Summer Bucket List

All summer, so far, I have tagged along with our horse manager, Gilly. It has been so interesting for me to learn about horses and how to take care of them, tack them up, work with them, etc.

She has been a great teacher...apart from the fits of laughter she breaks into whenever Katniss, Jamers, or I get on a horse (jk). Some common phrases she shouts at us have been: "Feet!" "Fix your reins or I'm going to hang my washing on them!" "Chicken wings!!". It's been a blast and she has really been patient with us.



Yesterday, for the first time ever, I got to gallop on a horse! It was so cool. I have always wanted to, but never got the opportunity. It was on my camp "bucket list" and now I can cross it off! That's me:

I had such a great time, it must have clouded my judgement on my walk home from the barn. I was coming down a path and heard an animal rustling in the leaves about ten feet away from me. It was really dark, so all I could make out was a medium-sized, dark colored blob. My first, immediate thought was "GREAVER!" so I picked up a rock and threw it right at the mystery animal.

Next thing I knew, I was staring into the eyes of a rather large and angry skunk with nowhere to run and nothing to hide behind.

I literally froze.

All I could think of was "how am I going to get all the way back to camp with skunk juice in my eyes" and "I wonder if we have enough canned spaghetti sauce to get out the smell." We had a staring contest for the longest 6.7 seconds of my life and it decided to have mercy on me and walked away. I power walked all the way back to camp constantly checking behind me to see if it was in pursuit.

Anyways, speaking of my camp bucket list, here are a few additions:

Jump in the pond here (wait until you see it)
Celebrate the 4th of July in Philly
Canoe down the creek
Find a sweet spot for my hammock (that one's for you Mike)
Find an entrance to an underground railroad tunnel in the woods
Use every latrine on camp
Stay a night in Bell Manor
Identify all of the mysterious berry bushes around camp, then eat them

I'm still thinking of some more, so I'll update it as I go!

Night of the Twisters

After our first week with campers, we finally had a weekend off and decided to go to eat at TGI Fridays. We made a quick trip up to the horses to feed them and noticed a storm blowing in. It was promptly ignored and we headed out.

About a mile down the road, it started raining and hailing. We pressed on, crossed the dam, and GOT HIT WITH A GIANT TORNADO. Not really..but it actually just missed us. There were giant tree limbs all over the road and a truck in our lane got crushed by a falling tree. It was so insane.



After we ate, we had to go back another way home since they closed the dam. It was bumper to bumper due to a wreck and when we finally got through it there was a $6 toll booth. Between Jamers and I, we didn't have enough money and decided to drive through the EZ-Pass lane without a tag. In Texas, pretty sure they mail it to you...but in Maryland, giant alarms go off and all the green lights turn red and start flashing. We were so scared we sped off and took the first exit. The rest of the way home, we kept looking in our mirrors convinced the cops were going to hunt us down. I went back to camp and Googled it and all you have to do is call in and pay the toll...I think their means of communicating that to us was a bit excessive!

All in the name of adventure.

Summary of a trip to the grocery store with an international staff member:

Gilly: "then you put chips on top of it"
Me: "you cover it in french fries?!"
Gilly: "NO...CRISPS! THAT'S THE LAST TIME I TRANSLATE."

"Greater" Believer

This is a Greaver. Or as Gilly/Autocorrect would say, a "Greater". They are a highly venomous, super intelligent hybrid breed only known to Camp Congowingo. I would have a better picture, but the Greaver cannot be photographed. It is too elusive.

The Greaver can only be killed with a Chib, which is a Scottish weapon. We are working hard to spread awareness...this drawing was done on a napkin at a restaurant and was promptly explained to our waiter (who believed us).

They are trying hard to take us down. Just last week, Gilly twisted her knee, I hurt my ankle, and another counselor was bucked off a horse: all at the hands/paws/talons/death claws of the Greaver.

They're gathering forces and we're gathering Chibs. Are you a Greaver Believer?