9
Location: Anegada
Our usual 7 am wake-up slightly less excruciating today, as we woke up to the heart-warming smell of warm French toast, a delicious breakfast that set a great tone for the amazing day to come. Following our daily cleanup routine, we headed to shore and split into three groups for our main activity that day: a beach clean up competition. We received a list of various items that we proceeded to hunt for on our long beach walk. This list ranged from easy, common things, such as plastic bottles, tin cans, and fishing ropes, to rarer, more difficult items to scavenge for such as electronics and appliances. This activity was not only an opportunity to enrich our learning of the seven kinds of plastics and the harm trash on the beach can cause to the environment, but we also were able to learn about the island, its geological history, and its wildlife, examining coral, nurse sharks, parrot fish, turtles, and crabs. After sweating more than we thought was possible and finishing our astonishingly beautiful hike, we headed back to the boat for a short sail to Marina Key, which many people took as an opportunity to “bronze” (a.k.a. burn) on the bow or take a well-deserved nap. Upon our arrival, our chefs of the day cooked delicious broccoli cheddar pasta which we devoured like wolves, per usual. We ended the night in a special way tonight, meeting all of Lifeworks and Action Quest for a mystery forum. Going into it, all we heard was that it was going to be sad, but it ended up being an inspiration speech recording by Jim Tumin that all of the kids listen to each session. The tape illustrated how others could not truly appreciate and love you until you learn to love yourself, be confident and show every part of yourself. People claim that they stop talking to people because they have changed, but Jim Tumin shares that it is not because they have changed, but instead they have exposed a part of themselves that has always been there but was just previously kept hidden. The speech was very insightful and touched some more than others, but I think everyone can agree that it was a great way to end a fantastic day.