wanted. At 8:00 PM, some people chose to attend the dance that was held, which lasted almost until curfew.

The whole team at Universal

Saturday morning was an exciting one, as it promised a trip to Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure after the awards ceremony. Several people from CCA placed in the top ten for their tests. Anna Brooks placed eighth in Classical Art, Spencer McArthur placed fifth in Grammar, Mary Kathryn Healy placed tenth in History of the Republic and eighth in Vocabulary, Rachel Cannella placed second in Prose Comprehension and eighth in Grammar, Martha Hague placed sixth in Prose Comprehension, and Jack Schweitzer placed seventh in Derivatives. After the ceremony, everyone loaded on the bus again. However, we were not ready to leave for home yet. A short trip brought us to Islands of Adventure. Once we were inside, we had a blast on roller coasters like The Incredible Hulk, Dr. Doom’s Fearfall, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and Dueling Dragons. The most popular part of the trip was by far the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle can be found. At around 7:30 PM, we headed for the gates and back to the bus. We rode back to town and arrived at close to 1:00 AM, where we were picked up by parents and headed home. Everyone, without a doubt, enjoyed themselves thoroughly. A special thanks goes to our chaperones: Mr. Wooden, Mrs. Shackelford, and Mr. Healy. So if you will be in Latin next school year, consider joining JCL, and you can be a part of all this fun.

Cameron going for a volley!

Since the dawn of Christ Classical Academy, a tennis team has emerged from our students and the home-schoolers around us. We have had an uncanny knack for finding those people who are either naturally gifted, or improve so fast that it seems like they have been playing the sport all of their lives.

This year, nine of CCA’s students and five home-schoolers banded together to form CCA’s seventh annual tennis team. These tennis players were Martha Hague, Joseph Hudson, Mary Kathryn Healy (me), Matthew Sweeney, Cameron Robertson, Jackson Sellers, Spencer McArthur, Jake Myhre, Alex Pittman, Maddie Bowers, Sage Fenton, Chase Fenton, and Daniel Sweeney. This year, we played four schools over the course of five weeks.

We played Maclay’s middle-school team twice this year. In our first match up, we beat them quite easily. Almost all of our players left the court that day with victory in their matches. Maclay learned their lesson. The second time we played them, they brought out their number two and three boys on their Junior Varsity team. However, even two amazing players could not keep us from claiming victory that day.

A forehand!

We played Community Christian School (CCS) once this year. They are a very good team, and we knew it as soon as we started playing. Most of the matches lasted over and hour and a half (which is quite long considering we only played one set to six). We won that day by one match. The score was six to five.

Cameron and Jake posing after a victorious match

Trinity Catholic has always been our hardest team to beat. Ever since our team began, our matches with them have always been very close. Once again, this year they had a very strong team. By the end of the day, we were tied with one doubles match still going. How that match ended would determine whether we would win or lose. The stress level sky rocketed. That match was a battle. The players knew that everything rested on them. Tragically, our players lost by one point.

The last game of the season was against Holy Comforter. We played on their new courts, which were wonderful to play on. This year they had a very good team. Almost all of the matches were close. However, even though each match was a struggle, we prevailed.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to play on the team or came to cheer us on! Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to have the success we did. Thanks to all the tennis players who were on the team this year, other schools are beginning to see our team as a team to be reckoned with!

The 7^th and 8^th grade P.E. class offers a very hard-core, though rewarding, workout. We suffer through all sorts of exercises, from push-ups to handstands, and while they are strenuous, they are truly beneficial to our health.

Although this is one of the better aspects of P.E. with Mr. Eller, there are certain others that make us want to commit suicide, such as ten-minute sessions of push-ups, burpees, lunges, and sprints. Some of the stretches we endure could be seen in Cirque du Soleil. But when we pointedly ignore the exhausting exercises and strange stretches (and the basketball games with the boys, which are incredibly intimidating), P.E. is actually very fun!

We might begin P.E. with some planks or arm stretches, depending on Mr. Eller’s mood, and if we look really tired, then we must do jumping jacks until we “wake up”. Then we move on to the hard exercises, meaning competing in relay races, holding the push-up position while keeping our arms and then our legs in the air, lunging across the gym and back, doing even more push-ups, and then maybe relaxing with a final stretch or two. But then, after the previously detailed ten-minutes of pure agony, we begin the long-awaited games. There are so many fun games to play in P.E., but my favorite include attempting gymnastics moves on the grass, playing Ninja, and engaging in an epic battle of World Tag, in which we stand in a circle, having been divided into pairs, each pair standing about twenty feet away from the neighboring duo. One student is chosen to be “It” and two are dubbed “Runners,” who dash around the gym desperately, trying to avoid whoever is “It.” We link arms with the person next to us and stay that way until a Runner links arms with either us or our partner, forcing the person on the other side of the chain to become a Runner, who must thereupon link onto another chain in order to avoid being tagged. It is a blast to play, especially with a lot of people.

So that is a general day in our P.E. class. I can’t say that I love the class, but the games definitely make it worthwhile. And all in all, it is good for our health to run around and exercise . . . though I still have to convince myself of that while I struggle through a round of burpees!

Grayson and Christina, ready to go!

At 8:45 on Saturday, February 19th, the 9th graders of CCA, plus a few upper school students also studying American history, met in the Fresh Market parking lot with screams of excitement. It was the day we had all been dreaming of: the day we would take our much anticipated class fieldtrip to the history-packed city of Charleston, South Carolina. The ten students, two teachers, and one chaperone loaded up into the two cars and we hit the road. After a about an 8 hour drive, with stops, we arrived in the lovely city of Charleston. Driving to the hotel, the weather was beautiful and we all squealed and giggled with excitement as we looked out the windows at the big city around us. As we entered the hotel, the luxurious rooms and welcoming staff only increased our enthusiasm.

9th grader, Martha Hague, says, “The moment I walked in, I felt like we were staying at someone’s house, and not a hotel. In the lobby, there was a large fireplace surrounded by comfortable, old-fashioned sofas and walls with built-in bookshelves full of delicious classics. Every morning, there was a scrumptious breakfast buffet with waffles and hot tea. There was a beautiful courtyard that housed wrought iron benches and tables for outdoor eating, and a frigid pool, that yes, I did get into. But the best part was the service! The hotel staff was so kind and fun. One night we ordered in pizza, and the next thing we knew they were handing out plates, napkins, and water bottles. Another night we were in the lobby playing cards, and we looked over to see the receptionist and the manager dancing to the electric slide! I am glad we stayed at the Hampton Inn.” The hotel certainly was wonderful, but we soon had to leave the cozy place and walk the streets of Charleston to dinner.

We journeyed to a fun restaurant called Toast, which serves breakfast all day. It was the perfect end to our first day. Grayson Heath, also a 9th grader, describes her experience at Toast: “Our waiter was kind and professional and made us feel at home. Although I ordered Eggs Benedict, which was excellent, others ate the Deluxe French Toast, which looked divine. According to the menu, it had been ‘recommended by the New York Times!’ and it was ‘hand-cut currant bread stuffed with cinnamon apples or peaches and topped with apple or peach cider syrup.’ Not only because of the delicious food, but also the homey aspect and friendly staff, Toast is a definite must in Charleston.” So, after this fun experience, we all gallopped joyously back to the hotel, ready to get some sleep so as to be prepared for the exciting activities the next day.

Well, the next day came sooner than we all had expected, but we quickly got dressed, scarfed down a yummy hotel breakfast, and hopped into the cars, headed for Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s

Christina, Becca, Anna, and Zaim modeling some gift shop merchandise

Island. When we arrived, we walked into the welcome center and were able to watch a cheesy, yet informing video about Ft. Moultrie through the ages. After that, we visited the gift shop, and with our gift shop purchases in hand, we walked across the road to explore the historic fort for ourselves. We all enjoyed scampering around the many mysterious corridors and climbing the various summits and staircases. Another 9th grader on the trip, Luke Shulla, claims that Ft. Moultrie was one of his favorite parts of the trip: “The history behind the fort was extremely interesting, but actually being there was far beyond interesting. I could stand up in the tower, or behind the cannons, and just imagine enemy ships in the bay, Union soldiers attacking the fort, Confederates defending, etc. I love history, and most of all when I can almost ‘go back in the past’, and see what it would have been like;

The girls atop the cannons!

that is what Ft. Moultrie did to me.” Luke expresses a feeling that most of us experienced, because although we did have loads of fun stuffing Zaim in a cannon and jumping into small, random holes in the wall at the fort, we all also took away something more valuable than just funny memories: we took away an understanding of the history that occurred there. After we had explored the fort thoroughly, we wandered over to the beach nearby. The water was freezing, but that did not stop us from taking off our shoes and frolicing in up to our ankles. When we had all had our fill of cold water, we baked in the sun on some larges rocks nearby like sunbathing lizards.

In front of Boone Plantation

All this exertion had made us hungry, and we had a delightful lunch at Sticky Fingers in Mt. Pleasant, a barbeque chain that served us quickly and hospitably. Soon we had to leave for Boone Plantation, my favorite part of the whole trip. As you probably guessed from the name, it is an old plantation that has survived many years of changing owners but is now a museum of sorts for tourists. While there, we got our fill of history by listening to a woman speak about Gullah culture and the importance of respecting your ancestors; Gullah is a language and culture that was created by slaves who came to America knowing next to no English. Then we played tag in the gardens, took a tour of the grand main house, climbed trees by the lake. Overall, it was a ton of fun because we were able to get historical information from the speaker and our tour, but we were still allowed to roam around and explore. Also, the weather was gorgeous, which just added to the beauty of the plantation and also our penchant for running around wildly outdoors. The other thing that really made Boone Plantation amazing was that it was the site where many movies were filmed, one being The Notebook. That was thrilling news, indeed.

The boys posing on the wall at Fort Moultrie

Next, we traveled not very far to a popular frozen yogurt joint, because we were in need of sustenance after all the exhausting exploring we had done. Replete, we all loaded back into the cars and headed from Mt. Pleasant back into Charleston, where we stopped at our hotel to freshen up before continuing on foot to church. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church was in a very beautiful, old building (constructed in 1752), and the members were very receptive to us. We really enjoyed the reverent, peaceful atmosphere, as well as the compelling and eloquent sermon. Martha Hague describes her experience: “This was a beautiful church, full of stained glass and ornate woodwork. I absolutely loved the service, and I think that was my favorite part of the trip. I loved to look around at the high, vaulted ceilings and the old, wooden pew boxes and think of all the wonderful people who had raised their voices to praise Him for centuries. The church was so historically rich (I actually sat in the pew box George Washington and Robert E. Lee sat in!) but also was so very alive. The congregation was so friendly and genuinely delighted to have us, and the clergy were cheerful and patient, despite our ignorance of the liturgy. I thank Him that He gave us such a wonderful place to rest and renew our spirits on the trip!” Martha sums up nicely the peacefulness that the moving service provided for all of us. Next we enjoyed a dinner at Wild Wings, a hopping restaurant with lots of TVs and more importantly some yummy fried food. Encouraged by the church service, we were all very content with the success the Lord had already given us on the trip, and we were eager to see what He had in store for us for the remaining days of the trip.

On Monday morning the alarm rang and we all moaned and turned over in our beds, not wanting to move for at least another four or so hours. But, remembering the interesting things planned for the day and the fact that we could already be at school in Tallahassee helped us wake up, and soon we were in the lobby, done with breakfast, and ready to go. We didn’t have very far to travel because the first place on the list for today was the Charleston Museum, which was just across the street from the Hampton. We hurried over to the Museum and enjoyed walking through the fascinating specimens and exhibits they had like jewelry made from human hair (for the girls) and a two-headed snake (for the guys). The section that was most pertinent to

Becca and Rachel in Civil War attire

what we were studying in class though, was the exhibit on the Civil War clothes, namely the Threads of War section. We especially connected with this exhibit because there was dress up clothes that were out for us to try on, that resembled the clothes of that time. We had a blast putting on hoop skirts and posing together. Before leaving, we posed on a replica of a submarine used during the Civil War, which had mysteriously disappeared until its discovery on the ocean floor decades later.

Soon it was time for lunch and we paraded down the streets of Charleston to a lovely café called 82 Queen. It was a very charming atmosphere, with a beautiful courtyard and a mouth-watering menu. Grayson Heath relates her enjoyment at this pleasant restaurant: “To gain a real sense of authentic low-country cuisine, I recommend 82 Queen. According to the restaurant’s website, it focuses ‘on gracious Southern hospitality… for almost a quarter of a century.’ Eating at this award-winning restaurant was not a mistake. The food was delicious. I ordered a classic of Charleston: warm cheese grits with a grilled chicken breast astride a crispy fried green tomato, and a crab cake adorning the top. The food and atmosphere were superb in the lovely courtyard at this restaurant.” As Grayson describes, the food was delectable, and we all ate so much that we needed the next activity on the schedule, which was the Civil War Walking Tour.

We all had heard stories about the crazy tour guide who had taken the students on the trip last year around Charleston with much dramatic flare and humorous persona. So, we were looking forward to experiencing this ourselves. However, it appears that we caught him on a bad day, and he had forgotten about the tour that we had scheduled. Thankfully, we were able to contact his partner who came and gave us the tour, maybe with a little less craziness, but the same amount of historical information. We all enjoyed it immensely, particularly comparing the photos from the 1860s to the present-day scenery, but at the same time were very happy when we returned to the hotel to relax and rest after so much walking.

We had some gigantic local pizza in the lobby for dinner and then headed out into the night, ready for the haunted jail tour. We all trembled with excitement and fear as we approached the looming, deserted, dark, old jailhouse. Becca White, a brave soul who lasted the whole tour without running from the room in terror, details her experience: “The night was dark, and I shivered as we drove a few miles into downtown Charleston while we listened to Michael Jackson’s always creepy Thriller. When we arrived, we all filed around the front of the tallest, scariest looking jail I had ever seen to meet our tour guide. I gripped Rachel’s hand as our tour guide told us about the history of the jail and its purpose during the Civil War. As we walked around the outside of the jail, she told us enough bloody stories of lynchings, hangings, and tar and featherings that took place in the jail to make our stomachs curl.

“After leading us around the outside of the jail, she led us inside and warned us about the infamous ghosts haunting the building. The building was dark, cold, dusty and completely creepy. It was exactly as I had imagined Azkaban from the Harry Potter books. She directed us up the stairs and to a room on the left where we listened to a story about a witch doctor who tried to save a criminal, who now haunts the entire town of Charleston. By now my nerves were definitely shaken! I pinched Rachel’s hand and grabbed Grayson’s to try to keep myself from imagining ghosts.

“After finishing her tale, we walked to a room down the hall where a large, barred cage lay in the corner. Our guide told us that many people were often stuffed in such cages at once and not allowed to leave all day. They were made to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom all squished together and without privacy. She also told us the story of the woman who inhabited the very cage we were viewing. She was said to be a very beautiful woman and owned an inn with her husband, but little beknownst to many of the townspeople, she was also part of a thievery pact and was a murderess. One by one, she killed all the men that visited her inn alone until she and her husband were finally caught by the law. They were put in the very jail we were standing in as they waited for their execution. As was ritual, a pastor came on to pray over this woman and her husband’s souls, but while her husband accepted the prayer, she refused to be prayed over and said hell was where she belonged. When the day of her hanging came around, thousands of people came out to watch her die. Before they were given the chance to hang her, she screamed obscenities and ran off the gallows, killing herself.

“After hearing the creepy tale, we exited the jail, all shivering and nervous, as our guide bid us farewell: ‘Chocolate milk will make your dreams sweeter, trust me, I know!’ Sweet dreams, 9th grade!” As Becca retells in detail, the jail tour was very informative, but also packed with creepy tales of death, murder, and perfidy. Somehow, we all survived the goose-bump-giving presentation, and we headed back to the Hampton Inn to get some hopefully dreamless sleep.

Exploring the rocks on the island!

Christina's Perfect Sand Dollar

The next morning found us all in the lobby eating breakfast, covered with sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, and windbreakers, ready for our upcoming eco-tour. We drove to the Barrier Island dock, where we unloaded and met our tour guide. Christina Morrow, a 9th grader on the trip, who loves marine life and is an avid scuba diver herself, explains her feelings about this part of the trip: “Now, the thing I loved above all the others was the Barrier Island Eco Tour. We rode on a pontoon boat through the river while Robby, our tour guide, pointed interesting things out to us. He pulled up a crab trap and told us about the blue crab. He told us about birds, and he told us about fish. There was so much wildlife around us to learn about. Dolphins swam through the water and would occasionally swim near the boat, but our screams and squeals of excitements kept them away most of the time. Finally, we had reached the island, where Robby preceded to drop us off. We roamed for hours; the beach seemed endless. It was covered with shells and driftwood. We were only allowed to keep three shells, so it took me awhile to find the right ones. Then, I found it, lying there in the sand: the perfect sand dollar. I snatched it up and held it dear. But alas our adventure was over and again we piled on the pontoon boat and started our voyage home.” As Christina explains, we all got back to shore with our shells and proceeded to lunch at a restaurant not too far away.

This lunch was a meal to remember, and although we ate well pretty much the whole trip, the Mustard Seed was an especially delicious place to eat.  We started with warm, fresh-baked bread that had melted cheese sprinkled on top. 20 baskets of bread later, we all enjoyed delectable entrees. Dessert was just as satisfying with an unusually large piece of brownie chocolate cake. When they finally rolled us out of there, we must have all been ten pounds heavier from all that we had eaten. So, we traveled back to the hotel and took a few minutes to let the obscene amounts of food we had consumed digest.

After a rest, we donned our bathing suits and walked to Waterfront Park. It was a lovely evening, between running around on the soft grassy lawn, charging the cold fountains fearlessly, and

Charging the Fountain!

parading down the docks to gaze at the peaceful water. Joseph enjoyed teaching the other boys how to do impressive tricks, while Josh ran through the fountain with all his clothes on! However, our jubilee was somewhat interrupted by the fact that some of us were wet and the temperature was dropping with the sun. So, shivering and dripping, we all marched to Hyman’s Seafood for dinner.

After changing into dry clothes, we sat down and enjoyed a delightful meal. The old, large, and busy restaurant had a wonderful ambiance. It was not too loud, but there was still a light hum of other tables in the background. We all got outrageously big portions of delectable seafood, which inevitably ended up being finished at the boys’ table. The meal was very pleasant because we all knew each other very well at this point, and we were all very relaxed and content. To top off our already busting stomachs, we got free homemade ice cream on the way out. It was a great way to end our last day in Charleston.

So, the next morning, with tear streaked faces and forlorn hearts, we packed up the cars and headed home to Tallahassee. And although we were sad to wave goodbye to the radiant and historically rich city of Charleston, we will always have the joyous memories we made there. As you can tell from the various quotes from students throughout this article, we all really enjoyed every aspect of the trip and bonded a lot, learning things about each other that we would have never known otherwise. But of course, most of what made the trip worthwhile and unique was the incredible history that we absorbed from the tours and places that we went. We could not have asked for a better itinerary, better weather, or a better group of people. Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Eller!