So we're back from Florida and are trying to get rested up before school begins in a couple of days! It was an amazing trip and we're all so very proud of Ashler and the work that he did.
My mom came with us for this leg of the trip, and we all piled into our crossover vehicle (read: bigger than a car - smaller than a minivan) with our stuffed roof bag on the top of the car. We packed our coolers full of goodies so we wouldn't have to spend much to eat on the trip, grabbed the essential Starbucks, and hit the road. The kids and my mom traded off with the portable dvd players (a lifesaver) while my husband and I listened to audiobooks and music. (woohoo for Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book!)
We did the whole 22 hours in one shot! Its not really bad at the front end of the trip - there is so much to look forward to, and we're all fresh for the road. The other end of things is another story, whew.
Sendra standing with the crocs! This is her first time in Florida. We had fun hitting the tourist traps while getting gas, which was a load of fun!
We arrived in Miami and checked in at our hotel. We unloaded our gear and grabbed our ready-prepped beach bag and shimmied into our bathing suits before hitting Lummus Park, south beach. We knew we'd be there for just a short time, since we had Ashler's big performance to attend that night. We had no idea how horrendous the traffic would be - but it was worth it. How can you go all the way to Florida and not go to the beach??
We grabbed what we thought was going to be Italian fast food, on the way back to the parking garage - but apparently they made it all from scratch right there! We were now super late, and had to rush back to the hotel for 2 minute showers and quick changes.
Ashler is in the center, with the white top and black tights
In spite of all the crazy stress, we made it to the show in the nick of time. It was *amazing* - they did a series of modern pieces, flamenco (which I nearly died over, they were so good), selections from Don Quixote, and ballet. I was so impressed with how much they challenged Ashler, and how far his skills were stretched. He did things Id never seen him attempt before. It was just so inspiring to watch.
Ashler said goodbye to his wonderful host family, that had taken care of him for the past month. We'll be forever grateful to them! He also said goodbye to the girlfriend he made while there. (all very innocent, mind you) We would be leaving directly after open studios the next day.
We got to see the open studio class the next morning, and watch the types of routines Ashler had been working on all those weeks. It was impressive how many students they had!
The instruction was all Russian, and most of the instructors were directly from the Kirov Ballet, and they had just come down for these handful of weeks before returning. Most didn't even speak much English! Thats Ashler with Vladimir, the school director who seemed really pleased with Ashler's work.
happiness is having everyone together again, and eating good food!
He got a beautiful certificate with everyone's signatures and we said our final goodbyes before piling back into the car. We stopped briefly for lunch, which was our first real indulgence on the trip. It was a glorious way to celebrate Ashler's success.
We got to stop again and visit with my friend Ryn on the way back home. We hit Cape Canaveral beach again and got to see all kinds of great wildlife that just wasn't present at South Beach. Its a far more relaxing spot, and I have to say we enjoyed it a great deal.
It's a good thing we stopped with Ryn, because shortly afterward our air conditioning died! I can't imagine how awful it would have been if it had happened on the road in the middle of who knows where. We stayed an extra day and a half to get it fixed, and then we made our long journey home. We were all tired by then, so it was a more difficult drive, but we made it in one piece and have a boatload of memories.
When we got home, we received the following note in an email from the program:
Thank you for everything you have done for us. You have really helped to change all of our lives!
My mom came with us for this leg of the trip, and we all piled into our crossover vehicle (read: bigger than a car - smaller than a minivan) with our stuffed roof bag on the top of the car. We packed our coolers full of goodies so we wouldn't have to spend much to eat on the trip, grabbed the essential Starbucks, and hit the road. The kids and my mom traded off with the portable dvd players (a lifesaver) while my husband and I listened to audiobooks and music. (woohoo for Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book!)
We did the whole 22 hours in one shot! Its not really bad at the front end of the trip - there is so much to look forward to, and we're all fresh for the road. The other end of things is another story, whew.
Sendra standing with the crocs! This is her first time in Florida. We had fun hitting the tourist traps while getting gas, which was a load of fun!
We arrived in Miami and checked in at our hotel. We unloaded our gear and grabbed our ready-prepped beach bag and shimmied into our bathing suits before hitting Lummus Park, south beach. We knew we'd be there for just a short time, since we had Ashler's big performance to attend that night. We had no idea how horrendous the traffic would be - but it was worth it. How can you go all the way to Florida and not go to the beach??
We grabbed what we thought was going to be Italian fast food, on the way back to the parking garage - but apparently they made it all from scratch right there! We were now super late, and had to rush back to the hotel for 2 minute showers and quick changes.
In spite of all the crazy stress, we made it to the show in the nick of time. It was *amazing* - they did a series of modern pieces, flamenco (which I nearly died over, they were so good), selections from Don Quixote, and ballet. I was so impressed with how much they challenged Ashler, and how far his skills were stretched. He did things Id never seen him attempt before. It was just so inspiring to watch.
Ashler said goodbye to his wonderful host family, that had taken care of him for the past month. We'll be forever grateful to them! He also said goodbye to the girlfriend he made while there. (all very innocent, mind you) We would be leaving directly after open studios the next day.
We got to see the open studio class the next morning, and watch the types of routines Ashler had been working on all those weeks. It was impressive how many students they had!
The instruction was all Russian, and most of the instructors were directly from the Kirov Ballet, and they had just come down for these handful of weeks before returning. Most didn't even speak much English! Thats Ashler with Vladimir, the school director who seemed really pleased with Ashler's work.
I put together a video of selections from that days class. You can see it here if you're interested:
Ballet Class 1
Ballet Class 2
He got a beautiful certificate with everyone's signatures and we said our final goodbyes before piling back into the car. We stopped briefly for lunch, which was our first real indulgence on the trip. It was a glorious way to celebrate Ashler's success.
We got to stop again and visit with my friend Ryn on the way back home. We hit Cape Canaveral beach again and got to see all kinds of great wildlife that just wasn't present at South Beach. Its a far more relaxing spot, and I have to say we enjoyed it a great deal.
It's a good thing we stopped with Ryn, because shortly afterward our air conditioning died! I can't imagine how awful it would have been if it had happened on the road in the middle of who knows where. We stayed an extra day and a half to get it fixed, and then we made our long journey home. We were all tired by then, so it was a more difficult drive, but we made it in one piece and have a boatload of memories.
When we got home, we received the following note in an email from the program:
"We hope Ashler enjoyed being in our program and maybe he was able to take some advantage of the teachers here. He is a serious worker and the teachers see talent in him."
Thank you for everything you have done for us. You have really helped to change all of our lives!
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