On our first day of Living Local Summer Camp, orientation was at Tom Graham Park. We met all the parents and kiddos out there and played some name games as people arrived. Once we had everyone, we did a brief overview of the week, loaded up the trailer and headed out to Lake Corpus Christi. We arrived at camp, set up our tents and took a quick swim in the lake to cool off. After our swim, we hopped out and got dinner ready and went to bed so we could be refreshed for our first full day of camp the next day!
Day Two
On day 2, we ate a quick breakfast and headed downtown to meet our friends Lacey and Keith from the Texas Surf Museum at Harrison’s Landing. We all piled on to "Japonica" and took a tour of the local Corpus Christi Bay from the bay! We learned a little bit about the actual bay, the U.S.S. Lexington, the Port of Corpus Christi, the Harbor Bridge and so much more. The highlight was the kids taking turns steering the boat and seeing a couple of dolphins. After the boat tour, we hopped out and Lacey showed us the recycling canisters. The canisters are monofilament (fishing line) recycling centers. Lacey explained to the crew how harmful the fishing line could be to the local animals and environment. After collecting the recycled fishing line we picked up some trash on our way to the Texas Surf Museum. At the museum, we learned about waves and how they are made and we talked more about how to keep our beaches clean and why it’s important.
The Second Half of the Day
Lacey and Keith took us next door to the Sushi Room at Waters Street where they had set up a brief kitchen tour for us. We learned about the art of sushi making and then we got to try it! We sat out on the patio and the Executive Chef came to speak to us about how she became a sushi chef and what dishes we were about to enjoy. I was super impressed by how willing all the kids were to try the food and even more impressed when they asked for more! They prepared a vegetarian roll, a California roll, a squid salad, a cucumber salad, and a couple of different poke bowls for us to sample. It was all AHmazing! We made sure to give Lacey, Keith and our Chef a big THANK YOU and then we headed back to the lake.
Day Three
On Day three, we went to Harvest farms to learn about farming and raising farm animals with Aislyn of Grow Local South Texas. We met pigs, chickens and even a donkey! We made peach ice cream after our farm tour and it was fantastic. Later that day, we headed over to James Gourley's River Ranch where he taught us to fish! We didn't catch anything that day but the kids sure did have fun! After our long day we cooled off in the lake at our camp site. The kids were truly thankful for their adventure that day!
Day Four
The fourth day was jam packed full of activity dealing with food! In the morning, the kids learned how to harvest crops with Grow Local South Texas at the Learning Garden. They learned what plants are good to eat and which are native. They even ate a flower that was spicy! For lunch we headed over to the Coastal Bend Foodbank where the kids learned to prepare fish, sweet potato fries and healthy banana pudding! It was delicious! After our cooking class with Kate, the kids headed over to the Farmers Market and helped vendors sell their products. Each of them learning about small businesses the importance of human relationships in the community.
Day Five
On the fifth day we had a hay day! We spent all day playing games on horses with the ladies of Independence Equine. We raced each other, spun around in the saddles, galloped with an egg, tried to put lipstick on while riding and so much more! The kids also made friends with a Turkey named Thanksgiving (he was rescued from being eaten) and a chicken named Bertha. After lunch, the kids also learned how to do roping!
Graduation!
Graduation was a bitter sweet day. The kids had so many memories to share and friends to say “see ya later” to! The parents enjoyed watching them share their fun adventures as they picnicked in the grass. It was great to wrap up another Living Local Camp for the books!
