(no subject)
The campout was absolutely amazing. Best one yet. I'm going to try to chronicles the goings on during these last four days, so this is probably going to be a long entry. Anywho...
Friday morning I got up around 10-11, got dressed, made sure I had all my stuff, and we were out the door around 1:30. Mother really didn't want to have to drive me up, so she was kind of grumpy about that. We used MapQuest for directions, but it was screwed up so we ended up just using a map. I arrived at campsite C around 2:30 or so. Unpacked all my stuff, said goodbye to Mother, and that was that. For the first few hours basically we sat around waiting for people to arrive, or set up various tents. Eventually we had orientation, everyone got assigned to a touch group, and then the groups met. My group was awesome, we should've done more things. We cooked dinner, I manned the burgers, and made the best damn burgers EVAR. Having to squish the raw meat into patties by hand was awesome. Finger-lickin' good.
After dinner I don't know what we did, Brandon arrived at some point, to much jubilation. There's was a good chunk of time where everyone just sat around the campfire talking and the like, or making s'mores/marshmallows. There was probably 20-25 of us all around the fire, but it didn't seem that large then, for some reason. We all walked down to the beach at 9:30, and had fun there for a good hour or so. When we got back there was more sitting around the fire. Eventually people started packing it in for the night, and some time after that I went into Chris' tent. In the tent was Bryce, Catherine, Chris, Brandon, and I. We kept Bryce awake with laughing and talking, so he never got to sleep, and neither did I.
Around 4 or 5 I decided I wasn't going to sleep at all so I went out to the fire, and ate brownies with Bryce, Shivahn, and Josh. Eventually it was just Bryce and I sitting there, listening to the birds singing. It was really nice. Then the stillness was broken when we got the idea to slap Chris in the face with a warm hotdog covered with mayo. Well, the deed was done, and we laughed very hard. Josh was still up so we went and got his camera to get some shots, but Chris had rolled over. And so it was Saturday.
That morning I kicked around a soccer ball with Josh for a while, and really wore myself out (nearly popped a lung :P), then had breakfast. For breakfast that morning Bryce cooked his famous Mountain Man, and this time we actually had bacon in it! So it actually tasted good this time. After breakfast everyone walked down to the beach again, this time during the day, and went swimming. The water was cold, but eventually I got in all the way. I got out after not that long though, as I don't like swimming all that much. One of the campsites next to us was full of a group of kids from a karate camp or something, so on the beach they were having a sparring tournament. To make a long story short, these kids sucked. Most were about 8, and all they did was flail their arms at each other. It really wasn't much to watch. If I had taught those kids, I'd have been embarrassed. But whatever.
That night we had Sue Stew for dinner, which was really good. I was impressed by how awesome the food was that weekend. Maybe it's just the fact that you're camping that makes food taste so good. Even the PB&J that everyone survived on that weekend tasted good. I can't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday that we did the nominations/elections for the new board, but at some point we did that. I got nominated for Secretary, but didn't win. I'll still be running the site, even if no one goes to it. Hopefully people will send me all the pictures they took during the campout, though, and I can put them up on the site. Then it'll be SOME usage, anyways.
It really didn't hit me that I didn't sleep that night until sometime after everyone went swimming, and I dozed off in my chair by the fire. It felt good to get some shut-eye. About five people made bopper swords, and faught with them, but I didn't feel like it. I think that'll be eliminated from the plans next year, as it costs so much and no one wanted to do it. At some point I woke up and it was raining, so I moved the chair under the canopy tarp and dozed off again. The rest of the day is really a blur, I was in and out of consciousness a lot. The worship that night was alright, we did a drumming circle. Unfortunately the lady with the drums never showed up, so we only had two. But Alex and Melissa set down a beat and Sue did a mediation thing with all of us. It was nice, but I never get anything out of those kinds of things. But it was nice anyways. After that a bunch of people went out in the field, layed down, and watched the night sky. I went for a soda run with some people. Not much else to say, I actually got some sleep that night, going to sleep surprisingly early (around 1 or 2), so that finishes up Saturday.
Sunday was that last full day at Campsite C. We had french toast for breakfast that morning, it tasted pretty good. People went down to the beach once again, but I didn't go into the water this time. Instead I lounged on the beach with my hat over my face. The sun felt very warm. Some of us walked to the store by the beach and bought soda/chips. No karate kids on the beach this time. When we got back we sat around the fire some more, Josh did a workshop of picking locks which was really cool. I wish I had gotten to mess around with it more.
For dinner we had this really, really good chili. Again, even though it was even any special recipe, it tasted so good. I sat around with Ed, Kristof, and Chris telling jokes. I really like the incoming freshman, they all seem like cool kids. I played a game of rummy at some point, didn't win. That night for worship we had the bridging ceremony for the graduating seniors down by the beach. It was a really nice ceremony, not too cheesy or anything. When the ceremony part was done a bunch of people grabbed the seniors and threw them into the water. :D An excellent way to end it, it was really funny. Best of luck to the four gals who graduated (Sarah, Robin, Heather, and Elizabeth), you all rock.
When that was over everyone walked back with tiki torches in hand, Chris did an excellent job leading the way. Haha. Sometime later I played a game in the tent with Catherine and Carolina, which eventually grew to Alex and Alise (sp?), and then more people joined like Josh, Chris, and Langer. We played played ten fingers, and more people joined the tent so we played it again. That tent became the party tent for a while, it was a good time. I felt I was in back in the youth group as it was freshman year, it was just so much fun.
There were some really interesting debates around the campfire that night about deep subjects, that went on for a while until people started going to sleep. Some of us had pledged to stay up all night, but in the end we realized it was rather pointless because the ranger kept telling us to be quiet, so we couldn't do anything crazy. Steve, Catherine, Ed, Ian, and I sat around the fire for a while talking, then Catherine and Steve went into their tent, and it was just us three. They're both really cool kids. We finally called it a night around 4 or 5-ish, and I fell asleep very quickly in my tent.
Monday morning I woke up around 10, and had some Fruit Loops for breakfast. I spent the rest of my time at Campsite C cleaning up the site, taking down tents, getting my stuff together. I had to tie my suitcase shut with rope because the zipper broke, heh. My dad arrived, with my grandmother in the passenger seat. I'm not sure why she came up, but it was nice to see her. They got to see the place I'd gone camping at for the last three years. I said goodbye to everyone, and got in the car. I really didn't want to leave.
The campout has put me in such a good mood. When I got home, I promptly went to sleep, and got up again at 4:45 or so for work. I hardly noticed the three hours go by, and then I was home again. But I wish I was still camping. Anyone who's never been to a meeting or gone camping before with the group just doesn't know what they're missing. The campout was easily better than any Con I've been to, but I still hope to go to a bunch of those this year. I think I got to know a bunch of people better, and felt really comfortable that entire time in a way I haven't in the past. That's what really made the difference. Wow. Strangely enough I haven't gotten the withdrawal yet, as I usually do when I get back from a Con or the like. Maybe I just haven't realized I'm really home yet. I dunno.
I'm excited to go to the first meeting of the year. We have a really good exec. board this year, so things should go smoothly. We have a huge group of kids, and they're all really cool. Senior year should be a good year, if this campout is any indication.
Friday morning I got up around 10-11, got dressed, made sure I had all my stuff, and we were out the door around 1:30. Mother really didn't want to have to drive me up, so she was kind of grumpy about that. We used MapQuest for directions, but it was screwed up so we ended up just using a map. I arrived at campsite C around 2:30 or so. Unpacked all my stuff, said goodbye to Mother, and that was that. For the first few hours basically we sat around waiting for people to arrive, or set up various tents. Eventually we had orientation, everyone got assigned to a touch group, and then the groups met. My group was awesome, we should've done more things. We cooked dinner, I manned the burgers, and made the best damn burgers EVAR. Having to squish the raw meat into patties by hand was awesome. Finger-lickin' good.
After dinner I don't know what we did, Brandon arrived at some point, to much jubilation. There's was a good chunk of time where everyone just sat around the campfire talking and the like, or making s'mores/marshmallows. There was probably 20-25 of us all around the fire, but it didn't seem that large then, for some reason. We all walked down to the beach at 9:30, and had fun there for a good hour or so. When we got back there was more sitting around the fire. Eventually people started packing it in for the night, and some time after that I went into Chris' tent. In the tent was Bryce, Catherine, Chris, Brandon, and I. We kept Bryce awake with laughing and talking, so he never got to sleep, and neither did I.
Around 4 or 5 I decided I wasn't going to sleep at all so I went out to the fire, and ate brownies with Bryce, Shivahn, and Josh. Eventually it was just Bryce and I sitting there, listening to the birds singing. It was really nice. Then the stillness was broken when we got the idea to slap Chris in the face with a warm hotdog covered with mayo. Well, the deed was done, and we laughed very hard. Josh was still up so we went and got his camera to get some shots, but Chris had rolled over. And so it was Saturday.
That morning I kicked around a soccer ball with Josh for a while, and really wore myself out (nearly popped a lung :P), then had breakfast. For breakfast that morning Bryce cooked his famous Mountain Man, and this time we actually had bacon in it! So it actually tasted good this time. After breakfast everyone walked down to the beach again, this time during the day, and went swimming. The water was cold, but eventually I got in all the way. I got out after not that long though, as I don't like swimming all that much. One of the campsites next to us was full of a group of kids from a karate camp or something, so on the beach they were having a sparring tournament. To make a long story short, these kids sucked. Most were about 8, and all they did was flail their arms at each other. It really wasn't much to watch. If I had taught those kids, I'd have been embarrassed. But whatever.
That night we had Sue Stew for dinner, which was really good. I was impressed by how awesome the food was that weekend. Maybe it's just the fact that you're camping that makes food taste so good. Even the PB&J that everyone survived on that weekend tasted good. I can't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday that we did the nominations/elections for the new board, but at some point we did that. I got nominated for Secretary, but didn't win. I'll still be running the site, even if no one goes to it. Hopefully people will send me all the pictures they took during the campout, though, and I can put them up on the site. Then it'll be SOME usage, anyways.
It really didn't hit me that I didn't sleep that night until sometime after everyone went swimming, and I dozed off in my chair by the fire. It felt good to get some shut-eye. About five people made bopper swords, and faught with them, but I didn't feel like it. I think that'll be eliminated from the plans next year, as it costs so much and no one wanted to do it. At some point I woke up and it was raining, so I moved the chair under the canopy tarp and dozed off again. The rest of the day is really a blur, I was in and out of consciousness a lot. The worship that night was alright, we did a drumming circle. Unfortunately the lady with the drums never showed up, so we only had two. But Alex and Melissa set down a beat and Sue did a mediation thing with all of us. It was nice, but I never get anything out of those kinds of things. But it was nice anyways. After that a bunch of people went out in the field, layed down, and watched the night sky. I went for a soda run with some people. Not much else to say, I actually got some sleep that night, going to sleep surprisingly early (around 1 or 2), so that finishes up Saturday.
Sunday was that last full day at Campsite C. We had french toast for breakfast that morning, it tasted pretty good. People went down to the beach once again, but I didn't go into the water this time. Instead I lounged on the beach with my hat over my face. The sun felt very warm. Some of us walked to the store by the beach and bought soda/chips. No karate kids on the beach this time. When we got back we sat around the fire some more, Josh did a workshop of picking locks which was really cool. I wish I had gotten to mess around with it more.
For dinner we had this really, really good chili. Again, even though it was even any special recipe, it tasted so good. I sat around with Ed, Kristof, and Chris telling jokes. I really like the incoming freshman, they all seem like cool kids. I played a game of rummy at some point, didn't win. That night for worship we had the bridging ceremony for the graduating seniors down by the beach. It was a really nice ceremony, not too cheesy or anything. When the ceremony part was done a bunch of people grabbed the seniors and threw them into the water. :D An excellent way to end it, it was really funny. Best of luck to the four gals who graduated (Sarah, Robin, Heather, and Elizabeth), you all rock.
When that was over everyone walked back with tiki torches in hand, Chris did an excellent job leading the way. Haha. Sometime later I played a game in the tent with Catherine and Carolina, which eventually grew to Alex and Alise (sp?), and then more people joined like Josh, Chris, and Langer. We played played ten fingers, and more people joined the tent so we played it again. That tent became the party tent for a while, it was a good time. I felt I was in back in the youth group as it was freshman year, it was just so much fun.
There were some really interesting debates around the campfire that night about deep subjects, that went on for a while until people started going to sleep. Some of us had pledged to stay up all night, but in the end we realized it was rather pointless because the ranger kept telling us to be quiet, so we couldn't do anything crazy. Steve, Catherine, Ed, Ian, and I sat around the fire for a while talking, then Catherine and Steve went into their tent, and it was just us three. They're both really cool kids. We finally called it a night around 4 or 5-ish, and I fell asleep very quickly in my tent.
Monday morning I woke up around 10, and had some Fruit Loops for breakfast. I spent the rest of my time at Campsite C cleaning up the site, taking down tents, getting my stuff together. I had to tie my suitcase shut with rope because the zipper broke, heh. My dad arrived, with my grandmother in the passenger seat. I'm not sure why she came up, but it was nice to see her. They got to see the place I'd gone camping at for the last three years. I said goodbye to everyone, and got in the car. I really didn't want to leave.
The campout has put me in such a good mood. When I got home, I promptly went to sleep, and got up again at 4:45 or so for work. I hardly noticed the three hours go by, and then I was home again. But I wish I was still camping. Anyone who's never been to a meeting or gone camping before with the group just doesn't know what they're missing. The campout was easily better than any Con I've been to, but I still hope to go to a bunch of those this year. I think I got to know a bunch of people better, and felt really comfortable that entire time in a way I haven't in the past. That's what really made the difference. Wow. Strangely enough I haven't gotten the withdrawal yet, as I usually do when I get back from a Con or the like. Maybe I just haven't realized I'm really home yet. I dunno.
I'm excited to go to the first meeting of the year. We have a really good exec. board this year, so things should go smoothly. We have a huge group of kids, and they're all really cool. Senior year should be a good year, if this campout is any indication.