Monday, April 27, 2015

Canoeing for Kids Raft-a-Rama May 16

Our May outing is to go rafting with the Canoeing For Kids fundraiser on Saturday the 16th.  This is a family trip - everybody is welcome.  This trip is suitable for young children  - everyone is in a guided raft. Let your guide know how wild a ride your crew wants.  Trips are at 9:30 and 1:00.  I will be guiding a raft on each trip.

Trips start at the Canoeing For Kids HQ at 114 Riverchase Ct, Lexington, SC  and end at the Gervais St. Bridge

More info about Canoeing For Kids : http://www.canoeingforkids.org

The cost is $50 per person which includes a BBQ lunch and is a charitable donation.

To register, you can print out the registration and release forms on their site and mail it in or you can just call them and handle the paperwork and payment on the day of the trip.  The important thing is to let them know ahead so they can plan the trips accordingly.

Pictures from previous years : 

Camping :  We are able to camp at the CFK HQ on Friday night.  If you plan to do that, let me know and sign up for the 9:30 trip.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Archaeological Site Public Day 3/14

March 14th is this year's "Public Day" at the Johannes Kolb archaeological site near Darlington. More info about the site can be found here : http://38da75.com/  The dig has artifacts from the recent past back to as far as 12,000 years ago. There will be several demonstrators there and the kids get a chance to sift some dirt. We took our tribe there several years ago and it was great!  

These are from a past trip one of our tribes took :link
A video with Sean Taylor - the archaeologist who came to Longhouse once :link  
DNR Site :link

Let's meet there at 10:00am.

Directions
This address is at the entrance to the heritage preserve :
736 N Charleston Rd, Darlington, SC 29540


Hosting a meeting

A good number of our families are new and have questions about hosting.

When: The second Friday of the month at 7:00pm is the usual time. It can be moved because of holidays or other conflicts.  Meetings usually last about 90 minutes

Where: Traditionally we meet at the downtown YMCA, however they close at 8:00 and that only works if there is Y staff willing to stay (Doug Berkel). Chris Miller has made Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church facilities available when they aren't otherwise committed.  The main appeal off these locations is that they are centrally located and allow a variety of activities.  But, the host family can pick any location - home, church, park, etc.

Scott has been coordinating with Doug and Chris for use of the downtown facilities so let him know what you'd like to do with as much advance notice as possible.

Who: We rotate hosting duties among the families, ideally we would have two families hosting, but our numbers are low for that. Parent and child work together.

What : A meeting consists of some basic elements-

  • Prayer and pledge of allegiance
  • Business - the officers (kids) run this -
  • - Review last outing
  • - Discuss upcoming outing (usually a Dad speaks up)
  • - Award patches
  • - Celebrate birthdays
  • Country report - Host child presents a report. Tell us something interesting you learned about the country in 5-10 minutes. Be creative, don't just tell us the facts from the Wikipedia page. Tell us about the history, geography, culture, or significance of the country - food, folk tales, music, food, arts, politics, etc.
  • Activity - host family organizes an activity.  This can be related tho the country or not. This can be a gym/active game, quiz, puzzle, craft, etc - use your imagination
  • Snack- again, it can be related to the country or not. Don't break the bank! This is a snack, not a meal.
Agenda- the Secretary prepares this, with input from the host family and "chief"

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Skiing February 28th

Per Wolfgang :

We will go to Wolf Ridge Ski Resort like in the past years, http://www.skiwolfridgenc.com/ .  

The group price (15 or more, no different whether adult or children) is:
Half Day Session Weekend/Holiday 1pm-4:30pm
Liftticket $28
Ski/Equipment Rental $15
Snowbord/Equipment Rental $29

Fee lessons are included and we can even have one for skiers and one for snowboarders if we have both in our group.  We qualify as a group if we have 15 people purchasing lift tickets, even if not everybody purchases an equipment rental or a meal ticket.  Meal tickets are still available at $8 a piece and "picnicking" (I assume they mean bringing your own food) in the lodge is not allowed.

The plan is to arrive before noon, get the tickets and paperwork done, have lunch, get the equipment and start skiing at 1pm.  Carpooling and caravaning are likely to be organized closer to the date.

In our experience most kids love it even if they have zero experience or even snow appropriate clothes.  So for anybody who has not previously done it,  we can recommend just taking the plunge!

Please us this sign up form to help us get a headcount - feel free to bring your family and invite friends - 
http://goo.gl/forms/BhVQysL2CW

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Proposed Schedule

Here is a stab at a calendar of events from our meeting 11/25, I don't think there are holiday conflicts:

MeetingOutingY Guide
MonthdayhosteventhostdayCalendar
December12ComminsService Project?Sat Dec 6, 2014 Columbia Christmas Parade
January9ShoupLock In at a YMCA- Friday night, include meetingShoup?9th Sun Jan 25, 2015 Bowling Outing
February13WigleySki Day TripBuchmaier28thSat Feb 7, 2015 Monster Jam
March13BuchmaierJohannes Kolb Archaeological Site Public Day (day trip)14thSun Mar 15, 2015 Rocket Launch and Pool Pow Wow
April10FairbanksBackpacking (day hike option)Fri Apr 24-26, 2015 Spring Longhouse
May8McElwainCanoeing For Kids Raft-a-Rama (local)16thSat May 30, 2015 Outing to Orangeburg Water Park
June12BroamBig Mo Drive In Movies (local)before school is outThu Jun 11, 2015 Dad Meeting and Dinner
July10ComminsScottish Games (camp)9-12th
August14ShoupCanoeing on the Saluda (local)?
September11WigleyHelp at Greek Festival (local 9/17-20) or Huntington Beach (camp)18-20th
October9BuchmaierApple Picking (day trip)?
November13FairbanksJames Island Lights (camp)?
December11McElwain

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Upcoming Outings

Outing months :
monthoutingdatetype



AugustDay trip : ride bikes from the diversion dam along the canal to the Celebration of Water. http://www.summercelebrationofwater.com/8/23/2014day trip
SeptemberScottish Games9/20/2014day trip
OctoberDan Nicholas Park (or something in the mountains - fall leaves)overnight
NovemberCamden Revolutionary War Days (possibly camp)11/1/2014day trip
DecemberService?day trip

Saturday, July 19, 2014

July 19 - Edisto River Trip

Canoeing on the Edisto -  The Chamber of Commerce in Bamberg is sponsoring Edisto River canoe trips on the 3rd Saturday of the month.  Those of you who went on our last Edisto adventure may remember some "tree climbing" - these folks are supposed to be scouting the section ahead of  time to make sure they are relatively clear.  If you are interested, we have canoes and kayaks available. I'm planning to go with Noah.


Update - Broams, Dawkins, and Wigleys participated - we had a great time!
Pictures : https://picasaweb.google.com/103868908476097872378/TrailblazersOnTheEdisto2014