Our last outing before the summer break began when 28 Scouts and parents from Troop 1916 departed from Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, just slightly behind our scheduled departure time of 4:30 on Friday afternoon. Our destination: Lake Anna State Park.
We battled our way down I-95 South, stopping along the way for dinner. Some scouts may have managed to rendezvous at Golden Corral for a run at the all-you-can-eat buffet. We arrived at Lake Anna State Park in the evening and quickly established six Patrol campsites with mythical creatures (Dragons and Yetis) on one side and non-mythicals (Bulldogs and Pine Trees) on the other. Parent scouters took the high ground on three campsites roughly in between.
We settled in for a warm but pleasant night in our tents. In the morning, the scouts pulled off some creative breakfasts, such as the Dragon’s delicious soy-milk pancakes and Bulldog’s egg, sausage and biscuit bake (hot sauce optional), as well as classic bacon and eggs. As the sun climbed higher, we knew that we were in for a scorching day, so it was a good thing the Scouts planned to spend most of their time at the lake.
A small group of Scouts went fishing with Mr. Coopersmith and Mr. Cook, and the majority of the scouts headed off to the lake for a swim with Mr. Salt and Mr. Forrer. Because of the high temperature, even the normally warm-ish waters of Lake Anna felt cool and refreshing.
The boys returned from the lake to prepare a lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and one freshly caught catfish (courtesy of Jordan Coopersmith) – some of the boys even tasted the roe! Meanwhile, a second contingent of 14 Scouts and parents had arrived to join the troop for another round of swimming at the small sandy beach area after lunch.
In the late afternoon, a Bulldog’s campsite hosted a game of “Risk” and dinner was prepared. The Grubmasters treated us to spaghetti and sausage, chili mac, burritos (a big hit), warm gooey brownies, and cinnamon bread. Many of the Scouts headed back to the lake for an evening swim to cool off.
As the sun went down, the Scouts gathered and decided to forego the usual campfire because no additional heat source was needed! The “campfire” dispersed when a light rain began to fall and we all retired to our tents for the night.
We woke up early for breakfast and the boys quickly got to work striking camp, cleaning up and policing their campsites. After roses, buds, and thorns, we hit the road tired, a little sun burned, and with another fun campout in the books.
By Kristen Giuffreda (aka Will C's Mum)