Many Point 2013 - Update 2

Another sunny day at Many Point.  The weather has been pretty nice.  Last night was a bit cooler but nothing a zipped up sleeping bag couldn't handle.  We adults found ourselves questioning if it would be too cool for the boys; particularly those that might be on the verge of homesickness.  I polled the other adults this morning and heard no complaints.  Homesickness usually sets in mid-week for younger scouts.  There was a tinge of homesickness yesterday evening, before bedtime, but Mrs. Schwamm and Mr. Fischer were very attentive.  The Leadership scouts know to look for signs of homesickness and the Many Point counselors are also trained to help with homesickness if needed.   This morning all seemed to be going very well.

Congratulations to Jack Westerlund for attaining second class!  Sorry... no photo yet.

I have not received any substantial feedback from Huck Finn or the Ironman competition.  Our Huck Finn guys came back this morning and jumped right into breakfast before starting their days.  I heard we did well where we had scouts that competed in all three events of the Ironman.  Not much of an update but I can say that there was plenty of leisure yesterday.  Here are a couple of shots from the hammock-cams.

Dean B - Checking eyelids for leakage.

Charlie D - Demonstrates Hammock-acrobatics.

You would think that with a cooler night the mosquitoes would have been less prevalent.  Not so.  They were vicious last night.  I had one try to carry me out of my tent.  Another was sitting at the picnic table drinking forty-proof DEET heckling the one I was fighting!   Off course I am kidding but they were quiet aggressive.

For those of you that enjoy the food updates (and you know who you are)...  Breakfast was pancakes and sausage.  Hunter was all over cooking the pancakes.  Despite our encouragement to stick to the recipe, he would have none of it.  He created his own mix and we were just noise.  Some of you may know that Hunter became infamous for his "Magic Middles" pancakes from the Ripley camp out a couple years back.  Magic middles are pancakes that are cooked on the outside but runny in the middle - yes... Blech!!  He can even use special magic where he burns the outside and still keeps the middle runny.  Needless to say, he was getting an earful as he stood over the grill and pumped out over thirty pancakes.  .How did it turn out?  Excellent!  Hunter redeemed himself as a pancake chef.   Many Point sent Grilled Cheese sandwich makin's  for lunch.  We called an audible and pulled out leftovers from the past couple of days and ended up with "Butt Rub" chicken, hamburgers and salad.  Okay, that's it for the food channel.

This afternoon's activities include Outdoor Skills - GPS and Geocaching, Rifle Shooting, Tie-Dye (T-shirts), DELTA - Team-building and ethics, Climbing Tower and kayaking.  At 5pm, scouts not taking First Class Adventure will head to the beach for a Beach Bash.   Those taking First Class Adventure, mostly newer scouts, will be taking a five-mile hike to fulfill one of their rank requirements.  Most of our adults will head to an Adult Leader dinner then get an update on how our scouts are progressing with their merit badges. Our Leadership scouts will come back from the Beach Bash and host the camp counselors for some late night dessert and conversation.  This is kind of a tradition for 346 at Many Point.

One last note before I go... For those of you that know the area, the old Tamarack Resort is gone.  There is a new partially constructed building there now.  I am not sure if they will re-open or what but the new building does not look like it will accommodate a greasy spoon restaurant.  Also, I have the Ice Cracking wireless password.... Oh, I guess you know where I am now.  Well, I needed to stop wearing ruts into the road to the Admin building.

Cheers!

Signing off from Many Point.