Day One!
Youth Odyssey began its most popular camp of the season on Sunday, July 24th at the Youth Odyssey office. Once campers arrived and we packed up their gear in the trailer, they hugged their guardians goodbye, and we headed to Lake Corpus Christi State Park for our six day adventure.
Once we arrived at our campsite, we started setting up camp. It was extremely windy so we all worked together to help each other set up our tents. After setting up our tents, we walked down to the beach area right next to our campsite to swim before dinner. The campers had a fun time swimming and collecting various items they found in the water. After swimming a few campers took showers and we started preparing dinner. The menu for the night was walking tacos, which are chips with taco meat and all the fix-ins. After our delicious dinner, we had a check-in circle and played games until it was bedtime.
Day Two
On Monday morning we woke up at 7AM, had breakfast, and headed to our first activity planned for the day. We arrived at the yacht club and began our scuba diving lessons. A few campers were a little timid at first, but once they got comfortable they all seemed to really enjoy it. The campers learned how to inflate and deflate their gear to float or sink, and how to safely swim and use their gear. They also got to swim through hoops underwater and learn some cool tricks with their gear. It was super awesome seeing the campers enjoy learning how to scuba dive.
After our lesson, we dried off and headed to West Guth Park for lunch and an orienteering lesson. We arrived at the park and had lunch and relaxed for a while before the campers learned about orienteering and using compasses and maps.
After their lesson, we played disk golf in the park before we loaded up the van and headed back to camp. When we arrived, the kids went for a swim before dinner, which was chicken fajita tacos. After dinner, we played games and hung out for a while before heading to bed.
Day Three
Tuesday morning we had a yummy breakfast before heading to the Gourley Contracting office for a CPR lesson and certification. When we arrived at the office, we watched an informative video on CPR and first aid. After the video, the kids got to practice their new learned skills on a practice doll. Each camper took a turn practicing CPR and the proper techniques required for certification. The kids had fun, and even got a good laugh every once in a while. After the lesson, the kids were all officially CPR certified. Once the CPR session was over, we headed to Port Aransas for lunch and a surf lesson. We had lunch on the beach and played in the water before our surf lesson.
After playing and building sand castles, we walked over to the canopy for Texas Surf Camps. The campers started by learning the proper techniques for surfing, out of the water. Once they were prepared they headed into the water and started surfing. The instructors were extremely helpful and spent time with each camper making sure they got an opportunity to get a good wave. The campers had an awesome time surfing and were pumped to keep going. On the way back to camp, all we heard was how fun surfing was. We also took a short stop to Sonic where we rewarded all the campers with a slushie after a long day of fun. When we arrived at camp, we immediately started dinner. For dinner we made a fan favorite, ramen noodles. The kids finished the pot of ramen in seconds. After dinner, we stayed up a little later than usual playing mafia before going to bed.
Day Four
On Wednesday morning, we got to sleep in before kayaking. We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and relaxed since we had no partnered events that morning. Before kayaking, we decided to explore the park and take a short hike. After the hike, we attempted to kayak but it was so windy we decided to put the boats away and swim instead. We played in the water for a couple hours before coming in for lunch. We had hotdogs instead of the usual sandwiches and the kids loved it.
After lunch, we dried off and loaded up the van to head to the Youth Odyssey ropes course to get an archery lesson with Majesty Outdoors. Once we arrived, the kids learned about safety and how to use a bow. Before they could even pick up a bow, they needed to learn the proper form and steps. When it was finally time to start shooting, the campers did amazing. We started off without a target and worked on just hitting the box. Not a single camper missed the box and they all couldn’t wait for their second session of archery the next day. After our lesson, we headed back to camp and made dinner, which was decidedly naan bread pizza (another YO favorite). After dinner, we played our usual games before heading to bed.
Day Five
On Thursday morning, everyone was pumped to do archery again. We had breakfast and headed back to the ropes course for our second session. When we arrived, we shot one round of arrows on a blank board before using a painted target. When we turned around the target a lot of campers were getting bullseyes, it was awesome! The group were a bunch of naturals when we used the target, and most campers got above average when we counted their score.
We then moved on to a game of knockout. The campers were separated into two groups and faced each other until there was one person left. The game was very intense, but the kids were good sports and cheered on each other. We finished our session with a balloon game. When a camper would successfully shoot a balloon, they would get a prize (just some dum dum pops). After a few rounds of that it was time for lunch. We had lunch at the ropes course before heading back to camp. When we arrived at camp, everyone went swimming and used the rest of the day to relax before dinner. Since it was our last night at camp, we jammed out to music and had an amazing dinner. We stayed up later than usual looking at stars and enjoying our time together. We finally went to bed for our departure the next day.
Day Six
On Friday morning we woke up and packed our bags and tents before having breakfast. Once we were done, we relaxed and cleaned up camp. Once it was time to leave we headed to the office for an end of camp celebration! When we arrived, we had burgers and hotdogs prepared for the campers and guardians to enjoy, and had some little awards to give out. After taking some pictures, we all said goodbye, and thanked them for an amazing trip!
Written by Vincent Jimenez and Lauren Sahadi
