Mrs. Covalt's EF Tours

31/03/2023

Starting SHORTLY!!
If you wanted to join the online meeting for the student tour of the British Isles last night but couldn't, I'm giving a repeat presentation tonight at 6:00 for those requesting it! 🇮🇹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Let me know, and I will send you a Google Meet link!!!
Do NOT miss out on this AMAZING opportunity!! The price of the trip goes up TOMORROW!!

29/03/2023

THERE IS STILL TIME!!!
Get more information without leaving your house!!

Hey, everyone!!!

I am leading another student tour to Scotland, Ireland, and England, which will also include one day in Paris!! Your student is invited to join us on this educational travel experience to Europe in Summer 2024.

I would love to have your student join me on this adventure. These tours are SAFE and SO MUCH FUN!

Hear all the details, including the itinerary, activities, academic opportunities, the cost of the trip, and EF’s risk-free enrollment period at our informational meeting on March 30th at 6pm. The meeting will take place 6pm on Zoom!

https://efedu.zoom.us/j/89994354143

The above link will be used to join me in the online meeting Thursday night.

There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

Your child will need to be enrolled in high school by the fall of 2024 and must have a clean discipline record. Older siblings and friends as well as parents and grandparents are able to join us also!

I hope to see you live on Thursday!

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05/09/2022

I have some FANTASTIC NEWS!! 😃👏👏🎉
In July of 2024, I am leading ANOTHER EF Tour!!🎊
This time, we are going back to Ireland and Scotland, but we will spend two days in LONDON, and a full day in PARIS, as well!! 😮

We will visit the following Ireland cities: Dublin, Belfast, and Derry! (We didn't see Derry on our trip this summer!) In Scotland, we will make stops at Caimryan (where we will arrive via FERRY from Belfast!! SOOO COOL!), Alloway, and Edinburgh! In London, our tour will take us to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey, and more! At the last of the tour, we will travel by train from London to Paris! In Paris, we will experience the Louvre, and visit the Eiffel Tower, among other sites!!

I can NOT wait!!!!! 😃😃😃

This trip is open to ANY student who meets the following criteria:
Must be enrolled in high school by July of 2024
Must be in good disciplinary standing at school
Must have passing grades

Parents and students are invited to attend the informational meeting in my room, #215, on Woodward Middle School's South Campus, Thursday, Sept. 15th, at 6:00 PM. 🗓⏰

I will have all the information available at that time. FYI - Parents, grandparents, and college-aged students are welcome to join the trip as well!

SOOOOO EXCITED!!! Hope to see YOU there!!! 👀

26/07/2022

We are all back on American soil! Some of us are just now on our way home from the Oklahoma City airport, and we should be home by about 2 o’clock this morning. The rest of us are resting at a hotel in Dallas and will catch a flight out of Dallas to OKC first thing in the morning.
Thankful for God‘s grace on our journey today, as all our flights from London back to Oklahoma were canceled, rescheduled, and canceled again this morning. It took some doing, but we managed to get everyone on flights and get back to the USA. Thank you for all your prayers of safety on our journey.
This was my first tour to lead, and I’m not sure how it would have worked without all the adults on the trip to lend a helping hand. I’m thankful for each of them.
Flights were being cancelled all over the place. It’s a crazy time to be flying! Grateful we are all okay and everyone seemed to handle it well.
Proud of our little group!! ♥️

25/07/2022

It’s been a challenge keeping up with photos, posting them as well as comments, and experiencing the rush, rush, rush of the tour. I’ll post more pictures after the return home, and I will add some of the information that we have learned about the countries we have visited.
It’s been such a gift to be part of this tour. I am so grateful. Currently, we are sitting in Edinburgh airport awaiting our flight to London. Our flight from London to Chicago was canceled, rescheduled, and canceled again. When we arrive at Heathrow airport, we will sort out all the flight details.
In the meantime, we are tired, but our spirits are filled with the memories of the beautiful scenery and rich heritage of these countries we have been so blessed to visit!

24/07/2022

Today is our last day in Scotland. I’m so very sad to leave. This trip has been an absolute DREAM. I’m already ready to come back.
Here is a thistle, the National Flower of Scotland, to mark our last day. 😢🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

23/07/2022

Today we took a small boat ride from Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle. Nessie did NOT come out to play, and I’m truly disappointed!
But what a BEAUTIFUL cruise!!!

22/07/2022

Temperature at 6:43am today, and our forecast for the rest of the trip.
Absolute HEAVEN.

21/07/2022

Today was AMAZING!!!!!!!
Walking tour of Edinburgh, a visit to Edinburgh castle, food and shopping along the Royalmile, dinner and a ghost tour! We are all absolutely exhausted but having an incredible time!

20/07/2022

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!
What a BEAUTIFUL day!!
We left our hotel at 5:00am and jumped aboard a ferry for Scotland!! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!
When we arrived in Scotland, we took a scenic drive of Scottish countryside, then we stopped in Alloway to see the Robert Burns Memorial and gardens. Next we continued our scenic tour and stopped at for a bit by the North Sea, and next it was Toby Carvery for some yummy dinner!
We are now checked into our hotel for the next three days!!
Tomorrow is a guided sightseeing tour of Edinburgh, including Edinburgh Castle. After dinner, we will enjoy an exciting ghost tour of the city!
There has been a highlight every day of this tour! For today, I think mine was the ferry ride, and the beautiful Stops for photos along the way as well as observing the gorgeous Scottish countryside.
I could live here.There happened to be a Scottish wedding we walked by, so I snapped a photo outside the venue!!

19/07/2022

I’ll post more later about our fabulous day in Belfast today, but just look at the view from our hotel this evening! It’s amazing! And tomorrow, it’s off to Edinburgh!

18/07/2022

A few items of note.
1. Our tour guide, Bella, is beautiful, smart, funny, and extremely responsible. And she TWENTY-FIVE YEARS-OLD!!! She is doing a ”fab” job, snd she’s just perfectly “lovely.” (She uses these words a lot.

2. In Ireland, if you are doing okay, you say “I’m grams, thanks!”

3. Our bus driver is a HOOT! That man can manage a bus like a BOSS. Here they call city transportation (double deckers) buses, and those driving tours around are called coachedms.

4. It’s 10;20PM here, and just now beginning to get dark out.

5. Declan, our bus driver says that in Ireland the sun rises in the east, moves to the south, and then to the west. He says that’s one of the reasons Northern Ireland is called the “darkness.”

6. If you ask for cream in your coffee they look at you funny. You have to ask for milk.

7. It’s not customary to tip a waiter/waitress unless they do a “fab” job! And then you only tip them about 5 percent.

8, SOO many American businesses are here!

9. Tomorrow we get on a ferry and head for Belfast! Sooo excited about the ferry ride!!!

I’m falling asleep! I’ll try to post more stuff tomorrow!!!!! Sendyob an Irish blessing!!! ☘️

18/07/2022

The HIGHLIGHT of the trip so far???
The Irish House Party!!! HANDS DOWN! We listened to beautiful Celtic music, watched some amazing dancers, and learned a few Irish dance moves. Well, I said we “learned” them…. We at least sure did give it our all!!!

SO fun!! The kids had a BLAST!
For more videos, look in the comments.

If you bought a chance for our raffle, this is one of the added excursions we were able to because of YOUR generosity!! Thank you for providing our students with this opportunity!!

18/07/2022

Mushroom pie and apple pie for dinner!
Both were good, but the pie was soo yummy!!!

18/07/2022

Dinner !!!

18/07/2022

Fish and chips for the win!!

18/07/2022

Now touring EPIC! The Irish Emmigration Museum! So cool! Literally and figuratively, thank goodness!!

18/07/2022

The Pope’s Cross, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and now enjoying lunch!

18/07/2022

Enjoying our Irish breakfast in our hotel this morning! We had three different types of Irish sausage, bacon that was more like Canadian bacon, potato cakes, three different kinds of eggs, a variety of toasted breads, yogurt, fruit, tomatoes, mushrooms, and yogurt. Everything we tried was yummy! They also had a few American cereals to choose from.
Great way to start the day!! 

18/07/2022

Turns out, the Irish aren’t real generous with their ice. If you want a pop or a water, they don’t serve it to you in a cup with ice unless you ask for a glass of ice. Otherwise, everything is bottled, or it comes to you in a pitcher served at your table. With no ice.

Ireland is considered a European country. That means any other citizens of European countries can come to Ireland and work without a visa. As a result, anywhere you go, particularly in the larger cities such as Dublin, you hear accents of all kinds. I lost count of the number of different accents I heard yesterday as we walked the streets. Many Ukrainian refugees have come to Ireland. This is a very welcoming country. Because they have received help from so many other countries in the past, the Irish are quick to step up and help other European citizens who find themselves in times of hardship. Many of the businesses and cultural event centers here fly the flag of Ireland as well as the Ukrainian flag.

Today we will tour St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we will go to the EPIC museum, And we will also enjoy a guided tour of the city. After dinner this evening, we will attend an Irish house party! We will learn some Irish songs, and we will learn a dance. We are fired up! Still “knackered,” but fired up!

17/07/2022

Getting some MUCH needed rest at the hotel this evening.
Our first day began a little bit late, and we were all “knackered,” as our tour guide, Bella, says. However, we did a bit of exploring downtown. We walked Grafton Street, Trinity Street, and all around the area. We knew McDonald’s would be here, but have have seen many other American stores here: including Claire’s, Clark’s, Starbucks, and Bella said they have Aldi here, also. In fact, the biggest industry here is all the American companies coming over and setting up shop!
At Trinity College we saw the Book of Kells and visited The Long Room. After visiting the gift shop, we took a selfie and got back on the bus.
In the Grafton Street area, we stopped for a pastry, water, and to cool off, before starting to walk around some more. We went into several shops, and we saw lots of other tour groups similar to us.
For dinner we ate at Milano’s Pizzeria.
It’s 9:28pm here, and I am ready for bed. Busy day tomorrow!
Till then, good night, Danny Boy, and all our friends and loved ones!

17/07/2022

OF COURSE there is a massively unusual heatwave in Ireland right now…The Irish May believe in luck, but they do NOT believe in air conditioning. The homes and businesses all have their windows open because of the heat. It’s extremely unusual here.
But you know what???
It’s okay, because I AM IN IRELAND!!! 👏👏

17/07/2022

Ireland’s version of Where’s Waldo? ☘️

17/07/2022

It’s school supply time in Ireland, too!

17/07/2022

Strawberry tart at Kilkenny Restaurant, Dublin!
Soooo yummy!!

17/07/2022

WE. ARE. HEEEERRRRE!!!!
This is driving over the Liffe River. I took pictures of random shops and buildings. SOOO many have BEAUTIFUL flower baskets, pots, etc on and/or in front of them. 🌸🌺🌼

17/07/2022

Headed to find our pot of gold! Look out, Ireland! ☘️👀
Wheels up in 20! ✈️

16/07/2022

At the gate!!!!!!!

16/07/2022

Debra Bixler is our raffle winner!! Congrats, Debra!!! 👏👏👏🎉🎉🎉

16/07/2022

15/07/2022

Follow this page for pics of our trip!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH to all who helped make this possible!! ♥️♥️
Dublin, Belfast, and Edinburgh, HERE WE COME!!! ✈️🚍⛴

15/07/2022

Hey, Ireland and Scotland! We are ONE. DAY. AWAY!!!! ☘️🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👏👏👏🎉🎉🎉😃😃

15/07/2022

If you bought raffle chances for the gift card bundle, the drawing will be tomorrow night! I’m sorry for the delay! It’s been a BUSY week!!
We are so thankful for all of your support. Thank you so much!! We will share our trip with you on Facebook! ♥️♥️