Hi gram!

I woke up early without my alarm again today. I usually sleep so soundly and have trouble waking up but I’ve had a hard time sleeping for the past few days. I’m hoping this is just a spell and I’ll be back to my usual slumberland habits soon. I got up and went to climb some stairs, then came back and got ready to go to the state fair with my friends. We left around 8am and parked just a few blocks from the fair. We were going to meet a few people there, but they overslept. Abbey, Victor, Carolyn and I went in and walked around a bit. I wanted to go to the donut stand first thing, but the line was blocks and blocks long. Instead, we walked over and saw some baby animals and got some beignets.

We got in lots of steps and saw a few cool things, then headed back to the donut shop and met up with the other group. They’d stood in line and shared the fruits of their labors (donuts, not fruit). We all walked over to the creative arts building and saw some fantastical art, including stained glass, fiber arts, paintings, sculptures and 2 pieces submitted by Carolyn! We got a few pictures of Carolyn with her art pieces while we talked and gawked at the abundance of art pieces. One of Carolyn’s pieces was a quilt on a stick, in honor of quilts that are a big part of MN life and things on a stick that are a big part of the fair. Once we got through there, we headed over to check out the giant fruits and vegetables, including a 1,600 lb pumpkin!

The fair was getting crowded by this point, so we found our way to the exit and escaped after only getting one more round of fried food. Back at the car, we greeted the woman whose lawn we parked on, then headed back to Carolyn’s house. The food put us all into comas when we got back and we all napped until it was time to pack up and head to camp.

My friends had some gift cards, so we swung by Dunkin to fuel up with some caffeine and sugar for the drive. We started on the self-serve computer, which was a little confusing. There was no line and the clerk offered to just take our order, but we were committed. Once we got the order entered, we added the gift cards and it somehow got to a negative balance. Confused, we gave it another gift card, which just made the balance even more negative! Finally, we canceled the order and started from the beginning. Luckily, the second time wasn’t as confusing for the computer, and it accepted only the amount of money from the gift cards as it needed for the order. We laughed about it while we had our treats, then got back on the road.

Getting to camp was easy peasy, and it felt good to get back. This was the first CampFI location that I’d ever attended, so the feelings were strong as I walked up to the door and saw so many friends. We checked in quickly, I threw my luggage in my room, then headed outside to catch up with friends, meet new people, and enjoy the glorious weather until dinnertime. Once dinner was served, we all stood in line to see what was being served. The room was loud with so many people, so I finished eating quickly, then headed back outside for quieter conversation and a walk around the pond to burn off some of the glucose in my veins. Our group grew as we walked, everyone excited to see each other.

We headed in for the ice breakers and introductions, where Amy did an amazing job of leading the group, getting everyone comfortable, and outlining how the weekend would go. Instead of the name game, which we often play as the ice breaker at camp, Amy had a different game where we met up in small groups and exchanged some basic life facts with each other. I thought it went really well. The rest of the evening was just as fun with lively conversation, learning about each other, and handing out stickers and telling people about Shirts on FI. As it got later, I got more tired, so I dipped out early to save some energy and headed to bed.