So, my son and I showed up on Saturday morning, instead of Friday night, for Cuboree to discover that the Cub parents had pitched enormous tents on a plot size that the district had obviously designed for smaller tents. There was almost no space for my son and I. Fortunately, I’d packed small and we were able to squeeze in between two other tents. We just threw our stuff on the ground and headed off for the day’s festivities. Our district combines Camporee and Cuboree so we walked over to the other side of the park and toured Boy Scout units with the pack. These guys had some serious pioneering skills. Their gateways looked like they were good enough for the national Jamboree. It was very cool. Clearly, this is the district’s idea for enticing Webelos Scouts to pick a troop to bridge to. It’s a good one.

We then did the activities including sack races, target shooting with nerf guns, a South American bolo game, knot tying, and many others. Parents swapped into and out of running our pack’s event and there was also scavenger hunt (too much parent involvement, but they were having a great time). One thing I need to try to get rolling as a pack policy is to bring washable dishes on the camp-outs. It’s hard to live the leave no trace lifestyle when generating bags full of disposable dishes. Besides, my son kept begging me to do dishes (I was in charge of dishes because I wanted to make sure they got clean) until I relented on the last meal and let him do the whole batch.

The campfire was fun, probably. I fell asleep in my chair. I was bushed. I’ve never done that before and it came as a complete shock when I woke up with people picking up around me. I was prepared for a freezing night because of what people were saying about the previous night’s temperature, but my son and I were toasty and slept straight through without a problem. Our pack didn’t win any high placing overall awards, but we did come in 2nd for the scavenger hunt and we picked up some ribbons here and there on a few events. Because we’d backed light my son and I were able to pack everything up quickly and help others get there tents folded and equipment stowed back in the minivans. I had forgotten how many new Cub parents have no idea how to fold a tent and it was fulfilling to help them.

The following weekend was the Gathering of All Mariners with the Girl Scouts. This is like Camporee, but with water events. Canoing, rowing, kayaking, rigging, sea chanties, identifying boat terms, and much else was all built in. This is a senior Girl Scout troop I was with so they had the whole scenario down to a science. Adults cook for the girls (which is something they’re dying to do anyway so there’s no problem) and the girls spend every moment running from event to event and studying for the next one and preparing for campfire.

This was my first GAM so I was a “Swabbie”. This meant I was free to help on all the chores and be a gopher for everyone. My daughter and a few other girls were also swabbies, but they weren’t burdened too much because they had to participate in their events. I got overconfident and ended up scorching my legs because I put sunblock everywhere else. We had brand new tents and brand new canopies. I got to bunk with another dad who is probably the sweetest person you’d ever meet. I ran around and snapped lots of pictures and even got to witness the drama of a baby rattlesnake that someone had removed from camp that crawled back in. Just like at Tambu last November the girls roamed in packs doing chants all the time saying how great they were, how great the other girls were, how proud they were of everyone, et cetera. It’s very different from Boy Scouts.

The next day we went to a local college where the swimming events were held and our girls won first place in the relay races. Although we only placed 8th out of all the troops for overall scoring for GAM the girls did a great job. Our troop leader and her family were honored by the service unit (district) for their participation in Girl Scouts and other charitable activities with the Girl Scouts Family Award. Another family I’m very close to also received this honor.

I decided to stop the show and when I went down to collect my pin for participation as a swabbie I yelled out my own chant and brought the house down. It was fun and the other dads laughed at me for my temerity. It was exhausting and sunburny, but very fun and a great time to watch my daughter mature. I got to bond with other dads, learn something new, and camp which is always cool. Plus I got to take some of the extra food home and ate barbecued chicken for the rest of the week.

Camporee, Cuboree, and GAM all in one month. Who could want anything more? My wife, apparently, who called a moratorium on camping for the next few weeks. Hee, hee. See you at the Grunion Run!

We also wanted to compete against other Venture crews, but they didn’t show up and we had absorbed the small groups except for the Josepho crew who were monitoring radios and manning the first aid station. So we competed against ourselves and not surprisingly took first place in every single event. As a personal point of pride, my 15 year old daughter had the fastest time on the rock wall out of any Scout at the event. It wasn’t even fair. She’s been taking dance lessons since she was 3 and could probably out-kick Chuck Norris and only weighs as much as one of his biceps.

This was the ultimate event out at the Tejon Ranch near Lebec, California, capping all of the camporees that had come prior. Funny enough, the organizers didn’t really have any expectations for us when we arrived, but we made a big impression while there, especially my Assistant Advisor who really pulled it all together. We starved a little bit as the guys didn’t double-check the patrol box we borrowed from our fraternal troop and so we had no frying pans or pots. I think they’ll remember to check next time.

It was a great time and I even got to be in a skit with our rangemaster and got to shoot off a couple of blank rounds. I got to kill one of the main organizers of the camporee. He died well. He’s the guy on the scaffold in the picture. Next weekend is Cuboree and the weekend after that is Gathering of All Mariners (GAM). My wife is starting to miss me a little bit, but she’d rather do that than haul out the camp mattress for Cuboree.

Scouting is fun! And sunburny.

It took about five days, but Derrick Mason finally got his wish when he was greeted after practice this morning by a Girl Scout troop playing music.

When the wide receiver ended his 20-day retirement and practiced with the Ravens for the first time at the team’s training camp Sunday, he joked afterward that he was expecting to see a marching band similar to the reception Terrell Owens got when the city of Buffalo welcomed him. Mason even joked that he couldn’t get the Girl Scouts to come out.

The Ravens arranged for Girl Scout Troop 1594 from Westminster to play “Hot Cross Buns” on flutes and recorders as practice ended. Mason said he was surprised by the girls’ appearance.

“I kind of walked past them for a second, and then I had to look at the little jackets that they had on because my daughter was a Girl Scout,” he said. “So I had to look at the jacket and [did] a double-take. Then I saw their signs, and I had to walk over there. I was surprised, but it was a good surprise for me. I asked for the marching band, and I asked for the Girl Scouts, and the Ravens sent me Girl Scouts. You can’t ask for anything better.”

The troop also brought several boxes of cookies for Mason, which gave him a slight edge over Owens’ reception.

“See, I got it better than T.O.,” Mason joked. “They just wanted autographs of T.O. walking through the airport. They gave me cookies and signs and everything. What more can you ask for?”

Mr. Lee even has a video of the event if you’d like to click over and see it. How cool. Feel the power of the cookies!

Click here to view these pictures larger

So where was I? I’m glad you asked! My Girl Scout troop took a giant trip from Los Angeles out to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, PA to connect with our national roots. We flew out of LAX at 11:59pm on Sunday June 28th. Those who could napped and with the time change and a 3 hour layover in Chicago we arrived in D.C. at noon on Monday. We immediately began our tour with our guide from Education First’s Smithsonian Student Travel. His name is Bob and he escorted us to our very own private bus with
Ron as our jolly captain.

I could write a 30 page description of all the things we did, but I’ll condense it all down to this summary. We saw many monuments and memorials, toured the Capitol, a few Smithsonian museums, Mount Vernon, and historic Alexandria, Virginia. The highlight? Fireflies! Well, personally, I was taken with the chance to see the House of Representatives from the gallery (Congress was not in session), but everyone thought fireflies drifting up from various lawns and bushes were pretty much the neatest thing in the world. You probably have to have lived your entire life out west where there are none to understand how impossible it seems to have dozens of the insects lighting up around you.

We drove through Amish country (great food!) and spent the next couple of days in Philadelphia. Did you know that the place where the first and second Continental Congresses were held, the Constitution was drafted, and Liberty Bell is housed, the first Supreme Court, the first federal Congress, and the President’s house are all in a four block radius of each other? Add to that the history of William Penn and Benjamin Franklin plus the Philadelphia Museum of Art where Rocky Balboa’s famous run and statue are experienced and you’ve got a pretty full schedule (plus real Philly cheese steaks on South Street). We were there on Independence Day so there was a real carnival atmosphere in town. It’s also the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth so we were exposed to civil war re-enactors camped out in the town square. We finished up in Constitution Hall with a show and dozens of exhibits before we boarded our plane to get back to Los Angeles at about 12:30am on July 5th.

There were some issues of staying in our rooms at night or treating blisters after days of walking, but overall we had a good trip. Bob and Ron were great. 75% of the security checkpoints were friendly. Even our broken suitcase was easy to replace at a nearby Wal-mart. Problems were surmountable and the memories are permanent. As the last trip together before our girls separate into different troops it was a pinnacle worthy of the end of an era. Now I have to go look for a Dairy Queen.

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Are your Troops itching for some summer excitement?

Bring them to Chesapeake, Virginia, an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise and a convenient resource for Scouting badge opportunities through our ‘Get Wild’ group itinerary. ‘Get Wild’ is a three-day adventure through the wilderness of Hampton Roads, building your knowledge of nature and wildlife while having fun as a Troop.

DAY ONE – First up is our “Where the Wild Things Are” day, where you’ll visit 350 exotic animals in the Virginia Zoo. Your Troops will learn about their habitats and observe their animal instincts first hand. After your safari, learn about agricultural animals and visit a replica of a working Virginia Farm, complete with barnyard animals and educational resources.

DAY TWO – Get your “Sea Legs” so aboard the 65-foot Rudee Flipper, as your Troops learn about dolphins and examine them in their natural habitat. Follow up with an all-access pass of the Virginia Aquarium. You’ll go where no visitor has gone before and get an up-close and personal lesson on sea turtles.

DAY THREE – Wrap up the trip “Wild and Wooly” style at the Virginia Living Museum. Your Troops will learn about local wildlife at this combination wildlife park, science museum, aquarium and botanical garden. Finish up the day with some fun at the Chilled Ponds Ice Complex, skating your way to victory in a cool hockey game.

Each of these adventurous days is filled with local dining options and ways for your Troops to learn, earn badges and have fun together. For more information on how you can ‘Get Wild’ with us and additional information on our campsites or our “Scouting is Fun” program, please contact:

Chesapeake Conventions & Tourism

Susan Drewery • www.visitchesapeake.com/group_tour/itineraries/

860 Greenbrier Circle, Suite 101, Chesapeake, VA 23320

Phone: 888-889-5551 • E-mail: sdrewery@cityofchesapeake.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Duff
Intern, RLF

mduff@rlfcommunications.com

http://www.rlfcommunications.com

One of the boys is a strong hiker, but the elevation was making him a little sick. They hit the snow at the end of the first day and made camp. The next day they got a later start than they had intended as they dealt with more sickness. The plan was to hike nearly to the top of the mountain, make camp, and then summit early the next day and then descend all the way back to the bottom. As the boys kept ascending they encountered larger and larger snow patches that completely covered the trail. With hundreds of feet of drop on the side they were very careful as they crossed the snow with ice patches. Finally, they realized it was simply too late for them to make it to their destination and they didn’t have enough ice gear to ensure a safe ascent. So, they decided to turn tail and descend and return home a day early.

We were surprised to get the call on Saturday, but that’s what an emergency phone contact is for, the unexpected calls when they need to be made. My son came in looking something like a lobster even though he’d brought sunblock. The reflected sunlight off the snow gave everyone some early summer color. They also brought back some great memories and pictures. I was so proud of my son because he has a fear of heights, but has been fighting it and now had climbed a mountain with major drops. What a trooper! I can’t wait to get fit and join the boys on a future mountain ascent.

After this we broke for lunch a little late because the dry ice I thought was such a great idea had frozen our cornish game hens. Still, we cooked them 4 different ways: roasting on a stick over a small fire, as a stew, foil packets, and pan frying. With some vegies and ramen and the extended time waiting for lunch it tasted great.

After they set up their tent and stowed their gear and dodged an unexpected cloudburst they took a night hike to the top of a nearby hill where they could watch falling stars and get a glimpse of faraway Los Angeles city lights.

Dinner was a nice fettuccine alfredo with salad. We tried making a peach cobbler, but the mesquite charcoal we brought would stay lit so we had a warmish peach compote the next morning instead. We also had defrosted eggs made into boil-in-a-bag omelets.

We also did competitions based on what they learned although they didn’t have time for everything. The last event was a backpack relay sprint from the camp up to the highway.

I learned a lot about food purchases because we had a little less food than we could have used, but enough to stave off starvation for the weekend. The girls learned a lot more about how much work goes into an event of this size. It was very gratifying to my daughter to receive an e-mail from one of the other girls’ mom saying that her daughter had a wonderful time. I thought it was great, too, and I hope to see more adventurous outings like this for my daughter in the future.