Kayaks, Campfires, and S'mores

We trekked out to Cape Henlopen this past weekend for our annual Girl Scouts trip. We had a great time and I think the girls might've actually learned a few things while we were gone. Imagine that!

The weather was beautiful for hanging out at the beach.  For September, that means sitting on the beach in a cozy sweatshirt - for adults. For teenage girls it means running into the cold water and acting like its not cold at all.  That's where my duty as Troop Leader kicks in to make sure no-one gets swept away in a tide or shivers to death.  We also enjoyed kayaking.  Last year, we were on a nearby river because of the high waves, this year, the guides decided to let us brave the waves.

Kayaking at Cape Henlopen

One of the girls was really nervous about kayaking, the tide and cold was not helping. After a few minutes in the boat, she demanded to be let out back on shore.  She watched her fellow troop members for about 10 minutes, and then softly suggested that she might try again. She took a deep breath and climbed in the boat with me and we paddled on down the shore a little ways.  When we were back on the sand she sighed, smiled, and said she was glad she tried it again.  To me, that's the whole point of these adventures - not to make them expert kayakers, but to build the girls' self-confidence and learn to deal with their fears and nervousness.

Back at our site, we worked on our camp-cooking skills.  Forget the hotdogs and pot of beans.  I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich.  Cheese and a flat-bread wrap, wrapped up in foil and thrown on the grill - it was delicious!  For dessert we had Campfire Apple Crisp. Last year we made banana s'mores and peach cobbler, we're expanding our camp dessert repertoire.

Campfire Apple Crisps

• Slice the apples, one apple per girl
• Place the apple slices on foil
• Sprinkle with oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon - to each individual's taste
• Wrapped up the foil, making sure to close the packets so any steam would stay inside
• Put the apple packets over the hot coals/campfire.

We let them cook long enough to enjoy lunch and a game of volleyball.  We opened them up and - tada! - enjoyed moist, sweet individual apple crisps.  I've mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of "let's cook with the kids for the sake of fun," but I do believe kids need to be taught to cook.  These were really easy to make and something the girls could try with their families at home, using the oven.  They can even expand their cooking by trying different fruits like  peaches and blueberries.

Do you ever outgrow S'Mores?

And as Girl Scouts, everyone's got to contribute to the event.  Our assignment was supplying the s'mores for the big campfire. Yes, chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers for 150+ girls and leaders.  Accompanied by guitar playing and campfire songs.  And as it always seems at the beach - lots and lots of stars!

Find out more about the Girl Scouts at the official website - www.girlscouts.org.

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Camp Cooking - Peach Cobbler

This past weekend, I took my Girl Scout troop on our first activity as Cadettes (we just bridged up to this group this past spring) - a beach trip with about 200 other older scouts in our county to Cape Henlopen, Delaware.

Lighthouse at Cape Henlopen, DE

The weather was great and Cape Henlopen was a nice location, which I’ve never been to before.  It’s an old military base which is now used as a state park, complete with beach, fishing, campgrounds, biking and walking trails.  The girls went seining – dragging a huge net through the tide to observe what sealife they could collect, then returned it all back to the water – and kayaking.  One of the things I like about the Girl Scouts is the opportunity for girls to try things that they wouldn’t in their regular day-to-day, like the seining activity which none of my troop has done before.

We also did some camp cooking.  Although I had planned to make these treats on a charcoal fire, we lucked up with an oven in the dining hall so I used that instead to save us from the possibility of a raging wildfire (there is no patch for that in the Girl Scout handbook).  We made two desserts: Peach Cobbler and Banana S’mores. I found a few variations of these on Pinterest and internet, neither is my original recipe, but I’m going to list them for your convenience.

Campfire Peach Cobbler

I split the recipe into 2 cake pans, but it could be made in one large one.

Ingredients

4 – 15-oz. cans of peaches (light syrup)

1 – 16-oz. bottle of Sprite

1 box of yellow cake mix

1. Drain peaches and pour into baking pan.

2. Pour cake mix on top of peaches.

3. Pour soda into pan and mix with cake mix until relatively smooth and not bubbly.

4. Put over grill or into oven at 350 degrees. 

5. Let bake until done.

When we did it, it took forever to bake, as in I put it in before dinner and it wasn’t ready until after.  But I did have the oven on low because I wasn’t familiar with the controls and didn’t want to mess with it too much.  But it should take about 30-40 minutes.  It was delicious when it was finally done.

Check back tomorrow for the Banana S'mores.

Pack your Bags: for Sleepaway Camp

Are you one of those parents who booked your kids for a week or two or three at a sleep-away camp?  Horse-riding, canoeing, playing sports, dancing, pranks late into the night?  For many kids, overnight camp is a summer rights of passage.  Not for me.  Not for me as a kid and not for me as a parent.  (I don’t have the space here to go into all the psychological reasons why, just read Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom.)

Not that my children don’t ask.  My oldest is going on her second year mentioning a college-stay sports camp and “because all of her friends are going” hasn’t swayed my thoughts.  The college is close enough that I’ve offered to register her for the day portion the same week her friends are there, but she’s pushing for all or nothing.  I like her gambling instinct, but she needs to learn to better understand the odds.

One of my kids’ friends gets a week or two every summer on his own, a flight or a long drive, but far away.  During that time, his parents cruise off into the sunset – literally, they go on vacation while he’s gone.  Admittedly, that’s tempting, but if I have to put 4 kids into sleep away camp, me & D won’t get much further than sharing a sweet tea & fries at the McDonald's across the street.

For all the kids who are going away, you know – all the kids in the world except my daughter – I turned to a friend, Tanya, for tips on making sure your child is well stocked and comfy in his summer home away from home.  One of the first things she said was to find others who have been to that camp before because they may have suggestions that are not listed on the camp provided list.  

The bags: a trunk, the kind you took to college, a duffle bag, and a small to medium-sized backpack for getting around during the day

In the duffle (to save space in the trunk): the sheets, pillows, sleeping bags, towels, etc. 

In the trunk: everything else -  clothes, pajamas, underwear, hiking boots, etc. Mom Tanya said, "the first year, I grabbed my camp packing list and started packing the trunk.  Quickly it became obvious to me that I couldn't fit everything in the trunk that was on the list.  Well, after several times of taking everything out of the trunk and putting things back in the trunk in a different order, my husband strolled by and offered another strategy to pack the trunk.  It worked!  However, in my excitement I didn't realize that I had taken out regular T-shirts and only put in white T-shirts, with 2 regular T-shirts.  So, in every camp photo, he has on the same two shirts."  

• Have your camper help with the packing, have them put in their favorite shorts, swimtrunks, books (most camps have time set aside for mandatory reading). 
• Pack some fun things for the whole cabin:  glow in the dark necklaces, yo yo's, whoopee cushions, etc.  Do not listen to people who used to go to camp back in the day and send horns, and other really loud noisy devices.  These will be confiscated from your camper, with a nice email sent back to you. 
• Don't send any electronics because most camps don't want kids bringing video games or other electronics.  (Although another mom's experience has allowed some e-games, or at least kids can bring DVDs to watch at camp, so check with your camp if your child will just wither away without his e-entertainment.)
• Don't send food.  If you want to send cookies baked by mom, send it in the care package, do not pack them in the trunk.  But go easy on sending care packages, if your camper is at camp three weeks or more, 1 package a week is enough.  Another friend, mom Denyse, says to also consider non-perishables such as granola bars or cereal bars for a picky eater.

While you’re waiting for your child to return to you:

• Don't expect to receive a lot of letters.  Most camps have postage cards and encourage campers to write down a few words and mail it home.  Some kids send lots of letters, Tanya's did not. 
• Try not to worry, let your camper have fun and take some time for yourself to have fun.  Your camper will be home before you know it!

Thanks to Tanya Landry and Denyse Hamilton, busy moms, for their packing tips.