Suggestions for 18 hour bus trip

[Andrew Schuetze]

Howdy all and NEMO types,

I'd appreciate some suggestions in regards to curfew and such for 18 hour bus rides. This year's trip to Atlanta will be via bus and will be 18 hours in transit. My thoughts are to treat it like a hotel situation and have a 'curfew' at XX:xx PM with seat checks. At curfew each set of seats will be same sex. I'm even thinking that I need to section off the bus a bit and have a female and male section???

What kinds of meals do you typically serve en route? We are leaving @ 7:00 PM so I am asking students to have eaten dinner before boarding and then having snacks for them in the evening. My plan is to then have breakfast items for the AM, Sam's club stuff. We would then stop at a pizza buffet somewhere for lunch and then do dinner in Atlanta.

Besides having a collection of G and PG movies, do you provide any other type of entertainment/amusement? Are there standard bus games that teams play?

Any comments and suggestions are more than appreciated,


Thanks,

[anna~marie]

On our bus ride down us students entertain ourselves... card games, much music, many movies, and a lot of sleep - not to mention snacks! Don't ever forget snacks and extra batteries

[David55]

I don't know exactly how these things are done in the US...
But isn't that a little strict?
Curfew, seat checks?? it's not like your in a 700 room hotel, your in a bus!
I doubt anything inappropriate can be done in a seat in a bus full of kids

And PG and G movies...that's kind of harsh...
I think that high school students are passed Aladdin and Snow White

Just my point of view...

David

[Greg Needel]

Having done some long bus rides as both a mentor and a student on the team i would tend to agree with David on this one. Although the other question is how full is the bus going to be? If it is very full you won't have to worry about much, just spread you chaperone's around through the bus and you shouldn't see many problems. I think you should ask the students to bring entertainment/ movies but also keep some mad libs in your bag. For me and long bus rides go i normally just try to survive . Overall i have found that if you treat kids with respect and give them their freedom you won't have to worry about bad things happening.

[vic burg]

I am a student but, I hope this can help. We, Team 108, shared a bus ride up to the Palmetto Regional with Team 1251 both ways. Us students pretty much just completely had fun. A lot of people slept, since it was 13 hours on the way up, and it was basically, an all day thing. And yes, gameboys, iPods, CD Players and the such were technically an essential. I really don't think that same gender seating is necessary because normally, the students are too bored to be thinking of doing anything. Even if anyone did/does, they will hear about it from the other students and teachers/coaches/mentors since the bus is only so big and whatever happens, virtually everyone knows about. Robotics students tend to have high maturity levels so, Andrew, you really needn't worry much. Yes, spread out the chaperone's and you should be set. But, find out, before the trip is 3 hours into it, if the VHS/DVD player works. Otherwise, things may be a bit crazy. (Ours didn't and we all complained but, we got over it, and even bought the supplies to fix it. ) Having gone on multiple school trips via bus, whether only a few or many hours, on the way back, if you are driving overnight, or if either way is overnight, you can basically be guaranteed that all students at any given point (maybe 1 or 2 won't), will be asleep. Hope you have a good, fun, and safe trip!!!!

[MissInformation]

Dave's baked beans comment made me think of something really important that almost no one remembers... If the bus has a bathroom, buy a can of Lysol or some other air cleaner or neutralizer because someone is bound to use that bathroom and it's a bit overwhelming for the people who have to sit near the bathroom. On our trip to Atlanta last year we pulled over at a grocery store so that we could purchase said item.

[JaneYoung]

As a NEMO type traveling from Austin via bus - we have a lights out and
G rated movies. If you can, section off boys from girls with an adult chaperone in between. We have a philosophy that we don't want to give even the slightest hint of impropriety and that holds true in any form of travel including bus. The team knows the rules set forth before they sign up for travel to competitions.
The team has played Catch Phrase and cards and I think they are planning the same this trip - they enjoy being together talking, reading, some even do homework
Your food plans sound good.
We carry water on the bus and they bring sodas, juice, etc.
I think your plan sounds excellent.
Jane

Edit: we also include other prior approved movies such as The Core - I don't know its rating but we went to see it as a group. Also - during the daylight hours they can change out seating but since most of your travel is at night, the separation is good and once the backpacks are opened, things just sort define spaces. And - there are Cracker Barrels along the way - we stopped at one of those on the way back after competition. Nice good meal for a tired bunch of folk. All the best!

[JudyVandy]

Your plan sound great. We've done both train and bus to Florida.

I agree, for propriety, and practicality, keep boys and girls separated for dark hours.

You might want to think about a breakfast stop along the way, rather than doing it on the bus, even if you have to leave a bit earlier. It will get everybody out of the bus for a bit longer than the necessaries and may be a key to all of you keeping your sanity!

[petek]

Cybersonics does the bus trip from PA to Atlanta in one shot, changing bus drivers in VA. The trip goes surprisingly quickly. A few things we do:

Give each person a role-call number - it saves a lot of time when checking that everyone is present, instead of call out names. We just start the role call and everyone calls out their number in order. Don't forget the adults - they're the ones missing most often!

We sometimes do a game, but not very often. The toilet paper relay race is good for a few laughs (pit one side of the bus against the other unrolling toilet paper from the front of the bus to the back and to the front again, without breaking it). We always have movies on - some people watch them, but most seem to entertain themselves with card games, chat, etc.

We leave about 6 AM. Breakfast is passed out on the bus, we stop around noon for lunch at a Cracker Barrel or such, and for dinner about 6 PM. Each person gets a snack bag when they board the bus and we bring cases of water.

At the hotel there is always a curfew (usually 11) and room check every night; I think it makes sense to extend this policy to an overnight bus trip. This is a must, if only for your own peace of mind and that of the parents who are trusting their kids to you.

Good luck and enjoy the trip!

[Tomasz Bania]

I'm not sure but some of this sounds great, some of it sounds harsh.

My Opinion:
1. Curfews in the hotels are great (as long as they aren't TOO early)
2. Stopping at a specific restaurant is good but if you have a picky team a Travel Plaza seems to fit the bill a bit better.
3. Movie Ratings should be followed, but with exceptions. (PG-13,PG,G,And In VERY RARE cases R should be fine). Rather than just looking at the ratings, look at the movie.
4. Although Ipods and DS's are great on the bus, some people love to walk away and use them during a competition. To prevent this, keep them as occupied as possible (Cheering,Scouting,etc.).
5.Have FUN! Don't just sleep. Do Something. A bus ride is time to get pumped up and ready (unless you are arriving at night to a hotel, than refrain from ever using rule #5, otherwise you'll have a FUN time at the hotel)

Tomasz Bania

[pyroslev]

I've been on numerous long bus rides. (Thanks to Marching Band)

1. PG movies: a bit strict but understandable
Alternative: Highlight reels of other matches going to Atlanta and maybe going home a season of a TV show. I know someone suggested a season of the Simpsons for us.
2. Cards is an all around game. (Personal longest card game was 16 Hours straight.) Travel board games work well. Monopoly can get old after eight hours.
3. One side guys and one side girls with a chaperone every few seats and station one on that popular back seat. Seat checks are a must. A trick is to have a mentor awake and up front near the bus driver (If it's allowed under bus company rules) Have them roam every now and then.
4. If feasible, put the primary drive team on stricter schedule. Take care of them.

[Carol]

MOE used a bus last year for Atlanta (fortunately this year we got cheap air tickets!). We left at 9:00 at night with a midnight to 7AM quiet time. You didn't have to sleep but you had to be quiet. (I personally got maybe 3 hours of sleep. At the most.) We showed movies - PG13, Pirates of the Caribbean was the big hit - and did some seat checks. Similar rules in the hotel.

Bathroom and meal breaks weren't a problem because the bus driver had his rules and had to stop every so often. Ask the bus company - they are the experts on that.

You may think the restrictions are excessive but the mentors do have to answer to parents and schools. If something happens and a parent sues, what happens to the program then?

[KenWittlief]

Laptops + network cables + power inverter + 12V jellcell = Highway Lan Party

With a 12V to 110VAC power inverter and a couple old jell cells you can run just about any type of game console + LCD displays.

Cards (the cardboard ones - remember those?)

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by David55

I doubt anything inappropriate can be done in a seat in a bus full of kids.
David

You should never underestimate a motivated student couple's ability to conceal their actions in the dark. Hormones can do strange things to your "perfect little angels"!

Billfred's suggestions of spreading adult chaperones around the bus and enforcing same gender seating arrangements during nighttime hours are good ones.

48 does the straight shot from Ohio with the driver change in Tennessee. We leave around midnight (!!!) Tuesday night and get into Atlanta around 1-2 PM Wednesday afternoon. We do bring a few food items on the bus with us, but we always make stops for food and bathroom breaks - it's a good idea to get off the bus and stretch your legs (especially if you're 6' 3"). Plus it's fun to watch and laugh as the kids pile off the bus like a bunch of zombies at 3 AM!

Most entertain themselves with music, card games, etc., but we also play movies to help the time go by. We typically permit up to PG-13.

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by David55

I don't know exactly how these things are done in the US...
But isn't that a little strict?
Curfew, seat checks?? it's not like your in a 700 room hotel, your in a bus!
I doubt anything inappropriate can be done in a seat in a bus full of kids

And PG and G movies...that's kind of harsh...
I think that high school students are passed Aladdin and Snow White

Just my point of view...

David

Heh heh, yeah, things might be a little different in Israel. Let me just say that based on the stuff I tried to get away with while I was in high school, it is reasonable to expect that appropriate precautions should be taken with the current generation of students. "Appropriate precautions" may include: ankle shackles to keep everyone in their assigned seats, blindfolds, heavy sedation, muzzles, forcing everyone to listen to Anne Murray recordings, and confiscation of all lemon jello (don't ask).

Realistically, go with gender-based sectioning of the bus during the sleep periods, PG-rated movies or even PG-13 movies (if the parents are OK with it), and enough planned stops to let everyone stretch their legs and avoid cabin fever, and you should be fine. Finding enough G-rated movies that are reasonable and entertaining for that long may be tough - remember, you have to watch them too (after all, how many times can you watch "Barney Goes To Camp"?)! For those that will have iPods, GameBoys, or laptop computers (OK, who doesn't?), batteries will be an issue. A while back, Team 180 posted a great idea - wire up a few robot batteries to an inverter and use them to provide power to all the electronic toys on the bus. Tytus did something similar to power his X-box. Definitely something to think about!

-dave