The Great Northwest

What's better than a fresh start? Not much. I ended transition in Sacramento with a vague uneasiness of the days to come. Green 6 (my team) is down to 8 members, 5 girls, 2 seven-year-old boys, and me. Before my Central Virginia God-loving sports enthusiast left to pursue other interests, the burden of trustworthy maledom was split between us. Now it falls on me. The other two don't have the girls' trust, and refuse to take on any responsibility (even though one of them is the "Team Leader"). So it's me who's left to quell the storms as they approach. Beyond that, it is imperative that I stay even-keeled, not blow up, and, in turn, lose my respectability. This will be the hard part if you know my past. I also can't retreat to a mental hole if things start to turn sour because there's nobody left to step in and mediate the disparaging remarks being thrown around. I'm uneasy about my transition to manhood. Is it worth spending so much effort on people I don't necessarily like?

Monday rolls around, next stop: Washington. Not exactly. First we go to iHop for breakfast. Anyone been to that place recently? I left feeling like I had just been suckered into an internet money scam. I've never thought poorly of iHop before; I usually sling myself onto that bandwagon if the opportunity arises. This morning was no different. I couldn't wait to devour some savory pancakes with a carafe of fresh orange juice. Our budget was 9 dollars. Since my bladder was filled above it's tolerable capacity, I got back to the table with less than a minute to spare before the waitress would politely require my order. I ditched the pancakes. Two eggs, 2 bacon strips, home fries, toast. Yum. For 8.99. What I got was worth between $2.12 and $2.14. The eggs came from mini-land, the hashbrowns looked more like the dish that someone brings to a potluck that nobody touches, and the bacon seemed to be the meat from a mouse, or another small rodent. It was a good meal for pinocchio. For 8.99. Tricked by that blue roofing. Never again. There's this mystique about iHop, but I don't know where it comes from. Insanely overpriced, average portion sizes, annoying blue roofs. They just have a bright-colored menu with all sorts of great deals and specials! YA!!! (just don't look at the pricetag.) damn you capitalism and good advertising. All you can eat pancakes? NOBODY CAN PHYSICALLY EAT MORE THAN 2 OF YOUR FLUFFY ASS PANCAKES! And they make my mouth dry. iHop? iStop.

We stayed the night in Portland after about 8 hours of driving and a couple stops. I met up with some Hamilton alums who had moved out after graduation (Lars, Jesse and Steve Rowe for those who care.) They showed us a cross-section of Portland, and I liked what I saw. We arrived at what looked like a residential neighborhood on the north side of the city on Monday at 11 pm. I wasn't sure what the plan was, but Lars said he had some places in mind. We walked about 2 blocks before we reached a mini main street that had everything you could ask of a neighborhood. Italian, Mexican, Bars, Strange shops, normal shops, even light bulb store. And the bar we walked into was occupied by people, an astonishing fact considering the time and place. I got a great vibe from Portland, Oregon.

We arrived in Key Corner, Washington the next day around 2 PM and met with our bosses, Ellen and Jason. Ellen runs the camp, and acts like a camp director should in my mind: Smart, tough, omniscient of her camp. She rubbed people the wrong way because it was obvious she would be demanding, but thats alright by me. Rather have that than a wishy washy complainer for a boss. Reduces my responsibility I hope. Jason is the man. He approached us wearing a US Soccer jersey from Champion that I think was size Xtra Small. It just barely covered his belly button, a sweet shirt by just about any standard. He is the maintenace guy for the camp and he constantly cracks jokes and grins like a ninja turtle or Tiki Barber (they are one and the same). He'll be our day to day boss as we revamp the nature trails. I look forward to his leadership style and overall nature.

This weekend about 25 campers are staying at Easter Seals Camp Stand By Me (where we are). Their disabilities range from Autism to Down Syndrome to Epilepsy. The training they have given us has only made me more apprehensive, as they outline only teh worst case scenarios. I'll get back to you on how it turns out... if you stick around after these messages from your local station.