Hello everyone! Now it’s the Pixels’ turn to write this blog! Who are we? We’re a group of twelve motivated campers! Our motto is “as individuals, we go small, as a group, we go big.” We are very excited to work on the blog today! Who are the Pixels, formerly Group A? We are Hillary Frankowiak, Dan Mabashov, Asia Riedinger, Tiffany Hill, Carolina Kohn, Claira Oberrender, Martha Wolcott, Dana Hill, Anthony Finocchio, Dakota Johndrow, Mike Hesser, and Juan Dillard!
It is the 4th of July and it has been two hundred and thirty-three years since we gained our independence from Britain! It is really important for us all to celebrate the day because if it wasn’t for those courageous leaders who stood up to Britain, there wouldn’t be a country called the United States of America! So, to celebrate we went out to some fun places! Newport, South Beach, and a fireworks show!
At 7:30 am, all the campers and staff got on two yellow buses and headed off to Newport. During the two-hours bus trip, we learned a lot of new things about each other! We played games, talked about our interests and hobbies, some campers slept on the way, some read a book and some of us shared jokes and riddles. Our excitement increased as we neared our destination!
After a long and scenic bus trip, we finally entered civilization. After ten days at Camp Taloali we all were thrilled to be in a new and different environment! Don’t get us wrong! We love Camp Taloali, but we needed a break from the place! Newport is a tiny town with little home-owned stores, candy shops, and restaurants. The town smelled like fish, nevertheless, we were thrilled to have free time to go by ourselves and explore! We split into several groups and many hurried to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum. The museum was small, but we enjoyed seeing strange people, hovering in a starry room, which is really a room of mirrors and light effects, and dodging the creepy woman and the photographer whose camera flashes randomly. Newport also gave us food that we don’t get at the camp. We bought candy, ice cream, and soda! Several people went nuts over sushi near the Ripley’s museum and some had delicious clam chowder at Mo’s, a locally owned restaurant. We filled our stomachs with junk food and wondered when the next time we would get to eat these treats will be. There were a lot of stores, we had fun exploring gift shops and down to earth stores! Before we knew it, it was 12:45 pm - the time we all had to meet at the meeting spot. We rushed into the buses because we knew it was time for the beach!
“Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum was interesting but short. My favorite part was the ending, in the space room when I thought I was going to fall!” –Joshua Canulla
We arrived at South Beach around 1:30 p.m., the weather was not that great, it was breezy and foggy. The ocean was cold but luckily the staff allowed us to go for a short dip, as long as we changed into warm clothes immediately after! Several campers ran into the cold water and ran right back out! It was exciting and refreshing. After that, we took a lot of pictures of each other jumping and some of us took outstanding posed pictures. Then, the staff gave us an activity to do, which was to build a sand sculpture to represent our group. We only had thirty minutes to do it, but all of the groups did an awesome job! And, of course, we became hungry so our magnificent chefs cooked us scrumptious hamburgers with chips. We enjoyed the cook-out by chatting, playing volleyball, and other games.
“It was pretty fun, I didn’t like the cold weather but the food tasted great! –Justine Webb
When we got on the bus from the beach, we went to watch fireworks at Stayton Middle School near Camp Taloali. When we arrived, we played some games such as Ultimate Frisbee, jump frog, and telling each other many jokes and riddles. When the moment arrived, everyone sat down and started making themselves very comfortable and enjoyed beautiful fireworks show which lasted for a good twenty minutes!
“I had so much fun at the beach, we got to take many pictures, and we made great memories. I enjoyed the fireworks, they were beautiful!” –Sergio Carrillo
John Hagner, Bobby Douglas Brock, Jordan Rasmer, and Leo Curry grinning ear to ear at Newport!
Hilary Stone, Asia Riedinger, and Kayla LaBruno looking very fashionable in Newport!
Our awesome female YLC staff members jumping on South Beach!
Sergio Carrillo was one of the campers who went for a dip in the cold water!
Michelle Mansfield-Hom working on her group's sand sculpture!
The Pixels!
Our traditional YLC campers picture on the beach.
Our fabulous YLC staff!
Our skilled chefs, Shari McMahon, Matt Krueger, and Martin Dale-Hench have been working hard to serve us delicious food!
Oh no! The sugar the campers had today rotted their teeth! Ha ha!
After a great day, we went back to beautiful Camp Taloali, we were very exhausted but we went to bed with a smile on our faces. As we drifted off to sleep we remembered to think to ourselves:
"YLC ’09 GOOD NIGHT!"
