Excursion 1

The weekend of the 4^th of July was staff development weekend. This was to be a fun weekend to be spent as a summer staff in order to make sure that we continue to get along. Friday night after battling the dust bunnies attempting to infiltrate the lodge, we all got ready and hopped on the bus. Cal drove us to Inwood, IA so we could go to the demolition derby. Upon arriving in Inwood we walked to the park in order to have supper. We had brought a cooler full of sandwiches, chips and cookies to enjoy. About halfway through our meal a muscular gentleman walked over to us, flexing his muscles the entire way, and said, “There are no coolers in the park today.” Then he walked about thirty feet away and watched us to ensure that we would indeed bring the coolers out of the park. All of us already had our food and started to eat it so all the coolers had in them was no longer needed ice. So we carried the coolers out of the park in order to appease the oversized man who felt as if he had won some kind of victory.

Next it was time for the demolition derby. I hadn’t been to a demo derby for at least 8 or 10 years and was therefore very excited. The derby was a ton of fun. Cars were smashing into each other, and we were picking favorites for no apparent reason. Of all the things I could have learned from such an event there is one thing that I walked away with; the station wagon is always a safe bet when it comes to predicting a demo derby winner.

After the derby we stayed around for fireworks. These I thoroughly enjoyed. My new favorite fireworks are the ones which blow up and make a loud noise like a cannon exploding. This annoyed some of the people around me but I absolutely loved it. For me the noise of fireworks is more impressive than the sounds they make.

While on our weekend excursion we realized many things about the outside world. I say this because being at camp is like being n a bubble without contact with the outside world. We learned that gas was “uber” expensive, it was Obama vs. McCain for president and that East Iowa had undergone some major flooding. From this I came to the realization that being at camp cuts you off from the outside world, however it is a safe haven from all evil of the world.