The Ballad of AmeriJosh.

This blog is severely over its weight capacity.  Be careful.

I also apologize if this blog sounds rushed and not put together well.  It is indeed both of those things.

I have had so many exciting and interesting things happen the last few days that I don't even know where to begin and what to edit out.  I wish I could blurt out every little thing that I remember from my last week of life but I'd like this blog to stay a blog and not turn into 'Josh: The Memoir'. 

I guess a good place to start is at Camp Mendocino.  Before you ask I want you to know that I had a wonderful time.  The place is so amazingly secluded and natural that I believe anyone with an appreciation for nature would have loved to of tagged along.  I was surprised at just how secluded we were at the camp for the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco.  We drove along dirt roads filled with huge, scary logging trucks for such a long time.  They could've been taking us to some horrible and hidden work camp making cheap knock off clothes for all I knew.  Luckily we didn't have to make any ill looking Nike's but we did indeed make it to a camp. 

I don't know where to begin in talking about all we did there.  I guess the first place to start is with the primary reason we were there - service.  Silver 5 built a really neat rock wall for the organic garden where the kids learn about vegetables and what not.  It was a pretty cool project to begin. 

Mixing cement for the rock wall.

Andrea doing a great job with our pretty outer layer of wall.



Our team leader Jeff making cement with Tucker.



   Service aside we did a lot of other activities that were really exciting.  My favorite event being the high ropes course.  Being up above the tree tops walking on metal chords and balancing on wobbly logs was one of the most invigorating and awesome experiences of my lifetime.  Best of all I got to zipline down from the high ropes course across the river that runs through the camp.

I'd love to elaborate upon all my experiences but I have so many other things to cover so here's the highlights.

I climbed a rock wall - I ate really great camp food - I competed in the Ameriolympics - I sat by a bonfire - I made new friends - I went stargazing on a helipad - I was the main actor in a stage skit - I went hiking - I visited a secluded, giant redwood - and ummm....other awesome stuff!



All in all it was a great time and I hope to elaborate upon it more later.

Today was the National Make A Difference day so Silver 5 had the unique experience of working for a local elementary school this morning.  We continued our little garden service theme by clearing out a lot of brush and trash for a community garden for the kids there.  I transplanted rose bushes, filled holes, saved some slugs, and generally helped in making the school appear a good bit nicer.  I have a link to their website which features us which I hope to post soon.  Overall I feel like we made a lot of progress in helping the school in a way that no other organization could.  We did it the NCCC way.

Moving on I'd like to tell you that I received my official job within my team.  I believe I mentioned before that we all have jobs within our teams such as environmental liaisons, public ambassadors, and vehicle/tool maintenance individuals.  Well I am officially the Peer Counselor for my group meaning that I will be the emotional support structure for my team.  I am so excited about it.

Lastly I will end with my most exciting news.


I know my first spike location and where I'll be living until Christmas! 

Because I'm particularly cruel I'd like to keep my location a little secret....a game of 'Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?' if you will.  First guess at my game of Where is Josh Going will get even more of my undying love.

Here's your hints:

On December 12, 1999 my favorite band played here.

I am one of two American cities that shares ties with Khabarovsk, Russia.

One of the founders of Wikipedia shares my last name.  He's from this city.

Figure it out!