Andrew was adopted from South Korea when he was a baby. A smile permanently filled his face, causing his little eyes to practically disappear. Every time I saw him around camp, his little hand would wave incessantly and his smile would automatically jump from his face to mine, causing my eyes to practically disappear under my smile. My heart is forever Andrew’s.
In other news, I am so very, very…very stoked to see my shishter, Becky-boo, in less than a week! She has been praying for an opportunity to get up here to see her friends she made last year when she worked here and, of course she hoped on seeing her favorite middle sister. I’ve missed the time I’ve had with my sisters while I’ve been here, so I’m very glad I get to see her this summer! I may very well pee my pants when I see her…
Now, for the point of this post. Time for another installment of Mondays Memorable Moments.
1) Cliff Jumping. About three miles from camp lies Christine Falls, a magical spot and perfect place for cliff jumping. Chelsea, Danielle, Brea and I escaped from the camp to do a bit of cliff jumping. Next to the falls sets a rock resting 25 feet above the water. The key to jumping is landing right in the froth of the falls. As I jump, my stomach experiences what I think feels like zero gravity. When my body submerges under the froth, my hair swishes around my face as I try to figure out which way is “up.” When I emerge from the water, the current gently but swiftly ushers me to the other side of the river? Stream? Creek? Whatever. It’s a lot of fun.
2) Eating fish eyes. Yes. I went there. One day, while working in Purdy, Lance was telling us all the great things about fish heads as Brandon filleted the Salmon. Lance mentioned the fact that some people in this world actually enjoy eating the fish’s eyes. I was skeptical because I had never tried this delicacy. Brian said he would eat one if I did. Being the culinary adventurist that I am, I agreed. We steamed the fish head and scooped the eye directly out of the socket (I’m going graphic here, so bear with me). Lance suggested we dip it in soy sauce and lemon juice to reduce the fishiness of the peeper. On the count of three, Brian and I ate the eyes. There is a solid part of the eye that is best not eaten, so I spit that part out after I sucked the rest. It didn’t taste as bad with the soy and lemon, so we had to try it straight up, eating the second eye. The only way to describe the taste I succumbed to is…a concentrated fishy flavor with the consistency of Jello.
3) Hiked Chimney. On my day off, me and another staffer, Ryan, decided to tag along on one of the hikes led by the Rec staff for the guests. The hike is only about 1.7 miles up, but the rocks can be somewhat strenuous to climb. The view at the summit, although not completely breath-taking for me personally, was beautiful nonetheless. We read some scriptures at the top as we munched on our sandwiches and nutri-grain bars. The next part of the hike, we walked a little bit further to see Chimney rock. The last part of the hike was probably my favorite. Eagle Cave is a cave involving a very small entry in which you have to lie on your back and shimmy down the narrow crevasses until you enter the first big room in the cave. If you’re claustrophobic, this cave may not be the most ideal for you. I had been to Grand Caverns before, but this was nothing like it. This felt unexplored, mysterious, and awesome, even though many hikers had explored it before. Once we travelled into the chilly cave a bit more, we turned off our headlamps and listened to the silence. It was awesome. The way up was a bit more challenging since we were now climbing up the slick rocks. I felt much like Spiderman as far as my appearance climbing these rocks. Overall, the company was great, the cave was awesome, and a perfect way to spend my day off.
Happy Monday!
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