Summer Camp at Camp Woodruff – July 2-8, 2023 

This year’s summer camp was at Camp Woodruff in Blairsville, Georgia and after a bit of a rough road trip (traffic was not so great and they came upon a couple of downed trees blocking their path into camp), they made it to their destination where they were greeted by the roadies (the Allen’s) who decorated and made them a fantastic dinner and dessert (those roadies sure are an amazing duo).  Day 1 (opening day): the scouts decided to start their time at camp strong by bringing their flamingo mascot with them to the flag ceremony in a few different ways, such as inflatables, hats and stuffed animals (they definitely know how to walk into a crowd of people and get their attention) and although the weather was not the best that day (I think they brought all the rain out of Florida to camp with them), they did not let that deter them from their fun!  Day 2 (tropical/spirit): the scouts came out blazing in their tropical/spirit wear (can you guess what covered their clothes, hats, etc.?  Yup, it was flamingos, shocking, I know) and they received so many compliments from others at camp for their spirit, however, the others at camp had no idea that Troop 340 was just getting started!  Day 3 (red white and blue): as this was the 4th of July, the scouts celebrated by decking themselves out from head to toe in red white and blue outfits and they also had the opportunity to celebrate Brayden’s birthday (his birthday wishes were not just sung with gusto, but screamed from the top of the rafters by his fellow scouts and a few of the scouts played how many birthday hats can be fit upon one head…the total was 15).    Day 4 (Halloween aka Flamingoween): the scouts did not let a little rain dampen their spirit and showed up to morning flags decked out in some crazy costumes as there were aliens, a Mario and a Ghostbuster, so much fun! Day 5 (Christmas in July): Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…well, it did not happen exactly like that, but Santa did make an appearance as did some of his elves AND the the Grinch! (I have it on good authority that Santa and the Grinch may have had a little tussle (in jest) to fix the Grinch’s heart so that he could see the true meaning of Christmas even in July).  Day 6 (Easter):  the troop came out hopping in their Easter wear (if you imagined Sunday’s best, I am sorry to disappoint you) of inflatable bunny costumes and bunny ears to help the other campers find all the eggs that they hid the night before; they also introduced a new inflatable friend, the spirit bunny (if there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call, Ghostbusters!  That darn spirit disguised himself as a bunny to elude our troop’s Ghostbuster).  Now, if you think summer camp is all play and no work, you are mistaken, the scouts worked extremely hard to complete their merit badges throughout the week, some of which are animation, rifle shooting, game design and much more.  Lastly, the scouts had the choice of either horseback riding or to go white water rafting to round out their week of hard work, tons of spirit and quality time with some quality people.