Even the turtles are crying UNCLE!

OK, it's Wednesday morning, 10:00, and I am hiding in the administration building where they have free wi-fi (I just learned this fact last night) because it is POURING outside.

Yes, rain. Or, as the staff says here, there's a little dampness on the grass.

We got here Sunday at noon. Ben & I had a pleasant journey across the middle of the state on small roads and in cheery sunshine. We arrived, got our tent up, settled in to the camp, and all was well! That night it was cool - but not cold - and we slept wonderfully.

Monday was crisp and clear and we spent the day going to merit badge classes in the morning and then Ben went to the shooting range in the afternoon where he got to experience and try out a lot of different historical weapons - he really enjoyed it. That night he went sailing with one of the older scouts in his troop and they had a fabulous time out on the lake.

Monday night we got in bed around 10:30 ... just as the thunder started. For the next 3 hours we had a HUGE thunderstorm ... I would try to find a more colorful way to describe it, but frankly, I am tired. It was massive. Our tent held strong and tight until about 1:00 AM when two drops of water came through and I braced myself for a deluge ... but then the storm blew over and we had a peaceful rest of the night.

Tuesday dawned clear and sunny, and the tent dried out quickly. Mid-day we had a few scattered showers but nothing worth getting the rain coat out for, and then we had a beautiful evening. Mosquitoes are everywhere, but other than that no complaints at all!

The food has been terrific. Very filling and quite tasty, too. Every morning adults can go into the staff dining area and get fresh homemade caramel or cinnamon rolls, and coffee. THEN we join the kids for the real breakfast. One day we had breakfast corndogs (pancakes wrapped around breakfast sausage on a stick), one day Belgian-style waffles, today bagel breakfast pizzas. Lunches have been hamburgers, taco salad ... dinners spaghetti, ham and baked potatoes ... and every meal has a dessert of some sort. So we are not losing any weight while here!

We aren't gaining any, either. Yesterday I wore my pedometer all day just to see ... I walked nearly 9.5 miles. And our camping area is near the beach, at the bottom of a hill, and pretty much everything else is up the hill - the showers, the dining area, many of the merit badge class areas ... so we are going up and down all day long. Some of the paths are mud and rocks, some have actual steps, but all are steep!

This morning we awoke to rain - a gentle drizzle. It stopped as we walked to breakfast, and we hoped we were in for some sunshine. Not to be. While we ate, the drizzle came back and quickly escalated into a full-blown rain storm. So another leader and I got our computers after we got all the boys to their first merit badge class of the day, came here to the Admin building, and I am sitting here feeling a bit guilty that I am inside where it is dry and I know the boys are out there walking from class to class, getting SOAKED. But it wouldn't help anything if I got wet, too, right? That's what I tell myself anyway. It is supposed to rain all day today but tomorrow and Friday should be clear and sunny.

PLEASE keep your fingers crossed for us.

Last night Ben & I agreed that we were having a good time. Tonight may well be a different story. I hope he is able to keep his spirits up when soaking. We were supposed to do archery this afternoon but I am sure that won't be happening. And tonight is our night to climb the fire tower, but that may well be cancelled, too.

I have been taking a lot of pictures so will eventually get some posted here (we don't have the connecting cable to put them on the computer here.) I will be back to check email and comments again probably Friday morning so will report in on the water-tightness of our tent (so far, so good ... but I am worried about the length of the rainfall today ...) and the level of our spirits!