5 November 2008
Cubs: Sand, Sand Everywhere And Not a Drop to Drink
Posted by admin under: Outings .
We had a Cub Scout outing to Malibu California’s Leo Carillo State Beach, but it almost didn’t happen. Our Saturday departure was going to be met with rain, but it wasn’t going to be a deluge. So, okay, we didn’t call off the outing. However, I heard thunder. Now, according to the new hazardous weather training from the BSA you aren’t supposed to be outdoors until half an hour after thunder and only if you think that’s the last of it. So, I started trying to figure out if it was going to be a bust. Fortunately, the clouds cleared and the projected forecast allowed us to go.
We had a great time. Even though it rained on us infrequently, it wasn’t cold. We got to see a neat sea cave that is exposed at low tide and we played in the tide pools playing hide and seek with the hermit crabs and running away from their bigger cousins. We built sand castles and generally made a big mess of ourselves. We had to leave after a while, though, because the weather was being fickle and I heard some thunder. I started thinking of gathering everyone up when I saw the sisters of our Cubs and their hair was standing on end from static electricity. I kind of freaked out a little and we all scrambled back to our cars. No lightning strikes happened nearby, thank goodness. I was worried for a bit there.
My wife and I experimented with cooking a new Dutch oven meal: cornish game hens. These tiny little chickens fit four to our #12 Dutch oven. We cooked some chicken rice on the stove top and popped that in to brown with the chicken after a while. It was delicious. Experiment successful. I need to scale back on the coals next time, though. It got a little burned on the bottom.
We played catch and a little frisbee golf. We only had one serious downpour, but it didn’t really affect anything. Too bad some others in the pack decided to not attend this outing due to the rain (I guess. They just didn’t show up).
The lesson that was taught to me again by this experience is that the weather doesn’t really have anything to do with how much fun you’ll have on your outing. It’s all about attitude. We had kids and parents who were there to have a good time and a little bit of water wasn’t going to keep them from doing so. When I ask my son how things went he replies with his standard one word description of everything related to Cub Scouts, “Great”. Sounds like it’s going to be a great 5 six years in Cub Scouts for us.
- One Pot Pack-up Pie
- Cubs: Outdoor Skills
- Hazardous Weather Planning
- Different Dutch Ovens
- Volcano Cooking
