Day 2: First Full Day of Tour!

June 16, 2019

Today was a busy day full of music and outdoor adventures in Washington! After a good night's sleep, the Concert Choir singers and chaperones boarded our bus and were driven by Paul (our wonderful bus driver) to Lynnwood. We arrived at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynwood to warm up and prepare to perform.

Concert Choir sang several pieces from their repertoire interspersed throughout the 10:30AM church service, and they received a considerable volume of praise and encouragement from the congregation. One woman commented that Concert Choir's performance of "Carol of the Bells" in Ukrainian was especially "impressive," and the entire congregation gave the singers a standing ovation for their performance of "No Time." The service was a wonderful musical experience, and we even received a surprise visit from PEBCC alumni siblings Jillian and Stephan Kemper!

After the service in Lynwood, we boarded our bus again to eat lunch and drive to Snoqualmie Falls. We spent the afternoon in Snoqualmie, and we were lucky enough to be guided by a wonderful Columbia Choir host parent, "Geology Jules!" She is hosting Kailamae, Margot, Lizzie, and Hanna, and decided to take the day off to help us get the most out of our experience in the great outdoors of Washington. We hiked to the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls (which is the tallest waterfall on the west coast!) and had a great time learning more about the history of the park that we were exploring. Thanks to Jules for being so gracious with her time and expertise!

After a few hours exploring the outdoors, we boarded our bus back to Redmond, where the singers were picked up by their host families for another dinner. All the singers were hosted by families for dinner both tonight and last night, which was wonderful because all the singers could have two dinners to bond with the Columbia Choir hosts!

The singers are resting up tonight for a busy day tomorrow in Seattle, and we look forward to more exploration and musical fun!