A SCHOOL TRIP TO CAMP MARYDALE

On Tuesday as I was picking Jacob up from school, I was invited to go on the trip to Camp Marydale.  Of course I said yes without giving it much thought.  I'm usually always willing to help out with Jacob at school because I know how tough it can get sometimes.

Well, today was the trip.  So of course, we had to prep a few things before the trip.   Since it was by bus, we needed a change of clothes in case of motion sickness.  And with that we needed to also bring some bags to catch the vomit.  We also needed to bring 2 lunches with drinks.  And of course we needed to be sure to wear boots.

Then as soon as we got there, we were informed that we'd be the first group to go on a hike through the forest.  Okay, I thought, how bad could it really be?  Well this hike was special.  Not only was is about 2 or 3 kilometres, but it was on a nature trail that was comprised of mostly ice, snow and mud.  Which of course was great for the kids, but not so great for Jacob's EA and I.

After the hour long hike, we went back to the lodge for lunch.  And since the hike was muddy, Jacob had it on his boots, pants and socks.  Once he saw that his pants and socks were muddy, he of course insisted on taking them off, in front of both classes that were on the trip.  After a brief argument, I was luckily able to convince him to keep his clothes on.

Then once lunch was done, the organizers decided to put on the worst song for kids with sound issues.  That stupid Gangnam Style song was just pounding, which sent Jacob into an ear plugging frenzy that also involved some screaming.  So we quickly decided to go exploring and headed for the basement of the lodge.  Down in the basement (that Jacob referred to as a dungeon) there were little papers that were used for a nature scavenger hunt, which was great.  The little papers were taped in various places throughout the basement, or dungeon, and they had info on them about plants and animals.  Needless to say I was quite pleased that there was something in that basement other than the usual industrial junk.

The bus ride home was good and Jacob didn't get bus sick once.  All in all it was a good class trip, but I'm exhausted.  I don't know where teachers get the energy to keep up with over a dozen eight year olds all day.  I definitely going to sleep well tonight, and the next trip that I'm invited on, I'm going to send Jacob's mom instead.