48 boys and 6 staff met at the early time of 7-15am to make the journey to Dublin airport. Spirits were high as the trip of a lifetime started. Straight away Mr Gunson distributed hymn sheets and dice and the touring party were advised that these should be produced on request or else a forfeit would ensue.
The advantage of a direct flight to our first destination San Francisco from Dublin saw us go through immigration in Dublin. Everyone made full use of the onboard entertainment at some point and others caught up on some sleep. One highlight of the flight was the ongoing battle between Team Gunson and Team Doey at the onboard Trivia competition. I’m sure there is no need for me to tell you who won that! Almost twelve hours later we were treated to a fantastic descent into San Francisco over the bay with superb views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
Despite our new Head Boy Martin Rodgers keeping us back at baggage reclaim (his bag arrived 15 minutes after everyone else) we all arrived at our accommodation at Berkeley University after an enjoyable sing song on the bus. There was just time for a quick tour of the area and some dinner before a few weary bodies made their way to bed at 10pm local time (6am Saturday morning home time). Tomorrow we have our first training session of the tour and then it is off to downtown San Francisco for an afternoon cycling which will take us over the Golden Gate Bridge.
The advantage of a direct flight to our first destination San Francisco from Dublin saw us go through immigration in Dublin. Everyone made full use of the onboard entertainment at some point and others caught up on some sleep. One highlight of the flight was the ongoing battle between Team Gunson and Team Doey at the onboard Trivia competition. I’m sure there is no need for me to tell you who won that! Almost twelve hours later we were treated to a fantastic descent into San Francisco over the bay with superb views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
Despite our new Head Boy Martin Rodgers keeping us back at baggage reclaim (his bag arrived 15 minutes after everyone else) we all arrived at our accommodation at Berkeley University after an enjoyable sing song on the bus. There was just time for a quick tour of the area and some dinner before a few weary bodies made their way to bed at 10pm local time (6am Saturday morning home time). Tomorrow we have our first training session of the tour and then it is off to downtown San Francisco for an afternoon cycling which will take us over the Golden Gate Bridge.