Camp Baker

Its Sunday. Brandon and I are home from Fun with Son at Camp Baker.

It was an interesting weekend. Terry, Chase and Spencer picked us up at about 3:45 on Friday afternoon. We headed southwest to Florence. The trip was going pretty well for about the first hour. The boys were talking and having fun. Terry and I were chatting while he drove. Our goal was to get to Florence early, eat some dinner then head to Camp Baker to get a good spot. After about an hour of driving Spencer began to feel sick. To make a long story (drive) short, we stopped 4 times for Spencer to take a break and get some fresh air. On the 5th time, only about 6 miles from Florence, Spencer 'spewed'. I say spewed because that is how Spencer and the other boys tell the story. After this exciting event, the rest of the drive went rather smoothly. We had a fine dinner at the Golden Arches and finally arrived at camp around 6pm.

We checked in at the camp office then gathered our gear and headed to our assigned camp site, Jason Lee. As mentioned in a previous post, sleeping takes place in Adirondacks - 3 sided huts with two bunks each, 4 beds. Jason Lee has 6 Adirondacks. Since we were the first there, we had to check out each one and find the best. Terry and his boys took the first one. Brandon and I took the one farthest down the hill.

Friday nights activities: Orientation at 8pm, Cracker Barrel (snack) at 9pm, lights (actually flashlights) out at 10pm.

Did I mention the rain. It started raining during our dinner at McDonalds and didn't stop until about 8am on Saturday. We were all pretty wet by bedtime on Friday night.

Its funny how camping, even in plywood bunks, is so much harder at 40 than it was just 10 years ago. I slept pretty well, but woke up many times during the night with aches and pains from the hard beds. Most of all, I didn't prepare well for a pillow. We brought Brandon's pillows from his bed. Not the worst, but not enough support for me and my big shoulders. Of course, once Brandon was out he didn't make a sound until I woke him in the morning. What I didn enjoy was the sound of rain on the Adirondack roof all night long. And, it was very pleasant. Not too cold at all.

Saturday was filled with the usual scout activities: flag ceremony, bb guns, archery, slingshots, leather craft, candle making, engineering (we built a bridge with popsicle sticks), outdoor skills, boating and several activities we didn't get to (knots, first aid, and the climbing wall). Brandon and I had a great time. Brandon is getting to be a pretty good shot with the bb gun. We both agreed that our favorite activity was boating. It was fun to just skim across the water in the row boat and just talk and look at the scenery. Some of my favorite moments with Brandon are those times when its just the two of us doing a fun outdoor activity.

In the afternoon Brandon took the test for his Whittling Chip, the card he needs to carry a pocketknife at scouting events. He got 90% on the test and can now carry the knife his Grandma bought him several years ago.

After the evening campfire event, we headed home. Camp was over and we (Terry and I) decided we would like to sleep in our own beds at home, so we gathered up our gear and drove home, arriving at 11:30.

The icing on the cake after a weekend at camp.....a hot shower and a soft warm bed.