CAMP

D and me
Rachel teaching the group about the ocean.  See me in the back.
Getting ready for our snorkel!
Games lead by Amanda on the beach
Daniel signs "Hang Loose!"
Pier jumping
  Daniel doing a 360
Swimming to shore
Hangin' with the group

Written last week~I am still recovering from a GREAT trip to CIMI (Catalina Island Marine Institute).  Daniel, Amy, and I took 17 junior highers to Catalina for three days.  We were up at 4:45 Monday AM and met the group at 6.  By 11:30, we had made it to the island.  Our first day included several marine life labs.  We learned about the different sea life, we used microscopes to examine tiny creatures from the ocean, and touched and fed lobsters, king crab, and octopus.  Then, we headed back to camp and hiked up to the top of mountain overlooking Toyon Bay.  After the hike, we came back enjoy a delicious Italian dinner.  To end the evening, the children dissected squid.  One of their instructors, Amanda, made the lesson REALLY memorable by dressing up as "Gooley", a Russian scientist with a Spanish accent.:)

  The second day was celebrated on the dive deck as we took a snorkel class and then snorkeled for two hours around the coves of Catalina.  We then had several more labs: algae, sharks (REAL sharks that we were able to pet and hold), and a creatures in the kelp.  After our labs, there was another hike and a yummy dinner.  The day ended with a lesson on the different layers of the oceans and its inhabitants as well as a scavenger hunt.  

The next morning we ate breakfast (no serving or cleaning up), cleaned up our bunks, and headed out for our last snorkel.  And would you believe that I swam within an arm's reach of a leopard shark?!?  Our trip back to the mainland was long, but fun because we shared the time with the children.  I was EXHAUSTED when we returned home and ready for my own bed.  What a special time!  I learned SO much, appreciated the teachers enthusaism for marine life, grew closer to D's students and co-teacher, and simply enjoyed being with Daniel.