An Experience at the National Jamboree

One of my more memorable activities this summer was going to the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia to attend the 2013 National Scout Jamboree. Before that, however, we decided to tour the east coast for about a week. On July 6th, 2013, we arrived at the SFO Airport at 6:00 P.M. After waiting for our flight to be reassigned due to the Asiana plane crash, we took off. Most of us, if not all, instantly fell asleep, while others stayed up a bit later.

After arriving in Boston, we got on a tour bus and started touring the east coast, starting with lunch. After eating lunch at Quincy Market and touring Faneuil Hall Marketplace, we toured Boston, visiting sites like the Bunker Hill Monument, USS Constitution, the Old North Church, Fenway Park, Plimoth Plantation, the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Memorial, Jenney Grist Mill, Concord, and North Bridge. While traveling in between these destinations over the two days we stayed there, we either walked along the Freedom Trail or took the bus. Along with these locations, we heard ghost stories, speeches, and saw how to load and shoot a musket.

After the two days were over, we went to New York on a four hour bus ride. Personally, I enjoyed Fenway Park the most because of its history. Some facts are that left field, AKA The Green Monster, was made to prevent people getting a free view of the games, the red chair in center field represents the baseball that went 502 feet and hit a New Yorker in the head. From that day on, the guy proclaimed his family a dedicated Boston Red Sox fan. Also, the foul poles are named after two different players, the first game played was eleven innings with 27,000 fans, and that numbers one, four, six, eight, nine, fourteen, twenty seven, and forty two are all retired for the Boston Red Sox.

The USS Constitution, a ship from the Revolutionary War.

Fenway Park - Home of the Boston Red Sox.

When we were driving to New York, our guide started explaining the history and how New York was organized. As we got off the bus the first time, we were alerted about pickpockets. We took note of them, and went over to see Wall Street, Trinity Church, Federal Hall, the 9/11 memorial, and the Statue of Liberty. After dinner, we went to Times Square and stopped by a tourist store.

Picking up a few postcards, our group went over to our final destination, a Broadway show featuring Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark. It is the most expensive show there is, people have died while performing due to falls, and it has the longest preview period. The show also holds the box office record for Broadway sales of $2.9 million in a week within nine performances.

A New York memorial for a dog team.

A WWII ship. Has many planes in and on it. It is the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

The next morning, we woke up, packed, ate, and left for Pennsylvania. We saw sculptures all over the city, along with the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the National Constitution Center. At the National Constitution Center, we put accessories on a statue and took pictures of it! After that, we went to Hershey Park, an amusement park and a Hershey factory.

As soon as we were allowed to go off, we immediately went off to the roller coasters. I decided to stay on the fast roller coasters, like Fahrenheit, Sky Rush, and Storm Horse. At about 8:30 P.M., some of the kids met up and went to the giant Hershey store to buy candy and figure out how Hershey's chocolate was made. When we were all done, we left for the hotel.

Imitating a founding father.

"Dressing up" one of the founding fathers. 
We were going to use a phone instead of a wallet, but it didn't fit.

Our last stop was in Washington D.C. We went outside the White House, into the Smithsonian of Natural History. One big thing to see in D.C. was the National Archives, which had the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the US. Another was the guard change at Arlington National Cemetery. Guard shifts are either 30 mins, 1 hr, or 2 hrs depending on when your shift was. The guard must wait 21 seconds on each side, be perfect in uniform, and stay silent while on shift. Each guard only gets 3 mistakes before they get kicked out of the Honorary Guard.

Some memorials we saw were the World War II, Vietnam, Lincoln, Korean, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Iwo Jima, and the National Boy Scout Memorial. Other non-memorial sites were Ford's Theater, the National Museum of Natural History, and standing right outside the White House. After three days, we left for the Jamboree.

"Holding" the Washington Monument

Finally, the big event: the National Jamboree. We first jumped off the bus after a six hour bus ride and carried a bag to our campsite, lining them up. Next, we started assembling camp, including the kitchen area, dining area, and tents. After assigning tents and unpacking, we all went off our own separate ways, returned for dinner, and slept.

The next morning, we had breakfast and went off to the opening arena show, where all 40,000 scouts were. When the show was over, we all went off and did our own separate activities. At first, my group wanted to go on the zip line, but no one was there, and we went to "The Barrels," or the shooting sports section. Arriving at noon, we stopped and rested before taking the orientations necessary that day. That day, I shot a shotgun, bolt action rifle, and a bolt action sniper rifle. The next few days, I traded patches, explored the Summit Center (the main area at the Jamboree), went to activities like zip lining and white water rafting, and bought items at the trading post.

Halfway through the week, it started raining, and lightning started coming within 8-12 miles, depending on the day. The storms always cleared up by night, and the green grass eventually turned into mud with the amount of rain going on. When the storms got really close, all activities were closed and the main path back to Base Camp Alpha and Bravo were closed. On two occasions, the storm got so bad that we had to run back inside our tents! During one of those occasions, a rain fly almost came off, and the people inside the tent decided to go out and fix it. Another time, the power went out during the white water rafting orientation, and lightning struck right outside the tent!

Near the end of our stay, we dug a trench and scattered hay all over to decrease the amount of water. On the morning of departure, it was sprinkling, and we had to take down the tents and dining area. After completing that and arriving under a tent at HQ, our bus finally arrived. We got on and drove over to Base Camp Foxtrot, where the Venture Crew was stationed. Picking them up, we finally left.

The first arena/welcoming show.

The first night.

The rain got in my bag and soaked my cards...

When we were out of the Summit Bechtel Reserve, we made our way back to D.C. and had lunch. Afterwards, we went to the Air and Space Smithsonian, touring the planes and shuttles there. Sadly, we had to go home right after that. We were so late that we managed to reach our gate with one minute to spare! About 80% of the plane were Boy Scouts, and the people sitting next to me said, "Oh, so that's why the plane was so empty," when we arrived at the gate.

The Blackbird. Fastest Speed: Mach 3+

Evasion tactics? Speed up and fly away when someone shoots at it.

Although those two and a half weeks are over, I still remember doing each activity as if it was yesterday. Even though I might have slept through a bunch of the speeches, movies, and presentations given, I still really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the World Scout Jamboree if I do go.

Brandon