Friday June 16 – Random Thoughts, Songs and Quotes From the Crew

Key West was interesting.

Hey Zach.

I liked the Ripley’s Museum and the Aquarium.

It's a 10 seater!

Doug, Kurtice and I jumped in the pool with our clothes on.

John Jacob Jinglehiemer Schmit…

The beach had a lot of hot girls.

Don’t say "Over…KURRRCH" when girls are around!

Key West was great, I enjoyed it a lot.

Beautiful girls, Peppers was awesome, Monty’s Raw Bar had good food and hot waitresses.

I liked the Sunset Festival.

Over..KURRRCH.

Friday June 16 – Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square

The crew ended their visit to Key West by attending the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square. The participants of this Key West attraction consist of arts and crafts exhibitors, street performers, food carts, psychics and of course the thousands of tourists from around the world who visit this Key West art show. Each night around two hours before sunset masses of people, both locals and tourists alike, flock to the water's edge to experience a multicultural happening and to watch the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico.

Friday June 16 – Monty’s Raw Bar & Key West Diving Society

The Southernmost Point crew hiked back to the meeting point for dinner. There we met up with Kurtice, Doug and Zach and headed out for dinner. The crew agreed seafood was the preference for the night.

We went to Monty’s Raw Bar and sat near the swimming pool shared by Monty’s and the Key West Diving Society. After a good meal, the crew asked Susan, our hostess, if the pool was open to Monty’s guests. Susan replied the pool was open to guests of the restaurant and Doug, Forrest and Kurtice cooled off in the pool.



Monty’s Raw Bar & Key West Diving Society 951 Caroline Street, Key West , FL 33040

Friday June 16 – Key West Southernmost Point Marker

It is a good hike to the corner of Whitehead Street and South Street to see the Southernmost Point Marker. Only 90 miles from Cuba! Kevin, Forrest, Mr. Schlak and Mr. Neff all made the hike. Kevin, Forrest and Mr. Schlak all touched the ocean behind the marker and plan to dip their toes in Lake Superior as soon as possible to complete a north-south bonding.

http://www.keywest.com/attractions/southernmostpoint.htm

Friday June 16 – Key West Aquarium

We visited the Key West Aquarium during the 3pm feeding and tour. The Aquarium is a great place to visit while in Key West. Tell the ticket office you are a Sea Base crew and get a big discount off the admission price. http://www.keywestaquarium.com/

The tour and feeding begins at the Hands on Pool. The guide describes the sea life in the pool and the proper way to handle each of the creatures. The guide demonstrates how gravity can eventually get conchs out of their shells, how sea cucumbers defend themselves with water jets, how horse shoe crabs can flip over off their backs and why it is not a good idea to step on a sea urchin in bare feet.

The tour moves from the Hands on Pool to the Ray Tank. The rays are amazing to watch glide through the water and surface at the edge of the pool and take food from the guide. A sea turtle also lives in the ray tank and likes to eat from the guide’s hand.

Next came the nurse shark tank. They get their name from the “nursing” sound they make when they eat. These sharks try to avoid humans but if they bite you, they often lock their jaw and refuse to let go. The guide hand fed the rays but he dropped the food to the nurse sharks.

We then went out to a holding area that was open to the ocean for small fish but had bars to keep in the sand sharks and the bull shark. The guide fed these sharks with a mackerel tied to the end of a line on a fishing pole. A couple of slaps of the mackerel in the water and a Sand Shark had eaten all but the head in one bite. The Sand Sharks fed on more mackerels but the Bull Shark was not hungry and did not feed.

The tour then moved to an outdoor pool that had various reef fish, small sharks and a sea turtle that had been injured by a boat. The guide fed the barracuda, sharks and other fish in this pool and explained how the Sea Turtles at the aquarium had all been injured and were in the care of the aquarium for the rest of their lives.

Before leaving, the crew returned to the Hands on Pool to handle and examine the sea life. The squirting Sea Cucumbers were a favorite.

After the Aquarium, the crew walked up and down Duval Street, Whitehead Street and Front Street to visit some gift shops and t-shirt shops and purchase some souvenirs. Doug purchased a Conch shell, which he is very proud of. Mr. Neff and Mr. Schlak purchased shells to use as neckerchief slides, Forrest, Kurtice and Kevin all bought souvenirs for other members of their families.

The crew had agreed to meet Zach at 5:30 and have dinner together. Before dinner, Forrest and Kevin wanted to visit the Southernmost Point Marker for the southernmost city in the Continental United States.

Friday June 16 – Peppers of Key West

Zach took us to Peppers Of Key West located at 602 Greene Street. Tom Luna, one of the proprietors, greeted the crew and invited the youth to take seats at the sample counter. Tom provided a basket of nacho chips to the crew and proceeded to pour samples of salsas and hot sauces made at the store. The samples were all great and became progressively hotter each time Tom offered a new sample. Getting near the end of the hot sauce tasting, all youth requested to purchase a bottle of ice-cold water. Tom made a first offer of $32 per bottle but settled for $1 when most of the youth agreed to try the Black Widow Sauce.


Kurtice, Doug, and Forrest lined up for the Black Widow Sample. Kevin and Mr. Neff declined to go to that level of heat. Mr. Schlak had abstained from the start – smart man.

Note: When a hot sauce comes with a warning not to get it on your lips, you know it is hot.

The Black Widow Sauce left all three brave crewmembers teary eyed and begging for more water. Tom was ready with small spoons of cream cheese to save the taste buds of the brave crew.

For any Sea Base crew brave enough to follow our steps, we highly recommend a visit to Peppers of Key West.

Mr. Neff liked the Goin’ Bananas sauce so much that he brought a bottle home to share with the family. If you like hot sauces, you can purchase from Peppers of Key West at: http://www.peppersofkeywest.com/index.cfm

Friday June 16 – Fort Zachary Taylor and Beach Cookout at Key West

The bus for Key West left the Brinton Center at about 10:00AM and would return from Key West at about 9:00PM.

Our bus tour took us through Key West and delivered us to Fort Zachary Taylor and a State Park Beach. Zach gave us a guided tour of the Civil War era fort. The gun emplacements, ammo magazine and moat were interesting sights. Zach told us the walls around the ammo magazine were five feet thick. The display of types of cannons used to protect the fort was also interesting. We also visited the latrine section of the fort and were glad for the advancements in plumbing! An interesting fact was that Fort Zachary Taylor never fired its guns in anger during the entire length of time the Fort was in service.



A lunch cookout on the beach followed that was fun for everyone. After lunch, it was back on the bus for a short ride back into Key West.

Zach gave the crew an overview and quick street tour of the Key West attractions he thought the crew would enjoy most. Before excusing himself to let the crew explore Key West on their own, he took us to Peppers of Key West

Friday June 16 – S.C.E.N.E. Project

The Florida Sea Base became the first Scouting facility in the world to be designated as a Scout Center of Excellence for Nature and Environment. (S.C.E.N.E.)

Our Brinton Center S.C.E.N.E. project was to take kayaks out to the edge of the Red Mangrove trees that line the Atlantic Ocean side of the Brinton Center and gather trash from the edge of the Red Mangrove and the water. The trash was blown into the Red Mangrove during the 2005 hurricane season.

The S.C.E.N.E report as written by Zach:
The crew used kayaks to navigate around the red mangroves to clean any garbage found among them. The crew collected plastic crates from the channel. Three garbage bags were filled and disposed of. One hour of work was completed by the crew to make the Brinton Center a better place.

By completing a similar home project, the crew will earn a S.C.E.N.E. segment patch.

Thursday June 15 – Random Thoughts, Songs and Quotes from the Crew

We need to stop for fresh fruit.

It was really cool driving through the keys.

The Window, The Window, The Second Story Window…

The alligator feeding and airboat ride were cool. Captain Paul rocked my socks!



It’s HOT.

Everything was awesome. I enjoyed the airboat ride and meeting our island mate Zach.

Rudolph the Six Gun Cowboy…

Hey Zach.



Over…Kurrch.

Thursday June 15 – Brinton Center and Island Mate Zach

Before we were out of our rental car, our Island Mate, Zach, was out to greet us. He gave us the first of many option for our Keys Adventure and the crew quickly decided what they wanted to do first. Swim test and snorkeling first, base tour Friday morning.



Zach showed the crew to our bunkhouse, we picked our bunks and stowed our gear and quickly changed into swimming trunks. Snorkeling gear was issued and the crew went down to the floating dock for our Blue Swimmer Test. Before we swam we saw our first Tarpon, at the time it appeared big.



Everyone passed the swim test and we were free to snorkel along the coral formation at the edge of the Brinton Center marina. Our first of several snorkeling opportunities.

We left the water for closing flags and dinner.

After dinner, adult leaders and youth crew leaders have a meeting in the galley to discuss adventure opportunities and safety issues of a Keys Adventure. The leader meeting was followed by a campfire. Island mates provide a history of Sea Base and the Brinton Center and perform skits for the new crews. All Island mates at the campfire jump into the marina channel every time anyone says Hurricane.

The campfire ends with all crews returning to the galley for a slide show about the Keys Adventure.

Quite Time and Lights Out. Everyone has had a great two days and the real fun is still ahead of us.

Thursday June 15 – Driving Through the Keys

Our drive through the Keys was full of interesting sights and smells. We had a brief stop in traffic as crews worked on a break in the fresh water line to the keys and on expanding the two lane Route 1 to accommodate more traffic.

During the first traffic stoppage, a trademark for our crew’s coming week began. Doug broke into song and was quickly joined by the entire crew. It was hard to gage how long we were stopped in traffic because the singing of camp songs and Christmas Carols made the time fly by.

We arrived at Mile Marker 24 and the Brinton Center at 3:45PM. Perfect for a 4:00PM check-in.

Thursday June 15 - The Everglades Alligator Farm

The Everglades Alligator Farm gives Boy Scouts a very generous discount on the admission price! Once in the farm we were able to see various sites including the snake barn and alligator pens that progressed from new hatchlings to six-foot long gators. There are also displays of products made from alligator hide and environmental information.

We were on the farm during one of the alligator feeding times and that was fun to watch. The alligator farmer hand fed dead rats to the gators that were willing to jump for a meal. The 300-pound alligators looked huge. Unfortunately, we did not get to see 1,000-pound “Grandpa” because he was not hungry.



After the alligator feeding was finished, we moved on to the airboat ride. What a thrill! We started with a warning from Captain Paul that we should not have anything on the floor of the boat that we did not want to get wet. The ride starts our slowly with Captain Paul pointing out turtles and alligators along the channel we were riding down and reminding everyone – KEEP YOUR HANDS IN THE BOAT. The airboat turns a bend and we go from a narrow tree lined channel to the openness of the Everglades. The boat speed quickly goes from a slow idle to over 30 miles per hour.



A few minutes into the full throttle ride, Captain Paul throws the airboat into a 360-degree spin – AWESOME. The ride continues with high-speed curves more 360’s that soak the boat – GO FASTER CAPTAIN.



The crew decided not to wait for the snake feeding and continued our drive to the Brinton Environmental Center.



The Everglades Alligator Farm gets two thumbs up from all crewmates!

Thursday June 15 – On the Road to the Brinton Environmental Center

The ride from Ft. Lauderdale to the Brinton Environmental Center takes about 4 hours so we planned a stop at The Everglades Alligator Farm. The Everglades Alligator Farm is a 1,600-acre alligator farm located on the edge of the Everglades national park near Florida City.

Wednesday June 14 – Random Thoughts and Quotes from the Crew

The hotel smelled bad! (Smoke)

The hotel could have been better. The flight was AWESOME!

There were holes around the windows and doors to let the roaches in…

The hotel sure looked different in the online add…

Over…kurrrch!

Wednesday June 14 – The Adventure Begins

Crewmembers from Troop 1 (Kurtice, Kevin, Doug, Mr. Schlak and Mr. Neff) met at the Neff’s house at 2:30 PM, finalized paper work and loaded Mr. Schlak’s van with gear. Mrs. Neff and Eric joined us on our ride to Saginaw (MBS) International Airport; they would return the van to Gaylord.



We stopped on the way to the airport for an early dinner and arrived at MBS with time to spare. We printed our boarding passes, checked our luggage and went through security to our gate.

Our Crewmember, Forrest - Troop 105 Traverse City, met us at the gate with his father Mr. V. Look for Forrest at summer camp! He is Councilor In Training this year.



The flight from MBS to Detroit was a smooth ride and on time. It was a first flight for Kurtice and he was presented with his Wings by our flight attendant. All the boys enjoyed the sights from +30,000 feet and agreed to a window seat rotation for all flights.

The transition to our connecting flight was easy. We had time to ride the Tram in the Detroit Airport. Kurtice and Doug tried some Japanese food and used chop sticks like pros.

The flight to Ft. Lauderdale went by fast as did the Gold Fish snacks Doug had brought.

Our trip then hit one of two bumps we would encounter. Finding our hotel was a challenge and took several attempts to get to the correct street. Mr. Schlak called the hotel for directions but had a difficult time understanding the Pakistani desk clerk. We finally found our way to the hotel and…it was not what we expected.

Though the hotel rooms were not what we had expected, they did serve a filling breakfast and Kurtice and Doug enjoyed a swim in the out door pool. Everyone agreed it was cool to wake up and look out a window and see the Atlantic Ocean.

Sea Base 2006 Keys Adventure Starts This Week

Three youth and two adult members of Troop 1 and one Scout from a Traverse City troop begin their Sea Base Florida Keys adventure on Wednesday.

Look for updates on the web site and be sure to ask the Scouts about Sea Base when they return.

Mr. Schlak and Mr. Neff are the adult leaders. Troop 1 Scouts going to Sea Base in 2006 are your Senior Patrol leader K.E., your Assistant Senior Patrol Leader K.N. and your Chaplin Aide D.T.

A 2007 Sea Base crew has been formed and it will have six Troop 1 Scouts and two adult leaders.

It's fun to have fun, BUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW....

Honor Guard for Senator John McCain

On Saturday, June 10th, six Scouts from Troop 1 were members of an Honor Guard for Senator John McCain of Arizona.

Senator McCain gave a speech at Boyne Mountain Resort. Before the speech, the Scouts met Senator McCain and he thanked each of them for attending.

Scouts from Troop 49 and Troop 53 also participated in the Honor Guard.

Members of VFW Post 263 were the Color Guard and a Scout from Troop 1 lead the 300 member audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

A Glance at “Dead Man’s Hill” Hike

Last weekend we took a hike on “Dead Man’s Hill” trail. For the twelve scouts that hiked in, hiked nine miles “WOW”. For the four that also hiked out the next morning, the trail was another eleven miles. These four included D. P. (aka webmaster), N. C. (aka ASPL), W. S. (aka Will) and J.B.S. (aka Ankle Biter) great job you guys. This made the whole trip twenty miles long.

At the end of the nine-mile walk in, we set up camp. After set up chow was served and then we played two long games of capture the flag. This was a great trip and I could tell we all had fun.

Posted for D.P., Troop 1 Webmaster

Jordan River Pathway Hike Itinerary & Reminder

Saturday, June 3, 2006

Scouts shopping for their patrol will be a Glen's early enough to have purchase their supplies and be ready to leave at 8:30 AM.

All other Scouts needing a ride to Deadman's Hill trail head need to be at Glen's parking lot with all gear and ready to leave at 8:30 AM.

Day pack with water and lunch for the hike. Regular overnight gear should be in a separate pack.

Permission slips will be available for anyone who forgot to turn theirs in at the Wednesday night meeting.

Depart Glen's at 8:30 AM, arrive at Deadman's Hill at 9:00 AM.

Overnight gear (sleeping, eating and extra clothing items) will be loaded into the Troop 1 trailer and driven to the camp site.

Day packs will be used by all Scouts on the hike. You must have at least two quarts of water, rain gear and a sack lunch. Good, broken in shoes / boots and sun screen are highly recommended. Bug spray, a hat and trail mix are good ideas too.

The Saturday 9 mile hike to Piney Bridge Campground will take approximately 6 hours to complete. There will be a lunch break at a predetermined rally point.

Scouts will haul all personal gear and patrol gear from the Troop 1 trailer to the camp site and set up camp.

Camp will break and all gear will be returned to the Troop 1 trailer by 9:00 AM on Sunday.

Scouts completing the next 11 miles of the trail will return to Deadman's Hill at approximately 4:00 PM on Sunday.

Fresh well water is available at the camp site.

Mr. Swampy Says - Why We Pack Rain Gear!

A picture "Blast From the Past". Do you recognize anyone in this photo from the 2003 Black Mountain Camp and Hike outing?




Thank you Mr. Marsh