I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd last updated. I mean, three days isn't a long time, but it is when you're waiting for an update, or you're used to be posting more often.
These past few days have been so busy I don't know where to begin. It was hard at first, thinking that We weren't as connected with this group as the last, which is still kind of true, but we're definitely getting to know this group a lot better. There's a lot of great campers and some that have been going to camp for years now, so it's been nice to see them around and watch how they interact with others.
We had the carnival night on Tuesday, which was again a big success. I got to see more of the campers and hang out with them some. Yesterday was movie night. They watched Wreck-it Ralph while we had our staff meeting. After the movie night, the counselors had a mid-week motivational meeting, so our staff had to be on night watch to make sure all the campers were fine while they slept. The staff members on my cluster of cabins ended up just watching a movie, since all the campers were fine.
Other then that, I've just kept pretty busy in the kitchen making breakfast and lunch for 100 campers and staff members. I've made lots of different foods: breakfast egg bake, pancakes, Muslie French toast, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese, turkey burgers, kale chips, and much, much more. Needless to say, the menu here is awesome and I'm loving every moment of it. Not only do I get to cook great food, but eat great food, all summer long!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Weekend Trips and a New Camp Session
A lot has gone on in the past 48 hours, and I am way to tired than I should be to write about it, but I must force myself to write it out before I forget.
On Saturday after lunch we left to go camping at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Unfortunately, when we got there they were all out of camp sites. But we still got to walk around a little and see the park. It's BEAUtiful, by the way!
So we headed back towards camp and found a campsite on Lake Almanor. We set up a few tents and built a fire, typical camping stuff. We roasted hotdogs with onions over the fire in foil packs and scarfed down a ton of Oreos and peanut butter. We walked around the lake some and got to see the moon, which was SUPER big that night. The rest of the night we hung out around the campfire and talked mostly.
Then, when we got back it was back to the camp scene. This week is another session of Camp ReCreation and a whole new set of campers and counselors are ready for another good week.
Today I was able to attend their Mass. It was kinda fun and interesting to get to see how they do their services here. Lots of singing and maraca shaking. Some of the campers also got to act out the bible story being told, so that was fun.
Today we ended with a Hollywood trivia game show. The campers were asked a ton of questions about Disney and for the most part, were pretty good. There was a lot of fun and cheering.
This week I have a morning kitchen shift, so I get to cook breakfast and lunch, which has been wonderful. I love cooking, and this shift has the most cooking, so I'm excited. It makes it worth getting up before 6 am.
Add up everything I've done this past 24 hours, and I'm exhausted. But it's been totally worth it.
On Saturday after lunch we left to go camping at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Unfortunately, when we got there they were all out of camp sites. But we still got to walk around a little and see the park. It's BEAUtiful, by the way!
So we headed back towards camp and found a campsite on Lake Almanor. We set up a few tents and built a fire, typical camping stuff. We roasted hotdogs with onions over the fire in foil packs and scarfed down a ton of Oreos and peanut butter. We walked around the lake some and got to see the moon, which was SUPER big that night. The rest of the night we hung out around the campfire and talked mostly.
Then, when we got back it was back to the camp scene. This week is another session of Camp ReCreation and a whole new set of campers and counselors are ready for another good week.
Today I was able to attend their Mass. It was kinda fun and interesting to get to see how they do their services here. Lots of singing and maraca shaking. Some of the campers also got to act out the bible story being told, so that was fun.
Today we ended with a Hollywood trivia game show. The campers were asked a ton of questions about Disney and for the most part, were pretty good. There was a lot of fun and cheering.
This week I have a morning kitchen shift, so I get to cook breakfast and lunch, which has been wonderful. I love cooking, and this shift has the most cooking, so I'm excited. It makes it worth getting up before 6 am.
Add up everything I've done this past 24 hours, and I'm exhausted. But it's been totally worth it.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Friday Night
Today was another "last full day of camp." This week has flown by it doesn't even seem like it's been three days. Last night we had a talent show that everyone got to participate in, so that was fun. Everyone got to be in a skit or sing a song. Everyone loved it, so it was wort it!
Today's evening activity was a formal dinner and dance. Everyone got all dressed up, the staff served the campers, and we ate in a decorated dinning hall. Afterwards everyone headed down to the amphitheater for an outdoor dance. I was a little worried about how it would go at first, but it ended up being really great. I got to dance with a few of the campers, and they all seemed to have a really good time. A lot of them really like to dance and some of them are pretty good. And of course, we danced to some classics like the Cha-Cha slide, The Macarena, The Chicken Dance, and The YMCA.
Tomorrow we'll have our 24 hours break. This weekend most of the food service interns have decided to go camping, so we're headed to Lassen Volcano National Park for the night. It's a local national park and one of California's active volcanos, so it should be fun. They have a ton of camping sites and sites to see, so it should be really neat. It was one of the places I wanted to go when I was looking at the area before I arrived, but I wasn't sure if anyone would want to go since it's over an hour's drive, but then again, so is a lot of things. So that's our plan so far, we'll see how that goes!
Today's evening activity was a formal dinner and dance. Everyone got all dressed up, the staff served the campers, and we ate in a decorated dinning hall. Afterwards everyone headed down to the amphitheater for an outdoor dance. I was a little worried about how it would go at first, but it ended up being really great. I got to dance with a few of the campers, and they all seemed to have a really good time. A lot of them really like to dance and some of them are pretty good. And of course, we danced to some classics like the Cha-Cha slide, The Macarena, The Chicken Dance, and The YMCA.
Tomorrow we'll have our 24 hours break. This weekend most of the food service interns have decided to go camping, so we're headed to Lassen Volcano National Park for the night. It's a local national park and one of California's active volcanos, so it should be fun. They have a ton of camping sites and sites to see, so it should be really neat. It was one of the places I wanted to go when I was looking at the area before I arrived, but I wasn't sure if anyone would want to go since it's over an hour's drive, but then again, so is a lot of things. So that's our plan so far, we'll see how that goes!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Weather Update
So living in Northern California, you'd think it'd be warm, nice, and sunny all the time, right? Wrong. We've had some pretty ridiculous weather the past week. Although, I can't say I wasn't warm because my boss Vicky warned us that weather here in June is crazy. Needless to say, it's been pretty chilly. It's still pretty sunny, but we haven't had waterfront the last two days because it's been to cold for the campers to play at the beach. And to top that, it's hailed, yes hailed, three out of the last ten days. Returning staff members said they didn't see hail once last year, and we've already had it three times. When I work up this morning and went outside, I was surprised by little slush piles the hail left behind all over camp. Not exactly what I thought I'd be seeing in the middle of June, but I guess that's the weather for ya...
Happy Campers
The campers this week are all great. They may have disabilities but most of them are really smart. Here's a little bit about them:
Maria (left) is a helper, so almost always wants to help do something wether it's dishes or sweeping, but we usually can't let her help to much otherwise she won't leave to go to her activity.
Darth (brighter blue jacket and hat) is really enthusiastic, anytime we sing a song or cheer for an activity, his voice can always be heard.
Maria (left) is a helper, so almost always wants to help do something wether it's dishes or sweeping, but we usually can't let her help to much otherwise she won't leave to go to her activity.
Marissa (left) LOVES chocolate chip pancakes, and she can tell you anything about any disney movie. She's also got a stuffed dog named Kelly which she loves very much and likes to carry around so he can have fun too.
Jordan (in the brown hat) can't speak, but he doesn't have to. He's full of smiles and is great a giving hugs. He's a favorite this week for sure.
Douglas (middle) is the funniest in my oppinion. He lets you know if he doesn't like something and loved splashing people at the waterfront yesterday.
Darth (brighter blue jacket and hat) is really enthusiastic, anytime we sing a song or cheer for an activity, his voice can always be heard.
Nick loves to play his saxophone and tell jokes. He's always sining or chanting and loves to dance. You can count on him for a laugh.
Shamus is very hyperactive. His counselor has to be with him constantly because he runs off and would jump into the fire pit or lake without even thinking twice. He's a bundle of joy and energy and just likes to have fun!
Tommy loves fishing. He played the go fish game at the carnival seriously like twenty times.
Shamus is very hyperactive. His counselor has to be with him constantly because he runs off and would jump into the fire pit or lake without even thinking twice. He's a bundle of joy and energy and just likes to have fun!
Tommy loves fishing. He played the go fish game at the carnival seriously like twenty times.
Patrick is very organized. He helps people put their dishes away, and makes sure they stack their trays and bowls in the right pile. He's a camper this week, but he's coming back in August to volunteer with another camp.
Stewart is really smart. He's really good at math, and if you were to tell him your full birthday, he could tell you what day of the week you were born. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
Catch Up
The last few days have been very long, busy, and rewarding. Last night we had a carnival for the campers, which was a big success. There were carnival games like ring toss, go fish, and face paint, as well as other fun activities like a photo booth, ice cream bar and prize table. Throughout the night there was also a lot of dancing and we ended with the Cha-Cha slide, The Macarena, and The Chicken Dance. Here are some pictures from last night's activities:
Ping-pong Toss
Go Fish
Ping-pong Toss
Splat
Photo Booth
Ping-pong Toss
Photo Booth
Dance Party
Monday, June 17, 2013
Camp ReCreation
Today was another first day of camp.
Camp ReCreation is a camp of mostly adults with disabilities, although there is a camper as young as twelve. Disabilities range from sight, mobility, and mental development. They are a rowdy group with lots of character, I'm looking forward to watching them throughout the week.
Each camper is paired up with a counselor, who gives them full attention and help 24 hours a day. Today we got to meet the other counselors and get to know some of them before the campers arrived today.
It was a hectic day in the kitchen, and we had help from three different program areas helping at one time. Lots of people coming in and out, since we started later than we usually will. But in the end we got everything done on time and it was fine, but we were a little worried at first. This week I'll work a split shift, so I'll work 8-11 and then 3-close. Since I had a cooking shift last week, I'll be doing more dishes and random prep work rather than cooking the main courses. Today's been good, but long, and I'm looking forward to falling asleep tonight. So with that, goodnight!
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