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Jul. 5th, 2014 03:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckThursday, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cherydactyl brought Cordelia home from science center camp about 3:40. Our ride was due at 4:00 but actually arrived about 4:15. Scott got home in time to say goodbye (I didn't expect that as he usually has an after work meeting on Thursdays) and helped load the car.
The drive to camp took about twenty minutes. The troop leader told us it was only ten miles, but I think that's as the crow flies. We took back roads to get there, partly because the highway was badly backed up due to an accident and partly because the dad driving prefers doing that. He says that, when he drives from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo, he takes back roads instead of I-94.
When we arrived at the campsite, the gate in looked locked, so we went on to the park's main entrance and asked at the main office. The main park was really crowded already because people were coming in early to wait for that evening's fireworks (the park always ends up turning people away by the middle of the evening, so arriving early is important). They told us that the troop leader already had the key to the gate, so we went back and discovered that, although the gate looked locked, it wasn't. I wasn't strong enough to open the gate on my own, so the driver had to get out of the car and help.
The troop leader and her daughter were the only ones there before us. They'd set up a couple of tents. Cordelia and the other girl with us went straight into setting up another tent. There ended up being six tents total (I think there was at least one more that didn't get used). Two of them were single person tents that the troop leaders used. I got a large tent to myself which meant I could spread my stuff. I ended up with that tent because one of the poles broke somehow during set up. The troop leader wasn't sure it wouldn't snap out of place and bring the tent down on top of me, so she didn't want to put girls in the tent.
Girls arrived a few at a time until we had seven girls. The troop leader had the girls roast hot dogs while she cooked burgers on a small grate over the fire. All the girls wanted to cook hot dogs, but they all wanted to eat burgers. Fortunately, there were enough burgers, and the hot dogs also got eaten. They roasted ears of corn in the coals. I didn't have any, but the girls seemed to enjoy it.
The girls made smores, of course. That's traditional. And, at full dark, the fireworks started. We had a good view once we went a ways away from our camp. The girls mostly sat on a blanket someone had brought while the adults sat around an unused fire pit.
It was cold enough by the time the fireworks ended that we could see our breath. We brushed our teeth as a group, around the campfire, spitting into it so that we wouldn't attract critters. (We kept all the food in the troop leader's car for the same reason.) The girls took quite a while to settle, and there was one girl who had a lot of trouble. It was her first night away from her parents, and she wasn't sure she could do it once it came right down to it.
I slept in my clothes, sweatshirt and all. My sleeping bag is old, and the zipper decided to give up the ghost and stuck about halfway up. Nothing I could do would budge it. Fortunately, it's large enough that I could tuck the loose part under me and keep warm that way. Cordelia and I both wore hats to bed. We brought along a third hat, just in case there was someone who wanted it.
Sleeping was pretty awful. I had the sleeping pad thatevalerie had loaned me, but I felt like I had nothing under me but the ground. I slept on my back as long as I could stand it then shifted to my left side to get some relief for my back. That didn't last long at all, but it helped me get through the night. I did wake up at approximately the right time to take my thyroid medicine, thank goodness, and stumbled to the toilet before going back to bed.
The toilet was a two stall brick outhouse that was built in such a way that it was completely dark inside even during the day. We had brought toilet paper, but there was some there already, and they had dispensers full of hand sanitizer. The troop leader wanted everyone to wash with soap after using the toilet, but that didn't end up happening. Washing with soap was pretty challenging given that the water had to be hauled in a bucket at a time. Most of the kids did use the hand sanitizer, I think.
I woke about 6:30 both mornings but stayed in bad in spite of the discomfort because it was cold and wet (with dew) outside. Plus, nobody else was up. I didn't see a point in being out and about alone. We had fog when I finally got up around 7:30.
The troop leader made coffee the first morning and shared some with me. She had milk but no sugar, so I found the stuff pretty nasty. I like plenty of milk and sugar. Still, it was caffeine.
The troop leader asked me to supervise starting the fire each of the three times we lit one. The girls helped on Thursday and Friday but not on Saturday. She also asked me to supervise dish washing. That chore rotated. Nobody enjoyed it. There wasn't more than an inch of water in the tub usually, and the soap didn't really cut grease well.
We had cereal and fruit for breakfast. That was a good breakfast because it didn't require a lot of preparation and each girl could eat whenever she was ready.
The girls did first aid training for most of the morning. That was one of the badges they had picked to work on. They still have one step to go to get that badge because they're required to meet with an actual first responder to hear about how that sort of job works. I was in and out during the training because I was keeping an eye on the fire, trying not to let it go out.
Lunch was another easy meal-- sandwiches this time. We delayed the afternoon activities waiting for an eighth girl to arrive. Her family had been traveling and were just getting back on Friday. She was another girl Cordelia's age, so she ended up sharing a tent with Cordelia and the other girl in their grade.
After the eighth girl arrived, the troop leaders took the girls to the river to wade. The girls wanted to swim, but that would have required a lot more paperwork and extra training for the troop leaders in order for the Girl Scouts' insurance to cover it. Some of the girls apparently went in pretty deep anyway. They could still stand up, but the water was up to their chests, stretching the definition of 'wading' pretty darn far. After that, they were going to go on a long hike to look at flowers for another badge, but they ended up turning back early because the trail petered out and the mosquitoes got really bad. Cordelia tells me that they stopped at the river on the way back, too, because they'd run into a lot of poison ivy. Hopefully nobody gets rash.
I stayed at the camp and read while keeping an eye on the fire. I was actually a little disappointed when the group came back early because that meant my rest time was over.
The girls did two flower related crafts that afternoon. I think they did one before the hike and one after, but I forget the exact order of things. They made bath beads, and they pounded flowers to make designs on white bandanas. Cordelia did only a very, very small bit of that. I think she wasn't impressed by it as an activity.
Dinner was a lot of fuss-- They made spaghetti and meatballs and broccoli. There was garlic bread, too. They did the meatballs (from frozen) in a cast iron pot in the fire pit and the pasta on the camp stove. I ate a sandwich because I don't eat pasta if I have a choice and because the meatballs were full of things I couldn't eat. I did have some broccoli.
The two girls doing dishes after dinner had quite a chore, but the one washing made it even harder by sulking about it. The whole meal was extra work for everybody, though. The girls fetching water had to make three trips, for example. (It was, as far as I could tell, about ten minutes round trip to the pump, plus time for pumping the water. The troop leader chose proximity to the outhouse over proximity to the pump, and I think that was the right choice.)
The girls made smores again that night. There were only three sticks this time for eight girls. I have no idea what happened to the other two sticks that we had the night before, but they were gone.
It got quite cold again after the sun went down. About the only good thing about the cold was that it cut down on the mosquitoes which had been pretty bad for most of the evening.
I do regret not getting at least one marshmallow either night, but there wasn't really a good opportunity.
I slept in the same clothes I'd worn the night before, sweatshirt included. I wore the hat again. It actually felt colder the second night than the first. I think the first night it warmed up a bit before the sun came up. This morning, it didn't. When I got up, around 8:00, it was still cold enough that I wasn't entirely happy in shorts (but they were clean, so I wore them anyway).
The troop leader made coffee again but forgot to make any for me. The other troop leader had some instant that she shared with me. We just had to wait for more water to heat.
The girls woke up slowly, and breakfast was more elaborate than the day before-- pancakes (on the camp stove) and bacon and sausages (on the fire). The troop leader had me get the fire started without waiting for the girls to help. I had trouble getting it really burning. The wood we had (bought by the troop leader) was nice and dry, but we'd used all of the logs that would light easily by then. I could only find one that really caught. Still, eventually, I got it going.
I didn't dare try the sausages, but I had some turkey bacon (we had no pork products on the trip because a couple of girls and one of the leaders are Jewish) and a pancake. Cordelia was one of the girls making the pancakes. She was in charge of turning them.
Parents started showing up before we'd finished breakfast because breakfast took so long to get going. The troop leader had told the parents that pick up would be between 10:00 and 11:00, so they started showing up then. As it happened, we weren't ready to leave until around 12:00. We needed to take down all the tents and pack them up and to figure out which supplies belonged to which family.
The first thing I did on getting home (well, after hugging Scott) was to take a shower. I desperately needed it after all of the smoke and the bug spray and such. Plus, one of the things I forgot to pack was my deodorant. I must have been pretty ripe. (The other thing I forgot was my bite splint, but that would have been hard to use without hot water to soften it up, so I figure it's not a big deal.) I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.
Anyway, I survived more or less intact. My feet hurt, and I'm exhausted. The smoke from the campfire didn't set off my asthma. I'd been afraid that it would.
cherydactyl brought Cordelia home from science center camp about 3:40. Our ride was due at 4:00 but actually arrived about 4:15. Scott got home in time to say goodbye (I didn't expect that as he usually has an after work meeting on Thursdays) and helped load the car.The drive to camp took about twenty minutes. The troop leader told us it was only ten miles, but I think that's as the crow flies. We took back roads to get there, partly because the highway was badly backed up due to an accident and partly because the dad driving prefers doing that. He says that, when he drives from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo, he takes back roads instead of I-94.
When we arrived at the campsite, the gate in looked locked, so we went on to the park's main entrance and asked at the main office. The main park was really crowded already because people were coming in early to wait for that evening's fireworks (the park always ends up turning people away by the middle of the evening, so arriving early is important). They told us that the troop leader already had the key to the gate, so we went back and discovered that, although the gate looked locked, it wasn't. I wasn't strong enough to open the gate on my own, so the driver had to get out of the car and help.
The troop leader and her daughter were the only ones there before us. They'd set up a couple of tents. Cordelia and the other girl with us went straight into setting up another tent. There ended up being six tents total (I think there was at least one more that didn't get used). Two of them were single person tents that the troop leaders used. I got a large tent to myself which meant I could spread my stuff. I ended up with that tent because one of the poles broke somehow during set up. The troop leader wasn't sure it wouldn't snap out of place and bring the tent down on top of me, so she didn't want to put girls in the tent.
Girls arrived a few at a time until we had seven girls. The troop leader had the girls roast hot dogs while she cooked burgers on a small grate over the fire. All the girls wanted to cook hot dogs, but they all wanted to eat burgers. Fortunately, there were enough burgers, and the hot dogs also got eaten. They roasted ears of corn in the coals. I didn't have any, but the girls seemed to enjoy it.
The girls made smores, of course. That's traditional. And, at full dark, the fireworks started. We had a good view once we went a ways away from our camp. The girls mostly sat on a blanket someone had brought while the adults sat around an unused fire pit.
It was cold enough by the time the fireworks ended that we could see our breath. We brushed our teeth as a group, around the campfire, spitting into it so that we wouldn't attract critters. (We kept all the food in the troop leader's car for the same reason.) The girls took quite a while to settle, and there was one girl who had a lot of trouble. It was her first night away from her parents, and she wasn't sure she could do it once it came right down to it.
I slept in my clothes, sweatshirt and all. My sleeping bag is old, and the zipper decided to give up the ghost and stuck about halfway up. Nothing I could do would budge it. Fortunately, it's large enough that I could tuck the loose part under me and keep warm that way. Cordelia and I both wore hats to bed. We brought along a third hat, just in case there was someone who wanted it.
Sleeping was pretty awful. I had the sleeping pad that
evalerie had loaned me, but I felt like I had nothing under me but the ground. I slept on my back as long as I could stand it then shifted to my left side to get some relief for my back. That didn't last long at all, but it helped me get through the night. I did wake up at approximately the right time to take my thyroid medicine, thank goodness, and stumbled to the toilet before going back to bed.The toilet was a two stall brick outhouse that was built in such a way that it was completely dark inside even during the day. We had brought toilet paper, but there was some there already, and they had dispensers full of hand sanitizer. The troop leader wanted everyone to wash with soap after using the toilet, but that didn't end up happening. Washing with soap was pretty challenging given that the water had to be hauled in a bucket at a time. Most of the kids did use the hand sanitizer, I think.
I woke about 6:30 both mornings but stayed in bad in spite of the discomfort because it was cold and wet (with dew) outside. Plus, nobody else was up. I didn't see a point in being out and about alone. We had fog when I finally got up around 7:30.
The troop leader made coffee the first morning and shared some with me. She had milk but no sugar, so I found the stuff pretty nasty. I like plenty of milk and sugar. Still, it was caffeine.
The troop leader asked me to supervise starting the fire each of the three times we lit one. The girls helped on Thursday and Friday but not on Saturday. She also asked me to supervise dish washing. That chore rotated. Nobody enjoyed it. There wasn't more than an inch of water in the tub usually, and the soap didn't really cut grease well.
We had cereal and fruit for breakfast. That was a good breakfast because it didn't require a lot of preparation and each girl could eat whenever she was ready.
The girls did first aid training for most of the morning. That was one of the badges they had picked to work on. They still have one step to go to get that badge because they're required to meet with an actual first responder to hear about how that sort of job works. I was in and out during the training because I was keeping an eye on the fire, trying not to let it go out.
Lunch was another easy meal-- sandwiches this time. We delayed the afternoon activities waiting for an eighth girl to arrive. Her family had been traveling and were just getting back on Friday. She was another girl Cordelia's age, so she ended up sharing a tent with Cordelia and the other girl in their grade.
After the eighth girl arrived, the troop leaders took the girls to the river to wade. The girls wanted to swim, but that would have required a lot more paperwork and extra training for the troop leaders in order for the Girl Scouts' insurance to cover it. Some of the girls apparently went in pretty deep anyway. They could still stand up, but the water was up to their chests, stretching the definition of 'wading' pretty darn far. After that, they were going to go on a long hike to look at flowers for another badge, but they ended up turning back early because the trail petered out and the mosquitoes got really bad. Cordelia tells me that they stopped at the river on the way back, too, because they'd run into a lot of poison ivy. Hopefully nobody gets rash.
I stayed at the camp and read while keeping an eye on the fire. I was actually a little disappointed when the group came back early because that meant my rest time was over.
The girls did two flower related crafts that afternoon. I think they did one before the hike and one after, but I forget the exact order of things. They made bath beads, and they pounded flowers to make designs on white bandanas. Cordelia did only a very, very small bit of that. I think she wasn't impressed by it as an activity.
Dinner was a lot of fuss-- They made spaghetti and meatballs and broccoli. There was garlic bread, too. They did the meatballs (from frozen) in a cast iron pot in the fire pit and the pasta on the camp stove. I ate a sandwich because I don't eat pasta if I have a choice and because the meatballs were full of things I couldn't eat. I did have some broccoli.
The two girls doing dishes after dinner had quite a chore, but the one washing made it even harder by sulking about it. The whole meal was extra work for everybody, though. The girls fetching water had to make three trips, for example. (It was, as far as I could tell, about ten minutes round trip to the pump, plus time for pumping the water. The troop leader chose proximity to the outhouse over proximity to the pump, and I think that was the right choice.)
The girls made smores again that night. There were only three sticks this time for eight girls. I have no idea what happened to the other two sticks that we had the night before, but they were gone.
It got quite cold again after the sun went down. About the only good thing about the cold was that it cut down on the mosquitoes which had been pretty bad for most of the evening.
I do regret not getting at least one marshmallow either night, but there wasn't really a good opportunity.
I slept in the same clothes I'd worn the night before, sweatshirt included. I wore the hat again. It actually felt colder the second night than the first. I think the first night it warmed up a bit before the sun came up. This morning, it didn't. When I got up, around 8:00, it was still cold enough that I wasn't entirely happy in shorts (but they were clean, so I wore them anyway).
The troop leader made coffee again but forgot to make any for me. The other troop leader had some instant that she shared with me. We just had to wait for more water to heat.
The girls woke up slowly, and breakfast was more elaborate than the day before-- pancakes (on the camp stove) and bacon and sausages (on the fire). The troop leader had me get the fire started without waiting for the girls to help. I had trouble getting it really burning. The wood we had (bought by the troop leader) was nice and dry, but we'd used all of the logs that would light easily by then. I could only find one that really caught. Still, eventually, I got it going.
I didn't dare try the sausages, but I had some turkey bacon (we had no pork products on the trip because a couple of girls and one of the leaders are Jewish) and a pancake. Cordelia was one of the girls making the pancakes. She was in charge of turning them.
Parents started showing up before we'd finished breakfast because breakfast took so long to get going. The troop leader had told the parents that pick up would be between 10:00 and 11:00, so they started showing up then. As it happened, we weren't ready to leave until around 12:00. We needed to take down all the tents and pack them up and to figure out which supplies belonged to which family.
The first thing I did on getting home (well, after hugging Scott) was to take a shower. I desperately needed it after all of the smoke and the bug spray and such. Plus, one of the things I forgot to pack was my deodorant. I must have been pretty ripe. (The other thing I forgot was my bite splint, but that would have been hard to use without hot water to soften it up, so I figure it's not a big deal.) I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.
Anyway, I survived more or less intact. My feet hurt, and I'm exhausted. The smoke from the campfire didn't set off my asthma. I'd been afraid that it would.
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