"Lock the doors and close the blinds -- we're going for a ride..."

Well, we're back. It was truly a wonderful weekend. Here's the play-by-play:

Friday morning: Got the car safety-inspected. Passed with flying colors. Celebrated with one of them egg and cheese sandwiches on spinach florentine bagels from Einstein Brothers for the two of us. Finished packing.

Friday noon: Started the trip. Stopped at work -- because it happened to be on the way, and people wanted to see Av, especially since he hadn't visited work in almost a year. He had just woken up from a car-nap and was quite cranky, shy and clingy. People thought he was cute nonetheless. We fed him lunch and continued on our way west.

Friday afternoon: A beautiful, scenic drive to Winchester, VA. We stopped to get subs and frozen Cokes on the way. We also waited in line for gas at a Sheetz which had the best price around - $1.89/gallon. This was much better than the price of gas back home! We continued west of Winchester on US 50, straddled the state line, and drove to the camp.

As I had mentioned previously, K and I have been working with a youth group for Jewish high school students (USY) for quite a while. In fact, we both had been in this youth group, and we met because of our advisory positions working for this youth group. As for this gathering -- it was "Spring Convention," where a good 130 kids from Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Washington, DC gather for four days at this camp for lots of activities and to spend Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) together. The first time I had been at this camp was my junior year of high school, fifteen years ago for Spring Convention. I've since staffed this convention for many years. In fact, K and I shared our first kiss there (1996) and became engaged there (1997). Last year we brought Av along, but this year he was more of a separate "person" who could do more than simply sleep through it.

Spring Convention happens to be when the leadership of the youth group holds its elections. We arrived at camp after they had taken place, and we were anxious to know who had won the presidential election. I had worked closely with both kids who were running for this position and was crushed that only one could be selected. Fortunately, there was no animosity after the election by either one of them, and it appeared that both had a great time for the rest of the weekend.

We said hi to the masses. Everyone was admiring Av and seeing how much he had grown. Many people were coming up to us -- friends and acquaintances that we only see at conventions such as this. Many of the kids were happy to see us.

K and I had a different sort of role than many of the other staff members there. For starters, we were among the oldest people there. Most of the staff were college students or recent college graduates. Secondly, they were each assigned a cabin where they bunked with the kids. Although we all shared the same general responsibilities (making sure people were respectful, making sure people attended the proper assigned activities, and keeping the boys out of the girls' bunks and vice versa), we were housed in a cabin of our own for the three of us. Both of us used to be "bunk staff" before we had a kid (yes, even after we were married), and we highly respect those who sacrifice sleep, energy and privacy as they spend every waking moment with these kids. Nonetheless, the other staff had quite a bit of reverence for us -- we had been staff members for many of them when they were kids. Which seemed to put us a bit on a pedestal throughout the weekend. That and the fact that we had an adorable kid that everyone wanted to hug...

Friday evening: The advent of Shabbat. Which was absolutely beautiful. It was extremely hot and humid this weekend, and the lack of air conditioning was getting to everyone, as well as the dense population of cicadas piercing the air. That notwithstanding, these kids got all dressed up for Shabbat services and dinner, and transformed the mood into a unique one filled with holiness and spirituality. By this time we had ducked out a little early to feed Av, who had fallen asleep in his stroller on the way up to the dining hall. So I stayed in the bunk with him, changed him into his PJs and fed him dinner when he woke up. K joined everyone in the dining hall for dinner followed by the traditional singing that usually takes place.

And then the rain started. And then the strong winds.

Av woke up crying. I tried to see if we could lie down together on my bed and snuggle up, as the rain was coming through the windows. (Remember -- no air conditioning). We had a couch in the corner of the room which was far enough away from the windows. We huddled up under a blanket there, trying to sway and sing him to sleep.

Then the power went out.

I heard the rain, the wind, and the screams of everyone in the dining hall surprised that the camp had gone pitch black. Soon after, the screams subsided as an action plan was taking place -- those staff members who had driven to camp moved their cars to strategic locations around the dining hall and turned on their headlights, illuminating the room. But we were back in a dark bunk under a blanket, Av trying to fall asleep, the door sometimes swinging open from the wind. As soon as I felt my eyes almost adjust to the darkness, lighting would flash in the sky and I would have to refocus. I didn't want to get up lest I trip over something and drop Av.

The rain subsided a bit and another staff member came in to check on us. I directed him towards the flashlights we had brought which were packed away and was able to get some light in the bunk. Av fell asleep and order was restored just a bit. Of course we still had to work in crisis mode -- the water for the camp is well water and electrically pumped and treated -- meaning there was potential for contamination of the tap water. So we filled up on ice from the dining hall for drinking water -- for our family and for the kids. The camp staff was busy getting the generators rigged up to power emergency lights.

About two hours later, the power came back on. Not a moment too soon. I've been to many a USY convention, and this was certainly a unique experience...

And that was just Friday!

Saturday and Sunday were equally as wonderful. No more rain -- just sunny and in the high 80s. As always, it was nice to be around kids who shared the same experiences we had -- being teens who are interested in their Jewish identities and taking initiative to live the experience within their own community. Whether it was through our prayer services, the singing, the study sessions I taught, or simply hanging out and talking with these kids -- it's apparent that they have a drive to continue living who they are.

Gonna go -- I have to put another load in the dryer. All our clothes smell like camp. :-)