Camping

Drew went on the new scout camp out last weekend. He isn't new to scouting, but he and the rest of his patrol are recent Cub Scout graduates and new to Boy Scouts. Camping is for Boy Scouts.

The trip was originally scheduled for the weekend after Easter. The forecast 4 days out was for 40 degrees and rain. The unaltered prediction led them to a change of plans on Thursday night. They would scrap Friday and leave Saturday morning and stay only one night. By Friday, they had postponed the event to the following weekend. Wise. Our Saturday morning soccer game was miserable.

Last weekend was perfect. Drew had never been camping. We were bathed in warm sun all weekend. My prepared scout chose not to apply the sunscreen in his pack. I don't think that will happen again. They saw a shooting star over the fire bowl Saturday night. And they worked on their fishing merit badge. There was a prize for the longest fish, which Drew didn't earn. But, with nine catches, he reeled in more than twice as many as the next guy. Who knew? He's only been fishing a handful of times. He filleted one of them, a requirement that he didn't enjoy, and then they cooked the fish for lunch. I don't know what Drew ate, but I'm 100% positive that it wasn't anything the boys caught.

He had a great time. I missed having him around, though. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering if he was warm enough. Then I wondered if I would hear the phone if he needed us. Then I remembered that he sometimes gets car sick. And we don't even know the guys who drove him. And he is a ridiculously picky eater. He was fine. He can't wait to go rappelling in May.