29th Dublin Blackrock Scouts

MIC 2012, Day 11

July 30th, 2012

Tuesday morning and everyone was woken bright and early when Mr. Hickling played Revelie on the Bugle, although some of our heavier sleepers did sleep through the whole thing. After a delicious breakfast of Pancakes and Sausage we got ready to head out for activities. 

The first on the list as back to the parade field for more team and initiative games. This time the groups swapped so I visited initiative games, and it was alot of fun. The group I followed started with the spider web, then moved on to an “A-Frame” challenge, the also had a other challenges which they needed to solve as a group. Then the whole group got together to play Rock, Paper, Scissors and two of the Irish Scouts managed to convince the person organising the game that they had never heard of Rock, Paper, Scissors and had no idea how to play. It was hilarious watching everyone try to teach them how to play, but eventually we did tell them that the guys were just messing and had of course played Rock, Paper, Scissors before.

Next we headed to Global Scouting to find our lunch. After a good feed we were introduced to some traditional dress, songs and dances from the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao). After a reluctant start the guys all got into the spirit and had a lot of fun with this. We took lots of photos and I will hopefully get them uploaded soon. Next we went to play a game which come from Costa Rico. This is played with a small ring of rope which you pass among your team kind of like a frisbee, then you have to throw it onto a broom handle which is being held by someone on your team. Everyone really enjoyed this game and want to play it when we get home. The last thing in global scouting was a game from Egypt which involved lots of water and so was much appreciated.

After Global Scouting we headed for Shooting Sports 2, this involved Shotgun, Rifles and Black Powder guns. Most of the group enjoyed this although there was quite alot waiting around in between stations. Most of the guys concluded that their favourite was the clay pidgeon shooting, which some found they were very good at.

After that it was time to head back on site to get ready for dinner. Again we were having a campwide dinner in the dining hall. It was bar-b-q chicken with rice and was very tasty. After dinner it was time for the international night, which is where all of the international groups do the performance that they have prepared.  Conor wasn’t feeling the best this evening so we decided that Stephen would introduce the group in Irish and Conor B would be his translator. The performance actually went really well and everyone enjoyed it, but I was definitely glad when it was over. All of the other performances were excellent, a good evening was had by all. Except maybe for the Canadians who for some reason or other had been forgotten all together and didn’t get to do their performance, this was on top of the fact that yesterday at the waterfront all of their paper work had been lost, they were not happy campers.

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MIC 2012, Day 10

July 30th, 2012

This morning was devoted to campsite improvement which we mostly achieved by getting to know all of the other scouts we would be staying with for the next week. The Canadians also decided to put little Canadian flags all around their tents, so that area is now referred to as Canada Corner. All of the groups of scouts started getting on really well with each other and we all started becoming one big group.

At about half eleven we headed towards the parade field again for our first activity. But first and more importantly we had lunch! The group split up and half did team games while the other half did initiative games. Scouter Dave (from Canada) and I went with the group doing team games, this involved Ultimate Frisbee and Giant Basketball. Everyone enjoyed the activities although it was really too hot to be doing anything at all. It was all ok though because our next activity was swimming down at the water front.

This was brilliant, the water was lovely, the sun was beaming down and they even opened the blob for a little while. All of the Irish Scouts did need to be introduced to the American buddy system, which was a bit of an adjustment for some. Basically everyone has a small tag which is on a board outside of the water front area. If you wish to go swimming or boating etc. you must have a buddy and you both then get your tag off the board and you bring it down to the waterfront area and then put your tags together in the appropriate section of the board that is situated there. The life guards then do a buddy check about every ten minutes to make sure that everyone still has their buddy and no one has disappeared.

While we were swimming we got a message to say that the main water pump for the campsite had broken and because of this we could no longer drink the water from the taps. This meant that we would all be having dinner together in the dining hall again. This time it was something called lasagna soup, which actually tasted really good. Especiallly when followed with Cake and chocolate pudding.

We then headed back to site, sorted out name tags for all of the tents, this makes it easier when you need to wake people up. We played some more cards and the guys collected wood for our campfire with the Iroquais sub camp. This was also an open programme time, so some of the Irish headed down to check out some of the activities that we hadn’t done yet.

The Iroquais scouts arrived a little late and were all starving, but luckily we had managed to get an entire extra tray of dinner (because no one got enough at dinner time), so we fed them all pasta along with cookies and snack mix. This meant that we never really got to the camp fire part of the evening, but everyone had a good chat and a good feed none the less.

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MIC 2012, Day 9

July 25th, 2012

So on Sunday we all met up to go to camp. All of the bags were packed so this helped alot. The bus ride took about 3 hours which wasn’t too bad alot of people had a nap but some decided to regale us with there entire musical repertoire. When we arrived on the Northwoods campsite, we found that they were behind schedule and so because we were on time for our check in time we were actually too early. This was ok we all just sat down and chilled out in the sunshine for a while until they were ready for us.

Once we were all checked in, we headed to our subcamp to get out of our uniforms and sort out tents. The Americans and Canadians went about pitching there tents while us, Bonaire and the Ugandans dropped our stuff off in ours. There are two in each tent so this didn’t take very long.

Once everyone was sorted we headed down to the dining hall to get Dinner and get ready for the opening ceremony. Fionn and Conor G had the honour of carrying the national flag on behalf of the group. for dinner we had pizza from Dominoes, they actually got Dominoes pizza to bring all of their stuff to the campsite and cook it all for us. It was delicious and everyone got more than enough.

Next we had to line up outside the parade field, we were number 11 in the procession, just behind Hungary and in front of the Isle of Mann. Funnily enough our scouts got on with the Isle of Mann very well from the word go. In turn off the contingents walked into the parade field with their flag. Conor and Fionn brought ours to the flag pole and once all of the contingents had arrived the flags were all raised at the same time.

After a few photos we headed back to our subcamp and all of the scouts continued to mingle and play cards. We also had Cracker Barrel (or Supper) of various different types of cookies.

All in all a great first day on camp.

P.s. I won’t be able to upload photos this week but will upload some next week.

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MIC 2012, Day 8

July 22nd, 2012

We had to get up early-ish today to meet up and pack all the gear into trailers at 8am. It wasn’t so bad because it was yet another glorious day outside. We had all of our gear ready the night before so just threw our bags in the car and were ready to go. When we got to the car park we met up with Andrew, Fionn, Oisín and Stephen and the Canadians even had the stuff that we ordered from the scout shop which was very exciting.

It didn’t take long to get the bags in the trailers and then we came back to the house. We had a short rest and then played Uno with Melissa, Anthony and Reese. This was alot of fun and we ended up saying “Yes Anthony it IS your turn” alot. At about 11am we headed out to go to the Great Lakes Crossing Outlet Mall.

The journey should only take about an hour but we hit some really bad traffic and spent a little longer in the car than we had planned. When we got to the mall we met up with Andrew and Fionn and one or two of the Ugandan scouts. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then started the 1 mile walk around the mall. On the way we found some shoes, some t-shirts, some wrist bands and some very strange hats. We also discovered that over here T.K.Maxx is called T.J.Maxx, how strange is that.

When we got back to the food court, we met Fionn and Andrew again. They had both bought identical black skinny jeans and black band t-shirts t match there almost identical penny boards. They had spent alot of time in their new favourite shop Hot Topic.

After the guys had left we met back up with Melissa and the guys and headed back home, the return journey was much shorter. When we got home we considered going for a swim but then realised we had packed all of our swim gear. So we played basketball and then cards instead. WE chilled out in the garden and then had some dinner. Now it is time to get ready to head up to camp tomorrow morning.

In terms of the other guys, Stephen and Oisín went to a different very big mall and I think the Conor’s were spending some more time in their tiger suits, but will stand to be corrected on that one.

Hopefully I will still be able to post every day while on camp but may not be able to post the photos every day so we will see how it goes.

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MIC 2012, Day 7

July 21st, 2012

Today we went to see the new Batman movie and it was amazing! We all went to the local cinema and most of the host families came along too. It was a really good film and Conor G was also thoroughly impressed that you get one free refill on your drink.

After the film we (me and the girls) came back to the house to finish re-packing all of our gear back into our bags. All of the big bags are going in the trailer first thing tomorrow morning so we needed to re organize all of our gear. After that we chilled out for a bit, then played some basketball. I then found a water gun and fairly soon after that Emma also found one. Once all of us were thoroughly soaked the two girls decided to go for a swim and Reese joined them after a while, at which point the three of them had water guns and I got soaked again.

Everyone had to be dragged out of the pool for dinner, we had hot dogs and tater tots, they were yum. After dinner the girls and Reese got back in the pool and Anthony, Grace and Hannah joined them. The guys all stayed in the pool until about 11pm and then went inside and played hide and seek. I learnt how to play a card game called Euker.

All in all a good day had by all, although I am not sure what the guys got up to after the film.

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MIC 2012, Day 6

July 20th, 2012

Cedar Point!!!!!! 

As you may have guessed today we went to Cedar Point, which is in Ohio. We met up to get the bus at 5.30am, but even though we were all on time the bus was late. The bus journey took about 2 and a half hours and we arrived at Cedar Point just in time for it to open. We distributed all of the tickets and everyone got into buddy pairs or groups. Some of the guys (Stephen, Fionn, Andrew and Conor G) decided they wanted to try and do all of the big roller coasters so they were on a pretty tight schedule. They sprinted off to get started and I saw them again very briefly at lunch time as they grabbed a sandwich and ran off. Myself and Kevin joined the girls and Oisín and a few American scouts. Rather than listing off roller coaster I think I will just show you a few photos which will probably give you a better idea of what Cedar Point is like. Unfortunately though the Top Thrill Dragster, which is the biggest ride in the park was closed due to mechanical difficulties, the guys were very disappointed about this.

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MIC 2012, Day 5

July 19th, 2012

All in all today was not a very interesting day, me and the girls just chilled out in the morning. We slept in, watched some trashy day time tv and played card games, it was actually very enjoyable. Most of the boys went shopping in various malls and bought a variety of t-shirt, hats and shorts.

At 6pm we had a troop picnic in Garden City Park, this was another opportunity to get to know all of the other scouts on our sub camp. The guys even started to mingle this time. We ate lots of very good food, played various games and made new friends.

After the food and games, the Americans presented the international troops (us and Bonaire) with both a State and National flag. The National flag was flown in Washington and the State flag was flown at the State Capital. They also presented us with one of the new BSA Scout books. The Canadians then gave us a Canadian flag complete with plastic packaging.

Everyone headed home early as we have a very early start to get to Cedar Point tomorrow morning. I will let you know how that goes tomorrow.

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MIC 2012, Day 4

July 18th, 2012

So today was our trip to Lansing, this was also a chance to get to know Troop 740 from Garden City, the scouts from Bonaire and the scouts from 45th Windsor, who all came with us.  It took about an hour and a half to get to Lansing, which wasn’t too bad. When we got there our first stop was the Lansing Historical Museum, this is pretty cool museum that goes through the history of Michigan and the people of Michigan. There were some pretty cool exhibits about Ford. And the guys even got to do some colouring and cutting in the craft area so they were happy.

Next stop was Lake Lansing Park where we had hot dogs for lunch. Then it was time to go swimming in the lake, which was really nice because the temperature was in the high 30’s. Once everyone had had there fill of swimming it was time for pizza for dinner. This pizza from Little Caesars was really tasty.

At 6pm the performances of all of the international contingents began. We got ready to do ours without any music, but it all went pretty well considering. Although I don’t think anyone expected Conor G to get stage fright, he pulled it off though and everyone loved him.

It was almost 9pm when we left the park and I think everyone was ready for a nap. When me and the girls got home, we sat out of the porch and watched the lightning which was getting pretty impressive. We also tried some Faygo soda and potatoe chips that you can only get in Michigan. Both were very tasty especially the strawberry flavoured Faygo. We also had a good discussion about American words and Irish words.

I will try and add some more photos of the park later on but that is it for now.

Kevin Baker:

The two Conors went to Walmart and the fast food joint White Castle in the early hours of Day 4. White Castle served little slider burgers. They were greasy and covered in onions. Here are some photos from the late night trip.

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MIC 2012, Day 3

July 17th, 2012

So today was mostly just a day to hang out with our host families, although we did have to go to our swim test too. Me and the girls and our new host mom, Melissa started out by going to the Mall and we dragged Anthony (Melissa’a son) along with us to. After extensively checking out the mall and determining the price of converse we headed over to Target. After that was it was pretty much time to head over to the swimming pool and meet the others. We all went for a swim and everyone passed the swim test, which wasn’t all that tough.

After swimming we went to Downtown Detroit and the Hickling’s came along with us. Our first stop was a Coney Island for a hot dog, we were told that hot dogs are truly American and these Coney Island hot dogs are all Michigan. I have to say my hot dog was pretty amazing.

After our stomachs were full we were ready for a trip on the “people mover”, this is a small train that travels in a circle around the city. Connor found out that the security on the people mover are very attentive when he stepped across the yellow line for just a few seconds. We took the people mover to the Ren Centre which is also the GM Building. Here we visited a shop which had Detroit souvenirs, where I bought myself some car cookies! Then we went outside to the river walk and had another look at Canada.

Next we piled back into cars and headed to the Heidelburg project, which is basically an area of the city where this particular artist collects pretty much anything he can get his hands on and then turns it into art. This was really impressive, then we found one house, where they are fundraising to get enough money to paint the house, for a charge of €5 we were able to sign their house. Conor G did the honours on our behalf.

On the way home we drove around Belle Isle, which is a big park that is on what is almost an island. This park was designed by the same person that designed Central Park in New York.

For Dinner I think most people went to Taco Bell seeing as Connor B has been talking about it so much. Me and the two girls certainly enjoyed it anyway! That’s all for now folks, tomorrow we go to Lansing so I should have more to say then.

Kevin Baker: Some more Detroit photos:

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MIC 2012, Day 2

July 16th, 2012

Hello again everyone. For my Day 2 post I can really only tell you what me and the girls got up to, maybe if some of the boys find a computer they will reply to the post with some news of what they are doing, but lets not hold our breath!

So our first host Lynn took us all with her two boys, Tyrell and Tyreese to downtown Detroit yesterday mainly to pick something up at her office and also to show us a few sights. Now this may sound like a very boring chore of a trip to go with her to her office, but it is worth mentioning that she works in the U.S. District Attorneys Office which was based on the 26th floor of her building so that was all kinda cool in itself. On the way there we stopped in Hitsville to see the Motown museum, it was closed for tours but even seeing the building I thought was pretty interesting until about half an hour later Emma asked what Motown was?

So after Hitsville we got back in the car (thank god for air conditioning) and headed to Lynn’s office. After she had picked up a few papers we went to Hart’s Plaza and Lynn pointed out things of interest on the way. We saw the building and alley where Real Steel was filmed, we saw the convention centre (which was massive), and we saw the General Motors building. 

Here are a few photos of Hart’s Plaza which is where they have free concerts, the river and just a stones throw across the river Canada. A trivia fact is that apparently this is one of the only places in the US where you go south to get into Canada.

On the way home we drove by the Detroit Opera House, Coamerica Park, the home of the Detroit Tigers (Baseball), and the Fox theatre. We were also told that we had been on both the East and West sides of Downtown Detroit.

So all in all a pretty good tour of Downtown Detroit. From what I have heard the others did a variety of things like go to Taco Bell, get twinkies, go to a skate shop and go swimming, so everyone is having a good time.

When we got home we had some lunch, watched Real Steel and then I was collected to go to the Leaders Dinner and meeting. At this I met the leaders from Canada (Davey and Chris) and the leader from Bonaire (Tikka). We went to restaurant called the Golden Feather which is apparently famous for its ribs, which I have to say were pretty good. The portion sizes were also amazingly big, everyone went home with a “to go” box. After dinner we had a quick meeting about plans for the rest of the week, we have our swim test today and the Lansing tomorrow, a group picnic on Wednesday and Cedar Point on Thursday, on Friday we might be going to a major league baseball game and then Sunday we leave for camp.

That’s all for now, will post again soon.

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MIC 2012, Day 1

July 15th, 2012

Here is the first of what will probably be many posts during our three week trip away in States. We started out yesterday (14th July) in Dublin airport at 6am, after a few mandatory photos we all said our goodbyes and went to get checked in.

This all went very well, everyone had remembered their passports and we checked without any problems. Next we made our way through security also without any hiccups, so far so good. After a quick stop for food and to hit the airport shops we headed downstairs to fill in customs forms, which actually turned out to cause difficulty to some members, especially when someone turned around and asked me what their country of residence was?

Anyway next we lined up to get through the customs check, which went very well, everyone was finger printed and photographed. When we gathered at the other side it took a few seconds for someone to say “Where is Andrew?”. But not worry he had just gotten stuck behind a family of 6 and so it took him a little longer to get through than the rest of us. Then it was time for another security check, this time everyone had to take shoes off and computers had to be checked too. We also had two of our members randomly selected for an extra security check. While we were waiting for Daragh to be finished with his random security check I noticed on one of the boards beside us that our flight seemed to be at “Final Call”. This seemed ridiculous because we still had an hour and 10 minutes before take off. But none the less as soon as Daragh was finished we all walked very briskly down to our gate, only to be told that no it was a mistake on the board and that this should have been next to a different flight. So we sat down for a few minutes and were called to board within ten minutes or so. Once we had found our seats we spent some time swapping seats so that everyone was sitting where they wanted and beside who they wanted. 

The flight was very long (just under 8 hours), but everyone had there own personal tv screen on which we could choose from any number of movies, tv shows, music and games. So that kept everyone amused for the duration. Once we landed in Atlanta everyone remembered to change there watches and phones to the new time zone and we got ready for our 6 hour wait for the flight to Detroit. We didn’t even need to collect our bags to bring them through customs as everything had been pre-cleared in Dublin. So after sampling some of the many restaurants in terminal E, we made our way to terminal A. Once there we found yet more restaurants and shops and some very comfy seats. So the leaders sat down and the Scouts and Ventures went to explore and fill their stomachs. The hours actually went by fast enough, between reading, eating and playing games.

Then it was time for flight number 2 which was only two hours long and I honestly slept for the duration. I think a few others did the same but same had had a few too many fizzy drinks throughout the day and so were wide awake. We made our way through Detroit airport without any difficulty apart from multiple toilet stops. Found all of our bags and met up with John Hickling and his son Sam from our host troop. They welcomed us and then introduced us to Scott Deykes the Scout Master from the Garden City troop.

We split up into the various cars that had come to collect us, and were hit with a wall of heat when we exited the airport. The Americans thought that we were funny because they actually thought it was quite cool and said that the scouts from Bonaire (a carribean island) thought it was positively freezing. We drove for about 30 minutes to a nearby Church carpark where we met up with other members of the troop and were introduced to our various host families. After some introductions and chatting myself and the two girls went with Scott who dropped us off at Dumas house were we stayed last night ( we are moving to Hodson family today). The Dumas’ family were really really nice and offered us everything from food to video games but all we really wanted was to wash and sleep!

This morning we got up feeling well rested and had a really delicious breakfast. Now we are just chilling out and then Lynn (and the boys I think) are going to take us out and show us around, which should be fun. Later there is also a leaders meeting where we will be told what is planned for the rest of the week and next week.

That is it for today, I will hopefully post again later today or tomorrow.

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