A Hard Rains a-gonna Fall

I sit here writing this as I watch rain come down outside. At this time, it is only sprinkling, but it is the after-party for the pouring rain we got yesterday. In actuality, however, it ended up being my favorite day of Mountain Camp yet, although my hopes of being the hero of mountain camp were snatched from me.

Since the other half of staff had their day off, from 1:00-5:00 it was "adventure day." This meant that the kids signed up for an activity for all of that time. My activity to do was fishing, but about 45 minutes into our trip we were told to come in because the storm was moving in quickly. I got my kids in, and on the way was told to go back out and pick up the 26 kayakers from the other side of the lake (which would have been my shot at glory, and becoming the savior of camp). When i got back, however, Andy Hancock (waterfront coordinator) told me to take care of things on the shore while he went and saved the stranded kayaking children (stranded, starving, frozen, any other over-dramatic phrase you would choose). Dammit all!!!

My shot at glory now gone, I did have a chance at redemption, when I went out with some other guys to get the sailboats that had to be abandoned at the shore at various places around the lake. I was told to take a Hobie, put the sail up (a sail that had been ravaged by the wind) and sail it back to shore by myself. I have never sailed by myself.

However, thanks to my newfound sense of...i dunno...doing things on my own? I was able to rig the boat and sail it safely back to camp, all on my own doing.

And so, because of me, the young lads and ladies of mountain camp can live to sail another day. Just another day in the life of a humble hero.

--Andy

(A special thanks to my Grandfather, Tom Rosenberger, for my flair for the dramatic, and my other grandfather, Ed Martin, for the one small gene of my DNA that allowed me to figure something out on my own)

Green, Green Grass

So, I had another day off on Friday, and it was probably the best one I have had yet. We went to Tahoe and stayed in a hotel, and although I had to still sleep on the floor, it was at least in a controlled temperature setting, which was beyond amazing. The other awesome thing about Tahoe was being able to walk barefoot on grass. I had no idea how much i missed real grass until i saw it again (there is absolutely no grass here on the mountain) but that was really nice.

However, Tahoe wasn't all good, as I partook in another water misadventure, this time involving a swimming pool. On the way back from the casino we decided to hop in a hotel pool about a block from our hotel. We of course decided to do it fully clothed, and in my excitement to get in (or my lack of judgement) I forgot to take my phone out of my pocket. So currently the issue is trying to be resolved, I'll keep you posted. In the mean time, I am going to need to make sure that if I have been consuming "adult beverages" I may not want to go near water. I will also be reminding myself that I am an idiot. Oh well, live and learn.

Thats about all I have, only 5 more days of these kids, and then I get another day off and FINALLY some new kids. These guys have really been trying my patience this session. Not that I don't like my job, I still love being out here. Anyways, as always, get at me, talk to you soon.

--Andy

Yankee Doodle Dandy

So the 4th of July came and went, without a sparkler, bottle rocket, roman candle, or anything of the sort for me. (Although it did come with a bottle of wine, please believe.) It was actually kind of a bummer, probably the first 4th I've spent without much of a celebration. Although it was fun when at breakfast two of the directors made the two English counselors stand up and shouted "No taxation without representation!" at them (all in good fun of course, they knew they would take it with a laugh. That however was the extent of my celebration. I was definitely thinking of everyone at home who was playing mud volleyball, watching parades, watching fireworks (how was the view from the deck, Dad?), and drinking beer. (Kirk I'm assuming it was an "i lost count" night, seeing as how much you love America and love to celebrate it.)

Besides that, not a whole lot of news here. My kids this session are a little more difficult, but they are alright. I'm kinda bummed that they are here for two weeks though, because my one week kids had a lot more personality and were alot more fun. Oh well, a few beatings in a burlap sack may be in order and then we'll be ok (kidding, kidding). I have my day off on Friday, which I am looking forward to as usual. Rumor has it some are going to Tahoe, so hopefully I get to get in on that. (No, I do not think they will be anymore drunken canoeing, don't worry).

Also, I have been bike-riding during my off-period, as I decided it would be good to start to do something physical. It has been going alright, except mountain biking (what with the hills and such) is way difficult. I have been able to manage though. Hopefully no more spills as well.

Thats about all I have for now, thanks for reading, get at me.

--Andy

The actual tipping point

So this is a bit of a short post, as I have to be ready for new kids here in a few minutes, but I had to tell of my evening last night. We had another night off, and it was my buddy Deano's birthday, so we went across the lake for some camping and fun. It was a good time, until me and another counselor decided we wanted to go back to sleep in our own beds, so we set off on a canoe at 12:30 AM.

It was less than a mile trek, but we had been partaking in the festivities a little bit, so that made it harder. Anyways, we had to pull to shore shortly before we got to camp to dump some water from the canoe. While we had some balance problems along the way, we had made it to shore. Until we got there, went to get out of the canoe, and capsized it. Fun was had by all, I assure you. Luckily I had my phone in my waterproof pocket and it didn't get ruined, and i didnt really have anything else with me. Not so lucky was Cassie, who was in the canoe with me, who lost her phone, camera, pillow and sleeping bag in the fall. Suffice it to say that it was a long, wet walk back to camp. It was sort of worth it to sleep in my own bed, but I couldn't even sleep past 8:30, so that was unfortunate.

Anyways, we start our first two week session this week, and I am excited because there are some different fun activities in these sessions. Sorry this is so short, but I gotta run, hope to hear from you all soon.

--Andy