by Shelley Bennett
Last weekend I drove a school van down to Cupertino for our drill team competition. Just as the traffic was getting thick, we passed Scandia on the left-hand side of the freeway. As the miniature golf course grew smaller in the rear-view mirror, I remembered a long-ago CSF trip during Spring Break.
I was a freshman and new to CSF (California Scholarship Federation), an academic club at Lassen High School. For months, I had dutifully sold boxes of candy bars (remember the caramel-filled ones?) to earn my way onto this trip led by my Algebra I teacher, Mrs. Rita Wilczynzki.
As I found during this week away from home, Mrs. Wilczynski should have been a travel agent and tour guide. She had choreographed every minute of the trip, from the stop for lunch in Old Sacramento to our hour of mini golf at Scandia, as we made our way to the Bay Area.
Not a moment was wasted! We had reservations to watch a movie, campus tours of Berkeley and Stanford, a BART ride, dinner in Chinatown, and a visit to Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 to complete.
Somehow, we even made it to Santa Cruz and the Boardwalk, where we rode the Big Dipper and ate funnel cakes.
Whenever I take students on a field trip, I always think about Mrs. Wilczynski’s rules when it came to being away from the group. If I remember correctly, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted as long as you had at least three people and a boy with you.
As a 15-year-old away from her parents for the first time, I thought that was a great rule!
After the Boardwalk, my friends (Micky Bridges, Julie Marinoni, Jennifer Martinez, and Stacy Lensing) found some guy friends (Stacy’s brother Brett and his friend Rob, I think) and decided to find the nearest Taco Bell.
It was dark, we were in Santa Cruz, and we walked for M I L E S. My cool shoes were giving me blisters, but it didn’t matter because we were laughing and talking and having a great time.
We finally made it to Taco Bell and ate whatever it was you ate at Taco Bell in 1985. It was such a novelty because at the time the only “fast” food we had in Susanville was the Arctic Circle across from the high school.
Then we had the bright idea to walk back to the hotel on the beach. So, we took our shoes off, rolled up our jeans and walked for miles the other way in the cold, wet sand in the dark. We made it just in time for bed check and told Mrs. Wilczynki good night as we walked up the stairs to our room.
On the last day of the trip, Mrs. Wilczynski told us we were going to visit a very old, very respected college known only as the “Italian University”. We were all confused, including co-advisor Mr. Ralph Ramsey.
Imagine our surprise when we pulled into the parking lot of the Budweiser Brewery. I don’t think Mr. Ramsey knew what to do. He looked quite befuddled as Mrs. Wilczynski led the way to the start of the tour.
For an hour or so, we learned how beer was brewed and bottled, while the upper classmen joked about “free samples.” We did get some pretzels and soda at the end. Mr. Ramsey chuckled all the way home.
The bottom line is that we survived and the friendships I made on that trip stayed with me for all of high school and beyond.
I was lucky enough to go on a few more CSF trips during my four years and I am still amazed at how well-organized Mrs. Wilczynski was! And thankful too, for teachers like her and Mr. Ramsey who would give up their Spring Break to take busloads of students all over the state.
Remember when news was ‘newsy’? When you read about weddings, family events and engagement announcements in the newspaper? If you have something that might be newsworthy, please submit it to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to include it here in “The Good Stuff.”
