We have been less active in the scouts recently, as the organization moved away from the things we were looking for. Then I found out that the focus this year is on National Parks and they were organizing a series of visits to parks. We were very interested in seeing more of what is near us. I decided to make an effort to take the girls on some of these trips. It can be hard to arrange things through a troop if you aren't going regularly, so I contacted Pat Disharoon, our steadfast service unit leader, and got us signed up for the September outing.
The girls and I headed down to Annapolis to learn about the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. We did a few packets for a Junior Ranger badge as we sat in the marina. The badge work involved learning about regional fishing as well as Captain John Smith's trip around the Chesapeake. They did some question and answers and all 4 of the girls participated. Johanna was eager to answer and surprised Dr. Pat by being able to read a map skillfully. Rachael did a speed word scramble. After we did our badge work we headed over the dock, for our fishing boat adventure. Before we boarded we borrowed the bathroom key which was attached to a plastic shark. It is the little things like this that we love.
We joined a few other scouts for a fishing instruction outing around Annapolis. We got to help put blood worms on our hooks and learned to cast. It was fun to bob our lines in and hope for a nibble. Johanna caught a little silver fish. And wanted nothing to stay as far away from it as possible. Megan also caught a fish and handled it with a bit more confidence. We drove out to a set of crab pots and the girls took turns pulling them in. The hand over hand motion was challenging but Rachael got a crab when she pulled one up. The crab tried to escape and ran on the deck, attached himself to the boat captain's shoelace before Rachael helped pull him off. Some of the girls took turns learning to hold the crab, Bridget included. The captain also got a big brilliantly blue crab.
It was a beautiful day on the water trying something new.
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