So what if I were to say to you...you can leave Chelsea Alabama at 7PM on Friday night, and travel to gulf state park in Gulf Shores by 12:30 Saturday morning, with one pit stop at Buccees around 11:30PM, then get the dining flys, cooking gear set up...before finally getting your personal gear to set up your tent and go to sleep around 2AM...then wake up at 6AM, complete about 8 miles on a bike, play in the ocean for 2 hours, go to sleep again to be up and out of camp on Sunday morning by 9:30AM and back in Chelsea by 3PM...Sound like fun? Well, not if you just look at the time, but it was some memories that I will treasure.
I had missed the last two campouts, so I was excited to finally get to join up with the boys. While not in my original car rider groups, Sam and Brandon convinced me to get Cole in our group, and I loved that the boys could hang out...I was their cub scout leader, and they are the only three remaining from my original group of Wolf Scouts when they were 7 years old.
Sam is now part of the leadership patrol, and while those guys help alot with the set-up, they are also given a lot more freedom on their activities on the campouts. They played alot of basketball, ended up doing their own trip to the beach, and later during supper, they planned a unique dinner where they dressed up in their Hawaiian shirts, and listened to Frank Sinatra tunes. I think they were trying to outdo the Adult patrol, and with their dinner of Steak and potatos, I think they did pretty good.
Davis does a great job as one of the assistant patrol leaders, helping to teach the new guys how to cook the meals. He was also at the head of the pack on the biking journey we went on, and had to keep slowing down because of so many wrecks. It was weird, as the trails were about as straight and flat as can be, but there were wrecks all over. Myles, Matthew, Cason, and Carter all crashed needing first aid. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Glad JP had brought the first aid kit. On the biking journey, we got to see an Eagles nest, stand a few feet from an alligator, and climb some man-made climbing rocks.
The ocean was really fun, but a bit scary with yellow flag days and a strong current. The adults formed a line and as the kids moved past us, they had to get out and go back in front of us. It was a good plan, and I was very glad Mr. George identified the need for it. Those guys can swim well, but with that current, easy to get pulled faster than you could swim.
The adults had a crawfish boil, which was good and unique, but my favorite meal of this trip was the shrimp and grits that Davis made and brought me a bowl of. Very good. That boy knows how to cook stuff well. Our trip home was fun and exciting with a mess of other people driving in the same direction. We stopped at a Zaxby's and were there for about 1 hour for our food. Only at the Zaxby's realizing that Cole had to sing a solo with the choir later that afternoon. And judging by the way Cole's mom was screaming at him as he left the parking lot, she was not happy we were a little late....Oh, and why the pictures of Sam's hands? Because on the second night, he got ate up with these little yellow flies. He was not the only one in a hammock that got eaten up, but he definitely got it worse than anyone else.
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