The fun began at GM 2010 opening ceremonies. Floods of rainbow color hats walked onto the island and received glow sticks. (that nine of us handed out and unwrapped, it was quite a job) There was a slight hold up on getting to the island first. The train that took people to and from the island flipped over. Thank god no one was severly hurt.
In between hat colors and glow sticks Guelph Lake was a rainbow. OPP police officer, and flag bearers made their grand entrance. Kris Burton, our chief commissioner spoke about the fun times we will have in the 10 days and some great experiences. She talked about the history in Guiding 100 years ago.
The special events team entertained us with some song and dance including Sisters for a Century.
2500 of us welcomed Maddie the Moose in his girl guide costume. Maddie went through some rules for camp. Such has water bottles, closed toed shoes, 11pm quiet time and most of all HAVE FUN!!!
It was time to say good night. We sang our taps and then made our way back to the mainland after a hot exhausting day. Glow sticks again were lighting up the trail.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
I Thought the Motto is Be Prepared
There are 2500 girls coming into Guelph Lake Conservation Area to celebrate Canada’s 100th Girl Guide Anniversary. As much of a blast this was, you would think it would be a little more organized then it was when we got there. We realized this disorganization mess was going to occur at camp because most of us did not get our travel details until 3 days before camp. Despite schedules not being handed out on time, waivers not being sent to our parents and rain cancelling sessions a great time was there and well used.
The 291 Rangers that attended did not have their schedule of their sessions in their possession until late Friday afternoon. This is AFTER we were shuffled between marquis to marquis to figure out what we were doing on our first day of program. All of us had a bit of disappointment in us because we didn’t get what we wanted, but we turned it into a positive experience because we were now allowed to pick a session and join if there was room. However, there was a hard time getting into crafts because Core Crew was going out the night before and the morning of to buy supplies for the particular craft. Yeah ok here people, where are you expecting to find about 1000 large pieces of fabric for girls to make Pyjama Pants. That’s a lot of stores you have to hit up before the morning that these girls show up to their session because I am pretty sure you are not going to find one store with that much fabric. Not to mention, most girls had at least 3 wasted sessions because there wasn’t enough supplies or it was cancelled by the rain. Girls eventually did get to do their craft sessions hopefully, who knows with the amount of confusion and disorganized this part of the event was.
Two weeks prior to camp we figured out that waivers were needed for certain activities such as Zip lining, Rappelling, Dragon Boating, the Eco Adventure Tour, Scuba Diving and a few more. Parents waited and waited for these waivers to come in, then we were told if we needed one leaders would be getting a hold of your parents while you were at camp. 3 days past and my mother has yet to get a waiver, and I was told that they were sent out. Thank goodness that my program contact in my neighbourhood took care of it and made sure everyone that needed a waiver got a waiver from their parents. Girls were missing out on their sessions and out trips because these weren’t sent out on time like they should have been. A big event like this..... I think it wouldn’t be the first time that they were in contact with the company and the first time they heard about these waivers. At least things got a little more organized by the end of the week and more and more girls were going on their out trips. Along with the girls that missed their out trips because the wrong times were given.
The rain, oh the rain. Were Girl Guides, we can sleep, eat, cook, run, and play in the rain. A lot of the outdoor sessions were cancelled because of the rain. This left us with nothing to do even though we are Girl Guides and we don’t mind the rain, most of dance in the rain. We don’t care. It wasn't only the planning committee that was unprepared; there were times we weren’t prepared for the rain either. We should know by now when we go camping, it doesn’t only drizzle, it downpours. The day that we left for the island raining, we all brought our rain gear to the island. I failed to bring it any other day but the day I was going to the farm. Out of no where it starts to downpour and then it starts to thunder and lightning. Next thing you know were all under a shelter. This happened a few times, minus the lightning and the thunder.
All of these little discouragements warred off by the end of the 10 days and they turned into positive experiences. Myself and many others had a blast and would do it over again in a heartbeat
The 291 Rangers that attended did not have their schedule of their sessions in their possession until late Friday afternoon. This is AFTER we were shuffled between marquis to marquis to figure out what we were doing on our first day of program. All of us had a bit of disappointment in us because we didn’t get what we wanted, but we turned it into a positive experience because we were now allowed to pick a session and join if there was room. However, there was a hard time getting into crafts because Core Crew was going out the night before and the morning of to buy supplies for the particular craft. Yeah ok here people, where are you expecting to find about 1000 large pieces of fabric for girls to make Pyjama Pants. That’s a lot of stores you have to hit up before the morning that these girls show up to their session because I am pretty sure you are not going to find one store with that much fabric. Not to mention, most girls had at least 3 wasted sessions because there wasn’t enough supplies or it was cancelled by the rain. Girls eventually did get to do their craft sessions hopefully, who knows with the amount of confusion and disorganized this part of the event was.
Two weeks prior to camp we figured out that waivers were needed for certain activities such as Zip lining, Rappelling, Dragon Boating, the Eco Adventure Tour, Scuba Diving and a few more. Parents waited and waited for these waivers to come in, then we were told if we needed one leaders would be getting a hold of your parents while you were at camp. 3 days past and my mother has yet to get a waiver, and I was told that they were sent out. Thank goodness that my program contact in my neighbourhood took care of it and made sure everyone that needed a waiver got a waiver from their parents. Girls were missing out on their sessions and out trips because these weren’t sent out on time like they should have been. A big event like this..... I think it wouldn’t be the first time that they were in contact with the company and the first time they heard about these waivers. At least things got a little more organized by the end of the week and more and more girls were going on their out trips. Along with the girls that missed their out trips because the wrong times were given.
The rain, oh the rain. Were Girl Guides, we can sleep, eat, cook, run, and play in the rain. A lot of the outdoor sessions were cancelled because of the rain. This left us with nothing to do even though we are Girl Guides and we don’t mind the rain, most of dance in the rain. We don’t care. It wasn't only the planning committee that was unprepared; there were times we weren’t prepared for the rain either. We should know by now when we go camping, it doesn’t only drizzle, it downpours. The day that we left for the island raining, we all brought our rain gear to the island. I failed to bring it any other day but the day I was going to the farm. Out of no where it starts to downpour and then it starts to thunder and lightning. Next thing you know were all under a shelter. This happened a few times, minus the lightning and the thunder.
All of these little discouragements warred off by the end of the 10 days and they turned into positive experiences. Myself and many others had a blast and would do it over again in a heartbeat
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Smiles and Goodbyes
Smiles and Goodbyes
July 21, 2010
A month ago we were all looking forward to the friendships, memories and experiences we would make during our time at Mosaic. The day came when we all arrived with our smiles and cheers, even though there was some disorganization. The walks to the island 2 times a day and 2 times back. You were lucky if you didn’t have any sessions back on the mainland or you would be walking the 2km one extra time.
Together we shared negative experiences thunderstorms, random downpours, and schedule mishaps, out trip waiver misunderstandings. These soon turned into positive experiences because there was always something better that was waiting for us. Much Music Video Dance Parties, Celebrity Theo Tams as a judge for GM Got Talent, NASA communication with the International Space Station, Out Trips. All of these wonderful events and sessions that took place made up for the disorganization.
The 10 days whipped by, like you wouldn’t believe. The day before we left was spent cleaning and getting our stuff together to go home. Before we knew, we were on the island saying goodbye to all of these wonderful experiences that we took part in. Boom whackers were smacking in cheer of the fun we had, the crowd was going crazy. We said good bye to Maddie the Moose who was an amazing judge at the talent show. Our last walk to the mainland was a fun one but yet a short one knowing that this was our last time on the island. We went back to the tent, 8 people sat in it, while our stuff sat under tarps. 3 of us took a bag to the leader parking lot that weighed about 100lbs and took the golf cart to lift. Trust me we didn’t get far. RUN FOREST RUN, we yelled at Lauren. Who was running in front of the golf cart. Once we were done yelling dirty jokes across the campground and in the leader parking lot, it was time to pull an all nighter. Didn’t happen, 2 am we all fell asleep.
Morning came, and this was it. We had to say good bye. To our wonderful marquis ladies: Robi, Andrea, Chantel, and Deb. Our Irish friends Niamh and Laura. Pen pals: Hanna and Lyndsay. Hugs were given with held back tears. Not only goodbye to our friends and ladies that made this happen but also the great time we had, the food that was disgusting by the end of the week because you were so tired of barbecue and chicken meals. We boarded the shuttle to get on our train, as we took our last tour of the conservation area we said our goodbyes to the non flush toilets, the lake, water taps and we said hello to civilization.
Note: Following this blog there will be many more posts that are going to be posted about our experiences, friends and memories that we made at camp. Don’t go away and I will keep you posted.
July 21, 2010
A month ago we were all looking forward to the friendships, memories and experiences we would make during our time at Mosaic. The day came when we all arrived with our smiles and cheers, even though there was some disorganization. The walks to the island 2 times a day and 2 times back. You were lucky if you didn’t have any sessions back on the mainland or you would be walking the 2km one extra time.
Together we shared negative experiences thunderstorms, random downpours, and schedule mishaps, out trip waiver misunderstandings. These soon turned into positive experiences because there was always something better that was waiting for us. Much Music Video Dance Parties, Celebrity Theo Tams as a judge for GM Got Talent, NASA communication with the International Space Station, Out Trips. All of these wonderful events and sessions that took place made up for the disorganization.
The 10 days whipped by, like you wouldn’t believe. The day before we left was spent cleaning and getting our stuff together to go home. Before we knew, we were on the island saying goodbye to all of these wonderful experiences that we took part in. Boom whackers were smacking in cheer of the fun we had, the crowd was going crazy. We said good bye to Maddie the Moose who was an amazing judge at the talent show. Our last walk to the mainland was a fun one but yet a short one knowing that this was our last time on the island. We went back to the tent, 8 people sat in it, while our stuff sat under tarps. 3 of us took a bag to the leader parking lot that weighed about 100lbs and took the golf cart to lift. Trust me we didn’t get far. RUN FOREST RUN, we yelled at Lauren. Who was running in front of the golf cart. Once we were done yelling dirty jokes across the campground and in the leader parking lot, it was time to pull an all nighter. Didn’t happen, 2 am we all fell asleep.
Morning came, and this was it. We had to say good bye. To our wonderful marquis ladies: Robi, Andrea, Chantel, and Deb. Our Irish friends Niamh and Laura. Pen pals: Hanna and Lyndsay. Hugs were given with held back tears. Not only goodbye to our friends and ladies that made this happen but also the great time we had, the food that was disgusting by the end of the week because you were so tired of barbecue and chicken meals. We boarded the shuttle to get on our train, as we took our last tour of the conservation area we said our goodbyes to the non flush toilets, the lake, water taps and we said hello to civilization.
Note: Following this blog there will be many more posts that are going to be posted about our experiences, friends and memories that we made at camp. Don’t go away and I will keep you posted.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
You be thinking of the movie when I say “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” but I’m actually talking about the travel confusion everyone has had on getting to and from Guiding Mosaic. It sure has been an adventure, yet I do have to say a frustrating one. The story begins back in March.
Windsor Rangers were told that they were going to go on a bus with the 4 Windsor patrols. The bus ride is the best part to the start of trip. You get to laugh with your friends and have a blast when you’re not even at camp yet. This was back in March. This past June Rangers were told that they be going up a few days earlier than the rest of them and finding their own way to Guelph. We were then running into some issues. We contacted national and said that travel information would be out soon for Ranger/Core Crew members. But, we had to fill out travel information sheets in order for that to happen.
Last week, 3 members of our patrol got an e-mail stating that the 3 will be going on a plane. Here’s the kicker, they were possibly going from 3 different airports. Isn’t that just pathetic? The issue was solved shortly after we contacted national office. Now we are all going by train. Meanwhile, the Windsor bus is picking girls up in Sarnia. I wonder why Rangers weren’t put on that bus in the first place. The 9 of us waited..... And waited.... and waited for this travel information to come. We were all calling national and emailing wondering when we’re getting this information.
Finally, the day came. Friday we all received the same information. No one was taking a plane; no one was driving up there. We were all put on a train. A sigh of relief that email was. The train is leaving at 5:45 AM Thursday morning and we have to be there an hour early. I wonder how over tired were going to be? Overtiredness leads to craziness and fun. I don’t know if I’m going to go to bed Wednesday night,
I will have to be up pretty early to be at the train station and I may be too excited to sleep anyway. It’s all going to be worth it in the end. Even though all 3 planes, trains and automobiles were used to try and get us there.
See you in 4 days!!
You be thinking of the movie when I say “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” but I’m actually talking about the travel confusion everyone has had on getting to and from Guiding Mosaic. It sure has been an adventure, yet I do have to say a frustrating one. The story begins back in March.
Windsor Rangers were told that they were going to go on a bus with the 4 Windsor patrols. The bus ride is the best part to the start of trip. You get to laugh with your friends and have a blast when you’re not even at camp yet. This was back in March. This past June Rangers were told that they be going up a few days earlier than the rest of them and finding their own way to Guelph. We were then running into some issues. We contacted national and said that travel information would be out soon for Ranger/Core Crew members. But, we had to fill out travel information sheets in order for that to happen.
Last week, 3 members of our patrol got an e-mail stating that the 3 will be going on a plane. Here’s the kicker, they were possibly going from 3 different airports. Isn’t that just pathetic? The issue was solved shortly after we contacted national office. Now we are all going by train. Meanwhile, the Windsor bus is picking girls up in Sarnia. I wonder why Rangers weren’t put on that bus in the first place. The 9 of us waited..... And waited.... and waited for this travel information to come. We were all calling national and emailing wondering when we’re getting this information.
Finally, the day came. Friday we all received the same information. No one was taking a plane; no one was driving up there. We were all put on a train. A sigh of relief that email was. The train is leaving at 5:45 AM Thursday morning and we have to be there an hour early. I wonder how over tired were going to be? Overtiredness leads to craziness and fun. I don’t know if I’m going to go to bed Wednesday night,
I will have to be up pretty early to be at the train station and I may be too excited to sleep anyway. It’s all going to be worth it in the end. Even though all 3 planes, trains and automobiles were used to try and get us there.
See you in 4 days!!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Campfires, Wake up Calls, and Storm Watches= Oh What A Weekend
Oh, what an eventful weekend it was out at Camp Bryerswood in the beginning of June. I was out at camp with Brownies 81 the unit I helped out for the year. Along with that camp the Windsor patrols for GM were also preparing for camp and the Rangers had a meeting on the Sunday. The fun began not even two hours into Friday Night.
Lollipop and I took the kids out for a walk and through the pond. Oh boy did we get eaten alive by those pesky mosquitoes. I’d say we must have bug spray with us at all times at Mosaic. It was time to light a fire; we just got it lit and then came the rain. So much for our campfire outdoors. However we did end up doing it inside with some very fun songs to sing and drive the leaders crazy. If you’re looking for a song to drive everyone crazy just start singing if I weren’t a Girl Guide. 1 A.M in the morning I am creating swaps with 2 other leaders. That was fun.
Saturday came around, very early for our camp. One of the Brownies decided that she should have the entire camp up at 5:30 in the morning. That was fixed, for about an hour. Soon before we knew it the Brownies were up when the cows were out. We cooked breakfast outside, along with lunch. It was very hot and muggy outside. The rest of the day went by pretty fast; however it had its moments of time creeping by. Dinner came around, and we began making our tin foil dinners with the Pathfinders. The rain began to come down shortly after we got our dessert. The Brownies had to about 9 o’clock and it was time for bed because they were up so early. Steady rain kept coming down, and then a scream was heard. Leaders went running out. One of the Brownies woke up sleep walking. That is pretty scary stuff. Thunder and Lightning began to be heard and seen shortly after the Pathfinders were sent to bed. Before we even knew it the phone started to ring to tell us we were on Tornado watches and warning. Screaming was heard again, one of the Pathfinders tent came down because the wind was so strong. With very little sleep the night before and a day that was non- stop busy I had a melt down for being so overwhelmed. The Pathfinder brought in their stuff from their tents and we safely fit all the Pathfinders into the building along with the Brownies that had no idea what was going on. They were told that we were going on adventure with the Pathfinders.
Next morning rolled around very fast. We packed up our stuff and had breakfast. A phone call from one of the local scout groups told us that the tornado hit Leamington and Harrow area. After the shock was over us, it was then time to say good-bye to the Brownies and begin the Ranger meeting for GM. Most of us were on very little sleep and on a sugar high so we didn’t get much accomplished. At 2 pm we were going to go to our swim test at the Vollmeer center. We went to go get changed and grab our stuff. Instead of walking all the way over to Ewhurst Lodge, we decided that we would run with the towels tied as a cape around our neck. Looking like super women, we yelled “SUPER WOMEN” across the camp and When Sally was a Spark. We got some pretty weird looks from the leaders but they laughed at us afterwards.
It was a very eventful weekend. We all survived, and came home and crashed afterwards. But, it was a fun weekend and probably most of will do it again at some point in our Guiding years to come.
See you in 5 Days
Lollipop and I took the kids out for a walk and through the pond. Oh boy did we get eaten alive by those pesky mosquitoes. I’d say we must have bug spray with us at all times at Mosaic. It was time to light a fire; we just got it lit and then came the rain. So much for our campfire outdoors. However we did end up doing it inside with some very fun songs to sing and drive the leaders crazy. If you’re looking for a song to drive everyone crazy just start singing if I weren’t a Girl Guide. 1 A.M in the morning I am creating swaps with 2 other leaders. That was fun.
Saturday came around, very early for our camp. One of the Brownies decided that she should have the entire camp up at 5:30 in the morning. That was fixed, for about an hour. Soon before we knew it the Brownies were up when the cows were out. We cooked breakfast outside, along with lunch. It was very hot and muggy outside. The rest of the day went by pretty fast; however it had its moments of time creeping by. Dinner came around, and we began making our tin foil dinners with the Pathfinders. The rain began to come down shortly after we got our dessert. The Brownies had to about 9 o’clock and it was time for bed because they were up so early. Steady rain kept coming down, and then a scream was heard. Leaders went running out. One of the Brownies woke up sleep walking. That is pretty scary stuff. Thunder and Lightning began to be heard and seen shortly after the Pathfinders were sent to bed. Before we even knew it the phone started to ring to tell us we were on Tornado watches and warning. Screaming was heard again, one of the Pathfinders tent came down because the wind was so strong. With very little sleep the night before and a day that was non- stop busy I had a melt down for being so overwhelmed. The Pathfinder brought in their stuff from their tents and we safely fit all the Pathfinders into the building along with the Brownies that had no idea what was going on. They were told that we were going on adventure with the Pathfinders.
Next morning rolled around very fast. We packed up our stuff and had breakfast. A phone call from one of the local scout groups told us that the tornado hit Leamington and Harrow area. After the shock was over us, it was then time to say good-bye to the Brownies and begin the Ranger meeting for GM. Most of us were on very little sleep and on a sugar high so we didn’t get much accomplished. At 2 pm we were going to go to our swim test at the Vollmeer center. We went to go get changed and grab our stuff. Instead of walking all the way over to Ewhurst Lodge, we decided that we would run with the towels tied as a cape around our neck. Looking like super women, we yelled “SUPER WOMEN” across the camp and When Sally was a Spark. We got some pretty weird looks from the leaders but they laughed at us afterwards.
It was a very eventful weekend. We all survived, and came home and crashed afterwards. But, it was a fun weekend and probably most of will do it again at some point in our Guiding years to come.
See you in 5 Days
Microburst at Camp Bryerswood
June 23rd 2010, severe thunderstorms hit south western Ontario. A threat of tornadoes were out. Unfortunately Camp Bryerswood was hit with a microburst which is a big gust of wind that night. The devastation is horrible. Sheds were taken off their foundation and thrown into the quiet place, trees are uprooted. The shelter that is used for the farm equipment was brought over behind Ewhurst Lodge and destroyed. One of the tarps is actually in the trees over by the pond. Sheds are wrapped around trees.
It is horrible to see our camp in this mess. Any help to clean up the camp is appreciated. We fought to keep this camp open, but in order to that we need to keep it clean. There will be leaders working Monday, Tuesday, and a bit of Wednesday to help clean up the mess. There is still a lot to do. Lets go out with our helping hands and help keep our camp.
It is horrible to see our camp in this mess. Any help to clean up the camp is appreciated. We fought to keep this camp open, but in order to that we need to keep it clean. There will be leaders working Monday, Tuesday, and a bit of Wednesday to help clean up the mess. There is still a lot to do. Lets go out with our helping hands and help keep our camp.
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