Alex one year ago. For his age group they tie-dyed shirts. This was at the end of the week parade.
Ping-Pong! It's huge at Seabeck and everybody loves it. There are sports ladders and ping pong is one of them. Behind the Ping-pong is the Inn. It is where the Main office is, the lounge/ wi-fi hotspot and where all the chess and cribbage games are played. It has a huge wrap around porch with rocking chairs all around.
Seabeck is a non-denominational christian conference center composed of a bunch of old, renovated houses. All of the houses have names of trees. This one is named Cedar and we stayed in it last year. Everybody is assigned rooms in each of the houses. Families usually stay together in the same house, unless otherwise specified. There are anywhere from 1 to 4 beds in each room. Some have bathrooms connected to the room, other houses have communal bathrooms, like a public bathroom with several shower stalls and toilet stalls.
This house is near the Inn and the center of Seabeck. It's name is Madrona and my family is staying there this year. We are the only people in the house. My mom's brother and family were going to come but then things didn't work out for them to. They were going to stay with us in the house.
A picture looking down the hill. Seabeck is right on Hood Canal and is on a hill. If you were standing where this picture was taken, the Inn would be down the hill to the right. To the left would be the Pines house and farther left and down the hill slightly into the woods would be the tennis courts.
This is more towards the right than the picture above. The giant tree in the right hand side of the photo is blocking the front half of the Inn.
The first "top of the hill" picture, if you were to turn around, is this picture. Behind Elise [my cousin, mothers brother's family,] is part of the Pines house where the 14 and up group is held. This is at the top of that hill.
This is my neighbor Jack or Sam. His parents got divorced a month ago. This is from last year. They didn't come this year. Up this road and to the left is the Cedars, that yellow house above. The red house behind him is named Maples. There are lots of Pianos around camp too, one of which is in Maples.
This totem pole is diagonally behind Madrona. The white house towards the left is the one that we are staying in this year. Next to our house on the left in this picture is named Juniper. The Inn is right next to Juniper.So the reason that I wasn't "stoked" about coming to Seabeck this year is because I don't really know people very well. This isn't a camp where there are different people every year, it's the opposite. Almost all of the same people are here every year. This camp has been running for several decades and I just overheard a woman saying that she has been coming with her family for thirty years. That means that her children have been coming here nearly all of their lives. There are lots of families like that; they grew up in the summer at Seabeck. There are lots of really old friendships and clique-esque kinds of groups. This is only my family's fourth year here and it isn't really the same. Now, I don't mean to say that these people are mean or rude or excluding or anything like that. Pretty much everyone here is extremely nice and polite and kind to each other. There is a special spirit here and a special kind of human peace here that doesn't exist many places elsewhere. But it still isn't the same, being a "newcomer" and such.
Also, the families that we did know previously, aren't here this year. The entire extended Clark family [our neighbors, the twins, the skipping boy, the people that invited us the first time, the couple that got divorced] decided not to come this year. I think the grandpa, who usually pays for all of his children and childrens' families to come each year, is redirecting funds towards a different vacation. The other family that we knew was my moms brothers' family, the Osmuns. So we are small talking loners.
Most of this is probably just in my head though because not everyone here spends time together outside of this once-a-year week. In fact, nearly all of these people, even the ones that have been coming since the diaper days, don't hang out outside of Seabeck. It just seems like things are fine and dandy when they get here.
There was one really old lady last year, at the fire of friendship, who told a story about how long she and a few other grannies had been coming to Seabeck [I think it was something ridiculous like 50 years...] She said that she loved these ladies dearly and eagerly looked forward to Seabeck every year and to seeing them but, on the ferry ride over from Vashon Island, realized that she had forgotten their names. She didn't see them outside of Seabeck, yet it was like they had never left when they got back. She remember their names when she saw their faces [and name tags :) everybody wears them all the time at Seabeck. They're made out of cross sections of small trees,] and they all had a really great time that year.
That's how Seabeck is for a lot of people. We just don't really have anybody that we are super friends with at Seabeck. If that makes any sense at all. I just wish I had an aged friendship here. I think that you would really enjoy it though! You should come someday with me :) It would be really fun. I think that I have talked to you about it in the past... Either way.
Things are a lot better now though. You get out of life what you put into it. I feel really happy and peaceful sitting here in the Inn surrounded by small groups of chatting people, chess games, and others working on laptops [probably blogging or something cool like that ;)] at 11:00 pm. Everybody loves each other and I think that I forget this feeling when I'm not feeling it... :)
Anyways. It was super fun seeing you at the Zoo, and guess what?! I just remembered the topic that I forgot: The Date (duh duh duh duuuuuuuh.) I will blog about that after you have posted a time or two :) Until then!
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