Quick recap of this last weekend. I was at Heritage for Fall Ceremonial. I left home and got there and saw a few friends and caught up, then headed to put my stuff in my tent. I had my dinner, and then decided to take a few pictures I didn’t get a chance to over the summer (I’ll have that gallery up soon). On my way down to Pathfinder, I saw Father Mark Gruber (FMG), which was awesome. We chatted for a bit, and then he went to do retreat-type things and I headed to take some pictures.
Afterwards I went to my tent to read for a while, then met up with Nick at the Infirmary and we watched Full Metal Jacket before heading over to crackerbarrel.
As it turned out, Tecumsa had the largest group at the weekend, which is amazing, and we had a good time, both youth and adults. Friday night was a whole selection of pizza and cobblers, which was amazing. Afterwards, I read for a bit and then turned in. It wasn’t really cold, and sadly (for the Ordeal candidates) it rained most of the night, at times pouring down pretty hard. Although, good for me, the rain helped me to sleep.
Saturday was a typical work day, I started off cleaning the Pontoon boat (quickly becoming my permanent job, Ranger Jim made sure of that, which I don’t really mind, I’m pretty good at it) and then I ended up running errands for Dave Koltash and Trae Walsh. I went into Keystone to get some papers for Dave and then picked up lunches and cups for Trae and his crew.
After that I headed to C.O.P.E. and helped to shingle their supply shed. We all entered the course without asking permission, because it’s the off season, but I still thought about that fact – and then Emmeline called me today – I mentioned that fact, and we had a good laugh about it.
After the work was done I finally stopped to have lunch, and by that point we were all calling it a day, so I headed back, got a much needed (and very warm) shower and took a short nap. I tend not to go to the ceremonies unless I know someone being inducted, or if the ceremonies team asks me to critique. This time, they didn’t, so I took advantage and took a nap.
Dinner was nice, although late (not that I was surprised, they only slated half an hour for an Ordeal ceremony with 50 candidates and no time for transportation), and we had pumpkin pie for dessert!
I headed back to the Infirmary to hang out with Nick and we watched Team America: World Police. And then headed back to the Dining Hall for some fellowship time and the second crackerbarrel. Afterwards I went back to my tent for a very cold night, after which I woke up to see the Indy parade field covered in frost.
Sunday was a quick breakfast, nothing special, although I did have a really good muffin. I helped to clean up the campsite (Revere, one of the few which I know where it is located, although I’m getting better), moving metals and mats. I was also working to close tent flaps so the canvas could try properly, but some random leader was going around and putting them up, and rather than go nine rounds with him, I decided to wait until later.
I was invited to go to Mass with the retreat group (Catholic Home Schools) so I headed down to Pathfinder and sat with Betsy, and saw a bunch of people I met last year (they remembered me too, it was nice!). I saw Father Fred, who gave the homily, the highlight being as he started: "Oh wait, I left my homily over there!" The mass was performed by Father Boniface, who I got to see briefly beforehand, and I’m pretty sure I saw Ryan Maher as well, although I don’t think he remembered me (granted, the only time he met me was at a retreat team meeting and I don’t think he was incredibly thrilled that a non-Catholic was on the team). Afterwards I helped them with their group picture, juggling cameras in my hands and around my neck.
I then headed back to my (now-empty) tent, changed and headed down the mountain. I stopped to get some wine at the Wine Cellar and pulled over while going down the Summit to nab a geocache that I’ve wanted to get for a while now. The cache is where an old restaurant used to be, an the spring is still there, so I filled up my Nalgene. I also picked up the coolest piece of swag ever – an Aflac duck! When you squeeze it, it shouts "Aflac!"
I was meeting a friend from camp (from the summer, not Ceremonial) at Red Robin, but she was running late from coming back from State College, so I wandered around Westmoreland Mall and Barnes and Noble for a bit, which was enjoyable. Lunch was wonderful (and very fast, I was very impressed) and her boyfriend (who I also worked with) met up with us, which was nice. We all had a good time, and she even delivered a gift from Lindsay (who is back in State College): a jumbo paper clip!
And to top it all off, the Steelers won (and the Bearcats lost 66-7, bringing their record to 0-3), a great weekend. Regular update coming soon, with a great link to a screensaver I’ve been looking for for a while. And don’t forget, my picnic is this Saturday, let me know if you need details, we’ll be grilling as we send off summer!
