Reason Twenty-Nine

On Friday nights we have a tradition of performing in the skit "Who Killed Cock Robin?". Basically this is a fun song that the entire camp gets to sing together, which also involves special characters like a fish and a sparrow. Each character has a costume, props, and ways to involve the scouts. The actors also bring their own flare to their part. When I first came to EB this skit took place inside the Dining Hall. However, as camp has grown the skit has moved to the outside of the Dining Hall and presently the campfire circle.To this day, I still find it hilarious!

Reason Twenty-Eight

One big way to show you care about someone at Emerald Bay is to throw them into the ocean. We throw staff in for birthdays, a staff member's last day, and scouts throw their rangers in on Saturday mornings before they leave. However, if someone says they don't want to be thrown in, the staff does respect that and will not throw them in.

To any scouts reading this blog, if you want to throw someone into the ocean, first check with your adult leaders, as well as the waterfront director and your ranger. There are rules associated with throwing someone in and if they are not followed, there are major consequences.

Reason Twenty-Seven

This reason is for all of my readers who are movie buffs.

The 1935 version of "Treasure Island" was filmed at various places on Catalina Island, with many shots of Emerald Bay. Other movies made on the island include "Mutiny on the Bounty" (the bison were brought over for this movie), "The Sea Witch", "McHale's Navy". and "McArthur". Many television shows have also been recorded, such as the kids' show "Endurance". The creators filmed one season at Parson's Beach, which is where our scouts go on their war canoe trip.

Reasons Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six

Twenty-Five:
Last night we had a rave in the Trading Post- it was amazing!! There were color-changing glow sticks everywhere and all of the staff members had at least three things on that glowed in the dark. Most of the lights were off to add to the effect, plus some of the kids who bought glow sticks were raving with them at the doors. It was really neat and everyone had a lot of fun.

Twenty-Six:
Emerald Bay is constantly looking for new ways to make camp more eco-friendly. We compost leftovers, have installed new water-saving toilet flush valves, and reused old dock material to build the Caldwell. Just today, the Nature Director and I incorporated reusing milk cartons as bird feeders for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Merit Badge. If any of my readers have any other great green ideas, please post them. Then I can pass the ideas on to those who can implement them at camp. Thanks for your help!

Reason Twenty-Four

Since I've written about the amazing camp dogs, I also have to write about the feral cats who live at Emerald Bay. Currently we have Tommy, Subzero, Mouse, Oops, Gato, and OJ. Tommy is the handsome orange cat who follows people around South Hill, looking for food. Sub, Mouse, and OJ tend to hang out either by the dinning hall (they love cream) or in the maintenance yard. Gato and Oops stay on Old South Hill.

I have to mention Troubles also. He was the Ranger's cat, who had been in some unfortunate arguments with other animals. He was a fun cat, but sadly is no longer with us.

Reason Twenty-Three

The camp dogs. There have been three dogs in my time at Emerald Bay: Wally, Muffin, and Ajax. Anyone going out to camp this summer will get to meet Ajax, the adorable Boxer who boxes.

Reason Twenty-Two

My favorite place at camp is the Chapel. The view is amazing, you can see the entire bay; on clear days you can see past two harbors and back to the mainland. Plus the secluded nature of its location makes it very quiet, very serene. I make it a point to visit the Chapel on every trip I take to Emerald Bay because it's such a fantastic place to clear my mind and let go of all stress. I highly recommend spending at least a few moments in this wonderful place when you visit camp.