Day 3 — Huntington Beach, CA to San Clemente, CA

Today was a great day to be a Wesley Bell Ringer! Two of our ringers got a sweet ride back to church in Huntington Beach with Pastor George.

After 2 long bus days, and sharing our music with two awesome churches, we were able to see the sights! We started the morning at Huntington Beach. The beach was amazing, although the water was a little chilly! That didn't stop the ringers though from experiencing the Pacific Ocean.

Some Pictures of Beach Day

After the beach, we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. The Aquarium houses over 11,000 animals and 500 species. Our ringers wished there had been more sharks!

             

After lunch and the Aquarium, we had a short ride to the church, St. Andrew's By the Sea in San Clemente, CA.  Our host at SABS was Emily Bredthauer, Pastor Lisa's sister. Emily was an outstanding host who greeted us, prepared a delicious dinner of taco salad, and arranged for air mattresses for all (with the help of the congregation) for our overnight stay.

Terry Waite's uncle, Bob Barlass, was a member of SABS and had a memorial for "whose efforts have helped make this hilltop beautiful. The church overlooked the Pacific Ocean and the buildings and grounds were amazing. 

Once arriving at the church, the ringers unloaded the bus, set up, practiced and ate a delicious dinner. Nothing like a little Bell Pride!

       

The concert was well attended by both congregation and community members. There were some handbell ringers in the audience. It was a wonderful concert in a beautiful church. 

     

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What a joyful way to end a concert!

In addition to Emily and her family, there were other members of our Pastor Lisa's family, including her sister Heather, and mom Nancy.

Katie's friend, Chandra and fellow 311 Super Fan,  came to see Katie, hear the concert and catch up.

After the concert it is fun to talk with the audience about bells, answer their additional questions, and let them try out the equipment.

                                                

Madi photobombing from the back row. 

There might have been some chaperone/director shenanigans amongst the chaperone work.

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Initially we asked if we could have a cowboy campout under the stars. Isn't the outside of the church beautiful and perfect for a camp out? Then Emily said we might have some four legged friends join us  - think in the cat family! We chose inside! 

After the concert, the ringers were treated to "Hercules" on the big screen in the basement of the church as well as ice cream and popcorn!

Tomorrow, we have a LONG bus ride to Prescott, AZ. We'll have bus fun and catch up on much needed sleep!

Day 2 — Mesquite, NV to Huntington Beach, CA

After an amazing night in Mesquite with our fabulous hosts, we boarded the bus for what is known as a "Drive Day". We had 355 miles to cover along with everyone and their mother returning from Las Vegas to California. We've got a bus driver and they have kept us on time and most importantly, SAFE! 

                

After a quick stop for lunch somewhere in the desert in California, we made our way to Community United Methodist Church in Huntington Beach, CA. Melissa Hartline (WBR Ringer #344) and Pastor Lisa's friend, Pastor George Hooper.  CUMC is a beautiful church! Our hosts prepared an amazing baked potato bar, fried chicken and sweet tea!

   

             

The concert was well attended and our audience members included, Melissa Hartline (Ringer #344)and her son, future ringer, Leo.  

                     

Director Katie Lay's family were also in the house - Bell mom and brother Geoff (Ringer # 341) and wife and bell mom Jen, grandparents Dottie and and Alan, cousin Adam, Aunt Katherine and other family members. 

The Chidester family came as well!

Terry Waite's cousin, Barry Waite and wife, Margie joined us too. 

Suzy's college roommate, Brette and his family also joined us at the concert.

Anna's friend, Katherine, was excited to see Anna in action.

Having familiar faces in the audience is an added bonus! 

We also met Marsha Grove, a member of the handbell choir at Community UMC. She shared that she has been playing bells since she was 25! A role model for of all of us for sure!

Thanks to the great tech team at CUMC-HB, we have a master recording of our concert! We've got a full day tomorrow as we will be at Huntington Beach in the morning and the Aquarium of the Pacific in the afternoon before heading to our 3rd concert at St. Andrew's-By-The-Sea in San Clemente, CA. 

Day 1 — SLC, UT to Mesquite, NV

 The Wesley Bell Ringers 

58th Summer Tour

Salt Lake City to Mesquite

AND WE’RE OFF! Tour 2024 started with loading the bus at CUMC at 9am in the morning. 

We had a wonderful parent (and doggie!) send off and we were on the road by 10:30 to head to our first concert in Mesquite NV. Flat Ed once again is joining us in the front row, and he is staying warm with our tour chaperone gift of the year. 

We stopped for lunch in Fillmore where we filled up on Costa Vida, Port of Subs, and Maverick gas station snacks to keep us full on the road. 

Even though this was our first drive day, we were already able to get some quality bus naps in. 

The scenery quickly turned to desert as we made our way into Nevada

                                           

We arrived at First Baptist Church in Mesquite and were thrilled to see our names and faces on an electronic billboard outside the church! What a fantastic welcome for our first night

                                 

We set up and practiced before a fantastic spaghetti dinner with a wonderful dessert table. 

                                         

We were thrilled to see such a lovely big audience for our first concert on the road. The ringers played so well!

We were especially excited to play for so many former CUMC church members that were both former apPRAISEation members and past TWBR bell parents! We had Tom and Kathy Jo Bullard (parents of WBR Alumni Eric and Nicole), Malcolm Horne (grandparents of Eric and Nicole), Dave and Sherry Hartline (former apPRAISEation member and Melissa Hartline Lyons parents).  We also had Alison Pruett, former apPRAISEation member, the father of Nikki Boyd, WBR alumni, and Barbara Holdcroft, mother of former WBR alumni Carey Pierce in attendance. It's always a blast to perform for members of our bell family!

On top of having a fantastic audience, we also had amazing host homes. We are so thankful for members of First Baptist Church and Mesquite United Methodist Church for their gracious hospitality! Mesquite set the bar high!

Summer Tour 2024

(click images to enlarge)