 |
 |
This year's Memorial Day Weekend Family Camp will be at Boy Scout Camp French on Lake Lopez in Arroyo Grande. There is a large, open area for tents (big enough to keep Scouts and families separate), and a large, enclosed mess hall with room inside and outside for additional tables and chairs, and a full, industrial-strength kitchen.
Lake Lopez/Camp French is about 1 hour closer than Lake San Antonio. The temperature a bit cooler due to the ocean breeze.
|
| RV Rentals |
Although there is plenty of room for tent camping, there is no formalized hook up for trailers or RVs. (However, RVs operate mostly on Propane. Lights, Fridge, AC/Heat will all work. Microwave and Outlets won't work. Water and Sewer can also be a problem.) One mile away in Lake Lopez, there are some RV hook up spaces -- these may or may not be available. It is your responsibility to check it out.
There are two RV rental facilities that will deliver to either Camp French or Lake Lopez:
- Earl's RV Rentals
321 N G St in Lompoc, CA 93436-6019 (805) 736-5175
- Luv 2 Camp
1-888-898-CAMP (2267) 8am-4pm Monday-Friday
http://www.luv2camp.com/
Earl's doesn't have a website, BUT it is the same Earl's that has been delivering trailers to Lake San Antonio for us (so we know what to expect). And because we're closer to his yard in Lompoc, Earl's delivery charge is less(!). Earl will be happy to mail you literature on his trailers if you call or write.
|
| Hotels/Cabins/B&B, etc. |
Slight downside: no cabins to split, but there are plenty of hotel rooms/B&Bs pretty close in Arroyo Grande or Pismo Beach.
|
| Weekend Schedule of Events |
A brief overview of the weekend’s activities is listed below. Please note that the camp is generally planned by the Senior Staff, and plans may be altered. People start arriving Friday afternoon, but the bulk of the travel happens Saturday morning. All families are responsible for their own meals until the wonderful Saturday evening meal.
SATURDAY
Arrivals: The Troop trailer is unloaded of its kitchen stuff and makes a trip to the grocery store.
Noon-5PM: The Troop Weekend officially begins with patrols going through “stations” all afternoon. Families can go down to the water and swim. If someone brings a boat, water skiing can happen.
1PM-5PM: The troop trailer returns with wonderful things to eat. Most of the afternoon will be spent figuring out how to store all the food and what we should eat for which meal. The preparation for the evening meal will begin and several hours will be spent slicing and dicing, coaxing the barbecue to life, laying out the hors d’oeuvres, etc. Someone will turn on the basketball game, and a pop top may be heard now and then. All fathers are encouraged to join these endeavors, and it’s usually a pretty good time. Eventually the meat is ready and dinner begins.
5PM: Patrols make dinner (graded). The parents enjoy dinner and conversation. CAMPFIRE happens once it’s dark with skits and songs by all patrols.
SUNDAY
7AM: Breakfast prepared by the Dads. Scouts eat with their Patrol.
9AM: Chapel
10 or 11AM: Patrol/Family/Siblings competitions and games. This takes place on the green sward adjacent to the “club house” and is designed to include all siblings old enough to run and all fathers young enough -- well, all fathers. Mothers get their chance in “Save the Mom” and the Parent/Patrol canoe races.
Noon: Lunch cooked by new fathers!
1PM: Lakeside Canoe Frolics & Follies. This is a patrol competition that happens in the canoes and involves all families and siblings. Samples are:
- “Drag the Dad” canoe race,
- “Hand Paddle Race,”
- “Sibling/Scout Race,”
- “Save the Mom,” and others
All participants finish soaked. All spectators have sore stomach muscles from laughter. Kids who aren’t actively participating and most siblings are usually playing in the lake. Everyone in the water wears Personal Flotation Devices. It’s really fun. Walking back up the hill isn’t fun.
4PM-ish: Dads are making dinner again. More basketball, more barbecue smoke, more conversation, and more slicing and dicing manage to make the afternoon pass a bit too quickly. The scouts join us for this meal. They really eat a lot!!!
6PM: Dinner - Everyone eats together for this meal.
8PM: CAMPFIRE. More skits and songs. This is also the auction campfire and the scouts cleverly bid on boxes of rocks they are convinced are boxes of candy. Don’t ask me why. It’s a tradition.
MONDAY
7AM: Breakfast. The scouts join us for breakfast. Amazingly, after all the food they ate the night before, they are ravenous. You cannot cook enough bacon.
8:30AM: The fathers then begin breaking down the kitchen tools, cleaning up and packing the trailer. All leftovers are put out and everyone makes lunches. Tents are packed, and the camp is basically struck to the cars.
10 or 11AM: Back to the lake for a serious Patrol Regatta. More fun in the water. Lunch is taken lakeside.
3-4PM: Leave for Los Angeles.
Again, this is a preliminary schedule and may or may not be accurate. The Senior Staff will make the final determination of what happens when.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
