Lucy, Victoria, Laura and Allie

Campus is a littler quieter these days. Last week, with Kayak One already on the water, we found our numbers cut in half when Kayak Two left for their eight-day trip on Thursday. Staying on campus and completing the academic rotation was fun, however, especially on Halloween. We all had a lot of fun throughout the day, enjoying our classes and sudden outbursts of Halloween songs.

Oliver, Alex and James munch cookie dough. Some class!

That night, Molly, our English teacher, let us loose in the kitchen to make cookie dough! After splitting up into groups we successfully made several bowls of dough. We then ate until we were saturated with sugar and discussed our class text, Omeros. There is nothing like a little (lots!) of cookie dough to make an evening class seem fun!

Mike enjoys his meal at the Maxeys

We celebrated this wonderful holiday into the next night (November 1) as we put on a haunted hayride for the students at the middle school in Deep Creek. We successfully scared tons of kids by hanging ghosts from trees, jumping out at the truck, staging murders, screaming at the top of our lungs, shooting squirt guns and even ravaging each other with a chainsaw! (One without the blade, of course!) After the hayride (pickup trucks substituted for a hay wagon), we ate a dinner and cake prepared by Deep Creek Middle School parents, danced with our friends from the community and had a great time. For all our efforts, our science quiz was postponed until Monday!

Not only did we celebrate Halloween, but also we managed to complete a week of challenging classes that included memorizing a full page of Omeros, finishing an environmental art assignment, and working on our research papers. We also took a history field trip to the ruins of a plantation. At the end of the week, we were rewarded with a dinner at the Maxey's house, a nice treat for all of us.

We were able to reunite with Kayak One late Monday night. We greeted each other with lots of hugs despite their grotesque smell! The kayakers had an amazing time. You have never seen such smiles! We discovered that Horatio is a great cook (you can't believe what you can create with just a fire for heat!) and that Mike is a born monkey. He spent his 48-hour solo climbing trees for coconuts and making rope from the vegetation!

Skyler with Adrian Lyne

The rest also had a great time paddling, getting to know each other really well and reflecting on our solo. Although some were apprehensive at first, the solos were special. They fought off high winds (Jess insists they were hurricane force!), crabs, bugs and loneliness to have an incredible experience.

Zindzi: My family/friends- I love and miss you, can't wait to see you! Becca-send me CDs!, Kels-mmm…chocolate milk, Bibi-meine Taschenlampe brennt, CHS-write to me!

Terrance: Hey family/friends! Hope to see you all soon. I'm doing great and I know you all are too.

Alison: hi everyone! I miss you all! RYG: hope the play's going well! To my RPCS girls: can't wait to see ya! Mom, Dad, B and P: I love you! Thanks for the letters!