I totally did it. I led nine freshmen around Seattle for two and a half days, and they all had fun. Some had more fun than others, but the feedback and evals all rate the trip as a great experience.
I am so relieved that people enjoyed themself. My trip was quite different than all the other ones; instead of taking kids into an outdoor environment where we had to bond, dammit, because there was nothing else to do, I took freshmen to a big city where we became ultra-tourists.
In our time in Seattle, we managed to do tons of stuff. We visited Pike Place several times, hit the waterfront, saw the aquarium, went on a cruise, went to Ivars (well, the freshmen and my co-leader while I took care of details), took in a Mariner's game, visited Westlake Center, ascended the Space Needle, rocked out at EMP, learned about free ride zones on the bus, walked freakin' everywhere, and lived in a hostel. We even almost got freshmen pierced, but the place in Pioneer Square was a little expensive (yet, it seemed like they had great quality, and it's worth it to pay a little extra for a better quality piercing. hmmm.)
On our last night in Seattle, we had a particularly fabulous time. After EMP, we were all worn out and hungry, so we ditched the sailing trip we had planned (our staff participent went instead, and he had a blast, but I think it would have been too much for my kids). We hit the Center House for dinner then went back to the hostel. Just getting back to the hostel, we ran into a lot of great city experiences.
First, there was the guy with the dog. My participents had a photo scavenger hunt to do, and "dog with owner" was one of the pictures; however, everyone was too shy to ask an owner for a picture, so I asked for them (y'know, to show them Seattle is a cool city and Seattlites are really nice). The guy and his dog were wonderful and got into the spirit of group picture taking.
Then, as we waited for the bus, a homeless guy walked up to us and asked for food money. As is my usual, I said "oh, no, I'm afraid I don't have any change, but I do have some food." I urged my freshmen to find any of their leftover food, too, so the guy could eat. He then admitted that he didn't want food, just the money, and he wandered off after we gave him a cigarette. Odd character, but it was still a great situation to teach kids about dealing with panhandlers.
Finally, the bus arrived, and my co leader and I began to board. Wait, no, there's no free ride zone anymore! We don't have enough money for bus fare. Still, the nice lady had us hop on board anyway. What an absolute gem. I love Seattle bus drivers.
Even more happened on our great trip, but I'll save that for later. Suffice to say that I am amazingly delighted with how wonderful everything went. Oh, and my freshmen call me "mom" ^^