Wednesday 16 July 2008

Ithaca

About once a week, maybe a little less, the staff at camp get a day off. Now normally we drive into Scranton, watch a movie or two, shop for a while, and then get some really nice food, to make up for the abysmal stuff they serve in camp. Which is all very well, but after a while it can get a little..well, dull. So this week we (that is, Seth, Laura, Sparkles, Sparkles' girlfriend Kim and I) decided that we could do better. And better we did, when we discovered Ithaca, NY, famed for the Buttermilk Falls, a series of waterfalls that drop about 500' in total.

It took us a total for three and a half hours to drive there (two legs - we took a hotel the first night, just to get out of camp), and the weather was absolutely abysmal. It was rainy - not just rain, but a proper downpour, all day. Anyway, after some faffing about with the Navsat we found it. By now it's raining more heavily than it has done all day, but we decide to walk up anyway. The walk to the main fall, which has to be about 150' high, is about 300m walk away, and by the time we get there I'm wishing I'd changed into my swimming shorts because I'm soaked through, and panicking because I've nearly been brained by a rock the size of my head during a rockfall. But it was worth it. The falls are utterly breathtaking, but it gets better. The entire group decides that as we're here, and as we're soaked through already, we may as well swim in the splash pool. Which was cool.

After that we ended up changing into the only dry clothes we had, our swimming stuff, in the porch of a kindergarten, the most private place we could find, and then driving to the mall to buy new clothes, with all the hilarity that ensued.

So all in all, a great day out, but that won't compare to the next one, a double day off in New York! Woop!

Tuesday 8 July 2008

The Show, and more

Saturday was 'Performance Day', which is the culmination of the last two weeks' work. It's stressful - immensefully so, but fun. The juggling act in particular was worrying, but it worked out in the end. The parents were impressed with the tricks their children had learn, and the trainers were all impressed that noone messed up. For myself, it was the first time I've ever taken part in a circus show, and spotting children in acts I've not done before (Lyra!) was difficult, but I enjoyed it. There's even a few photos taken by my friends in the audience, which might show up at some point.

I don't have a massive amount of other news at the moment. Lots of stuff happening, but nothing worthy of being written down, especially as I have to go down to digi to watch a movie.

Bye all!

ps. I now own 5 bandanas...