The drive, which was supposed to be a nine hour commute, turned into a 15 hour ordeal. This is because we had not only our 15 passenger van, but we also had a cargo van...that we shared with three other teams. Those other teams were not going to the same camp, by the way. Americorps law says that we have to stop every 2 hours to switch drivers. So, during one of the transitions, my teammate, Ali, and I decided that we would take the cargo van for a shift. We got into the van, set the mirrors right, and then looked around the gas station parking lot to find that the other vans had already left us. Great. We looked down and saw a pile of directions, containing about four different packets with varying destinations. With not much else to go on, we assumed that we would be following the directions that were on the top. Why not, right?
So, we take of on our little joyride, and everything goes as planned. About an hour and a half into it, I get a text from one of my teammates asking which exit we're by. Um...exit? We left the highway about a half hour ago, and are currently going about 15 mph down a winding mountain road. I quickly call her and ask where she is. They're still on the highway. I asked where exactly we were supposed to be going, because we were just about to Ramona, CA. Turns out, we were doing just fine. But the rest of my team took about a 30 mile detour because they missed their exit. So Ali and I had some time to wander around this lovely little town. We found a music shop with all sorts of fun intstruments, and a pet store with rabbits, turtles, and turantulas! Eventually we found an Americorps van at a gas station. Not our team, but one of the vans we were supposed to be caravaning with. We went over to the grocery store quick, and eventually met up with our team and made it safe and sound to camp.
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| The little bunny at the pet store in Ramona. |
The First Night:
Our sponsor, Jason, seems like an nice guy. I was liking what he had to say about the camp until he got to the wildlife aspect. Turns out there are black bears, mountian lions (a momma with two babies), wolves, coyotes, turantulas, scorpions, rattlesnakes, ticks, and of course the black widow spider. This wouldn't be quite as unwelcome for me if it hadn't been for a dream I had three nights ago that involved me being mauled by a mountain lion, bear, and wolf. Actually, in my dream, there was also a tiger. And I was in Alaska. And I hid from the wolves in a mini fridge. It was obviously the only safe place to go.
First Day of Work:
Right off the bat, I was on a chainsaw. And apparently will be for the next two weeks, minimum. Wow. So...by the time I made it to lunch, I was already able to feel my arm and back muscles every time I attempted to bring my sandwich up to my mouth. All I have to say is that I'm going to be ripped by the time this is done! Or maybe just incredibly sore. I'm already rocking a sunburn on the back of my neck. And the camp is built into the side of the Vulcan Mountain Range. This means that everything uphill. My cardio system will also be rather impressive by the time I leave here two months from now. I am quite excited to go to bed.
But it's not all bad. It's a major step up from Catalina Island, infact. First, we have a heated cabin, with an indoor kitchen (no more cooking dinners over a campfire!), and showers. And, in my opinion, it's prettier! I enjoy greenery and trees...two things Catalina did not have much of, that Camp Cedar Glen does. We even have a little babbling brook running right down through the middle of camp!
detour!!! :)
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