Wellesley scouting news: Girl Scout Troop recognized for hunger relief efforts; Troop 185 scoutmaster reports on Nantucket trip

Troop 185 Scoutmaster Jon Flynn shared the following report with us:

We are back from another amazing trip to Nantucket!

Let’s start off with the statistics:

• A total of 73 participants (a 35% increase over last year);
• 35 Scouts (a 35% increase over last year);
• 4 members of our new Venture Crew;
• 134 Scout-prepared meals (including an amazing miso and dumpling soup); and
• 1 Troop 185 Golden Spork (awarded to Patrick O. for his Patrol’s Nantucket chili)!

By the numbers alone, this was a successful trip, but the details are even more fun…

Courtesy photo

As usual, the trip really started on Thursday night with the obligatory gear drop in the St. John’s parking lot. And as usual, the gear drop conflicted with the WHS back-to-school night, which gave our crew another couple of balls to juggle. But everyone stepped up – from

the youngest Scouts to the most experienced adult leaders – to ensure that the truck was loaded and ready to go first thing on Friday morning.

On Friday, while the Scouts and their families carried on as usual, Mr. Scherrer and Mr. Maire bravely (and generously) carried our gear to Hyannis in our U-Haul, loaded it on the ferry, and then guided it to Camp Richard without incident. The security deposit is safe! The Troop kitchen was setup, including canopy, stoves, and island-appropriate “mood lighting.” Then, reportedly, Mr. Scherrer and Mr. Maire enjoyed a well-deserved dinner in town. Thank you Mr. Scherrer and Mr. Maire!

Very early on Saturday morning, the action started. We were all a little sluggish at first, sure, but Troop 185 began to rally well before dawn. By 6:00am, everyone (well, nearly everyone) was back in the St. John’s parking lot right on time. The SPLs were checking everyone in and assigning the Scouts to their cars with confidence and efficiency. Meanwhile, drowsy adults were sneaking off to Dunkin’ to pick up their online orders so they would be wide awake for the 90-minute drive to the Cape. Everything was progressing perfectly. The entire crew was en route to Hyannis by 6:30am. Right on schedule!

It’s impossible to tell whether it was the caffeine wearing off or the fog rolling in, but events in Hyannis were a blur. They always are. Tickets were purchased. Vending machines were eyed lustfully. Then before we knew it, the crew was lined up and counted: once, twice, three times just to be sure. 68… 69… 70! Everyone was there.

Wait.

Oh right – Ms. King was coming a little later with two more Scouts. Phew! Everyone made it.

And then the “Eagle” rolled in and we climbed onboard. Troop 1 Bolton outmaneuvered us on the gangway and managed to snag the “good seats” – lesson learned and added to the trip notes – but we outnumbered them 3-to-1, so it was all good. Once clear of Hyannis harbor, the waves started rolling the ship ever so gently. We all fell asleep, or at least I did, and it was wonderful.

A couple of hours later, we were on Nantucket. Bikes were assigned and Patrols were riding to camp. It was flawless. Almost like we’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years – because we have!

In camp, the Patrols setup without delay because they knew that a good-looking campsite and a brief Scoutmaster briefing were all that stood between them and 36 hours of freedom and fun on Nantucket.

What followed was an unscripted and idyllic island weekend. The Scouts genuinely cooked three amazing meals each. Don’t believe me? Check out some of the photos below. On Sunday night, we had a Patrol cook-off that truly brought out the best in everyone. The meals that were prepared were excellent – creative, well-executed, and most importantly, enjoyed by everyone involved. No doubt there were people on the island paying far more but receiving far less in terms of both a truly welcoming community and pure gastronomic delight.

Courtesy photo

On both nights, the Troop enjoyed games of Manhunt on the large open field adjacent to the campsite. The stars (pictured below) were worth the trip alone. There were also campfires that took the edge off what otherwise would have been a couple of chilly nights.

During the day there were expeditions into town that uncovered everything from whales (at the Whaling Museum) to vintage t-shirts, ice cream, and candy (nearly everywhere else). Many Scouts successfully completed the 10-mile bike ride required for Second Class and a few even made it all the way out to the Great Point Lighthouse. I’ve never been there myself, but from what I hear it is FAR.

We returned home on Monday. A little tired physically, but refreshed spiritually.

So, what is it about this trip that is so special? I’m not sure, but I have an idea. Nantucket is a place that straddles the edge between the world we know and the world we don’t. It’s beautiful and yet it’s eroding. It feels certain, like solid ground does, and yet it’s fragile. It’s timeless and yet it’s temporary.

Nantucket is literally a sandbar not near but in the Atlantic Ocean. You can hear the waves crashing into the beach from our tents at night. That wilderness of ocean is literally just over the horizon, and that fact is palpable everywhere you go because you see it and feel it and smell it through the generations of families who called this place home while not living their lives on the sea. It’s history and nature reaching out and grabbing you. It’s haunting but sublime.

But our annual Nantucket trip is also an edge in terms of how we experience and interact with the larger world – both the built world in which we spend most of our time, and the natural world that we experience on trips like these. For many Scouts, this is their first real sense of independence. The first time they are set free to explore a foreign place. Be back in camp by 4:30 – and have fun! Although the island may not be exotic, this is a trip of discovery in every sense: from wandering around town, to finding a new beach, to cooking a new meal on their own for the first time.

These are moments where we stand at the edge of who we have been and who we will become. If nothing else, let’s have these moments in special places surrounded by good people. It is my hope that when we return from these trips we are all changed by them in a small but positive and permanent sort of way.

Stay Prepared!

Mr. Flynn

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