Survived
Sebastian and I survived the Cub Scout Chuckwagon event on Saturday.
We got up at around 5:30 AM, and hit the road at around 6:30. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the Feinstein camp where the event was being held. The directions were clear, but we were taking several twisty small roads in a relatively rural part of RI. We didn't have any problem until the very last turn; the sign for that road was blank!
Fortunately the back of the sign still had the road name on it, so once we passed it I pulled a u-turn. So did the car ahead of us. :D
We'd been told that there wasn't much parking, but we were relatively early and got parking next to a castle. Yes, a castle. The camp was pretty cool: in addition to a castle, there was a lighthouse, pirate ships, a wild west town, an amphitheatre...Sebastian's interested in maybe going to that camp some summer.
I won't drag it out. We spent the day with the four kids, amidst hundreds (perhaps a thousand) other cub scouts, all pulling wagons and going around doing different activities. Most of the wagons looked as if they'd been professionally constructed; in fact, it's so common for parents to make the wagons that there's actually an award for the wagon that looks most likely to have been made by Cub Scouts!
The kids loved the events. There were memory games, obstacle courses, rope-tying events, water-gun events, and Sebastian even shot a BB gun. He hit the target at least twice out of three tries! Although he insists that he hit it all three times, and the third BB simply went through one of the two holes that was already there. :D
One thing that was quite cool was that there were two pirate ships side-by-side. These were actually buildings, with bunk-beds inside - but the tops were tricked out as full-sized top decks of pirate ships, separated by about thirty feet of open space. The kids got to throw wet sponges at each other from ship to ship, and it was total kid heaven. Sebastian took part in several boarding parties, running across to the other ship to throw sponges at the kids from behind. Meanwhile, parents (and a few kids) stood on the ground between the two ships, throwing back the many sponges that fell to the ground. I have pictures and video; I'll insert one here later.
We had lunch in a large mess hall. Teri had packed lunches for both of us, sandwiches, and they were really good.
Physically, the day was incredibly gruelling. We spent practically the whole time walking or standing in the hot sun, with bugs swarming all over us. I coated us both with sunscreen and bug spray.
There was a sprinkling of rain toward the end, but not enough to dampen things. Sebastian's pack won 18 ribbons, including six or eight first-place ones.
I got better directions on how to get home, and Sebastian and I walked to the car. We were parked farther away from the closing event than most people, so by the time we got to the car traffic had thinned considerably. We headed home, stopping on the way for an ice cream cone at a nice roadside stand called Abby's. As we got closer to home, I was surprised to pass a place we'd been told about the week before: Mister Doughboy, which has go-karts and miniature golf (as well as doughboys, of course). We'll have to go there soon.
The new route was extremely scenic, but quicker; we got home in about half an hour. It was around 6 PM when we pulled into the driveway, I think.
I promptly collapsed on the couch. I was so wiped out that I couldn't even talk coherently; all I could do was mumble like someone under serious sedation. I don't think I've ever been that wiped out in my life! I lay there for about two hours. Later I woke up, took a shower to get all that bug spray and sunscreen off me (Sebastian had showered while I was asleep), and helped get Sebastian to bed.
I was really hoping to sleep late the next day; it was a cool, cloudy but not-too-humid late-spring morning, and with the window and ceiling fans going, the sheets felt unbelievably good against my skin. But Teri had to go to work, and Sebastian needed to be looked after, so I got myself up and on my feet. All in all, Sunday was relatively quiet and peaceful. Not a bad way to end the weekend.
We got up at around 5:30 AM, and hit the road at around 6:30. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the Feinstein camp where the event was being held. The directions were clear, but we were taking several twisty small roads in a relatively rural part of RI. We didn't have any problem until the very last turn; the sign for that road was blank!
Fortunately the back of the sign still had the road name on it, so once we passed it I pulled a u-turn. So did the car ahead of us. :D
We'd been told that there wasn't much parking, but we were relatively early and got parking next to a castle. Yes, a castle. The camp was pretty cool: in addition to a castle, there was a lighthouse, pirate ships, a wild west town, an amphitheatre...Sebastian's interested in maybe going to that camp some summer.
I won't drag it out. We spent the day with the four kids, amidst hundreds (perhaps a thousand) other cub scouts, all pulling wagons and going around doing different activities. Most of the wagons looked as if they'd been professionally constructed; in fact, it's so common for parents to make the wagons that there's actually an award for the wagon that looks most likely to have been made by Cub Scouts!
The kids loved the events. There were memory games, obstacle courses, rope-tying events, water-gun events, and Sebastian even shot a BB gun. He hit the target at least twice out of three tries! Although he insists that he hit it all three times, and the third BB simply went through one of the two holes that was already there. :D
One thing that was quite cool was that there were two pirate ships side-by-side. These were actually buildings, with bunk-beds inside - but the tops were tricked out as full-sized top decks of pirate ships, separated by about thirty feet of open space. The kids got to throw wet sponges at each other from ship to ship, and it was total kid heaven. Sebastian took part in several boarding parties, running across to the other ship to throw sponges at the kids from behind. Meanwhile, parents (and a few kids) stood on the ground between the two ships, throwing back the many sponges that fell to the ground. I have pictures and video; I'll insert one here later.
We had lunch in a large mess hall. Teri had packed lunches for both of us, sandwiches, and they were really good.
Physically, the day was incredibly gruelling. We spent practically the whole time walking or standing in the hot sun, with bugs swarming all over us. I coated us both with sunscreen and bug spray.
There was a sprinkling of rain toward the end, but not enough to dampen things. Sebastian's pack won 18 ribbons, including six or eight first-place ones.
I got better directions on how to get home, and Sebastian and I walked to the car. We were parked farther away from the closing event than most people, so by the time we got to the car traffic had thinned considerably. We headed home, stopping on the way for an ice cream cone at a nice roadside stand called Abby's. As we got closer to home, I was surprised to pass a place we'd been told about the week before: Mister Doughboy, which has go-karts and miniature golf (as well as doughboys, of course). We'll have to go there soon.
The new route was extremely scenic, but quicker; we got home in about half an hour. It was around 6 PM when we pulled into the driveway, I think.
I promptly collapsed on the couch. I was so wiped out that I couldn't even talk coherently; all I could do was mumble like someone under serious sedation. I don't think I've ever been that wiped out in my life! I lay there for about two hours. Later I woke up, took a shower to get all that bug spray and sunscreen off me (Sebastian had showered while I was asleep), and helped get Sebastian to bed.
I was really hoping to sleep late the next day; it was a cool, cloudy but not-too-humid late-spring morning, and with the window and ceiling fans going, the sheets felt unbelievably good against my skin. But Teri had to go to work, and Sebastian needed to be looked after, so I got myself up and on my feet. All in all, Sunday was relatively quiet and peaceful. Not a bad way to end the weekend.