Day 1... The Morning

Our first day of cub scout camp started with a refreshing dip in the glacier filled pool. Our troop got the first slot because we had the most “campers” that had not taken the required swimming test the evening before.

There were three ranks: white, blue/white and red/white/blue. If you got red/white/blue, you could go out on a canoe. Blue/white only allowed you on a rowboat, as long as a red/white/blue was with you. (There were sailboats too, but, with only a college education, I didn't think I'd be able to decipher the level of colors needed to use the sailboat.) If you had white, I don't think you were allowed to even look at the water.

This was when I found out that I had forgotten my swim suit in the changing room the night before. My son and I were all set to swim. (He was ready to swim, I was preparing myself for bone-numbing water.) I checked my pack and I had my towel, but no swim suit. I was crushed. (At least I put on a good act for my son.) I checked the pool's lost and found and no swim suit. I even walked up and checked the main office for the missing suit. Luckily, my son had several friends he could buddy up with. (You were not allowed to even look at the pool unless you had a buddy. From the rules briefing, it sounded like you were not allowed to be more than five feet from your buddy. I'm guessing, if your buddy drowned, it was your responsibility to drown with him, unless it was in the shallow end and less than five feet deep.)

I could tell the other parents were jealous of me. I had a valid reason not to be in the icy pool. In the whole week we were there, I only counted two other fathers that braved the water. One was the scout master for the pack. He had pure cappuccino in his veins instead of blood, so I don't think he even felt the cold. (One morning, I noticed that all the fathers were gather around his tent. I wandered over to see what was so interesting. They were passing around a cup. I took a breath of the coffee he'd brewed and my heart rate skyrocketed to 140 beats a minute. I think it was three to four hours before I stopped stuttering from the caffeine jolt.) Two mothers went so far as to break their feet before camp even started so they wouldn't be guilted into going into the ice water.

After swimming, we had boating. My son and his friend wanted to go out. My son's friend had one of the mothers that opted to break her foot just so she wouldn't have to get in the pool. So, we all went out in a row boat (even though we were all red/white/blues, you can only have two in a canoe. They kinda screwed up this rule during the closing ceremony when three scouts rowed across the small lake in a canoe.)

There is nothing quite as funny as watching two kids row a boat together for the first time. They had the circle steering down perfectly. Unfortunately, they were trying to go straight. We had a quick lessen.

“Ok, guys. Oars out of the water and lean forward. Put your oars in the water and lean back... Ok, that was really good. Next time, hold onto the oars when you lean back. No, sit down, I'll get the oar out of the water.” A few minutes to reset and we tried again.

“That was better. Next time, put your oars in the water when you lean back and pull.” I was starting to figure out why the person that sits at the back of those row boats in the Olympics is always yelling...

After a few more minutes, I was dizzy and took over the rowing.

“Daddy, why are you going backwards.”

“Because that's the way rowboats are made.”

“But you can't see where you're going.”

“That's why you're suppose to tell me which way to go.”

That's about the time we hit the shore. “Daddy, turn left.”

At least it was almost lunchtime. And the we were closer to the dining hall now...