The Seafaris residence camp runs from July 30 through August 4 at the Skylark Ranch near Santa Cruz.  It is organized by the Girl Scouts of America.  No iPods, no phones, no Lady Gaga, no Nintendo, no distractions…. incommunicado for a week of fun, camaraderie and growth.

June 30 (Friday)

Learned some songs on the bus.  Orientation walk-about.  Dinner: spaghetti, meatballs, lemonade and water.  Made s’mores around the campfire.  The banana Dad packed in my lunch got totally squished.  Yuck!

June 31 (Saturday)

Went sailing out of Santa Cruz Harbor for about an hour.  There was a Ukulele convention or something at the Harbor.  Sailing was a really awesome experience and I want to sail some more.  At night we had campfire get together around the Girls Scout campfire arena and watched other camper units do skits for us.  It was funny.

August 1 (Sunday)

Visited Ano Nuevo State Park and saw elephant seal.  Got lots of sand in my shoes.  Stinky there.  Dinner: tacos (meat, cheese, salad, salsa and sour cream).  Later, slept out in an open meadow under the stars.  Saw a shooting star!  Made a wish.

August 2 (Monday)

High Ropes (The Leap of Faith and Multi-vine).  I did the “Leap of Faith”.  Wearing a helmet, climbing harness and safety rope with a belayer, I climbed 35 feet up a tree to a platform, then jumped off hitting a tethered ball as they fell.  The rope caught my fall before I hit the ground.  It was exhilarating.

August 3 (Tuesday)

We went to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center and saw dolphins, “Poka” and “Prima”, and the Hawaiian Monk Seal, “Hoa”.  They also had a female elephant seal, “Bernyce”.  Walked inside a whale skeleton.  When we got back we ate lasagna, bread sticks, popsicles and cupcakes for dessert for dinner.  Then we all got together for the last campfire and learned some more songs like “Moon Shadow” and “Meadow”.  We also did our skit this night.  It was called “The Talking Heads”.  It was really, really funny.

August 4 (Wednesday)

Had breakfast and packed to come home.  Dad picked us up at the drop-off point in San Jose.

Skylark Ranch left me feeling more independent, more confident and helped me learn how to deal with being away from home. And above all, it was really fun and gave me opportunities to bond with my best friends, meet new friends and feel comfortable with myself.