Day 6 - June 29th, 2013

It's Saturday !

While most other kids are enjoying Saturday morning cartoons, or sleeping in till about noon, the Sigsbee kids had an early morning today. We got camp broken down, and enjoyed our breakfast. Then it was off to the boat.

Once on the boat, things began just like the other days. The engine was turned off, the sails were set, and the lessons began. One watch continued their lessons (as their is so much to learn, and we wanted everyone to get a fair chance of learning each part), while the other watch started a new lesson on pollution in the Bay. They learned how it affects the organisms of the Bay, and how things such as natural disasters can cause drastic changes. They also learned that a surprising number of pollution come from farms due to animal feces and fertilizers, and the fact that they are not monitored as closely as urban areas. These lessons continued until about lunch time.

After lunch, the kids got a small break, then it was time for a little tawl line fishing. They readied the nets, and prepared to toss it into the water and see what they could catch. Once the nets were tossed overboard, they waited a few minutes, and hauled it back in. Then they observed they carch of the day. And what did we catch today? Lots of sea nettles and an oyster toadfish. They learned all about the oyster toadfish's skills at camouflaging, its strong jaws, and its methods of feeding. After their lesson on their catch of the day, it was time to dock.

Now, typically, each time we dock, we head to our camp site and get it setup almost immediately after leaving the boat. Well today was a little different. We took a wonderful detour. We headed to the Calvert Marine Museum instead. The kids got to spend a couple hours in the museum, which included awesome attractions such as the drum point lighthouse, fossils from millions of years ago, history on the war of 1812 on the Patuxent river, and of course bubbles and squeak (two friendly and energetic otters at the museum). To make their trip to museum more interesting and fulfilling, the kids were split into partners of two and sent off on a scavenger hunt. They were given a sheet filled with questions, and had an allotted time to answer as many as they could. The team with the most correct questions answered then got to pick a prize from the bag of prizes. This was a great way to spend our Saturday afternoon.

Now after our adventure at the museum, the kids were given yet another lovely surprise. PIZZA!! They were all treated to pizza before heading to the campsite. The kids were very grateful, and enjoyed the many options they had to choose from. Once we feasted on our pizza, we headed to the campsite, and got ourselves ready for bed. Today was an awesome day. Let's see what's in store tomorrow.