Day 2 -- Family Camp

Campus By the Sea, Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California

On the second full day of camp, I think everyone is just that much more relaxed and into the groove of "time out" from the hurry-hurry schedule that we all too often find ourselves living.

So the two of us woke early again and tiptoed out of the cabin so we wouldn't wake Desiree and Tristan. Once we got to the shoreline and sipping our coffee, we had the fun of watching a couple of the staff push the trash "barge" out into the water to "motor" it down to the local dumping station. Getting the barge into the water is a carefully practiced procedure. As they "motored away" and the tractor sat there on the rocky shore, I looked at Mr. Fun and said, "Here's my opportunity to sit on some 'heavy equipment' and get my photo taken." Honestly I looked so bad--had my hair tucked up under one of Mr. Fun's baseball hats that I wasn't sure I wanted a camera pointed at me. So I have purposefully included a shot that doesn't clearly show me. Next time I'll know to come to the shore all "dolled-up" to get my photo taken with the trash tractor!

Also in that photo of me on the tractor you can see the early birds who have come to water ski as they stand on the dock at the end of the pier. Our two kids used to do that when they were younger. They loved water skiing at camp.

The next photo is our family camp directors, Paul & Virginia Friesen, telling the little ones a story. This was during the morning devotion time after breakfast. The kids love being asked to come up front and interact with the story.

The next three photos show some of what we experienced later in the day. Two bald eagles landed in one of the eucalyptus trees right in the middle of camp. The seagulls went crazy trying to attack them. We thought that was an indication that the gulls nest was endangered by the eagles. I pointed my camera at the eagle most visible, but never dreamed that it would be this clear.

All afternoon we had fun with Tristan on the waterfront. The photo clearly shows that the lee-side of Catalina Island does not have a sandy shore, but a very rocky one. Tristan really didn't care. He filled his little bucket with rocks, dirt, whatever and then added water to it. We were both amazed and pleased at how well Tristan amuses himself. The afternoons were long and leisure and we simply enjoyed the sun, the summer breeze, and the symphony all around us of other families having fun together.

After a delicious dinner was enjoyed by all and the OTS crew (opportunity to serve--most people know it as KP) had cleaned-up, everyone met at the fire ring, which is right at the shoreline. The last few times we had been at camp, the fire ring had not been included in any of the evening activities, so this was a wonderful moment of singing Christian songs and then everyone was invited to make smores (graham crackers, marshmallows, and a square of Hershey's chocolate) Yum! It was a beautiful lovely evening in early summer. After smores the singing continued with the musicians taking requests for particular songs. One-by-one the group headed for their cabins and hopefully a good night of sleep.

Thanks for reading this far. I doubt that most will, but this journal is especially for my family so someday they can remember when.

Rosie (& Mr. Fun) aka, Carol