camp

So far I've only mentioned the beach since it's well, so freakin' great. But the actual reason we are here, youth camp, has been pretty great too. Aside from the (ahem) mildly gross camp lodging, we are really enjoying this camp. It's very small and the youth minister is an old friend of Ross'. The kids are so sweet and a couple of girls have taken a particular liking to Naomi. She sits on their laps, trying on their sunglasses, and "talking" on their cell phones. They are really sweet girls and if I could take them home to be my new babysitters, I would. (Why, oh why do all my babysitters have to grow up, graduate, and get married? Can't you see I need you to stay 19 forever?)

I have really enjoyed getting to worship twice a day, and the Lord has done some refining in me this week. After last week and my somewhat apathetic attitude coupled with self-indulgance, I needed to be refreshed. Being here has been just what I needed. There is something nice about a camp schedule. Maybe it's that, for once, someone is telling me where to be rather than me having to decide every little thing. Meals are prepared for us 3 times at day at 8, 12, and 6 and although camp food is nothing special, I've come to appreciate the fact that for 5 straight days I don't have to cook a single thing. It's also helpful in terms of self-indulgance as I'm rarely tempted to overeat on camp food. Then I just look at the little camp schedule and follow it. Very few decisions have to be made.

Tonight the whole camp took the night off to go a place called Broadway at the Beach. It's one of those really fun, touristy places with restaurants like Joe's Crabshack, lots of ice cream parlors, stores full of expensive, shiny trinkets, and fun to be had like mini golf, IMAX, and carnival rides. I was looking forward to geting off campus for the night and eating out. But when we first got there, things weren't looking so great. First off, it was so unbelievably hot  today. I am truly not complaining, because we've only experienced a few days over 90 this whole summer. I know, go ahead, hate me. But this was one of those days. Plus there were about 1000 people over what I think this place is supposed to hold. People were parking on the grassy medians and it was so crowded as you walked that you could only move a few steps at at a time. We went to 3 restaurants and finally found one that could seat our party of 11 people (our family, Michael, the camp speaker and his family, and the youth minister). Thankfully, that restaurant was Landry's and it was goooood. New England clam chowder and the catch of the day for me and Ross. Fried shrimp for the kids. Yummy. The company was great and the kids did amazingly well at such a nice restaurant with a slow wait.

We walked around after and the weather had cooled considerably as a huge storm was rolling in. But after a quick ice cream cone and a $5 purchase at the store full of crap that will break within 24 hours, we had to go. We decided that Broadway at the Beach would have been alot more fun if the weather was 75 degress, there were about 1000 less people there, and I had a pocket full of cash. Oh well. The beach is free and we will be there again tomorrow for our last day. Tonight it is raining hard and it is washing all the heat away.