Eclectic Momma: July 2019

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Junior Ranger Camp--Fort Loudoun State Historical Area Graduation Ceremony

His smiles sum up his feelings about this week....

Monday, July 22, 2019

While Michael was at camp...

While Michael and Sam were at camp, Akemi and I hung out together. Altogether, I logged over 66,000 steps in 5 days with two of the days being over 16,000 steps! I walked/hiked a lot last week!

Day 1: Hiking Ridgetop trail and bible study

Day 2: Hiking Meadow Loop trail and bible study

Day 3: My legs were killing me and it was rainy on Wednesday. So, we took the day to visit a couple of museums. We did our daily summer bible study in the book of Psalms.

Akemi brought me the "sweetest" birthday present and card. The message in the card was very heartfelt and special to me!

Day 4: Akemi was tired, so I was on my own. I decided to walk the entrance road instead of hiking. Tera came with me to the fort and hiked two trails equaling 7 miles.

Daniel and I were caught in a downpour that afternoon at Walmart. We had to make a visit to the doctor because he was having an eczema flare around his eyes. No medicinal treatment was needed, but we stopped for more lotion! And a cinnamon roll because you should always get a treat when you have to go to the doctor.

That evening, JP took Daniel to an Irish restaurant/bar called Boyd's Jig and Reel. They have a time where musicians can come in and play Irish and Scottish music together every week. It's a bit of a drive for us, but Daniel has really wanted to go. He had a great time. There was no sheet music, so everything was played by memorization or by ear. A great experience for Daniel.

Day 5: I joined Tera on the Meadow Loop hike. We hiked almost 4 miles and she went back and hiked another shorter trail totaling 12 miles of hiking for her in 2 days. I had time to change before the camp graduation ceremony, which consisted of the campers storming the fort that was being defended by their families with water balloons and guns. By the time we were out in the sun for the hour of the ceremony, I was drenched with sweat again. The humidity this week has been HORRIBLE!

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Fort Loudoun Junior Ranger Camp: Day by Day

Michael made it into one of the 30 spots available at the Fort Loudoun State Historic Area's junior ranger camp last week. Every day they experienced different parts of history relevant to the time period of the Fort. Several things they did every day: drills, free school lunch, rations (root beer or ginger ale), and raising the camp flag.

Michael had an incredible summer and he would say this was his favorite part of the entire summer. Hopefully he will be able to do the camp one more time before he ages out.

Day 1: Military weapons, French soldiers

First day of school ice cream

Photo credit: Fort Loudoun State Historical Area

Day 2: Hike Ridgetop and the Virginia Reel

Photo credit: Fort Loudoun State Historical Area

Day 3: Bracelet weaving, historical games and assault tactics

It rained on day 3 and we learned that Michael does not like being out in the rain. He used words like "It was HORRIBLE!" and prayed that it wouldn't rain the next day. His prayer was answered because that was the only rainy day they had that week.