things learned on a road trip with high schoolers

We took off last Saturday for our yearly Destination Unknown, a retreat for our high schoolers to kick off the new school year. Like always, we tried to keep the destination a secret. I think we succeeded this year. In years past, we failed miserably. Oh sure, we had great trips, full of planned and unexpected goodies. But I think we pulled it off this year. We rolled out of State College, headed for Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey). Sunday morning we drove a little further east to Ocean Grove, NJ, and had church on the beach.

Here are a few things I learned over the weekend:

• New Jersey--at least Ocean Grove--has nice beaches.
• Kingda Ka is a stupid name for a 10 second ride, preceded by a 90 minute wait.
• Kingda Ka is, however, the tallest and fastest thrill ride in the world, at least for a while.
• Lots of people wear too little clothing for public viewing.
• I don't mind going to the beach, but I don't like sand.
  
• 60 people trying to use 1 bathroom is a bad idea.
• 60 people trying to use another 1 bathroom 40 miles is a worse idea.
• It's difficult to do anything quickly (eat, potty break, whatever) with that many people.
• Allowing a student to drink a gallon of water on a road trip is another bad idea.
• A good navigator is worth the price of an amusement park, at least.
• We've got great leaders speaking into the lives of students.
  
• Somehow, a 5 hour trip can morph into a marathon 8 hour drive.

All in all, we had a great trip. Memories were made, friendships formed, and our new year is off to a good start.