The talk about a trip to Patriot's Point started a long time ago, yet somehow, the weekend was finally here. We packed up our bags and headed south, to experience a bit of what life was like on the aircraft carrier Yorktown. While the scouts were excited to just SLEEP on the ship, the trip was much much more than that. The camping office at Patriot's Point has got it together, and a more pleasant bunch of people you won't meet.
We rolled in just in time to board on Friday night.
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| Z, J and B enjoyed stretching their legs on the cannons overlooking the river. |
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| J, H and C joined in |
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| C, H, J and T on their perch |
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| Part of the pack...it was hard to round them up! |
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| There were about 200 sleeping on board that night. You would have never known it once we boarded. |
Everyone got settled in, explored a bit and hit the rack. The next morning dawned early, with breakfast around 7. With the ship to ourselves, it was time to explore!
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| Beautiful morning on the flight deck |
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| The Clamagore, we all have new respect for submariners. |
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| Of course, it was interesting just watching the business of the port |
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| Little H was along for the ride! |
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| B and J hang out in the berths |
To add a little more interest to the day (as if having almost free reign of 3 ships and countless other pieces of military equipment wasn't enough!) the camp program offered a choice of four classes. All the scouts did oceanography, and others did aviation and astronomy as well.
Dividing the scouts by age, they were able to tailor the program towards belt loops and merit badges. Being with the younger scouts mean there aren't many photos of the Webelos at this part. Any photos out there??
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| First stop, the marine lab |
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| We explored a variety of local marine life, from crabs, and snails, to turtles |
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| The scouts were mesmerized! |
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| Shaking whelk eggs |
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| Checking out the large hermit crab |
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| and a baby horseshoe crab |
Then it was time to head out to the dock to do some hands on exploring
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| The flags were blowing in the very welcome breeze |
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| While out there, the scouts learned about estuaries, how the animals feed and why marshland is important |
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| and a minor distraction....the helicopter left for it's first tour of the day |
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| Catching a sample to take back into the classroom, to look for the different types of plankton |
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| The destroyer Laffey, part of the Yorktown task force |
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| ahh...air conditioning! The scouts were ready to do some hands on experiments |
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| First, testing the salinity of the water. First up, water from outside the ship |
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| Not too salty....brackish, to be exact |
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| Yep! Next, the scouts had another sample, much more salty, to test. |
About this point, the lights went out and we looked at examples of the different types of plankton, under the microscope attached to the SmartBoard. Like creatures from outer space, we were all a bit ummm, dismayed, to learn we'd probably ingested quite a few the last time a rogue wave smacked us in the face at the beach!
After dinner in the mess hall (chicken or pasta? bug juice, why not?!), the scouts explored a bit more, most of us ending up in the theater to chill (literally). And more than one scout fell asleep (ahem. make that leaders too! lol!)
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| Chow good guys? |
Those who chose to go to the astronomy class headed back to the classroom, and others stayed to watch Madagascar 3 in the theater. There were some tired scouts in class...
Not too many photos of this, it was a lot of Q and A, and as cloud cover moved in, we were unable to actually go up on the flight deck. But those boys peppered the instructor with questions, ranging from black holes to living on Mars. And he was able to answer them! Impressive!
The next morning we had to be off the ship by 9, so after breakfast, many went their own ways. It was a wonderful weekend of learning, not only of the environment and nature, but of the sacrifice so many made for our freedom and the brotherhood they shared. Our scouts are blessed to have a brotherhood amongst the Pack, reinforced by weekends like this. Thanks to all who had a part in organizing this trip!
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