By Orly, Olivia, and Ezra
Yay! Tiniest crab contest first place winner goes to Miles, second place to Ezra, and third to Faith! Everyone congregated at the beach for some tide pool explorations first thing in the morning, and we all discovered some fascinating creatures, including an eel, sea slugs, and gigantic crabs.
In compensation for our hosts’ hospitality, we continued the day with various service projects around the island. By splitting off into small groups, our team of 18 students and 6 adults we completed 4 various tasks around the island: Pulling thistles, morning glories, and ivy as well as collecting trash as we went. Our hosts, Elaina and Thyatira, welcomed us warmly with their kind personalities, despite the fact they do not usually allow visitors to stay the night on their island.
After our morning of service and fun, we treated ourselves to a quick lunch break before heading out into the water for a team on team race: Bears vs. Townshend. We rowed our hardest from Vendovi all the way to Vidi rocks, calling Power 10s, then Power 15s, then Power 20s. Bear ended up in the lead as we crossed the finish line, but Townshend too tried their hardest. After a pleasant row and many wildlife sightings around Vidi island, both boats headed back to Vendovi for some structured “free time”.
Our options for activities before dinner were: a nature hike with Sockeye and Shay, water coloring with Amanda, Science on the dock with Anna, and the option to chill in the tents. On the nature hike, Shay identified the plants as we went that made the experience both educational and fascinating. Fun fact: the state plant for Washington is the Oregon grape. Isn’t that ironic? Water coloring was very peaceful and included several interpretive painted blobs on postcards, but some people had sweet skills. Science on the dock was not well attended but included the victory of figuring out the faulty Niksen bottles!
The day ended with a lovely fire and faces covered in sticky s’mores, a fond reminder of the ones we had back at Spring Street! Thankfully we all stayed cozy and dry that night, leaving us well rested but sore from our violent battle to the Vidi rocks.