A View to a Thrill - Saturday, Day 7

In keeping with the theme of pushing the limits, our campers and helpers took a much anticipated diversion from Sandbridge to the Busch Gardens amusement park in Williamsburg, VA this past Saturday.

By this point, the campers were used to the routine of awaking early to head out for a run followed by intense conditioning training.  However, much to their anticipation, they were allowed to sleep in and take time to prepare to head out. 

Excitement got the best of most of them, though.  Most were early to rise and conversations immediately commenced on topics such as roller coaster thrills and the desire to break their strict camp diet to eat amusement park snacks.
Even before we left the house, the kids had divided into groups in accordance with their roller coaster thrill tolerance.  There was a group for shows and shopping only.  There was a group of parents with younger siblings.  The older campers headed out as a group without parents (surprise!) and, finally, there was a group interested in testing their limits with the rides.

After somewhat of a harrowing 1.5 hour experience getting to the park through rush hour-type traffic (on a Saturday, nonetheless), we finally arrived at Busch Gardens.  Sunblock was applied, tickets were distributed and the kids were off like lightening.

I was in a group with mom helper Kelly Moor and our group was the mega-coaster group.  You see, I have a reputation (very proud :) of being the mom who WILL ride the biggest, baddest roller coasters anywhere.  What was fun, though, was that I had a group of girls with me who largely had not partaken in such daring amusement prior to this visit. 

As a disclaimer, unfortunately, I am lacking pictures from this experience for many of our campers due to our groupings.  What you are seeing for pictures is, in large part, pictures of the group that was with Kelly and me for the day.

Busch Gardens has many attractions to choose from, aside from rides, and one of which was a magic fairyland show.  Kelly, Alesha and I couldn't resist getting our picture taking with the show's characters.

Many others also took in a Celtic musical and also had wonderful things to say about that experience.

Busch Gardens is a great place. The park is clean and separated by the various cultures of European countries. We were able to experience the food, music and entertainment of England,   Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Old World France.

Although we were in separate groups, the groups crossed paths with the other, comparing notes on what they'd seen, heard, experienced and eaten. 











                         
I, personally, was quite proud of my amusement park group.  Several spent a lot of time that day talking themselves into the challenge of taking on more adventurous and downright scary roller coasters. 

By the end, the group of 9- and 10-year-olds had gone on the most difficult, the Alpengeist, with many twists and turns and loads of speed.  Several had also taken on the death drop of the Griffin coaster, which was almost enough to make me nervous (almost . . . by not quite :). 

The day was perfect.  The weather was great.  Nobody had to wait terribly long in lines to ride the rides. 

Many campers overcame fears by taking on coasters that they didn't think they could stomach.

These are the types of days were great memories are made.  I believe our campers made more than a few.

Following a great barbecue dinner in the park, everyone returned home and immediately popped into their routines . . . showers were taken, teeth were brushed, jammies were put on and mental preparation for the workout to commence on Sunday began.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar - Friday, Day 6

As Mary Poppins coined . . .

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun . . .

You find the fun and SNAP it's a GAME!

Indeed, this past Friday evening brought an end to the first week of training camp and ice cream and amusement park fun were the names of the game.

 To award a week of hard work and dedication to training, the group made the trip into Virginia Beach for ice cream at Coldstone Creamery.  

This celebration, marking the end of the first week of training, is a camp tradition. 

 And, as you can see in the pictures, this tradition brought some pretty big smiles to our camp participants . . . and there is clearly a reason as to why . . .



If my calculations are correct, these campers had run an average of six miles, per day, for six days straight by the time I (Courtney Dunbar) arrived for my shift of "camp mom duty" on Friday.  They had additionally spent nearly six hours total, during three separate practice sessions, jumping, stretching, lunging, lifting and racing.

Each morning, campers were out of bed by 6:15 a.m.  They had not watched television, eaten junk food, sat in pajamas until noon or lazily relaxed poolside like many of their counterparts are doing with their summer school breaks back home.  Most of our campers have lofty athletic goals and, even at a very young age, they are conditioned to understand that the reward of their labor will not come without hard work and determination. 



Behind every great athlete is a great parent and there were many assisting all week at camp.  From meal planning to endless laundry, to shopping to applying sunblock, our mom camp helpers were integral to training.

It was fabulous celebrating the successes of the past week as a team.

  A robin feathering his nest

Has very little time to rest
While gathering his bits of twine and twig
Though quite intent in his pursuit
He has a merry tune to toot
He knows a song will move the job along - for . . .A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way.