Month: October 2022

Camp Hanes

  Early Thursday morning I felt the thud of my foot stepping onto what would turn out to be the first part of a very fun trip to Camp Hanes! When I was on the bus ride there I felt excited for all the fun activities we would participate in, but secretly really hoped that they were fun. I’d been to multiple sleepaway camps before, so the gist of what to expect wasn’t really new to me. However, I had never been to this camp specifically so I was definitely relieved when I found out that some of the activities I would be doing were archery, rock climbing, and canoeing. When this information was revealed to me, the most exciting activity seemed to be the climbing wall but sadly due to the hurricane I could only do three of the 5 activities which did not end up being the climbing wall. Nonetheless, I was still really happy to be there! 

     I love all things active and that have to do with water so naturally my favorite activity at Camp Hanes was….. Canoeing! I have always loved the water, whether it is a lake or pool, there is always something to do. One of these things is canoeing, and even though it wasn’t interesting at first, it ended up being very active and in my opinion the best activity there. So, when all the directions were finished and our life jackets were on and had picked one or two other people to share a canoe with, we were finally allowed some freedom in what we could do. We raced other canoes, tried to make one big canoe, and even splashed each other. When doing these things, we realized that some parts were harder than others. These things included communication and working together as a team to move in a certain direction. I’m glad I got to go canoeing!

     The 6th grade overnight trip to Camp Hanes was awesome! It was a great experience and definitely one I would want to have again. Although I only wrote about one activity, so many more things actually happened. We went on a hike, made s’mores, worked together as a group to solve challenges that came to us, etc. I will never forget our 6th grade trip to Camp Hanes!

Mae’s Finding Someplace Backpack

This summer I read Finding Someplace as one of my summer reading books. This story is about a girl named Reesie who escaped her hometown, New Orleans, because of an incoming hurricane. In preparation, she packed a few things in her backpack so she could escape comfortably. It was tough because during that time, her parents weren’t home. Instead, they were at their jobs working to save for her college. This caused her to pack some things like her phone, a charger, food, and some important papers that were stashed away in her parents closet. 

If I was in Reesies’ situation I would pack a bag like her, so now I am going to write about what I would bring. Firstly, I would bring money and important papers and documents like my family’s and my passports. Wallets are important too! With this being said, luckily I know where these things are stored in our house, and if I didn’t I would search briefly in the most logical places because I still have things I need to bring! Some of those things include basic electronics such as computers, iPads, phones, and depending if it would fit, I might try to squeeze any airpods, or apple watches that were left. This would be difficult because those things need chargers too. All of these things are important but food and pets are too so that’s what I would bring next!

It’s time to pack some things that are very important to me, my pets! I have two dogs, so for them I would bring their leashes, food, and some really small treats in a small Ziploc bag. I would most likely also keep them in a certain safe place with the door closed while I was grabbing my other items, which I will tell you all about!

After these things have been packed, I would start to focus on my survival and pack….. food!!! There are all types of food, so it’s important to grab the correct items. With this being said, grabbing items that need to be freezed or refrigerated wouldn’t be smart, so instead bars, crackers, and some type of fruit that doesn’t quickly mold like an apple would be part of the few food items I’d bring along. Along with this, I would quickly prepare a couple of really easy sandwiches with a preserve such as peanut butter. Even though it’s not my personal preference, it would be a good option if I was ever really in that situation. Water is important too, however it can take up a lot of space, so I would stuff as many normal sized plastic bottles in my bag as possible. Those are some of the food items I would bring if I was in Reesies’ situation. 

What do you wear everyday?.. Clothes!! So, that’s what I would pack next. Emergency’s are emergencies so I would want to pack as light as possible, meaning I would pack very minimally. Assuming it was August, an extra pair of shorts with a sweater would be all, and to save room, I would wear the sweater over the clothes I already had on. To clarify, the sweater could be used for storage space, a pillow, and comfort, all of which would be helpful during a hurricane! For me, if I have head comfort I also want body comfort so the final item in this section that I would bring is a sleeping bag. Now, a couple more things and…

We are almost done! The final things I would bring would be a toothbrush, mini toothpaste, some elastics for my hair, and a mini hairbrush, some batteries, any car/house key (just in case) and a flashlight! And…. After all that packing, I am successfully ready to escape!! I have to grab my dogs first though.