So I got back to camp on Monday. Even though Colorado was starting to warm up, it was glorious to get back to sunny and warm southern California.

It started Monday night with an epic Agave (one of the houses here) dance par-tay. We're all excellent dancers here, especially when we have a few bud-lites in our systems. Great fun, as always.

Then yesterday was staff bonding day. We went on a road that leads to the interior of the island and climbed high on the hills to watch the ocean. It was pristine. Hot sun on our faces, sweating in a t-shirt and shorts - life is good. We hopped in and out of erosion sites, which I'm sure the Catalina Island Conservancy really loved. Then, to make matters worse, we played Camoflauge. Camoflauge is a game we're no longer allowed to play with kids since injuries are a sure bet every time. There is one person who closes their eyes at a fixed point and starts counting backward from 20. Everyone scatters and hides. When the counter gets down to 0, he opens his eyes and tries to find people hiding, calling out whoever he can. Then the counter yells, "Camoflauge," and begins counting down from 18 instead. Here is where the fun begins. You have to re-emerge from your hiding spot, run and hit the counter's hand and find a new spot before he opens his eyes. The end result: chaos. The game continues until there is only one person left and the counter is counting from, oh say, 3. That makes it only slightly harder to find a good hiding spot.

Today I unpacked this morning, then went for a jog after lunch. I ran for about 2 1/2 minutes before a friend told me there was a whale outside our bay. A few girls and I (all of which are not working this shift) got in a boat with our boss and eventually found it. A baby gray whale - 3 spouts then dives for about 8 minutes and resurfaces further south. A perfect heart-shaped blow and beautiful fluke as well.

Got back to camp, went for a short run, got my abalone earrings fixed from our in-camp jewelry guru, got my DAN insurance renewed - you know, I got stuff done. Then I found out I got a package! (Note - I love mail.) Last fall I had an awesome group of kids, including one kid who had Asbergers syndrome. I paid extra attention to him and he got along great with the group. The kid and his dad ended up sending me an awesome "super plush throw" Avalance blanket! They knew I was a loyal Avs fan and thought it would get cold this spring on the island. Ah, the benefits of having awesome kids.

Tomorrow, I'll be working maintenance at a sister camp, Fox. Painting is always fun. It's more than great to be back.