Come on Irene...

Last day of camp was nice, we got up early ate Dunkin doughnuts, helped cook the head staff breakfast had an epic camp song medley, dressed up for backwards day (Bobs summer camp tops!) and had a fabulous day. Carnival was great spent an age in the dunk tank cooling off and worked the bungee trampoline. The only downside of the day was saying bye to the rest of camp and the children.

Our travel plans have been slightly thwarted by Hurricane Irene so we have been hiding out in a classroom for two days but alls well and it passed as merely a tropical storm, so lots of rain and a wee bit of wind!! so here is to San Fran travel plans being okay!! Fingers crossed!!! eeeekkk!! :)

Sooo Much has happened!!!

Right sooooo much has happened since my last blog, I am going to have to right this in a bulleted list!!

- I got suspected lymes, and was confined to the health centre for a week, after my thigh swelled up and resembled some thing close to a balloon! I was tested numerous times at the doctors and put on antibiotics only to find out it wasn't lymes and we have no idea what it was. fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again!!!!

- I have dressed up as an octopus for pirate day, had planes in my hair for sea and air day, a union jack on my face for international day and been shark girl a villain for superhero day!! (my costumes range from being on the scale of mums and being fabulous! and thanks to Charlie for the face painting!)

- We have visited 6 flags, a theme park in New Jersey with the tallest rollercoaster in the world!! eeeekkkk!! I didn’t make that one!! though did get on about 6 of pretty good ones!!

- We have visited Boston and walked most of the freedom trail, went to mikes pastries for a muffin and a canola, brought a Harvard top, and got driven all the way there and back by Mark in a pick up, very American!! and came back via Rhode island!!

- Booked our flights to san Fran, Vegas and then from San Diego to Miami!!!- its going to be crazy!!

- We have made coil pots, tic tac toe (noughts and crosses) and people in ceramics, in session 2!! We had carnival, which was great and I worked on the bungee trampoline!! (those trampolines you get at shopping centers!)

- We are one week into the third session meaning we leave in two weeks!!! EEEeekkk!! We have swap day, in which I leave ceramic for the day and Laurie takes over and I am going into TB6 the oldest of the trailblazers groups, so the children are about 7/8! which should be fun, we also have Halloween day and backwards day!! We are making finger puppets, board games and slab pots!! :) in ceramics!!

- Yesterday I went to the thrift store in Connecticut and brought 5 t-shirts, a skirt and a belt for 7 dollars!! I am going to have a very heavy rucksack!! (One of the t-shirts happened to be a Bristol balloon festival t-shirt from 1998 which weirdly enough this week is the balloon festival!! how crazy- perhaps it is a small world after all.)

I cant think of anything else apart from its currently raining and we might go to the cinema later!! O and we had the hottest temperatures ever recorded in New York State, and have been rocked by the Massacre in Norway and the England Riots.

New York, New York...

Iv literally just got back from NYC!! Came back slightly earlier so we could get ready for camp tomorrow!! I'm on early-care so have to get up at 6am!! Soooo tired we left camp on saturday morning on the bus leaving at 7.30, and got the train from South-East station, which took about an hour and a half, arriving of the dull and dingy station into Grand Central was amazing, all gold and gleaming it looks exactly like it does on the films!! We then wondered towards our hotel, stopping to take tonnes of photos, we had went for breakfast at the Brooklyn Diner, chocolate pancakes to be American- They were like drop scones not normal ones. We then dropped our luggage at the hotel (the wonder that was the Carter- the location its its biggest plus point!!) We then wondered through times square the the Rockefella centre!!! All the way to the top!! It was amazing to see all the sights and all the famous buildings. We then wondered around the shops and the attractions near by and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for a cocktail!! Which was AWESOME!! such great memorabilia!! We then went back to the hotel, got ready and had some food, then went out to Webster Hall, a four floor nightclub with everyone. Today was a lazy day wandering around Greenwich attempting not to spend money!! Now to get back to work!!

Rafting on the white waters...

Not much has happened since, my last blog, work on friday was the best day yet all the children are getting really chatty which is nice but they are also more cheeky!! Milkshake monster is my new favourite game!! hehe!! Learning some great games most of which are sure to become new drinking games!! (watch out pershore road!!) O and lost of songs!! again watch out!! After work on friday we headed up in the wan to the Adirondacks! It took about 4hours and we were lucky enough to already have tents put up so songs and drinks around the camp fire, then white water rafting on the Hudson on the saturday!! Soooo very good!!!! Was in a raft with all the girls Charlie, Lottie, Archery Megan, Becca, Lucy, Rachel, Catherine and me!! Sang nearly all the way down!! Almost fell in several times, lost becca, megan and are guide Cassandra on one particularly hair raising jolt!! jumped from rocks into the river, bobbed about in life jackets and went down one set of rapids swimming!! Then bbq for tea and a great night again round the camp fire!! perhaps fireworks tomorrow for 4th of July!! fingers crossed!!

www.beaverbrook.net - check it out!!

Oooppss!!

Sorry its taken me so long to write on hear!! Ive been so busy and for some reason I'm writing this on the busiest day of camp!! So after training for a week, a drugs test and numerous amounts of team building exercises I have completed my first day at camp!!!! Its been a very busy wirl wind, woke up at 5am today to get breakfast at 6 and leave by half past!! yes actually 5!! Then had to welcome everyone to camp, as a specialist (in Ceramics) I dont have my own set of children but I do get to look after Blazers 4 for lunch and give the general counselors a bit of a break!! Its been a fun day but sooo tirering, I had the youngest and the oldest class which has been an eye opener!! I didnt realise how long it took the tiny ones and how quick the older ones got it!! So back to the drawing bored on some levels but it never was going to run very smoothly!! hehe! So its not all be hard work! Iv been to the Mall, been to a Mexican and an Irish bar!! (very American) hidden from parents from the camp I live on when it was there open day so they didn't witness my hangover and also been to dunkin doughnuts and macdonalds!! hehe!! Quote of the day- 'I just wanna make a Taco!!' from one of the younger kids who made a clay taco in stead of shapes!! O and after tonnes of rain it was sunny today!! Though im going to get one hell of a farmers tan!!
Not taken many photos though the others have taken loads!! so will hopefully upload some soon!!

Are we nearly there yet???

Well I'm all packed!!! fingers crossed I am anyway!!
My life on my back!
Its strange to go somewhere where if I forget something it doesnt actually matter that much, providing its not my passport or visa anyway!!! hehe!!
Hopefully will meet people at the airport and get there safely!! Eeekkk!!
So I will update you all as soon as possible!!

Attingham Park

I am now a junior member of the National Trust! ITs only £23.50, which is a bargain considering to get into Attingham park its £9.00, so two more places and its defiantly worth it!!

A walk around the bluebell walk with ice-creams in the sun,

The mansion is currently under going renovation and it is really interesting to see the place evolving and going back to its former splendour, I would love to go back in a year or two and see what they have found and altered. The house is divided into two halves a masculine side and a feminine side, which is apparently quite common of houses of this period (1947).

I took some lovely photos which I shall put up soon.

Barmy Barmouth

Random trip to Barmouth at the weekend, was lovely to be down on the beach again If I did wimp out of the swimming (they were barmy! It was freezing!) and suffice with a mere toe dip. Fish and Chips on the beach and sandcastles, and clotted cream ice cream before coming home. I'm left wondering how sand gets literally everywhere!!

Photos by Lucy Read.

America

Just a quick update so you all don't think I have forgotten all about my blog, this is now my travel blog, my next big adventure is to America, though I also hope to update you on all the other wonderful places I visit closer to home too!!

I will be leaving England on 22nd june 2011 for Hillside Summer Camp in Carmel, New York State and will be returning some time in September after hopefully seeing lots of the brilliant delights of America!!

Will update here again soon!

Travelling...

Welcome to my travel blog, this blog is now for all my adventures both overseas and closer to home, to see my art/graphics work please visit my other blog sporadic thinking-

elizabethmayraby.blogspot.com

Enjoy.