The bus bumped along the road as my
eyes drifted to the window. No sign of the Taste of Texas. I slumped my head
against the window as 88 4th- graders buzzed in excitement.
We pulled up to a long, quaint
restaurant and hopped off the steps. The icy air bit our cheeks as we waited.
Finally, (literally) we were led into a vast waiting room. A smiley lady
appeared and informed us of the rules. “Please don’t talk, or you will be asked
to join your teachers,” she said.
Then we separated into two lines.
She led us into the kitchen, which smelled strongly of cheese. We squeezed into
a tight and cramped hallway. Then she divided us into groups of 16 to enter the
10 degrees below zero walk-in freezer.
My group cautiously walked into the
freezer. Everything was fine…… until they turned out the lights! Suddenly,
screaming erupted around me. The lights flickered back on (much to everyone’s
relief.) Then again, we were plunged into darkness.
After exiting the kitchen, we walked
back to the waiting room where the lady began speaking about empresario Stephen
F. Austin and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. A re-enactment of the Battle
of the Alamo was next. Volunteers got to choose a free dessert (jealous yet?)
Signatures of Moses and Stephen F. Austin were mounted on the walls and talked
about. The six flags over Texas hung gallantly near the ceiling.
Lunch came and everyone dug into
chicken tenders, fries and Sprite. Paintings by Bev Doolittle, a camouflage
artist, were displayed around the room. Suddenly we were back on the bus.
The long and tedious journey (ok,
maybe 15 minutes) had left us wound up. We bounded onto the playground at Bear
Creek Park where we swung on swings, climbed and slid down slides.
We visited the Vietnamese potbellied
pig, the emu, cockatoo, and ducks. Rolling down the hill was fun, although duck
leavings was wiped up by jeans and jackets.
I helped clean up people’s pants
with nature (FYI: spiky seeds = great scraping tools). Luckily Mrs. Sharma came
and gave us wipes.)
The rest of the day was uneventful.
Whew! That still was a lot for one day. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
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