The annual fall camping trip was a gigantic success! With around 60 total attendees, including 36 kids, it was likely the biggest in the past 5 years at least. It was by far, the largest Friday night attendance in my 10-year memory. And there was no drop-off on Saturday night, just a different cast of characters. And we peaked at lunchtime with additional day trippers.
The Pack stayed at Fort Akela again, but this year we re-opened the doors to the bunkhouses. We had at least 20 people in bunks Friday night, but whether they slept or not is a matter of debate. It is a matter of fact, that the lower bunks rose before the sun (at 5:45) and we wound up doing many of the planned activities by 9:30 in the morning. They were raring to go! We jumped in a mud-filled Gaga pit at roughly 7:30 am and never looked back. That meant the people leaving early for birthday parties and football games had their chance to make rockets, carve pumpkins, learn how to play Roof ball, or shoot Nerf guns before they jetted off for their Havertown-based schedules. Then we simply did it all over again in the afternoon as the Saturday folks poured into camp. Each kid had their favorite activity or memory, whether it was organized by leadership or spontaneous.
Special thanks to Committee Chair Tim Johansen who put on his Chef hat for this one and had an amazing menu. Who goes camping and expects beef brisket or pulled turkey BBQ sandwiches? I guess we do! Plus a pasta feast for dinner, pancakes and sausage for Saturday breakfast and the biggest smores you can wrap your teeth around. Also many thanks to Lion Den leader Patrick Hutton for testing out the Paper Rocket launcher and revamping it for easier use than ever. Thanks to Bill Volovnik for manning the launchpad much of the afternoon; Ashley Phillips, Bill & Tim for making the most professional plaque in the pavilion. Thanks to Mark Mullin and Su Pham for figuring out how to livestream and project the Phillies playoff victory live from the campfire. And thanks to all the parents and kids who helped clean up on Sunday morning so we could pass inspection and get on our way back to real life and much needed rest. As much as I love this trip, I was surprised to hear what a couple of the boys in the bunks Sunday morning woke up early to talk about. One said, "I wish we could all live here. Everything is so much fun." Another said, "Yeah, or I just hope we can try the ship next time." My apologies to Matt Mullin, but I think I can only handle this once a year. And Theo, we'll look into another site for sure, but we'll need to petition the council to ramp up their repair plans if we want to make those dreams come true.
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