Miles From Home!

Yesterday I got up at 4:00 and drowsily grabbed all my stuff, or so I thought. I rode to the airport half asleep and got out, the car drove off and I walked inside. Only a minute after the car left did I realize that I had completely forgotten my sleeping bag. I called my dad  to come around and he couldn’t make it. We went through security and got on the plane. The view from my seat in the back was amazing, I saw farmlands, mountain ranges, and rivers, I took photos of all of them. After the plane trip we waited for the bus at LAX, got in the bus, and headed to the boat terminal. We saw allot of factories and we were waiting for our boat directly under one of the largest shipping docks in the world. I drew one of the loading cranes while we waited for the boat. Finally we got on the boat and started off. At first the waves were mild and the views were amazing, but as time went on the waves got huge. I got very seasick and spent half the boat ride buckled over, nearly throwing up. We got off of that god awful boat and unloaded luggage and introduced ourselves to CELP staff. We then had lunch that was hamburgers and curly fries. We then split up into our two groups and got our cabin assignments. We met our staff coach for our group and went out snorkeling. Snorkeling was great, but I was freezing the whole time. I saw allot of garibaldi’s and a round stingray. We got out, I took a shower, and then we ate an amazing dinner consisting of pesto pasta and brownies. After dinner we took a walk and learned about Catalina’s native Pimavits and there history on this island. We then sat down by the campfire and spent a long time singing songs, learning stories and rhymes, and having fun competitions. After this I brushed my teeth, got in bed and finished my loading crane drawing, I then had to put in my earplugs and drown out the noises of ghost stories and snoring. I woke up this morning at 6:00 and went out for a walk, taking photos. I watched the sun rise over the water and saw a flock of quail and a few island foxes. Then I headed down to the Catalina’s and met up with Todd and James who had also woken up early, and we sat in the empty cafeteria as I wrote what you are reading now. 

~ Miles