4-H Camping Conference in the Santa Cruz Mountains

     Every other year, 4-H Summer Camp program staff from all over California meet for a conference that is geared around camp programs.  The conference is designed to give us new ideas to bring to our camps from fun activities, how to make the campers environment the safest it can be, and to meet new people.  This was the only state wide conference I had not been to.  I was lucky enough to go this year.  The LA/SB 4-H Summer Camp Committee decided to pay the way for up to 12 staff to go to the conference.  I was one of the adults allowed to go.  I was excited.  Closer to the conference, I ended up becoming a tech team member at the conference.  Due to this, the conference waved my registration fee.  The conference was Friday March 21 to 23.  I was super excited because this was the beginning of Spring Break.  

     The conference was help at YMCA Camp Campbell in Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  I was able to car pool with Dennis and Sallie DeYoung from Northridge.  I really enjoyed driving with them.  They made the drive relaxing and fun.  On the way up to Santa Cruz, we stopped in Chumash Valley near Santa Barbara.  I had never been in that region before.  It was beautiful.  We stopped at Dennis's dads house.  He had a ranch with a good amount of land.  It seems he built the house himself.  They showed me around the property and house.  It reminded me of a dream vacation home.  Only difference would be that I would not have any animals like horses and goats on my property.  I would of kept it all clear and green fields.  We went from the house over to a church where Dennis's step mom was working a coffee shop she founded.  Their hospitality was amazing.  They gave me a free latte and free snacks.  We also took a tour of the church property.  So far, the day was very calm, relaxing, and enjoying good company.  After awhile we got back on the road and finished our road trip to Boulder Creek.  

     We arrived at Camp Campbell right as check in was about to begin.  We met with a few people, then we grabbed our stuff and got settled into our cabins.  As you walk through the camp, you can just feel the Redwood Forest refreshing your soul.  After a very stressful few weeks dealing with the pain of finals, this was way overdue.  This was a different type of conference than what I am used to.  I am normally used to running around all over the place doing tech related duties.  This was going to be nice.  For the conference, I was mainly providing social media support, taking photographs, and providing IT support for education presenters.  The first night was very laid back.  It was mainly an introduction to the conference and ice breakers.  Everything was over by 9:30.  I got to hang out with Sallie and a few others.  Mainly enjoying the dark sky filled with stars.  Everything got tired and headed for bed.  I decided to head to my cabin.  Everyone in my cabin was mostly quiet.  I tried making small talk for a while, but my cabin mates just wanted to go to bed or spend the time reading books.  I killed time with browsing the web in my phone.   I was lucky enough to 4G LTE.  After about half an hour, I got bored.  I decided to take a shower.  Not quite sure what it is about camps and showers, but they tend to be the most enjoyable showers.  After I saw the shower situation, I was glad I was taking a late night shower.  You walked into this large room with benches and storage cubies.  The idea is to get undressed in that large room, leave all your stuff there, and walk over to the showers.  I am perfectly fine with that arrangement, but if I was there while youth were their, it would make the situation a little awkward.  I took a very long and relaxing shower, headed back to the cabin, and slowly went to bed.

     I woke up earlier than expected, around 6:30 am.  Everyone else was asleep.  I tried to get back to sleep, but two things kept me awake.  The snoring from my cabin mates and a faint sound that sounded like Wild Turkeys.  I was curious.  I got out of bed, got dressed, and went outside to explore.  By time I left the cabin, I had missed the turkeys.  I began walking around the camp.  Most of everyone was still asleep.  I ran across Lisa, from Lassen County.  She is our nurse for our LA/SB Summer Camp, and I am hoping to get her daughter to get involved in the tech team in the future.  She was off on an exploring mood as well.  We went walking around.  My main goal was to find a Banana Slug.  I have never seen one and the morning would be the best time to find them.  We explored mainly around the camp area.  We checked out some cabins that were build in the trees, about 30 feet up.  We also checked out the creek that flows near the parking lot of the cabin.  It was not long before breakfast, so we did not explore long.  Did not find a Banana Slug.  After breakfast, before everything began, a few youth did find a California Newt.  They brought it over, and I was able to hold it.  It was awesome.  I love the newt's color of the skin and eyes.  Soon after, I learned from the Orange County 4-H Staff they are poisons.  Comes out of their skin.  All I had to do is wash my hands.  Later I learned they release a nerotoxin that is 100s of times more poisonous than cyanide.  Crazy!  This was the main day of the conference.  A guest speaker and educational sessions took place.  I attended a few sessions I felt important to help benefit me and our camp, and during other sessions I went around to take photographs.  The most important sessions I attended was about ensuring we create safe environments for our campers.  I found it extremely helpful  Every since I got involved with our camp again, I wanted to work to make our camp more safe.  I had a cabin mate that had gotten bullied throughout the week.  I did not know until camp was almost over.  I felt powerless that I had no way to help make him feel better.  After camp, I had learned that he was gay, and that was the main reason why he was bullied.  He never came back to camp.  After that experience, I have been working towards making sure we stop bullying at our camp.  Sadly, we really do not know how to go about that.  

     

     After the sessions, the entire delegation came back together to have a presentation about survey statistics from a handful of camps.  I was hanging out with Sandy, a 4-H staff from Humboldt County who I have known for years, and she did not feel like listening to the presentation.  She already knew about the statistics.  It just so happened that I did the same.  We felt like hiking and exploring instead.  I had even convinced Sallie to come along.  In the end, Sandy, Sallie, another youth (can't remember his name), and myself played hooky for an hour.  Camp Campbell has a series of hiking trails that go into the Redwood Forest.  We enjoyed each other's company and the natural environment.  They helped me in a search for a Banana Slug.  We found a few salamanders, a California Newt, and when I was about to give up hope, a Banana Slug.  The Redwood forest was beautiful!  I could of stayed out there until the sun set.  We got back just in time for dinner.

     After dinner there was some free time.  Sallie and I were talking, and wished we had a campfire.  Sandy was hangout and agreed that we should have one.  She went to ask the camp facility staff, and we got approved to have a fire.  We got to the fire ring and started the fire.  Not quite sure why we started it then.  We only have a 30 minute break before the evening activity.  We ended up playing hooky once more.  The night time activity was a camp wide scavenger hunt.  A few people saw the campfire, and decided to join us instead of the hunt.  Two people were from Kern County.  They had mentioned they do not have a summer camp program, and looking into it.  I began giving them the idea about them just coming to our camp instead of dealing with the hassle of planning their own camp.  As I was sharing details about our camp, other people from our camp showed up and were excited to take to the Kern County delegates.  Before we knew it, it was two hours later.  The scavenger hunt was over, and it was free time.  Sandy had invited the entire conference to join in the fire to sing camp songs.  A good 30 people joined us at the fire that night, and we all took turns sharing our favorite camp songs.  The biggest shocker I had was the different variations of the same song.  A song that we knew real well at our camp, might have a completely different ending, or have a few different words at other camps.  It was fun to learn those variations.  It ended up being one perfect night.  I did not want it to end.  This entire day was amazing, and it reminded me why I love the 4-H program.  You feel like you belong.  You feel important.  You feel loved by others.  You feel a sense of community.  Even when you have no idea who most of everyone was, you still had that great feel.  Almost everyone got tired, and they ended the program.  I was no where near ready to leave the fire.  Everyone but others from my summer camp left.  We would hang out and bond for a while longer before it was time for us to call it a night.  In total, I spent 4 1/2 hours at that camp fire.  I got back to my cabin, and it was the same as the night before.  Everyone was either asleep, reading, or listening to music.  I noticed that a teen next to me was listening to music and writing several pages on a yellow note pad.  I wanted to ask him what he was writing, but I did not want to get him out of his zone.  It reminds me of me, when writing these blog posts.  I decided to go take a shower, come back, and call it a night.

     

     Sunday was a short day.  They didn't even offer lunch, which was interesting.  We had one more educational session, then we had a conference closing.  I found it hard to leave.  I loved the camp, I loved being in the Redwood Forest, I loved being away from home, and I loved being around so many amazing people.  I could of stayed there for an entire week.  Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  Dennis, Sallie, and I headed on back down to Northridge.  Just like the drive up, it was a great and relaxing time.  We stopped at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo for a very late lunch.  We were bored of  being in the car, and it had seemed none of us have been there before.  We first ate lunch in this cafe.  I almost felt as if we had left California when we walked into the building.  The cafe almost had an old west type feel.  The food was amazing.  The first big surprise was the Iced Tea.  When it got delivered, there a stick of rock candy that laid on top.  I was excited.  I thought it was a great idea.  For those who want sweet tea, they can use the rock candy to sweeten the tea.  Now I hate sweet tea, so I just ate the rock candy.  After lunch, we shared a piece of white champagne cake.  It was to die for.  With our stomachs satisfied, we explored the inn.  Our biggest mission, to find the famous waterfall urinal in one of the mens restroom.  We had found it, and it was awesome to see.  I wish I didn't use the restroom in the cafe before hand.  I would have so used that urinal.  Of course, we had to let Sallie see it.  We also explored the pool area.  There was a big waterfall (man made) coming out of the hill by the pool that grabbed our attention.  

      After we got our exploring out of our system, we continued on home.  We made one last stop, at Seacliff Beach just outside of Ventura to see the sunset.  It was a perfect view to end a perfect and awesome weekend.  This was a great way to start Spring Break.