Camp

Thing 1 went off to camp in August, his first real sleep-away experience (he did attend a day camp last summer that had one overnight). The camp he went to (Catalina Island Camps)is on the island. It's a very nice place and we know the people who run the place because they have a son Thing 1's age. Drop-off for most kids attending is at the San Pedro ferry terminal. I talked to Holly about whether we should just drop Daniel off at camp, or if we should take him over to San Pedro, and she said that meeting your cabin mates and counselor at the terminal and the ferry ride over was part of the experience. So on Monday, Thing 1 and I boarded the 8am ferry for San Pedro. Once on the mainland, we went shopping for camp supplies - assorted clothing, toiletries, etc. Then it was over to McDonald's (of course) for lunch, and then back to the ferry terminal for drop-off.

We met his counselor, and found out he would be in the Tugboat cabin. We met some other boys and their parents. At last the time to board came, and off they all went to their boat. I killed another hour and a half, and then caught another ferry back to the island. A long day of travel for all of us.

During his week at camp, we sent emails to Thing 1 through a web service, but, alas, we never heard back from him (despite sending him off with 5 postcards). The camp did post photos every day, and a few even showed Thing 1 having a good time. Some of the activities Thing 1 did were swimming (every day), archery, riflery (BB guns), climbing wall, hiking, sailing, slicing (that's being dragged behind a motorboat on a floaty thing), campfires with skits, kayaking, snorkeling, and bouncing on the giant floating trampoline.

Thing 2 felt very special all week, being the only boy in the house. He got to watch the movies he wanted, didn't have to share toys, and had Mom and Dad all to himself. But he did say several times that he missed his brother, especially at bedtime.

All too soon, camp was over. Sweetie drove over to pick him up (rather than go through the ferry rigmarole again). The first words out of his mouth were "Can I go back next year?" He came home without his water bottle, his bath towel, his swim shirt, any of his toiletries (including the bag), his sleeping bag stuff sack, the post cards, or the disposable camera. Sigh. Fortunately, we live close by and can probably rummage around the lost & found.

So all in all a good experience for everyone - no separation anxiety on either end (parents or kid), lots of fun for the camper, and a little peace and quiet for the kid who stayed home.

During this time, Sweetie was teaching a class over at the Wrigley. It was a college-level class for high school students. They had ten days at WMSC, and then ten days on a tall ship sailing around the Southern California bight. Sweetie just covered the land part, but it did keep her busy. Long days of teaching and then preparing for the next day's lectures. The other teacher and the TA's were very nice. The kids for the most part were smart and engaged. Many were from private and/or boarding schools back East; some had been chosen for their academic merit from more modest backgrounds. This led to some interesting and world-view broadening conversations, no doubt. They studied oceanography and marine biology and did a lot of snorkeling and even a small research project in those ten days. It was exhausting, but Sweetie enjoyed it enough that she's interested in doing it again next summer.

More soon about our trip to Illinois and the start of another school year...

Rumblings and birthdays

So we have now experienced our first California earthquake. It really wasn't much here, even though we were only ~60 miles from the epicenter. I was sitting at my desk and there was a back-and-forth, back-and-forth motion. It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds - just enough to get that 'what is that?' feeling. I immediately tried to call Sweetie, but, of course the phone lines were jammed. I didn't realize that it had been a much bigger quake on the mainland. The Things were a little freaked out by it, but like I said, it wasnt' much.

Both Things have had birthdays recently, Thing1 turning 8 and Thing2 turning 5. Thing1 got a boogie board which we took to Shark Harbor last weekend to try out. It took a little while for him to get hang of catching waves, but by the end of the afternoon, he was getting some pretty good rides. I had to try it out, too. It was fun, although I did get a lot of sand in my suit. Today we are having a combined, belated birthday party for the Things. Since there are a limited number of kids in town, everyone's invited. It'll be a simple fun-on-the-beach, grill-some-food party.

Tourist season is really in full swing here. The harbor fills up every weekend, and there are many people visiting the lab and wandering around town. Despite this, it still seems quiet here (except Friday and Saturday nights, when we can quite clearly hear the DJ at the bar until about 12:30am).