The Best School
Sender
Elizabeth
Posted On
2008-03-03
Year
April 2007
Memoir
The annual 7th grade trip to Catalina Island was phenomenal, awesome, but most importantly, the trip of a lifetime. I was assigned to a cabin full of my closest friends, with a baby-crocodile-wrestling counselor(nope, SHE wasn't a guy). Surely enough, we went on a bunch of hikes up steep slopes, creeks, went snorkling, and went jumping into FREEZING water(ice cold...BRRRRR) Anyways, the food was great, the air was fresh, you COULDN'T see any type of civilization(to me, that great), and you had a spectacular view of the ocean, and on clear days-a colorful sunrise, at about 4:30AM.
But, my absolute favorite part of this awesome trip was my view of an actual whale's tale(no, not the "whale's tale", which was part of the island...). Since I wanted to see the sunrise on a clear day(I had failed to, the day before), I woke up at 3:45 AM, with my alarm clock going BEEP BEEP BEEP, followed by a flying retainer box, a sock, a wet shoe, a pillow, a toothbrush, & another alarm clock(which unfortunately smashed into a few hundred pieces, after hitting the floor off of the top bunk). As I bundled up & brushed my teeth(which took me about an hour, therefore I fell off the top bunk...ouch), I noticed that the sky was gray and pink, reminding me of the eerie pirate's grave, right next to my friends' cabin-which I had to walk past, alone. I was scared out of my socks...not really. As I tiptoed out of the cabin, down the path, and onto the dried-out brush, I couldn't help noticing that there was something moving about in the water, something large--about 300-400 meters off the coast. Alas, I had blinked-I missed the whale, but caught a glimpse of its magnifiscent tale, out of the water, shining in the 4AM sunlight.
I had sat out there until 5 AM, leaving reluctantly to help my friend find her lost boot, which was thrown at me that very morning.
When Friday came, I didn't think "TGIF", I was thinking, "Absolutely magnificient, time to leave this unbelieveablely awesome adventure behind, just to get back to homework, studing, & tests." I was crushed. But in all, I learned a lot from the experience, became closer with my friends, & definetly had the time of my life.
But, my absolute favorite part of this awesome trip was my view of an actual whale's tale(no, not the "whale's tale", which was part of the island...). Since I wanted to see the sunrise on a clear day(I had failed to, the day before), I woke up at 3:45 AM, with my alarm clock going BEEP BEEP BEEP, followed by a flying retainer box, a sock, a wet shoe, a pillow, a toothbrush, & another alarm clock(which unfortunately smashed into a few hundred pieces, after hitting the floor off of the top bunk). As I bundled up & brushed my teeth(which took me about an hour, therefore I fell off the top bunk...ouch), I noticed that the sky was gray and pink, reminding me of the eerie pirate's grave, right next to my friends' cabin-which I had to walk past, alone. I was scared out of my socks...not really. As I tiptoed out of the cabin, down the path, and onto the dried-out brush, I couldn't help noticing that there was something moving about in the water, something large--about 300-400 meters off the coast. Alas, I had blinked-I missed the whale, but caught a glimpse of its magnifiscent tale, out of the water, shining in the 4AM sunlight.
I had sat out there until 5 AM, leaving reluctantly to help my friend find her lost boot, which was thrown at me that very morning.
When Friday came, I didn't think "TGIF", I was thinking, "Absolutely magnificient, time to leave this unbelieveablely awesome adventure behind, just to get back to homework, studing, & tests." I was crushed. But in all, I learned a lot from the experience, became closer with my friends, & definetly had the time of my life.