Mmm…chocolate…and…$1.99 sweaters?

A couple weeks ago, (actually only a week after we got back from camp), I found out that we were going on another trip. lol I love those last minute trips, where you know a couple days ahead…it’s almost less stressful…you kinda just get up, pack, and go. So we basically had just enough time to get the tents dried out, do the laundry, and go through our mail before we left.

We rented a car, and left on Saturday (July 28). Now this car…*sigh* it’s a nice color and all…but I kinda hate PT Cruisers…I’m sorry…but they drive me insane. I could go on and on, but I won’t. In short, the packing space in the back is barely enough for 4 suitcases…and we had more than that to fit in, and the back seats are like the most uncomfortable ever…the backs go like straight up…which I didn’t like. And on top of that, they look rediculous…

My apologies to the PT lovers out there…but that’s just how I feel about them. And it was also automatic (as opposed to standard) which was just plain annoying. Gimme a manual transmission anytime

So we drove from here to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday, stayed overnight there and went to church with friends from camp (the dad is a pastor there at the church). Actually it was Matt’s family (see the previous blog on camp). But Matt wasn’t there…lol He was actually still here in Canada, which was the funny thing…anyways…it’s not like I hadn’t seen him for a while…I’d just spent a whole week with him…which was enough lol jk

So Sunday we drove from PA to Dayton, Ohio through West Virginia. So actually, we hit 5 states I think…nope…6 (we went through Indiana on our way to Kentucky). So yeah, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. lol I always love counting how many states I’ve been to. I think I’ve only been to 9 (in addition to these 6, Michigan, Illinois, and New Jersey). But that’ll change…I can hardly wait for that drive down to California lol

Anyways…back to my trip. So we stayed in Ohio, and drove down to Kentucky on Monday. We went to the brand new Creation museum down there. It was totally awesome. They had all the latest technology, new everything, cool exhibits…but none of the millions and billions of years junk. They definitely need more museums like that one!! Anyways…If you ever get a chance to go down there (it’s like, half an hour from Cincinnati), it’s worth it.

So Tuesday and Wednesday dad had to work, so the rest of us went shopping at the mall there in Dayton (or I guess we were in Fairborn…or Fairfield…I can never remember…cuz one of those is the name of the hotel, the other is the name of the city…and I always get them confused…lol). The exchange rate was almost par, so the shopping was great anyways, but I found this store where they were closing, or clearing inventory…not quite sure, but it doesn’t matter, cuz I got 4 sweaters (originally $25.99-$30.99) for $1.99 each. Yeah…kinda like a TGTBT thing…but it was true. Anyways…that probably only excites me, cuz I’m a shopaholic…lol I may like shopping, but I almost NEVER buy anything at regular price…I don’t think I’ve done that for a few years actually…unless it’s something I really need. I can make my money last…so it’s not like my shopaholicness is a problem My brother keeps it under control…”*ahem* Laura…you don’t NEED another pair of shoes…you already have too many…Laura…it’s not really your color, so I don’t think you should get that one…just get the other two…” lol He’s great…except when he’s tired or hungry. lol

So on Thursday we headed back in the direction of home, but had 4 days to do it. So we went back to Harrisburg, PA and did a bunch of little things in little places around Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lewisburg. We went to Hershey, PA and did the chocolate factory thing…mmm…chocolate…I love chocolate…I just don’t understand people who don’t. lol Anyways…so that was fun…and then we went to this little place called Lititz. There’s a chocolate factory there too, called Wilbur’s Chocolates. And in our (my family) opinion, the chocolate there is way better than Hershey’s. But, it’s a smaller factory (way smaller) so they don’t sell retail (they only sell their baking chocolate to bakeries and candy makers). The only place they sell the chocolates they make is in their little store in Lititz. So we bought lots of chocolate there too. But the thing is, it doesn’t have any preservatives in it, and it was so hot (it was over 100 F almost every day we were done there…so that’s like…about 40 C I guess for those of you who can’t really translate F to C…lol) that from the store to the car (just across the road) the chocolate had already started to melt. Luckily we had thought to bring a cooler with us, so it was all good. The chocolate (that we didn’t eat ) made it home in one piece.

On our way across from Ohio to Pennsylvania, through the mountains, there were these cool tunnels through the mountain. I tried to take a picture here, I think it worked not too bad…it was just so cool…here’s a picture from outside the tunnel and then inside the tunnel too…

So yeah, we just did random stuff around Pennsylvania till Sunday, and we went to church in Lewisburg again, and that week Matt had come home, so I got to see him then. And then we drove home Sunday…which only took about 10 hours…which wasn’t bad. It seemed like no time at all…but I guess I’m used to driving long days now. We put 3,900 km on the car (that’s WHY we rented that dumb PT Cruiser lol).

Anyways, it was a great trip, I got to go shopping, we got chocolate…it’s all good . This is the second time we’ve been down to Ohio…we went last fall too. I love it down there…especially in Kentucky…cuz they all talk like me . So if you ever go down to Kentucky…it’ll remind you of me… Not sure if that’s a good thing or not…but yeah…

Rockwood Acres

Yes, I realize how late this is…I just found this in my drafts…lol I apparently started writing about my week at camp and then didn’t continue. So I’m too lazy/tired/whatever to continue…so this is my partial week at camp. It actually went till Friday, July 19, so this is most of it…

Friday, July 13, 2007

So…I’m here! Driving over, we came through about 6 different places where it rained for like 60 seconds and then the sun came out completely. So it was kinda hard to tell if it was going to rain while we were setting up camp or not. So when we got here, it was nice and sunny. I got to drive the car through the trees and rocks and stuff and back it up to the hill to unload (if you’re wondering why it’s called “Rockwood Acres”…well I definitely know now…lol). That was fun There’s all these rocks and stuff in the ground that just kinda come outta nowhere. Anyways, I managed to straddle and miss most of them .

So we got the gigantic tarp up. I put my new tent up, Geoff and my parents put up the other tent, and we discovered that the dining tent wasn’t going to fit completely under the tarp. The tarp’s big, but because of the position of the firepit, there just wasn’t enough room for the dining tent. So dad put up another tarp and everything was good. Ruth drove in as I was blowing up the air mattresses in the car…well you know what I mean…inflating them

Oh yeah, I also had to move the car around to the other side of the hill (in the volleyball court). I had to go between a row of trees that’s was literally 6 inches from the car on both sides. Perfect place to learn to drive huh. Mhmm…Anyways that was Friday.

We played games and stuff in the barn with Ruth till 11 or so…then I went to bed. Friday night was sooo incredibly cold. I don’t know how to describe it. It was just unbelievable for a July night. I’m pretty sure it went down to at least 8 or 9 degrees. I didn’t sleep very much all night. It was just too cold to sleep. I had sleeping bags, and blankets, and towels, and sweatshirts, and two pairs of pajama pants and I was still freezing beyond freezing. Needless to say, I survived, however it was insanely cold. Did I get my point across? IT WAS COLD.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Ok I won’t bore you with details anymore. Just the highlights . Nothing much exciting happened till the Harryman’s and Kruger’s and friends came. I guess they got there about 1 or so. The Harryman’s were camped with their trailer just down the hill from us again, as usual. The guys were up on the hill above us, which was great, except for the fact that they were really noisy going up and down the hill at like 2 in the morning. But we can forgive them (I mean I can…I hate it when I start talking about myself in the third person… )

Saturday night we played games and stuff I think…I actually can’t remember now…lol…oops. Well actually, I remember the rain. When the Harryman’s came in, it was raining. Like, not pouring, but just an annoying *rain*. By then I was sick of the rain (it had been raining all day) so I just walked around in the rain with everybody cuz I couldn’t stand being stuck inside anymore. And I dry off…I don’t melt too easily .

It was also really cold on Saturday. I guess the rain didn’t help anything…thank goodness for the barn though. Saturday night I wasn’t AS cold as Friday night…partially because I borrowed my dad’s sleeping bag…which is supposed to be good down to 0 degrees…but I was still a bit chilly.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

So on Sunday, I had a shower! Woohoo I know…lol Well you have to understand Rockwood Acres to understand the thought “having a shower at RWA”. lol Anyways, once again, it was so cold that I had to wear jeans and a long sleeved shirt to chapel that morning. And yes, it was raining again.

Sunday afternoon we just kinda had a plain afternoon talking and stuff. I think I went driving that afternoon…or maybe it was Saturday morning. But there are lots of hills and stuff around there…and curves and going down one of the curves to a bridge on the way to chapel…well lets say the first time was really freaky. It’s an insane (yes I know…I like that word!) curvy hill thing. But the second time was fun .

Anyways, Jonny’s still convinced that I’m his little sister (Jonathan and I were born on the same day, and he’s convinced he was born before me…however the birth certificates say otherwise…but he still doesn’t believe it…lol I AM his older sister…so there). The whole week consisted of debates over who’s older. Funny how all the girls side with me, and all the guys side with him. lol Anyways…I know I’m right and that’s all that matters. Or is it?

Sunday night I slept in Briel and Cristina’s tent…and we were so cold. The three of us, sleeping bags, blankets, sweatshirts, all crammed onto a little queen sized mattress…and we were still freezing. It has never been this cold at camp before. Never. And smart me brought tank tops and shorts. *sigh* I didn’t think I’d need to bring my entire winter wardrobe with me…

Monday, July 16, 2007

Monday morning was our first class. Our leader, Trevor, is a pretty cool guy. Jake’s so lucky to have Trevor as his youth pastor. Anyways…Jesse and Matt had those air guns, and kept shooting Trevor…in class. It was funny. lol Well we were outside… I think Monday was a nice day…yeah it was I think. Not too much rain. lol

We played [violins] as a family Monday night. That was fun…Briel and Cristina and I and the boys (hereafter “us” or “we”…we doesn’t refer to me and my family…cuz at camp I usually don’t hang around with my family…I do that all year ) sat outside during chapel. Jonathan’s little sister Chloe is so cute…I gave her my MP3 player to listen to Veggi Tales to keep her occupied. Every so often she’d burst out singing some random Veggi Tales song along with the MP3…which was hilarious…I had to keep reminding her to be quiet…she’s so cute.

When we got back to camp, it was ice cream time (Monday nights are always Ice Cream Nite). I had a sundae…although I would have gotten a float if Matt would have put Skittles in it…but he said he couldn’t do that…I was even going to give him more money to do that…but he just wouldn’t. *sigh* I’ll work on him for next year. I mean…how cool would Skittles be in a float? Like…totally cool.

Monday night we had a campfire up on the hill at the guy’s campsite. It was kinda hard to start, cuz everything was so wet. But we managed. Every night so far, there were coyotes howling in the not-so-distance. It’s a bit disconcerting, cuz they’re really close…and you’re just in a tent. But after a few nights you get used to it…and you think it sounds pretty cool…camping involves lots of wildlife right? Well I thought that was cool until Uncle Jim told us he saw a bear in the camp a few days before…hehe…a lot of the moms didn’t like that. It’s surprising, for as long as we’ve been going to RWA (which is like as long as I’ve been around…lol) there’s never been any wildlife problems…like no bears or anything like that. This year was the first year though…something got into our dining tent and ate our cookies No I’m serious…that’s all it ate. We had one of those plastic store containers with cookies in it…like 20 or so cookies…and it knocked it off the picnic table and ate them all lol It’s actually so sad it’s funny…*sniff* they were good cookies too…I hope whatever ate them got a real bad tummy ache from them…lol

Anyways, I think what I was going to say, is that when we were up on the hill having our campfire, we heard the coyotes not too far off, and then we heard a moose. Now, my mom says I’m crazy, and that it was a cow (cuz the cows across the road from the camp are always mooing and making lots of noise at night…it’s actually so loud it’s hard to sleep), but we all heard a moose…it was no cow. lol

Anyways I thought that was pretty cool…And tons more happened on Monday…but I’ll leave it there…I’ll never get to the end of the week if I continue…lol

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Tuesday we hung out in the Harryman’s camper for most of the morning/afternoon. Took lots of crazy pictures…and more pictures…and just kinda talked. Then we went to the beach Tuesday afternoon. It finally warmed up enough to go swimming. Well originally we weren’t going to go in swimming (the boys did), but we convinced ourselves to go in. The lifeguards this year weren’t as bad as they usually are. I’m sure last year’s lifeguards were the worst ever. I can tell you stories about what some certain individuals did to the lifeguards last year…moving things…hiding things…hehe…I won’t say any names lol.

Anyways…back to this year. Matt and Jake and Jesse had muscle shells and were trying to open them. Unfortunately, they succeeded in opening them and took out the guts and were throwing the guts around…I think they were trying to gross the girls out, but didn’t succeed. lol

Tuesday night Briel and Cristina and I were going to walk to chapel, so we asked Matt if he wanted to walk with us. He said no. We tried to convince him…we really tried…we almost had him convinced…and then we realized it was too late to walk anyways…so we had to get a ride in Jake’s van. We had 11 people squished in the van. And that’s nothing compared to some years… Oh, plus Jake’s dog.

*sigh* Jake’s poor little dog. Now she’s a topic all on her own. Socks [Sox] (nobody can agree on the spelling) is a white Jack Russell who likes to dig holes. lol She’s the runt of the litter, so she’s really small. On top of that, she’s fully blind in one eye, and pretty much blind in the other eye. And she’s almost completely deaf. And, according to Jake, she’s slightly (or not so slightly) mentally retarded…but I’m not so sure about that…I mean…how can you tell if a dog is mentally retarded?? lol Anyways, Socks runs around in circles non-stop. She’ll get herself wound around trees, picnic tables, even peoples legs…lol And she doesn’t know how to get un-wound. It’s so sad, it’s almost funny. Even when she’s not tied up, she runs in the same sized circles as when she is tied up…anyways…she’s cute, but slightly annoying…you get dizzy watching her…

Back to the van. We got halfway to the chapel, and Aunt Brenda (Jake’s mom) pulled into their trailer (they have a trailer near the camp). And she said we had to walk the rest of the way. So Matt ended up having to walk anyways. Which was kinda funny. So we sat outside that night too.

On the way back, we got a ride with Aunt Brenda again to their trailer (halfway). And we had to walk back the rest of the way…but Matt didn’t like that either…lol So he flagged down his grandma in her truck and the six of us got a ride back to camp…well, three in the back seat, one in the front and Cristina and me in the back…the best place in my opinion…with the back gate down. It’s pretty cool cuz there’s lots of hills and dips and stuff on the road, so you gotta hold on or you’ll slide out the back…

Anyways…Tuesday night was…oh yeah we played cups. I don’t know how widespread the knowledge of this game is…I have no idea at all. Maybe it’s just a Rockwood Acres thing. But anyways, you pass cups around in a circle on a table and sing a song that goes like this.

“On a Sunday,

Monday,

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

Friday,

Saturday night,

ALL RIGHT,

There’s a scare in the air of the Rinky Tinky Bear.”

And on “Rinky Tinky Bear” you keep your cup and whack it on the table twice and then keep going…it’s a really loud and obnoxious game. lol Especially when the little kids upstairs in the barn started playing the game with those orange traffic pilons instead of cups. That was bad. lol Creative though…I have to give that to them. And the usual games of spoons, and signal and whatever…after we played cups, the song (“On a Sunday, Monday…”) was stuck in everybody’s heads for the rest of the week…come to think of it…it’s still stuck in my head! Really really annoying….ahhh…

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Wednesday was the Teens Canoe Trip. It rained every day, at least at some point throughout the day, except for the canoe trip, which was really nice. Briel and Cristina and I were in a canoe together.

Unless it’s an emergency, or they’re the last people left, I’m not going to canoe with Matt and Jake again…lol Last year was…interesting to say the least. Actually, I’ll post that story on here after I finish this…it’s a terrible tale…something I never wish to experience again

Anyways, Jonny, Isaac, and Julio got the Harryman’s canoe…no idea how they got it instead of us…but oh well. So we bargained that if they got the canoe, we got the nice life jackets. Deal done. We wanted the paddles too…but that didn’t go over too well.

So Briel and I paddled first to where we were stopping.

Yeah I know…that’s annoying…it just stopped there. Anyways, you can imagine the rest. It was an awesome week…I’ll tell you about the rest if you really want to know…I think the general concensus was that it was too cold…very very cold…oh and on Thursday it rained all day…which was cool cuz we were having a BBQ/Chili dinner outside on Thursday…and it stopped raining just in time for that…but it was like a total downpour…and many peoples tents were like floating away…one guys campsite was under 6 inches of water…lol Luckily my dad knows how to set up camp, and we’re up on a hill…and I didn’t get wet once the entire week. And I’m happy with that

Here’s a picture from Thursday when we were hanging out inside the barn when it was pouring. We were actually trying to get dried off cuz we were soaked from running in from wherever we were. So yeah, that’s why we look a bit wet. Left to right: Cristina, Briel, me, Jake, and Matt…