Scott worked on the 1st of July at the Roller Rink, but I had to take him into the doctor Saturday morning to get his ear checked. He was having pain in his ear and last summer he spent vacation at Hilton Head with an ear infection. We did not want to have a repeat performance at scout camp, so I took him to the Kaiser Urgent Care. He spent the next 10 days on antibiotics for an inner ear infection. Allison had been ill for the first two weeks of GS camp, but was feeling much better. She was able to come home Friday night for a much deserved break.
Scott was off to Boy Scout camp Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, this camp was not too far away-just the north end of the Chesapeake Bay which is about 1.5 hrs drive. All the boys arrived at 1pm to set up camp. This was the first year the boys were scheduled for camp during the holiday week. They took the early week since part of the troop is headed to Jamboree in W Virginia at the end of the month. Since Scott has finished all his required Eagle badges, he was able to pick out a few activities that were just plain fun. I talked him into kayaking to start off his day. He was not crazy about the idea of kayaking, but ended up loving the experience. The boys paddled their own kayaks, so lots of freedom and lots of getting wet. (another reason to have his ear infection treated before camp). I tried to talk him into the Jet Ski badge, but he did not want to have to ride with another scout. And he already completed sailing and motor boating, so kayaking worked out just fine. He also signed up for a few badges he wanted to try over the years and just never had time including Art, Pottery, and Graphic Arts. These badges were especially nice since they were indoors which worked well when it was extra hot and very rainy. And he took his bike to camp which made it really easy to get around. On the 4th of July, the boys parked their camp chairs on the shore and watched fireworks all over the Bay. Scott brought along some patriotic music on his phone to accompany the show. On Saturday morning we picked him up, along with his very wet and smelly clothes, tent and sleeping bag and headed home. He had a really wonderful camp experience this year(and no broken arm!). On the way home we decided to drop in on Allison who was still up at camp over the weekend. She had to stay over for a short Mommy and Me camping program. She was so surprised to see us pull into the campground! She gave us a tour(I have not been up to GS camp in a few years) and we even ran into our neighbor's daughter who is also a counselor this year for the first time. We wish we could have stolen Allison and taken her out for breakfast or lunch, but the campers were already arriving.
Allison had come home Friday night before the holiday week for a much needed break from working at Girl Scout camp. She had spent the week running around assisting with multiple stations, although archery is her favorite. She helped run a week long camp for girls and a weekend camping trip for a Mommy and Me event before coming home for a few days before the holiday week. Allison found herself assigned to bus driver, responsible for driving down to the Baltimore area to pick up scouts to transport them to camp and then back again for drop off as well as shuttling the staff needed to monitor the campers. She is learning to navigate the freeways in large, Ford extension vans that the camp just purchased. I sent her a goodie box with an extended rear view mirror! She was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed, washing her clothes and eating red meat! Unfortunately, she did not plan an unexpected meeting with her boyfriend Tyler on Saturday morning before the holiday week. He decided he just was not getting enough face time with Allison, especially with her being gone during the summer to GS camp and then leaving for school again in the fall to complete her Masters. So sadly they broke up. Allison was of course sad, and mad, but a bit relieved that she does not have as much pressure trying to schedule visits with a boyfriend, especially with her upcoming school year which will prove to be challenging. Plus she is still trying to find another roommate to take Jen's place in their condo which is turning into another challenging event. I had planned on taking Allison out to celebrate her graduation with Grandma Bozyk on Saturday night, but she wasn't exactly in the celebratory mood. Instead, our family all headed out to see an outdoor movie at The Wine Bin in old Ellicott City-Air Force One with Harrison Ford(or as Allison puts it, with Han Solo). The kids never saw the movie, and they really liked it. We packed up wine and popcorn and even our neighbors joined us for a very crowded viewing. It was a lot of fun although incredibly hot. I will have to reschedule Allison's celebration dinner with Grandma.
Usually Allison has to head back to camp on Sunday morning to welcome the new scouts for the upcoming camp week, but because of the holiday, they had a short week scheduled. However, they decided to have the counselors come up on Monday to complete two days of training before the campers arrived on Weds. So Allison had Sunday off and decided to drive with us to drop off Scott. His Boy Scout camp is located near a cute, small town, so we stopped in after dropping off Scott to enjoy some ice cream and a stroll through the gift shops and antique stores. On Monday she was headed back to camp to finish up the training. The girls did take some time to enjoy a fireworks show too on the 4th. And Allison also brought along her downloaded patriotic music to play along with the firework show that they caught at a local school. I have trained my children well! Looks like neither one can watch a firework show without accompanying patriotic music! I think it was all the BSO concerts we went to with the pomp and circumstance and 1812 Overture with fireworks that we so often attend at each year. Unfortunately, we missed it this year. The concert was scheduled on Monday night, the 3rd. We had such a great time last year, and even brought Tyler along. But this year, both kids were at camp, and of course, Allison was no longer dating Tyler. So no concert.
Since the kids were both gone during the 4th of July week, Tom and I decided to take Monday off and visit the distillery on the eastern shore with our neighbors since I had bought Tom a tasting and tour. We enjoyed lunch out at an Alehouse just on the other side of the Bay Bridge before visiting the distillery. It was a very interesting presentation on how they distill whiskey, vodka and rum. And we had the place to ourselves. After a few samples we were given our own shot glasses and a bottle of vodka to take home. It was a very nice outing. The distillery is named after an old sailing ship, The Sloop Betty. The original ship carried wine from Spain and was captured by Blackbeard's pirates in the Chesapeake Bay. The plan was to sell the wine and steal the ship. Instead, the pirates drank the wine and sunk the ship. Silly pirates. The distillery hopes to get a liquor license to sell mixed drinks and bring in Food Trucks to expand their tourist industry. We will have to go back. Plus it is on the way to visit Allison at school(works for us).
I decided to work on the 4th of July. I get paid double time, and Tom and I did not have any special plans. I spent the evening walking Cookie and watching the DC Fireworks and show on tv. Never have been brave enough to travel to DC for the fireworks show in person. I was holding off for my fireworks show at the Frederick baseball game on the following Saturday night. It was scout night, and our Girl Scout choir was once again asked to sing the National Anthem. And they have a great fireworks show right after the game. I worked from Tuesday to Friday and was very busy. I finally squeezed in an outing with my Mom on Friday night. We enjoyed seeing "Mary Poppins" at the High School with the County Theater players. They did a terrific job, even had Mary Poppins flying across the stage! And Mom got to sing along!
Saturday morning was our outing to Boy Scout camp to pick up Scott and visit Allison. Saturday night was the Frederick baseball game. Scott stayed home and did laundry. We took our friend John D instead. Sunday we had our neighbors over for dinner after I spent the afternoon at our GS choir director's house filming a training video. Lots of GS activities!
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