HKSA Spring Retreat

Leah C.

May 24, 2010 - 10:00 AM

Driving back last night from the Oregon coast was both a sigh of relief and a longing to turn around and go back to the sandy shores. HKSA's spring retreat had been planned since last year, and we finally were able to make it happen. The weather forecast predicted wrong, and we had a few warm sunny moments in Yachats, Oregon. A two hour drive from Eugene, the beaches there were not as windy, nor as cold as I thought it would be. This made my entire weekend since prior to the retreat I feared that the weather would prevent us from our outdoor activities.

There was a lot of work that had to be done, and it would not have been possible without everyones support. Thirty-six members attended this event. With the six being HKSA committee members. We stayed at a spacious house, with a gorgeous view of the Ocean. Everyone was able to sleep comfortably, with maybe 10 people on couches and sleeping bags. Our scheduled had been planned day by day, with assigned cooking and cleaning duties. As nervous as I was about running the whole trip, everything went smoothly and according to plan. Food was plentiful and good, despite a couple of black pancakes.

We left at 3:30, Friday, and spent the first day settling and playing ice breaker games. Our goal for this trip was to get the members to bond and name games are a must! On the fireplace mantle the committee also made personalized paper bags for each beach retreat guest with their name and photo on it. These are "warm fuzzies," and throughout the weekend we asked everyone to write at least one comment to each person in the house. At the end everyone was allowed to take their bags and read all the notes in it. We thought this would be a little something special to end the retreat, and it became a big success. I was so happy when people would stop occasionally to write a few note for someone they just met.

Another big activity we had was a group relay race. Saturday's beautiful weather made me so happy! After breakfast we packed everyone in the vans and headed for the beach. It was so gorgeous and the area was very clean. The sun was shining and everyone spent an hour roaming and enjoying the scenery as the committee team helped set up the relay course. There were 6 teams of 6, and we decided only 3 teams would go at once. This left the other half to help supervise the race.

The first station had a long wooden rod in the sand and the first person would spin their head around it three times and meet up with the next person at station 2. At station 2 there were two cups, and the two people there would have to run to the ocean and bring the water back to fill the entire bucket. When that was done, the person who was at station 2 would then meet up with the person at station 3 where each person had to finish 10 saltine crackers. After that the person who was at station 3 would run to station 4 where they would help build and fly a kite and run it to the next station. The final station is chugging half a litter bottle of water. Only the person who was waiting at station 5 had to drink it. After finishing that bottle the person who was at station 5 would meet the person at station at 6 where they have to dig under a flag for strips of colored cloth representing their team. The final part of the race is a leg race. The two people at station 5 would tie a strip of cloth around their legs and then meet up with the last person at each station until the entire team was tied together. The finishing line was at station one and by that time there was already a feet of water covering the area which made the relay course even more competitive.

Strength as many learned from this race, was not what led to the winning team. Team work and communication is what's most important. Failed communication was also one thing that brought my team to place 5th place. I apparently I cannot build a kite and when I was told to tie the string to the kite, I tied it wrong. Our group also fell over in the legged race because we couldn't get ourselves coordinated. It was all in good fun though and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed the race from all the smiles and laughter that came out of it. So who were the winners and what did they get? Team yellow won first place, and they all got small water guns with the privilege of squirting us for all for the entire weekend. It didn't become such a great idea when they started playing in the house, and I had to take up my maternal roles and told them to play outside.

I tried to get everyone to spend as much time together outdoors. The beach was a 10 minute drive from the house so whenever we did anything together it was mostly outside. On our last day there, we saw a deceased whale that had washed up on shore overnight. It is interesting to see how this one death would gather so many people to one spot. I also got to see a dried up sturgeon and a molting seal. The seal was alive but looked uncomfortable. There was a sign that was picketed right in front of it stating that people should stand 50 ft away from the animal. I guess this is a natural process, so I didn't worry too much about it. The whale was a sad incident, but I soon forgot all about it when we attempted to build a fire! The night before, we drove a bunch of people at night to look at the stores. We attempted to make a fire but unfortunately failed. This time though we succeeded with the firewood we had bought in the morning. Everyone got the opportunity to make smores before they left.

One of the vans took those who needed to get back by 5, and the van I was driving were the ones who didn't mind staying. We stayed till 7:30 to tidy up the house and ate dinner before we left. By the time I got home, it was almost 10. I was so exhausted from cleaning and driving that I fell into a deep sleep and forgot to finish my blogs regarding this weekend. Opps!!! Supposedly due yesterday, I had decided that I would take a quick nap, and wake up at 4 to write and submit my entires before the deadline, which was at 8am:( I woke up instead running to my 9am digital animations class. This is why next year, I will not be continuing my title as the president of HKSA. There is just so much work in running a club, and its about time that I start focusing on my career and studies for my senior year.