Posted on January 4th, 2010 by Craig Maltby, Editor
Band Trip to Florida: The immune system gets a big test
As I write this, I am 2 days back from a trip to Florida with my kids’ high school marching and jazz bands. We took three buses with 119 students and some 15 adult chaperons. We drove 27 hours each way, from Des Moines
- A good time was had by all…
to Orlando, with stops at every McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Steak and Shake, and Arby’s in the Miwest and Southeast. We were in and out of buses while the temperature ranged from 0 to 20 something (even in Georgia!). And, of course, some girls and guys insisted on wearing shorts and flip-flops in sub-30 temps. Once in Orlando, we started in each day at 6:00 for breakfast at the hotel, and usually ended at midnight or 1:00. This wasn’t a vacation, it was an endurance marathon, especially at the Disney parks ( 4 parks in 4 days), where it got so crowded at Disney World they shut off the entrance gates for a while during a Monday afternoon. And of course, real food places at Epcot and other locales were booked full all day, so one had to rely on the famous $9.00 Disney burgers, or every kind of fried, breaded chicken shape plus fries.
So, between the nutrient-deprived diet, lack of sleep, close confinement with many bodies inside a bus for hours at a time, wildly swinging temperatures, days full of logistics and deadlines, and some truly bad burritos at Epcot’s Mexico, there was ample opportunity to get sicker than a dog (and not Goofy). About 9 or so of our kids did come down with something, but were able to bounce back within a day.
As for me, I took a 7-day ration of supplements on the road with me, and also ate massive servings of pineapple, melon and orange juice every day for breakfast (and yes, a little bacon, biscuits and gravy and eggs). I’m sure I didn’t drink enough water. I was fine the whole trip, yet when I got home I came down with some sinus inflammation and mild cough a day later. But those seemed to be dissipating within 18 hours or so.
- …as was precious sack time when you could get it.
