"Let's Get into Some Trouble"

I missed a post on Thursday which makes the missed total 3 this week already. But I'm okay with a little blog failure right now because the experiences I'm having outside of the virtual world are some of the best of my life. Tonight is no exception.

"Let's get into some trouble," said our camp director with a wink. We had closed down the camp, swept all the campers back into their rooms for the night, reset the tables in the dining hall, and sent the work crew and summer staff to bed. The circle of people that remained were invited into a night to remember. We marched out of the dining hall following our fearless leader and sidestepped the spray of the late night timed sprinklers though it was pointless to avoid the water because after rounding the corner we quickly realized the plan that lie ahead. Without a word we began discarding sandals, emptying pockets, and removing extra layers of clothing. Our rag tag gang of 20, 30, and 50-somethings jogged barefoot down the steps and approached the private dock. With giggles and hushed exclamations of joy we ran down the plank like a bunch of teenagers and cannon-balled into the quiet waters of Pelican Lake. It was like a scene out of a movie, a really really good movie.

We swam a ways down to the other dock located along the beachfront. It was a much longer swim than many of us had anticipated, but wading through the glass surfaced water with stars twinkling overhead, we soaked up the moment. I was clad in jeans and a white t-shirt, two of the worst clothing items one could choose for a late night swim, but my uniform didn't inhibit my joy. Once we made it to the beach we targeted our next destination: the hot tubs.

Two of us in the group normally have keys for the padlocks making the hot tubs accessible whenever we choose. However, our keys were left on the dock along with our shoes, loose change, and our inhibitions. The lack of keys forced us to break into the hot tubs only adding to our experience. Like my 17 year old self, I devised a method for hopping the fence without any trouble. I pushed the trash can up to the fence and one by one we lifted ourselves over. We peeled back the cover, turned on the jets, and giggled our way into our next adventure just as we had the first.

Once we began making our trek through the middle of camp and back home, we were joined by some other renegades. Luckily as soon as we caught them in our spotlights, they scattered like roaches and ducked back into their cabin. Little did they know that the people "catching" them had just done what they were probably scheming to do themselves. Little did they know that the group of people "catching" them was comprised of the "adults" on camp, the ones "in charge".

We heard that the all summer interns were in the club room watching a movie so we decided to conclude our sneak out with one more adventure. We crept through the side door that leads backstage. We aligned ourselves backstage in a line holding different props. Our soaked through clothes dripped onto the stage creating puddles at our feet. I hit the open button for the curtain and we stood pleased with ourselves as we awaited the hysterics from the small audience. The joke was on us as the curtain opened to an empty room. Two interns sat in the back of the room watching the movie on the big screen from the sound booth. They were unamused and appeared more annoyed by our presence than anything. With a look of, "Are you done now so we can get back to our movie?" they sat with stone cold expressions.

We exited and made our final approach home. Soaking wet we made no attempt to bypass the sprinklers this time around. Someone found a frog and I picked it up threatening to throw it at one of my fellow adventurers. We made our way back to our starting place and collected our belongings before heading in for the night.

I would say that I felt like a kid again, but I think this was way more fun than anything I did back when I was a teenager. Maybe I just appreciate it more now that I'm older and can see the beauty and nostalgia in moments like these. It was some of the most fun I've ever had and the story will live on for years and years to come.