Warren - Raccoon Mountain

Eight kids and 5 Atlanta Inner City Outings volunteers braved Raccoon Mountain in Tennessee.  We had a new volunteer who was checking us out and Coach Greg from Warren as well.  The entracne to the cave was awesome, just like in the pictures and then it got cramped.  We literally crawled on out stomeach through some of the tightest spots.  The kids were scard at first (I think of seeing vampire bats) but quickly got over it.  The adults had as much fun as the kids.  It definitely expanded our comfort zones.  Raccoon Mountain Caverns is a great place to go and they have a great campground on the property if a group wants to do a overnight.  We did the Fossil tour which was 2 hrs.  The time flew by but it was just long enough.

Warren - Georgia Adopt-a-Stream Trip

On March 10, eight youth from Warren-Holyfield Boys and Girls Club (with four Atlanta Inner City Outings leaders and volunteers) joined the Atlanta Sierra Club team that monitors the status of the South Fork of Peachtree Creek (near Medlock Park in Decatur) as part of Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. As summarized in an e-mail from the survey team leader: “Really wanted to tell you what a FANTASTIC time we had this past Saturday. The kids were great, and it was a delight to hear them oohhhing and aahhing at the critters we found…” The outing began with an explanation of how water quality affects aquatic biodiversity, then the youth were able to see how the temperature, chemistry, and biota of the water are measured. The most fun part was sifting through buckets of leaves and sediment from the creek to find and identify clams and mussels, blackfly larvae, aquatic worms, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, and caddisflies. They also saw several Mallard ducks and small fish. The Sierra Club survey team gave excellent explanations of how stream monitoring works, and were very patient with their questions. After the survey, there was time for hiking along the stream, skipping rocks, and rummaging through the strange things in the sand before a picnic lunch. In the afternoon, the group hiked to the old Decatur Water Works, and enjoyed climbing on the ruins and playing in the creek. After a closing snack at Medlock Park, the group headed back to the Boys & Girls Club.

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Warren - East Pallisades Trail dayhike

The trip began with a snack, preparation of the daypacks for the day (making lunches, filling water bottle), and a discussion of the trip--including where we were going, what we expect to see and do, and the principles of "leave no trace" outings. There was an activity sheet what had questions about the upcoming outing and events during the day. The group rode to the East Paisades trail in the Warren bus and took a route that let the kids see the homes in the neighborhood. At the park, they hiked to the river overlook, then down to the river, out on the Devil's Race Course shoals (where they had lunch), and followed the rest of the trail to see the mini-bamboo forest and the rocks that overlook the rapids at the bend of the river. Then they hiked back to the bus and en route to the B&G club, there was a stop for frozen yogurt, a drive by the Governor's mansion, and the end of the trip back at the club.

Warren - Florida Snorkeling Trip

On December 2, 2011 at 8:30 am the Warren Boys & Girls Club Atlanta ICO group headed out on another adventure.  This adventure would be different from the others in that it promised to greatly expand the horizons of 11 fifth and sixth graders.  Swimming in the same water with strange big creatures and viewing up close wild animals they’d only seen in movies would provide all kinds of cool memories.

The group arrived at Camp Chassahowitzka Campground at about 3:30 that afternoon.  The kids quickly got about setting up their tents and running around checking out the place.  It’s a good thing kids like tents because they all hung out in them while the adults prepared dinner and got other gear unpacked.  Trying to get the kids to go to sleep later that night proved to be a challenge.  Lots of chattering, excited kids still up at midnight.  We had tacos for dinner and smores for desert while hanging around the campfire.  Some adults got to learn how to make a good campfire that night.

GET UP ! ! ! !  It’s 6:00am the next morning.  We had a 7:00am wet-suit fitting time with the snorkel outfitter – Crystal River Watersports.  The kids surprisingly managed to get up, get ready, and be on the van in 30 minutes.  Once we got there and started getting gear, the excitement began.  The kids were really excited about getting wet-suits, fins and snorkel gear.  Several of them didn’t take the snorkels out of their mouths once they got them.  Gross, but OK, you’re only a kid once.  After watching the safety video, we all got loaded onto the boat.  It was a 30 minute ride to Kings Bay and the scenery on the way was awesome.  Most of the kids had never been on a boat before.  The boat captains – Capt’ Shay, and Capt’ Wayne were great.  They rambled off all kinds of fun facts about the manatee and about the neighborhoods we were passing through.  We actually passed one of John Travoltas’ homes and I felt really old when several of the kids asked, “Who is John Travolta?”  We docked on shallow ground so that the kids could get used to snorkeling first.  All eleven kids made their way into the water.  A manatee was spotted about 10 yards away and after much freaking out, 3 kids made their way back onto the boat.  The fear didn’t last long though – those kids did get back into the water to try that snorkeling thing again.  Most of the group managed to make it into deeper water to see 5 -6 manatee up close and personal.  A calf and its mom swimming together and other manatee got to experience some really excited Atlanta kids.  The kids who didn’t make it into deeper water did get to experience wearing a wet suit for the first time and sticking their faces in the water and snorkeling a little. Several of the kids clung to the volunteers as they viewed the gentle giants in the water.  It was great that they found a way to manage their fears enough to conquer the challenge.  After everyone returned to the boat, the captains drove around and pointed out other manatee and wildlife while serving up some great hot cocoa.    The kids had a blast taking pictures (disposable waterproof cameras for everyone) and asked all kinds of questions.

Next stop - Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.  We arrived at the park at 12:30 and spent some quiet time drawing pictures of the snorkeling adventure and eating lunch.  The tour started with a narrated boat ride to the main part of the park.  We saw blue cranes, nests, turtles, and ducks.  We learned about the history of the park, heard stories about Lucifer the hippo, the food grabbing tree monkeys, and the dreaded alligators.  The park was amazing.  It’s also amazing how quickly the next new exciting thing will grab a child’s attention before they’ve had time to really digest what’s in front of them.  The kids ran from exhibit to exhibit looking at the “new” animals.  We saw Lucifer eating lunch and the dreaded huge gators getting sun tans.  We also saw buzzards, pink flamingos, waterfowls, eagles, owls, coyotes, foxes, a black bear, snakes, bobcats, panthers, deer, and all kinds of other animals.  Then we stopped for the manatee feeding and educational program.  The exhibit interpreter asked the crowd some questions about manatee and almost all of the ICO kids raised their hands at every question.  The volunteers were so proud.  We ended the tour of the park in the underwater observatory where you can see fish and the wild manatee that come into the park for the warm waters.

These kids still had tons of energy so we let them play some football in an open field while we waited for the Crystal River Christmas Parade to begin.  Hunger pains set in so we headed back to camp for some delicious tortilla soup and hot dogs.  A great ending to a fantastic day.  The kids were all quiet and falling asleep by 11:00 that night reluctantly ready for the ride home on Sunday.

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Warren - Waffles, Wonders and Water!

The Holyfield Girls, so called because they represent the Warren-Holyfield Boys and Girls Club and the enthusiastic – though not pugilistic - spirit of their namesake, ended a year of hiking, camping, ice-skating, outdoor art, and community service with a special day on May 14.  Tagged “W Day” for “wishing you well”, in fact we planned multiple W activities and were delighted when the “wonders” multiplied.

We always start our Saturdays with a healthy breakfast at the Club but this time breakfast was hosted at a volunteer’s home, which provided the opportunity to cook delicious waffles.  Unexpectedly, while cooking and eating, the girls asked for and received permission to use the volunteer’s puppet collection and quickly created and performed a play which incorporated dangerous trolls, dragons, crocodiles, as well as traditional figures from Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, and Ivory Coast, and ended with the triumph of the brave and resourceful child. 

After this success we headed to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  We explored the Gardens via a scavenger hunt which required the girls to locate clues on the Gardens map and then find their way to the various wonders.   These included a fountain with glass water (think Chihouly), bamboo (never seen before by most), orchids from three different countries, etc.   Unexpectedly when the girls told a staff person they were next going to Lake Lanier, that person explained to them how it was a “man-made lake”, with remnants of towns still under the water.  We had seen a beaver dam on an earlier trip, but a dam powerful enough to create a large lake was a whole new wonder and further increased their anticipation.

At Lake Lanier our volunteer hosts took the girls on what turned out to be the first-ever boat trip for each of them.  They were amazingly brave, literally leaping onto the pontoon boat (with the required life jackets of course).  Swimming and tubing followed.  The main discovery with tubing was that it is more fun to fall off than to stay on. 

On the ride back to Atlanta, some of the girls wondered how far out of Atlanta they had been. Without a map at hand to provide a picture of the relative distances, we volunteers were nonetheless pleased with the suggestion of expanding horizons.   My favorite statement however was when one of the girls exclaimed, in response to an explanation about some natural phenomenon, “Wow, I’m learning 7^th grade science and I’m only in 6^th grade!”