The Adventure Nears an End.

I must admit that I am looking forward to getting into an air-conditioned room with an attached bathroom. I have enjoyed camping for the last several weeks and the sleeping is great with the sides of the tent up, but I am ready for my own bed. We are about to begin packing up the remainders of the Trading Post. They told us yesterday that our Trading Post alone had sold over a million dollars (most of it to me) and that we were the top Trading Post here at the Jamboree. There is not a whole lot of stuff left to sell. If we get it packed up tonight, we will be able to leave after we retrieve the cars from the "Dead Lot" tomorrow at noon. I need to drop a friend off at the airport in Richmond tomorrow afternoon and then off to Searcy.

I went up to see Ian and see if he needed to send anything back with me in the car. His group pulls out early tomorrow morning and will spend the night in a hotel in Knoxville, before getting home Thursday. I told him he better get a bath before his Mom picks him up. He truly had a great time. He took off by himself today so that he could get the most done. Most of his mates are not very energetic and Ian is so afraid he will miss something. He will get in trouble for not having a "buddy" but he seemed ready to deal with it. He weighed the consequences. He finished all of the activities that he needed to earn all the little patches but lost the sheet before making it back to camp. He will talk to Mr. Frank but I don't think he will get them. He knows, however, that he earned them.

Yesterday, he worked on his metal working merit badge. They had a great setup and he passed some of his requirements. He even made a present for his Mom. If she reads this, she still needs to act surprised.

What an Experience!!

In spite of my best intentions, I have not posted since the day before all the Scouts arrived. There are many reasons, but the primary one is that there is never a down minute. My shift allowed me to meet the Arkansas Contingent when they arrived at their camp on Monday. Ian had had a great time and was ready to begin the Jambo experience. I discovered that Ian's camp is exactly 3 miles from my area and there is no easy way to get back and forth. Although there is a bus system, it is undependable (time wise) and the 3 miles can be walked faster. Most days, I walk around 9 miles and Ian probably walks a lot more. A couple of times, I have used my staff privileges to go to the front of the bus line and even took Ian to the front once but it still takes less time to walk.

I was on the 3rd shift Friday, so Ian and I spent most of the day together. I really must confess that I thought he wouldn't want me around but he called and asked if I could meet him somewhere. It was one of my best days ever. I just followed him around and shared this amazing experience with him. I also joined him for the big arena show last night. It was great to see it through his eyes. I am very grateful that we could come to this.

I am also grateful that Ian was able to participate in Scouts. I had such dreams that he would receive encouragement at the Academy but that is not happening. However, Scouts is teaching him many great things. There is even a group associated with our belief system here (Members of Churches of Christ for Scouting) that has done more to encourage Ian than anything he received in his 6th grade experience.