We arrived at Split Rock Resort at around 4. The kids kind of know their own experiences, so I'll focus primarily on the chaperon lfestyle. The lead chaperon and I went in to do the check-in which turned into a real chore because, in spite of our consistently directing them to reserve the same block of rooms that we've rented the previous dozen times the class has come here, they failed to do anything of the sort. For the kids it meant sitting on the bus for a while. From the chaperon point of view, this led to about 45 minutes of back and forth as they offered one set of rooms and then the next. Finally we got to what seemed to be the best arrangement that we were going to get, so we started unloading.
Remembering that my first fundamental theorem of chaperoning is that I have no social skills, my second fundamental theorem is that while I hate being in charge, I seem to have this natural authority that regularly puts me in that position. Maybe because I have a deep, resonant voice, or maybe it's because people with big foreheads look smart, but I'm constantly finding myself running things. But I don't like it. I have a natural inclination to avoid responsibility. I know that's not my most attractive personality trait, but at least I know it's there and can work with it. And yet somehow, responsibility is thrust upon me. As everyone knows, responisibility can take the fun out of almost anything.
First we brought all the food to the room where we'll be having our meals. This is a kosher trip, and though there's no requirement that you eat on kosher food, most people do and it always has to be available. That means having a caterer who is not only certified to do that kind of thing, but can bring their own cooking stuff (because they're not going to kasher the whole kitchen, unlike these guys).
So half the bus was filled with enough kosher food and stuff to eat it on and with for 4 meals of 55 people. We filled 2 1/2 luggage carts with stuff and wheeled it around to the room. Let me say one thing about this place, they are not wasting any money on lighting. Pretty much every place in the hotel is underilluminated, especially the bedrooms, and unlike my wife's friend Judy, I do not carry higher watt bulbs with me when I go to hotels.
Then all the luggage came in, filling up most of the lobby in comprehensive fashion. Let's just say it would have been a bad time for a fire inspection. The kids had their roommates set up, and off they all went to their rooms.
I am sharing a 2 bedroom suite. For the first night, me, the other male chaperon, and the cook shared, with the other chaperon, who's a 20-something guy, sleeping on the pullout couch. The cook leaves tonight so he'll get a bedroom. My bedroom has twin beds, a nightstand with a lamp, a floor lamp, a hanger bar with those unstealable hangers (is hanger theft a big problem?), an armoire with a TV and 3 drawers, and an alarm clock the size of a salt shaker. That's it. No windows, doors to the bathroom and living area, where there's a kitchen with a refrigerator filled with catering food whose odors filled the room.
Everyone spent the next hour milling around and then it was time for our chaperon meeting, where we were assigned our specific duty times. As usually, I wrote everything down and then lost the sheet, assuming that someone would remind me. We had dinner, which was, well I'll say edible. Then announcements, notable only for the almost but not quite admirable inability of one table to stop talking no matter how many times or in what fashion they were asked or told.
After dinner I went for a walk. It was very nice out. I decided I'd go take a peek down by the outdoor activity place to see if they'd upgraded their rental bicycles from last time I was here, which would have meant having bicycles. If fact they did, a bunch of beach cruisers in a rack. The building was closed, and the bicycles had the appearance of being locked up, but the locking bar they'd threaded through the frames wasn't attached to anything, so I pulled it out and took off on a bike. As much fun as renting a bike would have been, it was twice as fun to just take it when I sort of wasn't supposed to. It's an almost gleeful feeling. Another chaperon and I rode around a bit, then he put his bike back and I rode down to the lake. It's very pretty down there. I hope the weather's nice enough tomorrow.
After it got dark, there was a short period where some kids bowled, others played basketball and I have no recollection whatsoever of what I did. So I'll break here and finish up the day in a separate post.
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