Two other boys and their dads from our Pack also attended. The bulk of the group was from two other Packs from the mainland. We arrived before the other groups (not having to take a ferry), so we sat around and waited for them and Thing 1 got to know the other boys before things began, which was good. Since the Pack is in Avalon, we only go to occasional Den meetings, and monthly Pack meetings don't give much social time to the boys, and the other boys all go to school in Avalon. So Thing1 doesn't really know any of the other Cubs in his Pack. (Well, now he knows two...) Anyhoo, back to the story. The ferries were late, so we didn't have dinner until around 8pm, and then it was straight over to the campfire.The campfire started badly. There were two fire rings, and staff members came out to light them.
They lit the first, and while they were lighting the second, the first went out. So they went back to the first to work on it and the second went out. The MC was going through introductory stuff, and the staff struggled with Fire 1, going to get more kindling, etc. Finally, a leader from the audience jumped up and started working on Fire 2. After some huffing and puffing he got his fire burning while the staff still struggled with Fire 1. Not a good acquital of their Scout training...Eventually, all fires were burning and the singing and skits commenced. A good time was had by all. At last, to the strains of the Camp Emerald Bay hymn, we silently strolled to our campsite (platform tents with metal bunks) and bundled up for bed. It was cold that night - I think it dipped into the 40s. I was worried Thing1 would be cold in his summer-weight kid's sleeping bag, so I put him in dry socks and a stocking cap and long jammies, and he stayed warm all night.
The next day the fun began. The camp had a number of activities for the boys. Many went fishing off the dock. Some did the geology belt loop, some went snorkeling, some went kayaking and canoeing, not many went swimming.
We started off with BB guns and archery (earning two belt loops), and spent much of our time at the ranges. We also went on a hike to Parson's Landing Saturday afternoon. This was poorly done on our part. First of all, the hike was right after lunch, the hottest time of day (and it was hot). Second, there were about 70 people on the hike, so it was kind of crowded. (The other families from our Pack went Sunday morning and were the only people on the hike.) Third, we didn't wear our bathing suits, and Thing 1 really wanted to get in the water. He climbed on rocks instead.Saturday evening there was a Pirate Festival after dinner. While the staff was setting that up, many kids started a chaotic soccer game, but Thing 1 isn't an organized-sports (or in this case, unorganized-sports) kind of kid, so he was running around with some other kids in the dark, playing some cops-and-robbers type of game called "Ding dong ditchers". I think this mainly consisted of knocking on the doors of the cabins and then running away, but I didn't ask too many questions... The festival was only so much fun, so Thing1 decided he wanted to hang out with his new friend D, instead. They were going over to the s'more fire. I said "Do you want me to come too?" Thing 1 thought about this a moment, and then said "Well, I think there will be enough adults around." Ditched by my own kid!
That night was not as cold. The next morning they had the activities open again.
Oddly, there was no church service (although one of the Packs was sponsored by a synegogue, so maybe they decided to avoid awkwardness). We went canoeing around Indian Rock, had lunch and then took off for home. We'd had a good time, but it was time to go home. Thing2 was terribly jealous of our weekend campout, so I'll have to plan some sort of father/son outing for him sometime soon.
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