Camp Thunderbird

July 18, 2009

Here I am, three days after returning from Wilmington being blessed with another day off. This time, the majority of the staff decided to accept an invitation that has been given several times throughout the summer. Camp Thunderbird is another YMCA camp located just across the South Carolina border south of Charlotte, NC. Over the course of the summer, Camp Thunderbird has brought up groups to go climbing or caving. Almost every week we have encountered a group from Thunderbird.

Camp Thunderbird is happily situated on a lake that opens up activities that Camp Cheerio or Cheerio Adventures can’t offer. So today was filled with good times in the water.

Water skiing, tubing, water slides, and the Blob were all experienced on a perfect, beautiful day. This was the first time in a long time when the staff got to just chill, talk, and hang out without having to concern ourselves with kids. Such a great feeling! With a stop at Dairy Queen on the way back, I could not have cooked up a better day off if I tried.

At the Halfway Point

July 15, 2009

Over the past two weeks, I have reached the halfway point at Cheerio Adventures. Exhausted is the only word that comes to mind. Having already co-lead two trips in 27 days and only having one day off was beginning to take its toll. For week four I was assigned to be on support staff. What this meant was that I would work with any contract groups that were coming throughout the week. In my mind I was thinking, “Yes! I will finally get a little break. My work load should be a little lighter.” Well, by the end of the week I was working with two different groups each day and then found myself getting ready for a 3 day/2 night Parent/Child backpacking/rock climbing trip.

Having a little variety during the week was a nice change, but by the end of the backpacking trip I just wanted to fall over and not get up for days.

Salvation came this past week in the form of days off; 3 whole days to be exact. The timing could not have been better. So Andy, Carlie, and I hopped in my car and set our sites on the Atlantic. Along the way, we stopped at Ginger’s house for the first night. Being in a house again felt like I was walking into a foreign land.

The next day we made it to Wilmington, NC with cloudy skies and consistent rainfall. Our visions of lying on the beach, basking in the sun were beginning to diminish. Instead we sought shelter on the U.S.S. North Carolina., a battleship that fought during WWII.

After a mosquito infested, warm, muggy night; our hopes were lifted as we woke us to a beautiful morning. The sky was clear so we decided to head to the beach first thing. There we stayed for the rest of the day soaking in the sun and playing in the salty waves. Feeling satisfied with our day in the sun, we decided to start heading back toward camp stopping at my friend Alicia’s house for a great night’s sleep. Before giving way to exhaustion, we discovered that the basking in the sun turned to baking for some of us as Andy’s back had the same coloring as marinara sauce. Still we made it back to camp the next day feeling rested and ready for the next 3 weeks.

Seekers

June 21-July 4, 2009

Seekers was the name of my latest trip. 2 weeks of jam-packed activity. My Adventure Challenge partner and I were reunited for this adventure. The challenge of this new adventure began before even the kids arrived. Nate started the first week off with a fever.

I sat and watched him fade in and out of awareness wondering if he was going to make it through 4 days of backpacking in North Carolina with 8 teenagers. Overwhelmed can hardly begin to describe how I felt as I tried to remember every

thing that I was hearing about the days ahead, the markers we need to look for, places to find water, and stories of years past where everyone got lost.

As the first week came to a close, the group gelled. Our first 4 days in the wilderness brought memories of spectacular scenery, wildlife sightings, swim holes, and moments of pure joy as we reached an end goal we never thought we would get to. Caving in Tennessee sealed the halfway point of our two weeks.

The next portion of our trip took us to the water. It started off with an overnight canoeing/kayaking trip on the New River about 12 miles up the river from camp putting us back in the state of North Carolina. By this point Nate was back to his normal, crazy self lifting some weight off of my shoulders. After a great day on the river, we stayed at a campsite that was only accessible by boat. Being the week before 4^th of July weekend the place was packed. With no sites available we ended

up pitching our tents in the field known as the overflow section centrally located and surrounded by all other campsites. Before the night was over, our group turned over a new leaf. How the craziness began, I can’t even recall. All guards were let down as we wrestled, laughed, ran around, and played all the while entertaining our neighbors and creating one of my favorite memories thus far.

After that night our group changed. We no longer were just some random group of people passing two weeks together. Instead, we were more like a family with some of the kids going as far as calling me Mom. The rest of the last week was filled with a little

whitewater canoeing through an easy Class III rapid followed by whitewater rafting the Lower New River in West Virginia taking our state count to 4.

At the beginning of the last three days, challenges began to rise once more. Fatigue was beginning to set in with everyone (not just the Old Folks). The mountain biking portion of our journey was beginning. We encountered some schedule changes, physical set backs, and equipment setbacks all the while testing my mental, physical, and emotional limits.

Our two weeks together came to a close. As we sat and talked about our time together, both Nate and I were awestruck by what we heard. The night started with an activity called Positive Vibrations and ended with everyone coming to an understanding that these past two weeks were not a normal camp experience. This Seekers trip was a milestone in all of their lives, a staple that each would never forget.

Week One

June 6, 2009

The first week of the Cheerio Adventure is coming to a close. In all it has felt like it has been once continues day of non-stop activity. From backpacking and rock climbing to caving, white water rating and canoeing; the week was a jumbled experience. With rain joining us for the majority of the week, the challenge factor was heightened. But great memories were made during those challenging times. The following rap, written by Rapper Billy Joe and friends is the only way I can think to sum up the week:

Yo, here we go. It’s the story of our week.
Let’s begin on the very first day
Super Ninja time is a fun game to play
On the Second day we climbed on a rock
Then we ate mac and cheese from a very big pot
Look over there it's day number three
Backpacking all day makes you very dirty
Now day four we went in the cave
It was dark and scary but we all behaved
On day five the ways were very high
Ellie, Wynne, and Kelly all fell out
The floated all around and splashed all about
Day six came and we were paddleing along

Then we got on the bus and sang the potato song

We played Mafia throughout each day
We tried Andy’s riddles and we did okay
On Sunday we go to Camp Cheerio
Now everyone Noodle dance here we go.

Staff Training

June 13, 2009

Staff training has finally come to an end. I say finally only because this was the longest training I have ever encountered. Two and a half weeks ago I arrived. Since then, I have backpacked, rock climbed, rappelled, slept in a tent on the top of a mountain during a thunderstorm, canoed, taken wilderness first aid, kayaked, learned CPR, zip lined, mountain boarded, played games, cooked meals, learned policies, cleaned bathrooms, and laughed so hard my side and face muscles hurt.
The staff consists of 6 trip leaders (3 guys, 3 girls one of which is me), 3 coordinators, and 3 full time staff. Many of the staff I worked with during the spring session at Camp Cheerio which has made my transition run a lot smoother.

Life is a bit more rugged here. Although during staff training I stayed in a cabin, come tomorrow I will be in a platform canvas tent sharing space with seven 10-14 year olds and a co-trip leader.

Whether I am mentally and physically prepared makes little difference. Right now I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I have bruises that I am clueless to how they got there. All I can figure out is the majority of them came from the capstone of our training: The Adventure Challenge.

The 6 trip leaders were paired off and each team had to embark on an 18-station journey encompassing all that we had learned over the past 2.5 weeks. Nate and I were paired together and dubbed the Old Folks as we found ourselves competing against people 22 and under. Ah, but with age also comes wisdom. Our combined experience proved to be an important asset as we gained almost an hour advantage on the first station of knot tying; something I have been doing for the past 8 years. Knowing what to pack also was an advantage as my Jet Boil stove shot us even further ahead by boiling water in 3 minutes. Nate’s knowledge of the wilderness, previous experience at Cheerio, and skills on the water sealed our lead. After a 12-hour venture, the Old Folks were the first to cross the finish line.

The Results Are In

May 26, 2009
After spending a total of 27 hours driving for the last week and a half, I am back at work in Mouth of Wilson, VA. The journey began in Tennessee and from there went to Marion, Indiana. As the next week began, I headed back to Virginia but not to camp just yet. Instead, I first went to Monterey, VA to visit Makenzy Canze aka Makenzy Watson, someone I have known since I have had the ability to make memories. The Watson hospitality was definitely in her blood as she made me feel right at home and an honored guest.
For the short part of my visit when it wasn’t raining, Makenzy gave me the walking tour of the small town of Monterey.





The library was also a place to visit, as it was the only place with Internet access. With my GA position interview still sitting in the back of my mind, I checked my email hoping to have an answer but realistically expecting it not to be there for some time. Waiting wasn’t even an option as I saw the answer right before me sitting in my inbox.

I have officially accepted the GA position and will be starting Grad school in the fall…. well technically I will be starting classes in January. It is hard to explain and slightly confusing (completely out of character for me I know) so just know come mid-August I will be heading to Tennessee.

The Newest Addition

May 24, 2009
Can I have your attention please? I have an announcement.
An announcement?
Yes, an announcement. I would like all of you to be the first to know that the number of children that will call me Auntie Heather has now doubled from one niece to a niece and nephew. Casey William Sephton was born today in the Sephton home. Both the Mother and baby are doing well. Mark could not be more proud to have a son, and Lois is already embracing the role of big sister.

One Step Closer

May 17, 2009
Spring session at Camp Cheerio has come to a close. I have all my gear back in my car as I start to travel west towards Chattanooga, TN. Do not be alarmed. I plan to return to Cheerio Adventures in Virginia in a week and a half for the summer session. Currently, it is time to look at life beyond the summer. I have been contemplating Graduate School for some time now. With the GED behind me and an application sent in, the only thing stopping me from going is money. So when you don’t have the money to pay for it yourself, find someone else to pay for you to go.
Thus, I am heading to an interview for a Graduate Assistant position in the Outdoor Leadership department at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, TN. My interview will consist of leading a group from Volkswagen through a morning on the challenge course. I am going to have to dig a little to get back into corporate facilitation mode. My nerves have already begun to surface. Just like finding a pair of old jeans at the bottom of your drawer. You hold them up hoping they still fit.

The Days In-between

May 13, 2009
While life at camp seems like one long day sometimes, there have been times when I have been able to get away. One weekend off took me to Garner, NC just outside of Raleigh to visit Ginger. The last time I saw Ginger was only a few weeks before at Lynette’s wedding where she told us about the new house that she was going to buy. This was the perfect opportunity to see said new house and also help her move a few things.

Being a new homeowner, Ginger was very excited about being able to do things on her own. So naturally there was a list of projects that she wanted me to help with. The first being re-key the locks. Being a person of research, Ginger found a kit that you could buy to make re-keying locks a snap. Well, as always nothing is a guaranteed snap as we made a couple of trips to Lowe’s and found out that the kit is only for a certain type of lock and that the anatomy of the door handle is built in such a way that you really have to see a professional if you want to just re-key a lock and not buy all new door handles. Lesson learned.

Another project was to get her brand new lawn mower put together because she now has a lawn to mow. This project was a little disappointing for the both of us as well because there really wasn’t anything to put together. The hardest thing was lifting it out of the box. Once out of the box, all we had to do was push a button and the whole thing just unfolded with great ease; a great relief for the common consumer but for the average independent women it was disheartening.

The following weekend I had another couple of days off so I hopped into the car once again to head to Virginia for Mother’s Day. This short time away proved to be relaxing and restful as Mom and I did our usual activities when we get together: read, walk, talk, and eat. All of which are very important to make days off successful.

The Cheerio Adventure

May 2, 2009

Three weeks have passed already. It seems like yesterday I was driving my car down to Camp Cheerio, fighting fatigue from the big event the day before. My focus for so long was the wedding that after it was all said and done my mind actually started to compute how tired I really was.

Now with three weeks behind me here I definitely feel more comfortable. However, I, being the only Camp Cheerio rookie, have had quite the learning curve. After two days of training, the first group arrived, seventy 7th graders.
My experience working with groups in the past has been vast but the total quantity has been on the smaller size when it comes to the entire group size. I will freely admit that a group this size was a bit daunting. Well, I am very fortunate that I am a fast learner because the next week, the group was 140 people. This time, they were 5th graders.

That group was the start of a ten-day marathon. After three days, the bus pulled away and we started to get ready for a bike trip on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Like I mentioned before, I am the only rookie here at Cheerio. With only a certain number of spots available for this bike trip I figured I wouldn’t make the cut. To my surprise, I was picked and we were off to meet our 42 9th graders in Kinston, NC.

This bike trip has been happening for the past 15 years or so. Many of the teachers of the students have been coming for years as well as many of the Cheerio staff. With the logistics of this trip running like clock work, my main job was to ride with a group of about 8 kids for three days. After a slight flat tire setback (about 2 hours) at the Wal-mart 30 minutes from Camp, we made it to our hotel before dinner.

4:30am the next morning we were up and moving to make it to the school to pick up the kids by 6am. In 45 minutes we had to load all of the bikes and then drive another two and a half hours to catch the ferry that would take us to the Outer Banks. This was the greatest stress of the trip. In years past the ferry left at 12:30pm. This year, the ferry left at 10:30am or 2:30pm. With 19 miles to bike that day, the 2:30pm time was not going to work.

We got to the ferry with time to spare and enjoyed the 2-hour ride. We served lunch on the bus, having the kids enter from the back and run through buffet style exiting from the front. Clever set up I thought.

The ferry reached Ocracoke, and the kids separated into groups. I was the sweeper that day so my group had to arrive at the final destination last. Not the most attractive reason to join a group on the first day. So I ended up with an interesting mix of people. I would call them the default group in a lot of ways. A lot of the other groups were too large, so the overflow headed my way not always willingly. I also had some people with health concerns that restricted the speed at which we could bike which caused a little tension. 9th grade boys have a lot of energy and a need for speed. On the 2nd day we had to bike 31 miles. I had to hold them back on several occasions, give a lecture here and there, but that just comes with job. However, we did get to stop and spend time at the ocean and tour the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.

I think out off all the days that we biked the last day was my favorite. It was the shortest day of them all, only 10 miles. There was one student who had ridden with in my group on the 1st day, but because of his battle with a severe illness, he was only able to ride about 8 miles. The second day, he didn’t ride with us at all but met us at the lighthouse and hiked up the 257 steps to the top with me. He really wanted to give biking another go on the last day. Originally, he was going to meet us about 4 miles from the end and then finish with us. He asked me how long I thought he rode on the first day and I told him. “Only two more miles that the first day. I will give it a try,” he said.
Within the first mile the rest of the group was pulling away fast. I had a teacher leading the pack so it didn’t bother me at all if the group separated. They were in good hands. I wanted him to go at any pace that he could do for the distance we had to go. We stopped often for breaks sometimes at my suggestion sometimes at his. Mile by mile we kept going at a pace that was perfect to take in the view. My heart went out to him as I could see evidence of the physical struggle he was facing. I prayed for a nice tailwind to push him along. At one point, we stopped for a break and I could tell he was close to calling it quits. He didn’t. The tailwind that I asked for never came; the finish did. We made it to the end of the ride with groups still behind us.

The frustrations of the previous day no longer existed. It was hard to know what to feel at that point. Personally, I didn’t have to push myself on the ride. But I did get to witness the power of the human will. I couldn’t help but think about some of the struggles that I have faced in my life and how they don’t even begin to compare with what he is facing everyday…a humbling experience.

With the busses loaded, we started the long drive back to Camp. Arriving just before 10pm, we unloaded all the gear and went to bed. The next group was already there. A 7am wake-up call was like sleeping in but my energy tank was already running pretty low. Two days later this group of fifty 8th graders left. I was exhausted but as I had been experiencing during all my days at Camp Cheerio thus far, the days are long but at the end I am able to lay my head on my pillow and feel a sense of satisfaction.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Todd…I mean Matthew Voss!

April 11, 2009

Lynette and I woke up early. Although the square dance was a wild time, the Big Day was finally here. Hours and months of preparation came down to this day: Lynette’s wedding day. Her days as a single woman were coming to a close. But before that could happen, we had to go get our hair done. Then get ourselves to the church to get our faces painted. Now time to get dressed, which for me meant it was time to put the heals on. Lynette put on her Chacos. A minute later, we were all dressed and prepped for pictures. (I am going to have to throw modesty out the window here and say that we both pretty much looked HOT! Yup. Both of us are not the type to dress up, do anything with our hair, or in my case even own make-up.












This was a very BIG advantage.

With details being covered by Ginger and the rest of the gang, stress was not about to show up on this day. We were prepared and ready. The picture taking process began with clans, then extended families, grandparents, and on down to the bridal party. It was a long process, but when my turn came around we got to throw some fun shots in there too (i.e. Lynette and I pretending to fight each other with our bouquets).

The awaited moment finally arrived. The crowd stood as the bride walked down the aisle to meet her groom. I worked hard to pay attention to what was said. But as the maid of honor and the only on in the bridal party, I had a lot to think about. I had several places I had to stand and move to as well as hold two bouquets, fix the bride’s train and try my hardest not to fall over (remember, I was wearing heals).

Vows were said, the bride was dipped for her kiss, and Matt and Lynette were finally married. Mr. and Mrs. Voss made there way over to the reception in the Student Center Piazza, as did the guests for the social event of the season.

Although there was no dancing to entertain the guest, there was Steve Lennox and our good friend Aletheia to keeps the crowds entertain. As the MCs of the event, it was their job to introduce the wedding party and finally the Bride and Groom. All was going well. Aletheia and Steve were doing a fine job. The moment arrived for Aletheia to introduce the happy couple. She was prepared and let Steve know it was all her. With Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, and Delivered playing in the background, Aletheia raises the mic and announces, “And now give it up for our happy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Todd…I mean Matthew Voss.” Laughter fills the room as embarrassment overcomes Aletheia. As an employee of Indiana Wesleyan where Dr. Todd Voss’s name is heard and said on a daily basis, everyone could understand how she could easily slip up. Leave it to Aletheia to make these more memorable.

The rest of the reception was filled with more funny and memorable moments perfectly sequenced. The food was fantastic and the punch to die for. The evening was culminated with one final photo shoot outside at the fountain. With students and friends holding Voss water bottles, we all jumped off the fountain with the bride and groom for one last hurrah.

The time came for the good-byes to begin. Not only did I have to say good-bye to Matt and Lynette, but I also had to say good-bye to all the friends that were made over the past seven months. North Carolina was my next destination. The beginning of a new chapter.