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"Today we woke up quite early. We quickly picked up some muffins and headed to Calvert Cliffs to go fossil hunting. After an hour we went back, packed up camp and headed to the Mildred Belle. We trawled and caught a mud crab, comb jellies, and sea nettles. Some of us made deals that we would eat comb jellies with mate Pete. They were thrown back before we could eat them because they were "stale" from the sun. We also had a swim call. It was amazing. We had a comb jelly war. We came up with interpretive dances for different animals. The Starboard group learned about plankton. Now we are looking up at the clear night. We can see every constellation. The moon is only showing a tip and it’s red. Being able to lie on the grass and see the stars is worth the bug bites."
- Rebekah, Nick R., Danbi, James and Micheala
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Here it comes: Day 5
This post brought to you by a whole mess'a kids. It chronicles our transit from Point Lookout to Solomon's Island.
"On the boat we had tons of fun and ate lunch. Then at Solomon’s Island we visited the Calvert Marine Museum. We saw fish, jellies, otters, and stingrays. We also went up to the lighthouse. Then at night we set up tents, and had takeout pizza for dinner. We also gathered sticks for a campfire, and we could talk on our cell phones for 10 minutes. After that we gathered around the campfire and sung campfire songs. Then we saw a shooting star. Then we sung more songs and played a game and team Same won (but Earth, Wind and Ira had the best name). Then we went to sleep."
- Ian, Conor, Kurt, Eugenie, Alyx and Alex
"On the boat we had tons of fun and ate lunch. Then at Solomon’s Island we visited the Calvert Marine Museum. We saw fish, jellies, otters, and stingrays. We also went up to the lighthouse. Then at night we set up tents, and had takeout pizza for dinner. We also gathered sticks for a campfire, and we could talk on our cell phones for 10 minutes. After that we gathered around the campfire and sung campfire songs. Then we saw a shooting star. Then we sung more songs and played a game and team Same won (but Earth, Wind and Ira had the best name). Then we went to sleep."
- Ian, Conor, Kurt, Eugenie, Alyx and Alex
Day 4: Keepin' it coming
A group effort by Nick S., Sid, Adam and Allie.
"Today we camped at a “haunted” island. Nick Suiter had boiling water and sausage dropped on his foot, Allie had a gash down her leg and had to get 29 stitches and a tetanus shot, two other girls cut themselves shaving (we got showers! Yayyy!), and Nick R. cut his heel. Maybe the island WAS haunted!
There was also a ginormous storm, during which we were evacuated from the tents. Ian didn’t because he slept through it and the crew trying to wake him up. We were very descriptively informed of how we would die if our tent was struck by lightening (Ed. Note: by the time we evacuated, the storm had almost passed, so Ian was safe. Also, there was no risk of lightening striking the tents, the concern was rather that one of the trees surrounding us would be struck and fall on us. Although that’s not to say I didn’t describe it to give campers the heebie-jeebies anyway.)
Twice today we went swimming. Everyone except Nick S. took a shower, because his foot was burned so badly."
- Nick S., Sid, Adam and Allie all miss their families.
"Today we camped at a “haunted” island. Nick Suiter had boiling water and sausage dropped on his foot, Allie had a gash down her leg and had to get 29 stitches and a tetanus shot, two other girls cut themselves shaving (we got showers! Yayyy!), and Nick R. cut his heel. Maybe the island WAS haunted!
There was also a ginormous storm, during which we were evacuated from the tents. Ian didn’t because he slept through it and the crew trying to wake him up. We were very descriptively informed of how we would die if our tent was struck by lightening (Ed. Note: by the time we evacuated, the storm had almost passed, so Ian was safe. Also, there was no risk of lightening striking the tents, the concern was rather that one of the trees surrounding us would be struck and fall on us. Although that’s not to say I didn’t describe it to give campers the heebie-jeebies anyway.)
Twice today we went swimming. Everyone except Nick S. took a shower, because his foot was burned so badly."
- Nick S., Sid, Adam and Allie all miss their families.
Day 3: Tangier
Somehow the responsibility for the Day 3 blog has fallen off the children onto me, so sit back and relax while I spin you a tale from Tangier.
First off, a little lesson: In case you don’t know, Tangier is the most remote island on the bay, and one of the most isolated areas left in our country. The people (about 400) of the island still speak in a vernacular similar to Elizabethan English, and most of them are named Pruitt, Dise, Crockett, or Evans, after the founding families. The main forms of transportation are golf cart and moped, and
Our transit today was the longest ever attempted in CTY history—62 miles from Taylor’s Island to Tangier. The kids did a bang-up job. We got the boat a little stuck pulling into dock, but with some help from our newfound 8-year-old friend, who could operate his own skiff and who acted as our bowhand, we made it in safely. It was late in the afternoon, and after some disgustingly adorable encounters with a litter of kittens, we set out to explore the main street and see what we could see. We stopped in a number of shops, checked out the museum, talked to the locals (one of whom, in response to being asked what they thought of the crabbing industry, replied “what’s a crab?” This confused our students. It was funny for me.)
After dinner, and on the way to walk to camp, we stopped in “Spanky’s 50’s-style Ice Cream Parlor” for a refreshing treat. Then we made the long, arduous hike to the beach—another CTY first, as none of our trips have ever camped their before. We carried all our bags, pads, tents and everything else we needed for the night over the roads, across the marsh, through the mud, and over the dunes. Your kids are going to have some muscles when they get home.
The beach was absolutely beautiful. Silent except for the chirping frogs and crickets, almost pitch black once the sun went down, soft sand and warm water and a friendly breeze that kept the mosquitoes and horseflies at bay. We could see every star in the sky, including a few shooting ones. Cygnus, Draco, Ursa Major and Minor, Hercules, and the milky edge of our galaxy watched over us as we slept, our gently billowing tents making a line just below the windswept dunes. The next morning, we woke up to the sunrise and swam in the brackish water before making our way back to the boat for breakfast and a new day.
Thanks & come back soon,
Jordan
First off, a little lesson: In case you don’t know, Tangier is the most remote island on the bay, and one of the most isolated areas left in our country. The people (about 400) of the island still speak in a vernacular similar to Elizabethan English, and most of them are named Pruitt, Dise, Crockett, or Evans, after the founding families. The main forms of transportation are golf cart and moped, and
Our transit today was the longest ever attempted in CTY history—62 miles from Taylor’s Island to Tangier. The kids did a bang-up job. We got the boat a little stuck pulling into dock, but with some help from our newfound 8-year-old friend, who could operate his own skiff and who acted as our bowhand, we made it in safely. It was late in the afternoon, and after some disgustingly adorable encounters with a litter of kittens, we set out to explore the main street and see what we could see. We stopped in a number of shops, checked out the museum, talked to the locals (one of whom, in response to being asked what they thought of the crabbing industry, replied “what’s a crab?” This confused our students. It was funny for me.)
After dinner, and on the way to walk to camp, we stopped in “Spanky’s 50’s-style Ice Cream Parlor” for a refreshing treat. Then we made the long, arduous hike to the beach—another CTY first, as none of our trips have ever camped their before. We carried all our bags, pads, tents and everything else we needed for the night over the roads, across the marsh, through the mud, and over the dunes. Your kids are going to have some muscles when they get home.
The beach was absolutely beautiful. Silent except for the chirping frogs and crickets, almost pitch black once the sun went down, soft sand and warm water and a friendly breeze that kept the mosquitoes and horseflies at bay. We could see every star in the sky, including a few shooting ones. Cygnus, Draco, Ursa Major and Minor, Hercules, and the milky edge of our galaxy watched over us as we slept, our gently billowing tents making a line just below the windswept dunes. The next morning, we woke up to the sunrise and swam in the brackish water before making our way back to the boat for breakfast and a new day.
Thanks & come back soon,
Jordan
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Aaaaand another one!
Greetings landlubbers,
Taking advantage of our internet signal, here's the promised Horn Point entry. This post (regarding Day 2 of our journey) is brought to you by Alex.
"To whom it may concern:
If you are actually reading this, you probably want to know how your child is doing. Well, spoiler alert—we’re all doing just fine and dandy. Here are the details: Woke up at 6:30 AM. Because of this, I was drowsy and am unable to remember completely what happened until after our luxurious breakfast of Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Life cereal. So far we are all sleepy, sore, dysfunctional (which made Christina, our fearful leader, a little upset) but that was all about to change…
Our awesome CTY then made a grueling 50-yard walk to the Horn Point oyster hatchery. There we met a cool scientist lady who I forget the name of, but she was nice. She told us about saving the oysters and the bay and whatnot until we got a quick intermission of putting on our bathing suits and “fu-fu shoes” as our friend Jimmy from the whales trip would call it. We then walked to a big barrel with bags of baby oysters (called spat) inside. We then carried the bags into a truck and brought it to a beach. We were all muddy, but it was cool—the muddiest person got a prize (it was Allie).
Once we dragged the oysters about 3.5 feet under the water, we could finally use what we now call a bath—a quick rinse in the bay water. We had a quick lunch and set out on the boat. We had our first watch shifts while on the 3 hour trip to Taylor’s Island. We learned how to navigate the boat, find where we are and where to go. We also did boat checks, had lookouts and science officers, and got to drive the boat. We docked and set up at our new campsite. Pizza bagels for dinner and an early bedtime of 9:30 because we need to wake up at 5:00 tomorrow!"
- Alex Steinwald
Many more adventures have followed, and I will swiftly type them for your enjoyment.
- Jordan
Taking advantage of our internet signal, here's the promised Horn Point entry. This post (regarding Day 2 of our journey) is brought to you by Alex.
"To whom it may concern:
If you are actually reading this, you probably want to know how your child is doing. Well, spoiler alert—we’re all doing just fine and dandy. Here are the details: Woke up at 6:30 AM. Because of this, I was drowsy and am unable to remember completely what happened until after our luxurious breakfast of Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Life cereal. So far we are all sleepy, sore, dysfunctional (which made Christina, our fearful leader, a little upset) but that was all about to change…
Our awesome CTY then made a grueling 50-yard walk to the Horn Point oyster hatchery. There we met a cool scientist lady who I forget the name of, but she was nice. She told us about saving the oysters and the bay and whatnot until we got a quick intermission of putting on our bathing suits and “fu-fu shoes” as our friend Jimmy from the whales trip would call it. We then walked to a big barrel with bags of baby oysters (called spat) inside. We then carried the bags into a truck and brought it to a beach. We were all muddy, but it was cool—the muddiest person got a prize (it was Allie).
Once we dragged the oysters about 3.5 feet under the water, we could finally use what we now call a bath—a quick rinse in the bay water. We had a quick lunch and set out on the boat. We had our first watch shifts while on the 3 hour trip to Taylor’s Island. We learned how to navigate the boat, find where we are and where to go. We also did boat checks, had lookouts and science officers, and got to drive the boat. We docked and set up at our new campsite. Pizza bagels for dinner and an early bedtime of 9:30 because we need to wake up at 5:00 tomorrow!"
- Alex Steinwald
Many more adventures have followed, and I will swiftly type them for your enjoyment.
- Jordan
At last, a blog post!
Ahoy family and friends!
We finally have internet access, so we can now begin to update you on our wonderous ourney. We've made it safely from Annapolis to Horn Point, from Horn Point to Taylor’s Island, Taylor's to Tangier Island, Tangier to Point Lookout, and we are now underway to Solomon's Island! Below is an account of our first day, as provided by students Rebekah and Nick S. They wrote it when it happened, so let them take you on a thrilling ride back in time.
“Class:
Class was lots of fun. We tested the water 2-3 feet under for its pH, salinity, temperature, nitrate, and phosphate. We collected the water with two different types of collectors, a bucket and a La Motte. It was really interesting. We saw that the pH was more basic than acidic at 8.5. The salinity was 12 ppt so we assumed we were at the upper portion of Zone 2. We later learned about different knots and how to tie them: bowline, clove hitch, round turn two half hitches, and a few more.”
-Rebekah
“I was surprised by how little the boat moved in the waves. Learning and relearning knots was fun. There were some amazing jellyfish sightings. I alone saw at least a hundred!
Cooking tacos today was great and they were very tasty. I had a juicy salad with nice tomatoes. It was so humid last night in my tent, I felt like I was breathing in more water vapor than air. We don’t get to take showers on this trip. Everyone is going to have a joke smorgasbord.
I can’t wait to catch stuff in the water with the dredge! Today we are going to an oyster farm. Navigating the boat is great and for our final we get total control of the boat and we have to get to a place within a certain amount of time.”
-Nick S.
Tune in later for an account of our exciting, dirty day at Horn Point!
-Jordan
We finally have internet access, so we can now begin to update you on our wonderous ourney. We've made it safely from Annapolis to Horn Point, from Horn Point to Taylor’s Island, Taylor's to Tangier Island, Tangier to Point Lookout, and we are now underway to Solomon's Island! Below is an account of our first day, as provided by students Rebekah and Nick S. They wrote it when it happened, so let them take you on a thrilling ride back in time.
“Class:
Class was lots of fun. We tested the water 2-3 feet under for its pH, salinity, temperature, nitrate, and phosphate. We collected the water with two different types of collectors, a bucket and a La Motte. It was really interesting. We saw that the pH was more basic than acidic at 8.5. The salinity was 12 ppt so we assumed we were at the upper portion of Zone 2. We later learned about different knots and how to tie them: bowline, clove hitch, round turn two half hitches, and a few more.”
-Rebekah
“I was surprised by how little the boat moved in the waves. Learning and relearning knots was fun. There were some amazing jellyfish sightings. I alone saw at least a hundred!
Cooking tacos today was great and they were very tasty. I had a juicy salad with nice tomatoes. It was so humid last night in my tent, I felt like I was breathing in more water vapor than air. We don’t get to take showers on this trip. Everyone is going to have a joke smorgasbord.
I can’t wait to catch stuff in the water with the dredge! Today we are going to an oyster farm. Navigating the boat is great and for our final we get total control of the boat and we have to get to a place within a certain amount of time.”
-Nick S.
Tune in later for an account of our exciting, dirty day at Horn Point!
-Jordan
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