The Much Anticipated Entry

I am sorry to keep you waiting all this time. I just wanted to let you all know a few things about the blogging process, so that you know what caused this long delay. Each day we go on the boat I (Andrew) have an opportunity to post on the blog using Mildred Belle's Laptop. This is very convenient because it allows the kids to write what should be included in the blog before I write it and then I can spend a portion of the boat ride reading through everyones' journal entries before I copy down the final product. However, things do not always go as planned. Often times the area in the Chesapeake we are travelling through does not offer an adequate wireless internet connection. Such times make it very difficult to post an entry. Also, we have had trouble with weather. On days when rain is falling/will fall later it is very hard (yet again) to get a decent internet connection. We have had two such days. Our blogging is certainly not an exact science and this is the first year that we have had the opportunity to do so. You can rest assured, even on days when a post has not appeared, that your students are learning and having fun. Also, on a kayak trip we took a few days ago we lost the Mildred Belle's boat camera so most pictures of our trip have been lost (they might be able to be retrieved in time). Again, we apologize for the decline in amount of blog entries and for the lack of pictures.

On to bigger and better things...

After our stop at Point Lookout we made our way to historic Crisfield. We toured the town which is full of crabhouses and old buildings related to the crab and oyster industries. These were the businesses that built the town. A lot has changed in the town, but even more has stayed the same. After the tour and lunch we went on a kayaking trip searching for a beach. However, the beach proved elusive and we got into a kayaking battle instead. We saw a few great blue herron among other birds. After dinner that night we took our FIRST shower all trip. Derek kiddingly tried to convince us that the kids didn't need the showers, but they were very happy and refreshed to take them.
The kids learned a lot more about navigation on the way to Solomon's Island and started a project (more to come on the project in a later blog!) At Solomon's Island we were treated to a suprise... PIZZA AND SODA. Needless to say, the students devoured it. We then made our way to our campsite and pitched tents. It rained that night and we had a fun night full of card tricks and games. This morning we went down to a beach and looked for fossils and shells and old sharks teeth. Shells that are 250 million years old were almost as common as sand. Some of the good finds were made by Justin (fossilized horseshoe crab shell) and Rebekah (fossilized crab claw).
Tonight we will be going to St Michael's Island where we will be camping on the grounds of St Michael's museum (my personal favorite campsite). Tours of the museum will be taken in the morning. Tonight the students will be taken to Justine's Icecream Parlor. Justine's has been recognized by such organizations as the New York Times as a TOP Icecream place in the country.

Here are some callouts from the kids to the parents and loved ones!

Albert- CTY is great! I hope everything is great at home.
Anirudh- Hi everyone, I am having a great time, this is a wonderful experience.
George- I miss you guys a lot but I'm having a great time.
Melissa- Hey, I miss you all and I'm having a great time.
Rebekah- I miss you guys and I'm having so much fun, can't wait to see you.
Charles- I miss you guys. I'm hungry and I'm craving mom's cooking.
Joe- I miss you all. Mom, you cooking is so, so, so, so good!
Sean- I miss Pumpkin and Dash. Send me some cheese fries.
Arjun- Uh... Vikings rule. Say hi to everyone. I'm reading Harry Potter AGAIN.
Derek- I need food and soda and stuff. Miss you.
Justin- Miss you guys lots, I'm hungry and I am going to need a filet mignon when I get back.

Mildred Belle signing out!

And We're Off!

After the ride down to Solomon's Island we got to know the crew of the Mildred Belle. Each of us got a nickname... most of which were quickly forgotten, except for the nickname of our captain, "Joe the Jerk." (This of course does not reflect our actual opinions!) We boarded the boat and made our way to our first campsite. We learned a lot about the boat on the first day and learned that we will be in charge of navigating the boat all by ourselves! After setting up camp at beautiful Jefferson Patterson Park, we played frisbee and learned the essentials of our campsite. In the morning we hiked to a replica of an indian camp ground and looked at the architecture. Currently we are on our way to Point Lookout- the 2nd most haunted place in the USA (we don't know what #1 is). Everyone in the Port lookout is currently rotating shifts of manning the helm, navigating, and being on lookout. I will try to get pictures and more updates online shortly!
Mildred Belle signing out!

Day 9

Sorry this hasn't been updated in awhile. We arrived in Crisfield on Saturday and were supposed to leave yesterday; however, weather forced us to stay at Crisfield until today. (By the way, pardon any typos from the past few entries...the waves have been large, which can make it hard to type sometimes.)

On Sunday, we took a ferry from Crisfield to Tangier Island. It is a very small island, but everybody enjoyed going into the few gift shops, spending time on the beach, and eating a lot of food.

Yesterday we were supposed to travel to Solomon's, but instead we drove to Assateague island. There, we hiked along a few different trails and saw wild ponies all over the island. We also got to walk along the beach of the ocean, where we saw a ghost crab and some tiny hermit crabs. Last night, we went to a real restaurant and ate pizza. It tasted great!

Now we are almost to Solomon's. Once we get there, we will be taking a van back to Baltimore. We will be staying at the Living Classrooms Foundation campus tonight before heading back to the College of Notre Dame tomorrow morning.

It's been a fun trip, and I will close with a quote from the students. Maybe they can explain it to you next time you talk :)

"It's too bad we could never make it to the waterfowl artwork museum and the antique stores. We were really disappointed but we were sure glad they were closed."

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

"Once we docked at St. Michael's Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, we got a guided tour of the museum. We encountered many intriguing exhibits. The one that we found most appealing was THE PUNT GUN. The punt gun is extremely heavy and extremely large gun that was used to take out multiple ducks all at the same time. Its ammunition included lead shots, nails, or whatever ammunition that was available to them. The punt gun was mounted onto a small row boat. In order to load the punt gun, people needed a step ladder and a steady object to lean the punt gun up against because you had to load it through the end of the barrel. During the middle of the night, hunters would quietly paddle to a nesting area. The hunters did this at night because the ducks were, as the expression goes, "sitting ducks". They were, in other words, sleeping. he use of the punt gun was later outlawed because the shots that did not hit the ducks ended up going under water and the ducks would eat them and get lead posioning and die a slow and very painful death.

Another interesting fact we learned was why St. Michaels was called the town that fooled the British. During the War of 1812 the British were going to bomb St. Michaels to prevent the destruction of the city. The citizens of St. Michaels decided to turn off all the lights in the town. After all the lights were turned off, they put lights in trees down the coastline from the town so the town appeared to be down the coastline away from the actual town. This resulted in the British firing at nothing."

By: Starboard Watch
Picture of the punt gun drwan by Mike W.

Day 4

Today is day 4 and right now, we are docked at St. Michael's. Yesterday, we were at Wye Island. When we got there, the students gave a presentation about a food web from the organisms we have seen or caught while trawling. Then, we went canoeing and then headed back to set up camp. After dinner, the students presented their songs about the fish they found while trawling. We then kept up the singing by having a Song Battle. It was a lot of fun. Then the students decided they wanted to play students versus adutls. The students couldn't compete with the adult's amazing song knowledge.

This morning we woke up and went on a very long hike to get to a beach. On the way there, we stopped and saw a holly tree that was at least 275 years old. We also saw some neat bugs along the way. When we finally reached the beach, the students all went swimming for a little while, but jellyfish scared some of them out of the water.

Right now, all of the students are on a tour of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael's. After the tour, they will be going on a scavenger hunt to look for answers about history of the Bay.

Enjoy the pictures of canoeing, swimming, and presentations. Have a good day!

Trotlining

Day 2

Today is day 2 of trip 3 for the Mildred Belle and things are going great. Yesterday there was an introduction to the boat and the students began to learn what life would be like for the next 9 days. The group was divided into two watches. The Starboard Watch is Mike D., Mike W., Michelle, Kat, and Dathan. Port Watch is Niki, Maggie, Delen, Kevin, Katrina, and Jon. During the next week, they will be doing many things in these groups, including getting the boat from one place to the next.

Last night we camped at Rock Hall and tonight we will be camping at Kent Island. This morning, we went trotlining with Captain Clay. We caught a bushel of crabs, which we will be eating tonight for dinner. Everybody did very well, so we didn't get to enjoy many songs from people missing crabs. We also went trawling today and we caught jellyfish, white perch, and a couple hogchokers. The students are now writing a song (and hopefully a dance) about these organisms that they will have to perform at camp tonight. After they are done with the song, they get to go swimming in the bay before we head off to Kent Island for the night.

O wait, its the last day?

So now that the last day is upon us we really don't want to leave quite yet! But I am sure once we are sleeping in beds again all worries will be put sleep... literally. Sorry about not posting on the blog lately, but it has been hard because of weather and internet connection. Our last few days have been very busy and fun. We went crabbing with a waterman named Captain Clay. Whatever we caught we got to keep! If we missed a crab with the nets Captain Clay had us get on top of the boat and sing a song. I personally (Andrew) did not miss a single one! However, some of the kids obviously don't have the waterman gene and were singing their hearts out. Captain Clay was confused with the fact that we actually ENJOYED singing and were not really embarrassed. That night we feasted on an entire bushel of crabs (which was way too much for us) and enjoyed it immensely. Dylan and Doug were standouts in total crab annihilation. Post crab-feast we engaged in an an annihilation of a much sweeter sort- SMORES! The kids went crazy (see pictures).
So here we are today, getting under way on route to BALTIMORE! The students are all going to be directing the ship FULLY today- that means NO help from captain Joe or first mate Ned. I have full faith in them. Once we get back to land we will be having a final dance tonight for all of the kids involved. Tomorrow the kids will be having their graduation and then I am sure everyone reading will be greeting the kids back home!
Until tomorrow, Mildred Belle signing out!

Taylor's to St Michael's

Today we are journeying from Taylor's Island to the town of St. Michael's. There has already been so much that happened. First Mate Ned caught a Sting Ray but it turned out we did not have a big enough net to hold it once it was up out of the water! It fought for about 30 minutes- Quite the fiesty fish.
Projects that the students started yesterday continued today on the boat. Each pair of students had to take a different commercial situation that borders the water- such as a farm or a supermarket, and come up with ways in which the commercial area affected the water. The students then attempted to remedy the different effects on the water using different strategies.
Yesterday after our longest journey we were able to go swimming in a swimming pool! It was very refreshing and really let us all relax. After that we threw a frisbee around and took showers. Everyone was very tired after our day at sea so we fell asleep very early.
Tonight we will be checking out the St Michael's museum and sleeping on their property. We will also be walking into town and checking out some shops. If the kids are good we will be getting some icecream as well- but they don't know that yet!
Feel free to comment, the kids want to know you are reading!
-Mildred Belle

Halfway Home!

We can now say we have completed a 9 hour transit on the Mildred Belle! Today was the longest trip we will be taking on our buyboat. Our two watches (Port and Starboard) both took turns manning the essential functions of the boat. While one watch was manning the boat, the other took some time to relax and complete a few projects.
Our last campsite was very buggy and hot; Christina and Sunny made sure I mentioned this fact. To fight the bugs and humidity we made a fire. It wasn't so bad after that. On the boat today Andrew and Ashley went around with a spray bottle full of water and sprayed people in the face and neck to fight the heat.
Yesterday we took a ferry ride to Tangier island and took in the sites. We saw lots of crabhouses surrounding the island that are used to prepare the crab boxes before and after the catches. Each house looked like a huge treehouse in the water. After seeing the town on the island (which Luke and Hershal think would be a perfect place to retire- you don't need cars, only golf carts!) we went swimming in the bay. It was nice and warm and the bottom of the bay was SO smooth. In fact, there was lots of clay on the bottom of the bay which Dylan and others put on their faces as masks. Eliza claimed that this would smooth their faces. We also saw a very strange carcass on the beach. We think it might have been a dolphin but it was too mangled to tell for sure. We called the authorities but no one was available for inspection.
We have been going for five days but it still feels like it just began. We might be hot, and we might be sweaty, but we are still having fun!

Thats all for now. Mildred Belle, signing out!

Here are 5 more pictures. Dylan is currently handing the wheel off to Doug and everything is going smoothly! I will be posting an update regarding our adventures after lunch.

Here are some pictures from our trip. Quite the good group of kids!

First Two Days and a Half

All is well! As this blog is being posted Luke is proudly manning the helm, Brendan is making observations about the well-being of the ship, and Hershal and Sunny are keenly keeping watch for pesky crab-buoys.
Our days have been long and busy but everyone has been very positive! On our first day we arrived early and learned the basics of camp prodecure. We were then happy to finally get on the Mildred Belle. We roamed around some of the bay and were lucky enough to see a bald eagle catch a fish right in front of our boat, a spectacular sight. On the second morning we got up early and walked around the historic town of St. Mary's. We saw an archaeological dig and First Mate Ned (who is trained as an archaeologist) was able to give us a lot of relevant information.
After our walk around town we were finally ready to set sail on our voyage. We arrived at point lookout in about 2 hours and set our first camp. Each of the campers were instructed by Miss Ashley to create an aquatic animal that could live in the Chesapeake Bay. Not only did they have to come up with a lot of specific scientific information about the animals, but they also had to make up a song and dance! After dinner the kids put on their song and dance and the adults were more than happy to be the judges. The winners of the song and dance were Sally and Dylan who were brave enough to write a rap song (it was absolutely hilarious).
This morning we woke up early (as usual) and set out for our first long day in the bay. Our trip was approximately 8 hours. Even though it was one of the longest trips we will be taking, it was a LOT of fun. We all learned about the different parts of the boat and Miss Ashley taught a lesson on pH levels in the Bay. The trip was highlighted with a great swimming break in the middle of the bay. It was very refreshing. Until next time, Midred Belle signing out!

The Winding Down of Our Trip

Today is our last full day on the Mildred Belle. We are headed to Point Lookout today, and tomorrow we will go from Point Lookout to St. Mary's. Once we reach St. Mary's, we will be riding in the van back to the College of Notre Dame.

Yesterday we went to the Calvert Marine Museum. There were lots of neat things to see there, including two river otters, several skates and rays and some neat fossils. After the museum, the crew surprised the students by taking them for pizza! It was fantastic.

Last night, we slept in the woods. That was the first night we had truly been in the middle of a forest, and we made a mistake. Two people left their cokes from the pizza place setting out on the table and the raccoons found us. About 2 hours after we went into our tents for the night, some of us woke up after hearing a cup being opened and paws scurrying across the ground. After scaring the raccoons away with flashlights, the cups were sealed tightly in a plastic bag. They came back later in the night, but we scared them away again. I don't think any of us enjoyed sharing our campsite with them. On top of the raccoons keeping us up, several people suddenly began to talk (or yell)in their sleep. All I know is that T.J. must have been attacked by orange juice in his dreams.

This morning we walked along a beach looking for shark teeth. Only two people were successful, but most of us left with some neat rocks and shells. Now we are on the boat and the students are in charge. Starboard watch is currently in control of the boat and on the way to their end point. Once they reach the end point, Port watch will take over to get us to the next point. At Point Lookout, we will be giving out awards and doing other neat things at camp tonight.

The new pictures are of students completing different tasks around the boat.

Day 7

It's already Day 7...time has flown by! On Friday night, we got showers!!! And then we got another shower because it rained. A lot. And some of us were so lucky that we got to sleep in pools of water in our tents. We are still waiting for our shoes (and some sleeping bags) to dry out.

On Saturday, we traveled to Jefferson Patterson park. On the way there, we went trawling again. This time we caught 2 crabs and TONS of jellyfish. We took most of last night to relax and play football and frisbee. Today, we are headed to Solomons Island. We will be going to an archaeological museum when we get there. We will also be digging for fossils (mainly shark teeth).

Right now, everybody is washing the boat. After 7 days of eating lunch on here, it was much needed. I'm glad I'm inside because everybody else got hit with water from the hose. Tomorrow on the boat, the students will have their final exam. Captain Joe and Ned will give them a starting location and an end location and the students will have to get us there. They will be in charge of navigation, steering, and look out. Don't worry, the crew will still be monitoring to make sure we don't get lost or stuck on the bottom.

A sting ray just swam past our bow and we've been surrounded by huge schools of fish all day. It's always exciting to see new things each day. Time to go dock the boat!

The picture is of the students trawling for fish.