Lithuanian Scouts - Journal 8/18

This morning we had to accomplish three things, we had to build a gate for our campsite, we had to tighten up some of the lashings of the swing-set, and we had to help the littlest kids cook their own food for lunch. Again, we split up into teams. Vytas and Dainius would tighten up the lashings, while Tomas, Rytas, Saulius, and Aric would build the gates. Tauras and I went to go help the little kids. They were going to spend the day on the lake, so we built a campfire so they could roast hotdogs. We also had a little portable grill where we made macaroni and cheese for them. We were done by around 10:30 or so Tauras and I decide to go get all the food so it was ready for them when they were done being on the lake. We had to call Ginty and ask where it was. He said he'd be there soon and not to move. When he got there he put necklaces of garlic around our necks and we were forbidden to talk for the rest of the day. We knew this was coming. Everyone hoping to become a Vytis must accomplish a ridiculous task all while not being able to talk. Ours was to build two rafts that would support a campfire for 2 hours. We split up into teams again, Vytas, Dainius, and I went to build one raft, while everyone else built the other. I found a really cool stump that we decided to use as a base and build supports around. It worked great. The only hard part was trying to find another like it. I walked around about a mile away and found another one although it had a hole in it. We lashed it to its supports and started building the campfires on top of them. Tauras had the good idea of spreading mud on the bottom of the stumps. It took a while to shave some sticks down for kindling, but after a while we built both campfires. We started at 10:45 and it took all the way until 5:20. We lit them at the flag lowering ceremony at 6:00 and to our surprise they lit and stayed lit. We got to take the garlic necklaces off at about 9:00 that night. I went to sleep smelling heavily of garlic, but happy in the work we did. Also: the garlic does wonders to keep mosquitos away.