Every year the Cadets troop take a two-night camping trip on private land, affectionately called Agony Acres, a little under an hour south in an area of rolling hills and farmland. The land is forested and the camping area on a the side of a large hill, next to a beautiful stream. We had twelve boys and four counselors, one of which only stayed the first night (as did I--see below). My hat's off to Tim and Danny for managing the kids all on their own that second night!
Campers park a little ways into the property, then hike 1/4 mi. to the camp sites. One four-wheel-drive vehicle is usually used to haul in most of the equipment. The four-wheel drive is necessary given the three streams that cross the dirt/grass road. In one spot the stream has partially eroded the road. I am not a conservative driver, but I wouldn't have attempted it. The driver did a nice job, though, and we only got stuck and had to push him out once.
We arrived around 7:00 Friday. Camp was set up by 8:00 and Sam was looking pekid and asking to go to bed early. He even turned down s'mores. Very unlike him! So I bundled him up and got him to bed. Stayed up til 11:30 myself preparing for Saturday devotions based on a neat idea from Susan: You know the verse,
"whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things"?
Susan pointed out that when she's been anxious she's taken this to heart and thought about the horse Seabiscuit, who has a very inspirational story. So I was reading up on Seabiscuit, figuring I would tell that story first and that would hook the kids.
Anyway, out went the light at 11:30, and at midnight Sam was vomiting. Luckily I had a towel handy and was able to catch it all, double bag it and eject it. Kept another towel handy and was glad for that at 3 a.m. Made it through the night, seeing almost every hour on the way.
If you know Sam, you aren't surprised that the next morning he seemed just fine. We all hiked out to a local pond and the boys spent some time fishing (during which I hauled our gear back out). Sam fished for the first time and caught his first fish, a small-mouth bass about 6-8" long. Fun! Also stuck his hand in the water so tadpoles could nibble on it.
After more local exploration, during which Sam found a very nice fossil of a seashell (!!), we did devotions (while the other counselors hunted for a lost cell phone), had lunch, and did more exploring, I drove Sam back. He laid low and thanks to ibuprofen managed not to throw up again. Sunday morning the doc looked at him and was so impressed by his scarlet throat that he invited us to take a look at well. Sam just finished up antibiotics for strep throat on Wed or Thu, and he's back on them again. The doc says that the day a boy stops antibiotics is the day he can catch strep again, whether the same strain or another. Hopefully Josh will avoid it again.
Had a very pleasant Father's day rattling around home on Sunday. Below are some photos. Enjoy...
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| I had never seen a salamander up close, let alone the vast supply on Agony Acres. They were under about every rock. The boys had a great time finding them. |
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| Sam's first fishing experience! Paul, if you are reading this, would Sam be able to catch anything off the dock up at camp? What would he use for bait/lure? |
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| Sam at 8:30 Friday night. Back when all seemed well... |
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| This stream was heaven for the boys. They could have spent all day rambling around there, exploring. |
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| Sunday night at bedtime. Josh must do everything Sam does. Sam's reading a book of Far Side cartoons, the bulk of which he seems to get. |
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