From Dallas, TX August 15, 2010

The staff who stayed 'til the end (went from 20-10 staff!)

I’m sitting in the airport in Dallas, Texas waiting for my last flight to PDX. Last night, we had our staff party and I think I had a bit too much wine. Today has been rough, battling a migraine. Not exactly the greatest thing to happen to me right before my backpacking trip. Migraines for me tend to last for several days. I’m trying to kick it!

Ellen, Me, Ian and Dre

This morning I woke up after not sleeping well. I packed all my bags and cleared out my room. We had one last trip to go to the storage unit, but after that, I was off to the airport. I was 5 hours early for my flight leaving Tampa, because Ian and Ellen needed to get going, driving the rented vans up to South Carolina. You might remember, I took that drive last year, but cleverly got out of it this time around

Now, I’m going to find a sandwich, because the last bit to PDX will be long, and I’m not sure they will serve food on the flight. Goodbye summer!

The Anticipation is Killing Me! August 12, 2010

"Nemo! I don't get it..."

I’m getting so anxious to be done! I think I just need the parents to get here, so time can go faster. There is only so much we can do in preparation, so I’d really like to interact with some families! At least my mind would have something to be occupied with.

A bird in a swamp

Ohmygod!

Our last trip of the summer was to the Florida Aquarium! I was very excited to go, because last year I really enjoyed myself! I took some videos and, of course, pictures. Lots of fun.

Saturday, I get to spend most of the day at the Tampa International Airport! Campers are flying home and their flights are anywhere between 8:50am and 4:30pm. So I get to make the airport my new home! Then, when I get back, hopefully, camp will be all packed up and I can start to get ready for the Staff Party!!! One of my summer highlights, because we get to eat a really nice dinner. And dress up fancy!

It's like a Senior Photo!

Aquarium Video: Horseshoes Crabs and Rays August 12, 2010

Aquarium Video: Huge Ray August 12, 2010

Good Morning from Florida! August 11, 2010

A project organized by a camper: find a shell and write a word to describe your summer

Good morning, everyone! All the campers and staff are starting to get anxious for the end of camp. We’ve started to back things up – most of the kayaks are in the storage unit and today we’ll put in the bikes! After that, we mostly need to wait for everything else. That will be happening Saturday for the most part. It’s a tricky situation, because we need to pack everything and quickly – but we have to wait, so the campers and parents don’t feel like they are being kicked-out. I know they understand, but it still doesn’t feel good.

I missed Oregon and expressed myself through writing in the sand at the beach

The weather is getting a little Crazy-yes, with a capital “C”. It was extremely hot last week, now this week, things have cooled down (well, comparatively). However, the storms have been out of control! It’s really stormy all the time. Little storm cloud just hang out, which means when a big one comes in, the little ones join it. They start anywhere from noon through the evening. It’s really hard to plan for them and the kids end up spending a lot of time in the gym. They are just so tired of being in there and I wish there was another indoor space for them to be during big storms.

Sea Turtles make nests all along our beach

A wave. It was really tricky to get this shot!

I officially have a count down going until I am pack in Portland! I can’t wait to get there (as I’ve mentioned before). I really like working in Florida for the summer, and I think  it’s okay that I’m ready to leave at the end. I can remind myself of how much I like where I live and how much I like to VISIT other places The campers have been extremely successful and we have had very few major issues. All and all, our camp runs smoothly and I think we have a unique way of working with our challenging campers. Our patience and compromise say a lot through the campers who have been successful here. And again, I like what I do!

Miss you all…

80′s Dance August 7, 2010

Friday nights, we often have a dance for the campers and last night it was 80′s Dance! So we all dressed up. I have somewhat of an idea of 80′s fashion, but I admit, I was very young in the 80′s and did the best I could. Of course, none of the campers were even born yet, so that was weird! Very fun, nonetheless.

Me and Dre (Head Counselor)

There is one more week of camp! I’m all done creating schedules and now have my attention focused on preparing for our final Family Workshop. It starts Thursday night and while the parents are learning the program, I will also be packing up camp for the summer! Everything goes in boxes and will be taken to a storage unit that we’ll rent for the 9 months camp does not run.

Sunset during the dance

I have a correction for my flight info. I actually get in to PDX at 10:30pm on Alaska Airlines, which is a little later than I originally thought. That’s alright. Then (after sleeping in) I’ll go to REI for the last few backpacking supplies I need. We head out early Tuesday morning for our trek! I will post at least once more before leaving Florida. Can’t wait to see everyone!

Video of a Storm August 3, 2010

I decided that since I’m going on a backpacking trip in 2 weeks, I should up my exercise. So I went outside to run the track and saw a little storm cloud making it’s way toward campus. Usually when afternoon storms come through, they are very big and last quite a while. Therefore, this little baby cloud did not concern me. I started my laps and noticed that a much larger storm cloud had joined the baby one, to create a massive storm. I kept running and kept my eye on the cloud and managed to get 15 minutes in when I could no longer pretend that I didn’t hear the thunder. I mean, I saw some lightening – oddly enough overlapping white fluffy clouds. That was just weird, because I usually see lightening with a backdrop of dark, angry clouds. Yeah, it was time to go inside for safety…

The lightening was hitting very close to our location, so I decided to take a video! Hope you like seeing me, Ian and Ellen being ridiculous!

Testing…. July 29, 2010

I wanted to switch it up and I think this video worked. Let me know if it did not!

3 Weeks of Camp Left! July 25, 2010

A Rainbow just after a Thunder Storm

Alright. I know I’m the worst blogger ever. Mostly because it’s been a ridiculously long time since my last post. You know how camp is: it gets busy and you become consumed by it!

Our first Family Workshop was a complete success! All our workshops went well and the parents were very pleased with how the weekend was run. We asked them to fill out evaluations and all the segments received positive feedback!

I was extremely stressed out about parents arriving. Then, I remembered how much I like watching the families interact and how impressed they are with their child’s progress and success. After that realization, I had fun with the weekend and spent personal time with most families.

Family Workshop ended on Saturday, July 17. Then, on Sunday, we got a whole new round of kids, which completes our new campers for the summer. They have been here for one week and most of them seem to be doing well.

Our staff will be going through some major changes at the end of this week. We have 3 staff members leaving and one has already left to start a new job. That means staffing is getting a little tight. But, at the end of this week, we’ll have a lot of campers leaving, so our staffing will look good again. We will finish out the summer with about 25 campers. A nice number to end on!

Now, for a bit of news. Liam and I have a friend, Kristen (Clover) who many of you know, who is backpacking the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Well, I’ve wanted to get back into backpacking, so Liam and I decided to join her for the last four days of her trip. That would be traveling from Timberline Lodge to Cascade Locks.

However, as soon as I get off the plane, I have to immediately go to REI to get fitted for a backpack! There is no time to waste, because we head out on the 16th! Sorry everyone! I know some of you will be disappointed that as soon as I arrive back in town, I’m leaving again

However, because I have so many weddings as soon as I get back, that this was the only time and the best time for a trip! Sorry….I know some of you will yell at me as soon as you read this….I already feel your angry vibes! You know I love to be outside….

This will be me in a few weeks!

New Campers, New Schedule…Day Off! July 6, 2010

So much has happened since my last post, where to begin?

The weather has been ridiculously stormy since Thursday. Stormy, stormy, stormy. Here is an example of what it looks like when a storm is coming in.

This was Sunday, when we got new campers! Honestly, I was not around for most of the day, because I was picking up campers from the airport. We had 2 scheduled pick-ups, but none of the pick-ups went smoothly. The first one, was a minor so I went through security to pick him up at the gate. Well, I think security was heightened due to the Fourth of July, because I had to go through their new x-ray machine. Very intense. Then, I found out the camper was over 11, so he was not going to be escorted off the plane. Not usually a problem, but after a bit, the attendant at the gate informed me everyone had exited the plane. So, I went to baggage claim to find the camper, which worked well. I just felt silly that he had walked right past me, but since I didn’t know what he looked like, how was I to know?!? Turns out I didn’t need to go through security in the first place….

Then, we get back to camp; I get him checked in and start finishing the schedule for the week. Ian gets a call and says to me, “I think we have a camper at the airport. Wanna grab a van?” Great. It takes 30 min. to get to the airport. A camper who we thought was arriving in two weeks was actually arriving 3 hours ago. I feel so bad as I pick her up, because I realize she had been waiting for 3 hours. She was actually at the airport when I was picking up the other camper. I wish I had known she was there, because we could have easily gotten her!

Back at camp, I was frantically trying to format the schedule, knowing I needed to print it, copy it and get it to the staff, so they would know what was happening the next day. I had plenty of time, because my last airport run was at 4:45 – tons of time to finish the schedule once I got back!

I get to the airport, book in hand – just in case. The flight land 15 min. late. No big deal. But 30 min. pass and no sign of the passenger. Since I’m at baggage claim, I was waiting to see the luggage belt start. Nothing. I know there isn’t anything I could do. It’s strange that no one is there, but I can’t make the passengers or luggage arrive. I keep reading my book. Over the intercom, I hear, “Due to lightening strikes in the area, passengers and luggage might be delayed.” It really has been an hour and a half and I keep scanning the room, while reading my book. What, was I supposed to scan the whole time?

So of course, I miss the camper. He apparently went back up to the check-in counter, calling home saying no one was there to pick him up. We finally connect and I wish I had kept my cool, but I tend to worry. I was very NOT COOL by the time we were leaving. Nothing that the camper knew about, but in my head I had managed to work myself up quite a bit with stress.

Back at camp, I finish the schedule, print, copy, hand out to the staff. Later in the office (and this is about 11:30pm) I realize I had both the young boys group and the older boys group scheduled together for activities. This is how they were scheduled the first 2weeks. Well, now there are about 18 of them, and it is impossible for them to do everything together. But the day is over, and I am exhausted.

Upon waking, I immediately start to revise the schedule. A whole new schedule for the week. Sad. All that work. New schedules passed out and the day ends, but I get my day off!!!

Storm coming in. View from my bathroom window.

I woke up late and ran some errands with Ian. I only did this, because we lost the car we were using for the summer and I wanted to go out and about. Ellen’s parents let us borrow their car, but they took it back yesterday. Well, with the three of us flying in from Portland, of course we have no car. So, I rode one of camps bikes to the mall to get a new book. I just finished “In the Time of the Butterflies” (thanks for the recommendation, Lore – very good!) I picked up the latest book the kids are reading – The House of Night Novels “Marked”. I know, it’s kind of like the Twilight Saga, but I like to keep up on the kids books (so I tell myself!)

Favorite Meal

Then, I went to Sloppy Joe’s and ordered my favorite meal: Fish Tacos and Sweet Potato Fries. A storm came in while I was eating, so I had another beer I didn’t need. But the storm was not going to stop, so I just rode home in the rain. It was only a 15 min. ride, but I got soaked!

So, now I’m gonna read more of this “Marked” book, because even though the writing is not very good (kinda like “Twilight”) I’m already hooked. Dang!