Sea Camp

Katelyn had the opportunity to travel to San Diego for Sea Camp with her G.A.T.E class.  And Joe had the opportunity to attend as a chaperone.  They had the greatest time and absolutely loved it.  Since I had to stay home, I am going to write from Katelyn's journal of the trip.

Day 1 of Sea Camp-March 18
"We woke up at 6:00, got ready, and double-checked to make sure everything was packed for the trip.  Then Dad and I went downstairs to eat breakfast and make our sack lunches for the bus ride.   Mom drove us over to Goynes where we loaded our luggage onto the bottom of the bus, hugged Mom goodbye, and hopped on the bus."

Joe, Lauren, Audrey, Alyssa, Katelyn, Mia

"I sat next to Mia and my dad sat behind us.  We talked and ate snacks and then Mr. Hybarger, the principal from Goynes, started a movie, "Series of Unfortunate Events".  During the movie, we made it to Barstow, where we stopped for a restroom break and lunch on the bus.  It was a 6-hour bus ride so we finished the movie, talked, ate more snacks, and later watched "Tangled".  Around 1:30 p.m. we arrived in San Diego."

"We played at the park and on the monkey bars while the workers at Sea Camp set everything up.  The park was so fun.  Once we got to Sea Camp, we went over the rules, set up our stuff in the dorms, and got measured for wet suits."

Cute minds think alike--matching shades for Kate and Alyssa

Jack and Connor balancing with Mia and Katelyn

"Next we got into the Sea Camp vans and went to Scripp's Aquarium.  We did a scavenger hunt so we saw many exotic fish.  It was amazing.  Then we came back, called our families, and ate dinner.  We had enchiladas, rice, and beans."

Jack (telling some story), Connor, and Jessen
 

"After dinner we had some free time so Lauren, Audrey, Mia, Alyssa, and I went to the Touch Aquarium.  It was really cool because I touched a sea star, whale's eye, and a sea slug.  The slug was slimy and gushy."

 

"Once we washed our hands, we went back to our dorms, grabbed our journals and left to go to the Fish Lab.  There we learned about so many amazing types of fish.  We also went into the Shark Room and got to pet a small shark as well as hold a frozen thresher shark fin.  When we got back into the lab, we received a dead fish.  We located its parts, cut it open, pulled out a gill, the heart, and stomach.  We also pulled out a tube and squeezed it to find scales from the little fish my fish had eaten.  When the lab was over, we went back to the dorms to settle into bed."

 

Day 2 of Sea Camp-March 19
"Today we woke up at 7:15, got dressed, brushed our teeth, and did our hair.  For breakfast I had pancakes, fruit, eggs, cereal, and cinnamon rolls.  Then we packed a bag for snorkeling, a boat ride, and saining.  We got into the Sea Camp busses and arrived at Mission Bay."

Alyssa, Katelyn, and Audrey (below)

"We went over the rules while sitting on the grass.  Next we got our wetsuits and snorkeling gear on.  We saw amazing and exotic animals in our snorkeling group.  I had a blast snorkeling!  I saw a scorpion fish, a snail, many more fish, licked something they call a whale's eye that gives you 7 years of good luck and even held two California Sea Hare as well as a basketball-sized black sea hare that weighed a lot and was very squishy.  Next we took off our snorkeling gear and went saining.  We used the net and shuffled our feet.  We caught fish, shrimp,  and crab." 

Trying her hand at saining

"Later, we went back to the grass for lunch.  I had a banana, chicken salad sandwich, Doritos, a cookie, and some water.  Then everyone changed into warm clothes and headed to the boat dock.  We got on the SeaWatch boat and learned the safety rules.  We were on the boat for three hours.  We also went net fishing.  We learned about many fish and even lobsters.  We saw some dolphins and sea lions as well.  We got to touch all of the animals we caught."

Mia, Katelyn, Alyssa, and Jayden

Drake, Jack and Connor

Lauren and Audrey  --  Katelyn sporting a new type of sea hat  --  Mia wearing a coat of kelp

"Soon after, we got back to Sea Camp campus.  I bought a sweatshirt and tee shirt and then we had another lab that night.  The lab was the invertebrates lab where we dissected a squid, found it's pen and ink, and learned all about it.  When it was done, I showered, brushed teeth, and get ready for bed after we washed all the wetsuits.  We went straight to bed for a good night's sleep for a new fun adventure tomorrow." 

Alyssa and Katelyn have ink on their noses from their dissected squid

Day 3 of Sea Camp-March 20
"Today was the last day of Sea Camp :(  Again, we woke up at 7:15 a.m. and I ate a breakfast of French Toast, fruit, milk, bacon, and a bagel.  Then we got in our swimsuits and packed our backpacks.  We went to a park by the ocean and split into groups.  My group and I went on a beach walk, looking for shells and sand crabs." 

 

 

"After our beach walk, we put on our wetsuits and did the stingray shuffle down into the water.  Then we boogie boarded on some big waves.  It was a blast!  It was easier than I thought it would be.  When we were done boogie boarding, we dried off, changed back into our clothes, and ate lunch.  Then we loaded onto the bus to go tide pooling.  Lauren, Audrey, Alyssa, Mia, and I found two crabs, two brittle stars, a baby sea urchin, some sand crabs, snails, and even a small octopus!  Tide pooling was really exciting.  Then we drove back to campus, packed up our stuff, washed the bunks and wetsuits, and brought out our luggage.  While we waited for the bus to come, we had some free time so I spent it at the Touch Tank.  When the bus came, we loaded up and started the drive home.  We talked, ate snacks, and watched "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Tangled".  We stopped in Barstow for dinner at In-n-Out Burger."

"This trip was a very fun experience.  It was even better that my dad and friends were with me.  I learned so much about sea life and did many fun activities.  I hope to go snorkeling, boogie boarding, and tide pooling again soon.  I had a blast and will never forget these adventures."