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Road Scholar has a grandparent and grandchild adventure about the Boxcar Children. Since Joanna absolutely loved the book after I read it to them, and keeps re-reading it, I thought this would be a great birthday present for her when she turned 8. (I also gave her a box of the first 12 books, that looked like a boxcar.) She's been very excited about the camp.
The kids had been visiting with Grandma since the end of May, so Bernadette planned to meet me with Joanna on Monday the 25th in Dunsmuir at the
Railroad Park Resort.. (Gareth would follow the next week when he and Rob would go to Camp Lassen.)
I, of course, started early, with the plan to eat in Corning and do some geocaching, mostly in Willows. I did find 3 of the ones I marked in Willows but didn't look for more, as it was getting hot and I certainly didn't want to be late. I got a couple of fancy sauces in Corning, but I didn't even sample the olives. Then, as I went through Redding and got close to Dunsmuir, I realized I was going to be early. I spent some time at the viewpoint reading the signs, but eventually had to get to the resort.
They were willing to check me in early, which was good, since I needed the bathroom. I had
caboose #22.After my bathroom break I went back and sat on a bench outside the office with my iPad and waited for Bernadette. 3 O'Clock came and went, but no sign of her. Finally I heard her talking and spied her and the kids, who had parked in the Park instead of the resort and were waiting for me there. So I walked with Joanna and Padreic and had her drive over to the caboose.
Because of the confusion over permission slips, she came with me to meet Heather and sign in. I had brought two copies, signed by Rob, and Bernadette signed them at the time. Heather had a lot of goodies for Joanna, including a water bottle and a backpack and a folder with songs and games in it. There was a medical form that Bernadette had filled out over the phone, but it was easier for her to fill it out in person anyway. Then we went back to the caboose. Padreic was convinced he was staying, too, and was quite distressed to have to leave, but Bernadette told me he went right to sleep when he got in the car.
I thought Joanna would be excited to go swimming, but in the event it was "too COOOOOOLD" and "too DEEEEEP." (Later in the week, with other kids in it, suddenly she loved it.) So, at a loss for something to do, as I'd forgotten to bring a deck of cards, we went to the gift shop and bought some. She wanted the ones with cats on them and had to read every one before she actually played. Then I taught her how to play clock solitaire and she caught on right away, then played another solitaire for awhile.
At last it was time to go to orientation and meet Pat and get introduced. Joanna spoke up, to my surprise. Afterwards, there was a pizza dinner, though Joanna stuck with salad. Without front teeth, she doesn't do crusts very well. Then Pat started talking about the Boxcar Children, and Joanna, not knowing where the bathroom was, wet her pants. The kids had been given bandanas and told to think of new uses for them, but we decided not to admit to "hiding your indescretion" to the list. We scooted back to our caboose and she changed her clothes and we scooted back in time to get a free Boxcar Children book!
So back to our room and ready for bed, and Joanna read in bed until she finished the book.
Tuesday morning we were awake for breakfast (there's a coffee pot in the room, so I was fine waking up early and reading while enjoying my morning cuppa.) Bacon and eggs and all kinds of good stuff. There was a workshop on writing and, by coaxing her along, I got a couple of paragraphs out of Joanna about how she got to camp and what she did on Monday.
Then at 9:15 we got on the bus and met Todd, our driver, and off we went to Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery and the
Sisson Museum. The kids fed trout, then spread out through the wonderful museum, which is very hands-on. There's a volcano to walk through, a fire engine to climb onto, costumes to wear, a bear to pet, a model train to run, old-fashioned toys, all kinds of lovely things.
At one point, Tate was being loud, and the docent said "inside voice please." I told her, on the basis of one evening's acquaintance, that the PA voice WAS his inside voice! Tate is very loud, and very enthusiastic, and his parents obviously take him places because he knows a lot about a lot of things. And he's not shy about sharing.
At the Fish Hatchery I picked up a really pretty black and white feather and managed to keep it unbroken till we got home.
After an hour or so, we left the docents to heave a sigh of relief as we left for McCleod Falls, which was new territory for me. It's pretty. Joanna didn't like her lunch, since she'd asked (as we were filling out our menus) if the white bread was soft. It actually was a crusty bun, so no. I told her to eat the insides but left her on her own until I found that she'd had 6 (SIX!) packs of gummy bears and none of the sandwich. Eat the ham and the cheese, it's what you ordered. (And the pickles.) She had the cheese and didn't want the ham, and gave the pickles to someone else.
After that, they made s'mores.
Then they made survival kits, including a whistle, a silver foil strip to wave at an airplane, ways to keep warm etc. Joanna was having trouble fixing the knots, and one of the grandmas helped her but it wasn't right, so I unpicked it and talked her through a square knot to finish.
They painted craft sticks and then had to find 10 small rocks for an Indian (OK, Native American) game, which she and I played back in the room the next couple of days. It's kind of fun, and definitely takes no skill, unlike Go Fish which I had to feign deafness and Alzheimer's to keep from winning. I did win the stick and rocks game, but it was entirely by luck.
We took a very short hike down to the creek. Afterwards, Joanna gave the last of her water to a tiny tree.
Then it was back in the bus to go to Mt. Shasta again to the source of the Sacramento. Joanna and I both filled our water bottles there and kept them in our fridge overnight. Great tasting water. Pat and Heather were more bothered by the hippies than I was.
The long day wasn't over. We were back at the resort about 3:30 and the kids had crafts, and I went to the bar at 4 for a much-needed beer.
Then in the evening the ladies of the Botanical Gardens guild had fixed us a lovely spaghetti dinner there. A man took pictures, but I haven't seen Joanna's yet. Pat gave out another book while the adults strolled the gardens, but Joanna already had this one, so got a special one back at camp. And, again, read herself to sleep.
Wednesday morning, we watched two of the boys play a remarkable Jenga game. They got it as high as themselves!
Because Joanna was so all over the place on Tuesday, I gave her an Adderol this day and Thursday. I couldn't see much difference, except she may have been sleepier.
Breakfast was OK, though she didn't eat much. Writing, she decided to write a list of things she had done on Tuesday. I'd been talking to her about what she would like to have as a story, without luck.
The trip today was to Turtle Bay. It turns out that Joanna had stopped there with her Mom on the trip north. Pat had a "scavenger hunt" on the way down, a game that had them looking for signs along the hour-plus drive.
First we fed the birds. I had not remembered that we did this 3 years ago on our Lassen trip. Joanna liked it well enough that I got her another dollar's worth of food. Next, we went to the animal show. We had to stay in our seats for 45 minutes and somehow all the kids managed it. We met a number of rescue animals, Sweet Pea the skunk, a fox, a badger, a barn owl, a crow, a lot of animals and the main lesson was not to try to make a pet of a wild animal. It was a really good show.
We had a boxed lunch and the kids had some playtime before we went to look at butterflies and the "barn." In that was a skyjumper exhibit which we didn't understand at first, but then Heather taught us how the kids were to sit in the swing, not jump out, and steer it to get close to the targeted landing. This looked like fun.
Then Joanna really wanted to play in the water again. She learned about "priming the pump" and enjoyed that. They had some ice cream, then walked across the Sundial bridge. I just wasn't up to that, mostly because I'd had enough of telling Joanna to stay with the group and to listen. I did get her a stretched penny.
On the way home the kids all sat in back and sang songs with Pat while the grownups dozed or chatted quietly. Then they had crafts (this is when they made some really good muffins) while, again, I had an adult beverage (different bartender, though. I'd enjoyed chatting with the guy the week before.)
Then, in the free time, Joanna suddenly realized she wanted to swim, since all the kids were. At one point I had to go back for her goggles, which of course she didn't really want to use after all. The kids took over and the adults sat nearby. Tate's Mom sat in the pool area with all the kids (the next day we all did.)
After dinner we played a game, which would have been more fun if the kids (especially Joanna) was listening at all. They were talking and giggling together the whole time. The grandparents all had a story from their past that maybe the grandchildren had never heard. Mine was about living in a basement when I was 4. Nobody guessed me.
And they got another new book!
That night Joanna was "lonesome." Mostly I just wanted to finish the book I was reading, which was Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell, which is very good!
Thursday was our last full day. After breakfast there was the dreaded writing. I had thought maybe a different approach would appeal to Joanna, so I had her dictate to me all the things she did Wednesday, then pick one to write about. It was no surprised that she chose swimming. She then was making another list... "first, next, last..." and I asked some questions when she got stuck on "last." I asked was it cold or warm. "I don't know what the temperature was." No, what did it feel like? Or, were you alone or with other kids? "I don't want to." Pretend you're writing a letter to Grandma and she would want to know what it was like. "I don't like it, I can't do it, I don't want to." Pat came up and Joanna, who already had her back to her, kept it there hanging her head. Pat tried a number of approaches and finally said "you don't have to write, you can read". Great relief from Joanna. As Pat said, no point in making her miserable.
We had a short trip in the morning to the Dunsmuir Depot, which was kept open by a dedicated batch of volunteers. Joanna broke her water bottle here, so that kept the docents busy. Then we hopped on the bus and went down to O'Brien, and the Shasta Lake Caverns.
There we had a picnic, and I did get Joanna to eat most of the middle of her sandwich (but in this case, not the cheese.) Also carrot sticks.
Then they went "placer mining" for semi-precious stones, which magically appeared in the sand they were given. She got some really pretty rocks. Then it was time to walk down to the boat and go across the arm of the lake to the other side, where we boarded a bus, then got off at the top of a very scary ride. (I'd been on this road before, so I was ready, though the bus ride to get to the boat ramp was scarier than I'd remembered, probably because we were driving it when I was here before.) At the top the kids got their helmets and learned how to use them. Our guide, Addy, was enthusiastic and patient and really helpful to the kids.
And Joanna was entranced. She had been eager to see a real cave and it was beyond her expectations. There's no time when it's totally dark, though there was an 80 step climb through a narrow tunnel that had my claustrophobia acting up. There;s a spot in the cave where the stalactites and stalagmites no longer grow so we were allowed to touch them and the kids dug for calcite crystals (and put them back.) It's really beautiful.
Before we got back on the boat I got her another stretched penny.
She enjoyed being on the rail for the boat ride. On the bus, the kids again went in back, and Joanna, who had slept most of the way to the caverns, slept all the way home. Thus avoiding the story stick that Pat and the kids were doing. Back at the resort, she was supposed to go to art but saw some kids in the pool and thought that was what they were doing. Not our kids, for starters, but she didn't believe me till Heather waved her over to the crafts.
At the bar I sat with a couple of grandparents and talked mostly about widowhood. The kids went swimming and Tate's whole family appeared.
Then we had dinner. The kids read their stories. Pat asked if Joanna had a story and I said no, she didn't. I think she was a little sorry, as the others all got applauded for their stories.They got certificates and their crafts. The kids performed a song. The grandparents read out their advice to their grandchildren. I was pleased with two of mine... "you have two ears and only one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk" and "always always always remember you are loved."
When it was time to break up, I took Pat aside and asked if we could be piggish and have another book. Yes. Then, as we walked back to the cabin, Joanna said she wanted to come back and I had to let her know she would be too old. Tears. Total meltdown. And I'm a failure because I was supposed to take her when she was 6 and 7 and 8. Which is what she will do with her grandchildren, by the way. "I'll never see Pat and Heather aga-a-a-in!" I hugged her and assured her she would have many fun adventures in her life. I felt sorry for her but also happy that she liked it that much.
Friday, breakfast and checkout. We drove to Shasta Dam, and saw Teddy and Laura (cousins) and their grandparents there.. There was an osprey nest! Then Joanna fell asleep. I made a quick dash into the service station to pay for gas while she slept, but I couldn't leave her long enough to go to the bathroom, so it was an uncomfortable ride home the last hour or so!
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