Virtual Campout A Wet Success!

The evening started off pleasant enough as 14 brave souls ventured to their backyards last Friday afternoon and pitched their tents, setup their cooking stations, and began cooking their well planned, (mostly) healthy dinners. Little did they know that a storm was a brewin’.

As most were finishing their meals and settling into their portable adobes for the evening, preparing their (usually not allowed) electronics for more Zoom fun, the skies opened up and the first torrential rainstorm of the season suddenly was upon them. Undaunted, in their remote locations they made the connection back to the “real” world and connected to their first Zoom meeting of the weekend where they checked in with Mr. Fake Campfire Bielkiewicz, Mr. Maybe In Alaska Johnson, and Scoutmaster Do-Rag Strauss to report on their (mostly) delicious meals and how they cooked them.

Our intrepid adventurers made final visits to their In-Outhouses and retired for the evening as the clouds finally dissipated for the evening. The following morning, those same adventurers arose from their slumber and one magically teleported his entire tent INSIDE his home – his repeated calls to “Beam me inside, Scotty” were miraculously answered). They continued their cooking adventure by making pancakes, pancakes, and more pancakes (with a few omelettes and boiled plastic bags thrown in for good measure). Zoom calls resumed promptly at 9:00am where Mr. Maybe In Alaska Johnson on briefly could attend – all the rain caused him to severely overuse his dryer and a replacement had to be delivered. Due to lack of additionally planned activities (a “thorn” noted by many later on) the team decided to move up our last scheduled Zoom meeting from 1:30pm to the much-easier-to-remember time of 12:35pm. The weather was crystal clear and it warmed up to allow continued backyard shenanigans.

At promptly 12:35pm, we Zoomed once again, reporting on the myriad of lunch choices that were made…ranging from sandwiches, hot dogs, and even SPAM. Healthy decisions be damned…we were just happy to be alive at this point and any food was considered adequate sustenance. Roses and Thorns were addressed where many were impressed with the turnout but not by the mass quantities of rain received.

We counted 5 wet scouts, 32 pancakes made, 1 teleportation achieved, 14 rank requirements accomplished, 4 Merit Badge requirements satisfied, 0 burned extremities, 2 fake wigs displayed, and a desire to do it again soon.

A success by any account.