Post-Camp Summer Adventures

    I'm starting to feel better adapting back to life outside of camp.  Although it could just be that I'm distracting myself really well by staying busy!
    The day after I left camp, Ray and I headed to Medina for a week with his family.

drying off Pumpkin after he got caught outside in the rain

    On Friday, we went to the Medina County Fair.  There, we met with our wedding photographer (who is also a good friend of Ray's family) and finalized the time/day for our engagement pictures.  I also saw my first demolition derby: that was a....strange experience.  I don't really understand the point of destroying cars that they put so much time and energy into, and it just looked painful.  Ray's mom said "It's a redneck thing": I guess that I will never truly be a redneck.  Haha.
    On Saturday, Ray and I went to the most elegant wedding I have ever been to.  The ceremony was a Catholic mass in a gigantic ornately decorated church and the reception was in a gorgeous restaurant/banquet hall called The Tangier.  And the bride's dad owned the place so the food and drinks were of the highest possible quality.  There was great music and plenty of dancing.  Ray and I were told by one of the photographers that we were the "most interesting couple" there. I guess that's a compliment..

Best wedding dinner ever!  And the martini glass is full of mashed potatoes: there was a mashed potato bar!

      Sunday, I went with Ray and his mom on a road trip to Charlottesville, Virginia to pick up Ray's little brother Daniel from his internship.  We stayed overnight and arrived back in Medina on Monday night.  The mountains we drove through were breathtaking.  I've determined that my new dream is to live by the Blue Ridge Mountains, have a vineyard, and have amazing places nearby to go on plenty of outdoorsy adventures.  It's so beautiful there!  And in the brochures I looked at there are advertisements for marathons, half marathons, triathlons, kayaking competitions, climbing and caving excursions galore!  I would fit right in!  

beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the road

     On Tuesday, Daniel, Ray and I took a trip to Cedar Point and had a blast!  We rode amazing rides (including my two favorite roller coasters, the Magnum and Millenium Force).    In the line for Millenium Force, there was a DJ.  They played Gangnum Style, and one of the guys in line near us started dancing, so I joined.  Everyone was watching, laughing, and clapping.  I actually had fun waiting in that line!  Other than one small patch of rain (lasting about 20 minutes) the weather was perfect!
      Yesterday, we went to a Cleveland Indians game that Ray's mom won tickets to. The Indians lost (and I don't really follow baseball that much), but we still had a great time!  The guys sitting in front of us were hilarious too!

sitting between Ray and his brother Daniel at the Indian's game

      Tonight, Ray and I are finally getting our engagement pictures done.  On Saturday, we're heading to Cincinnati/Lawrenceburg to see my family (after stopping to visit my good friend Brad who I haven't seen in forever).  

Ray and I in front of the rental truck on our way back from Virginia

Culture Shock

    My fourth summer at Camp Otterbein is over.  And it was one heck of a summer!  I went on amazing adventures exploring caves, rappelling, kayaking, seeing new parts of Ohio and Kentucky, off-roading in a 15 passenger van, and so much more.  I touched the lives of children/adolescents/preteens and helped them grow spiritually (especially during the last week with campers when I was a counselor).  I made new friends and rekindled/strengthened existing friendships.  Staff closing (where we clean up camp and then do a fun surprise activity each evening) was magical as usual. 

a night in Columbus with Camp Otterbein staff

    Going back to the outside world gives me a feeling that can best be described as culture shock: it feels similar to when I've come home from my travels to foreign countries.  Except this involves more tears: I already really miss everyone.  I was living in a place where I was fed, given a shelter, and everyone lived with a sense of community and the duty to just do the right thing at all times.  The outside world is full of greed, corruption, judgmental people, and just plain rude people: all the things we avoid at camp.

     There are also wonderful things in the outside world: my fiance, family, the ability to eat more food (I don't get nearly enough at camp to keep up with my freakish metabolism), time to breathe.  I also signed up for every available shift at the challenge course for the months of August and September, so there's that to look forward to.  We're visiting Ray's family and then my family over the next couple of weeks too.  I'll talk about all of the things we're doing in Medina in my next post.  :-)