06/08/2026
June brought around one of our scouts' favorite trips -- Beach Jam! This trip also brings forward a guest contributor to the blog -- Mr. Tony Hopp. Here is the scoop on how the weekend went from his point of view!
Everyone is on the road and it felt a bit like a sporting event on Friday as the Pedro’s reported on their position and ETA of their arrival at the parking lot in Wildwood, New Jersey for a weekend full of fun and excitement! We arrived first to an empty parking lot. We quickly off load and embark on securing a spot on the beach for the troop to call home for the next two days. Then one by one there are reports of arrival at the parking lot and some chatter about the parking attendants there. I must have missed them. By sunset, most of the scouts have arrived and set up camp for the weekend, but didn’t know about the test that was planned for them. Setting up a tent in soft sand can be challenging but add in 15-18 mph sustained winds with gusts to 20 is a game changer. These conditions proved to other scouts in attendance to be a tent destroyer!
After the scouts choice of ice cream and soda for dinner, they arranged themselves into groups to head over to the pier for a couple of rides before turning in for the night. Everyone settled into their tents around 11 pm to the soothing sound of two flags violently whipping and snapping over their heads as the wind and blowing sand continued through the night. Blowing sand! This is something that can’t be left out and will be mentioned again.
When Saturday morning arrived, the scouts began trickling out of their tents to greet a new day with anticipation of what Morey's Pier had in store for them. There was plenty of free time in the morning while we waited for the rest of the troop to arrive. Some scouts participated in tossing a football around, some just sat and relaxed while one scout decided to dig a hole deep enough to produce water! As the morning went on, the last of the scouts and Pedros arrived being denied any sight of a lot attendant. After breakfast, the troop headed back to camp to get ready for the boardwalk or water park. The importance of sunscreen was mentioned but I can't confirm or deny at that point if the warning was considered. I figured by dinner, it would be confirmed. I saw lots of smiling faces on the scouts who chose the water park throughout the afternoon. I did witness some of the scouts displaying stage one hypothermia (uncontrolled shivering, blue lips) while deciding what slide to venture to next. They did it with a smile though. It may have gotten to 70 degrees with the 15 mph breeze at best, it was chilly
Scouts reported back to camp to close out that portion of the day to switch gears and get ready for dinner and the rides. Back at camp there was a little commotion from some Pedros pertaining to the blowing sand. I quickly realized what the commotion was about when I unzipped my tent for fresh clothes. Sand! Sand everywhere and covering everything in my tent. It was a fine powder that infiltrated the fine mesh screening intended to keep bugs out. This was a first for me and I'm sure everyone else but what could we do at this point but embrace it! Its part of the fun of camping on the beach.
After a little house cleaning, the scouts were ready to make their way to the rides. We made our way towards the commotion of the pier. You could see the flashing lights at a distance followed by the sound of the pipe organ of the Merry Go Round or the screams and modern music blasting from the Himalaya as we got closer. Wide eyed, the scouts headed for the main attraction - the rides. Some Pedros took advantage of this opportunity as well but were a little more selective. The Merry Go Round was smooth and steady and the required safety belt made Mr Keith feel confident and secure. I saw scouts enjoying another round of ice cream and saw some groups sharing tubs of Old Bay French fries. As the night continued, that question I had earlier in the day - the one about sunscreen - started producing answers! I saw lots of red calves and faces. There were some that I complimented on their attempt at using sunscreen and their moms should be proud of that! These moms could clearly see the degree their son choose to heed their warning! As the activities continued, I started to notice some scouts carrying various plush things that were won from the various games that they paid dearly for but entertained them in return. As it got late and the night was coming to a close, it was entertaining and pleasing listening to the stories they shared about the memories they made as we slowly walked back to camp for the night.
With the rise of Sunday and as I emerged from my tent, I noticed how quiet it was. Our flags were hanging now instead of the violent flapping and snapping I had grown accustomed to. Upon a quick scan of the area, there was evidence of some tent casualties but not in our troop! Some other groups packed up and left Saturday night because their tents got destroyed. Troop 265 scouts did a great job securing their tents to survive the relentless wind that victimized many other campers. They passed the test! In a leisurely fashion, camp was slowly coming down and "that hole" mentioned earlier which grew to twice its size throughout the day was filled in. After breakfast, the pace of packing up camp increased and became more deliberate as the reality of Beach Jam was over. From the information gathered from "Roses and Thorns", Beach Jam was again a huge hit and success despite the ample amounts of blowing sand. Back at the parking lot, goodbyes were exchanged between scouts and Pedros and I foolishly found myself scanning for the lot attendants that I saw pictures of on Friday.
To my disappointment, I didn't see them.
What did you do last weekend?
