08/23/2026
The Real MVPs of Sea Base 🌴⚓
Let’s give it up for the four absolutely amazing leaders who sacrificed 10 days of their lives to take 12 scouts down to Sea Base in the Florida Keys! 👏👏👏
Being a Scout leader is more than a full-time job with zero pay, questionable sleep, and occasionally questionable smells. 😂 It’s about helping shape these kids’ lives—giving them the freedom to make decisions, sometimes make the wrong decisions, learn from them, and grow. It’s about creating opportunities, pushing them outside their comfort zones, and giving them adventures they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
And these leaders did it all without complaining. They carried on with sleepless nights, overworked days, endless planning, and general chaos like nothing was happening. 😂 That’s true Scout leadership right there!
We also need to give a HUGE shout-out to the spouses left behind. ❤️ While these leaders were off adventuring in the Keys, you were home keeping the household running, taking care of the other kids, managing schedules, and basically making sure civilization continued to function. We never heard your complaints, your struggles, or anything that would put us down or make us feel guilty for leaving. Your sacrifice made this trip possible, too! We love you!!!!
And then there was the trip itself…
The Florida humidity? Absolutely disrespectful. 🥵
Wading through sargassum? Not exactly on anyone’s bucket list.
The smell? Well… some of us may never fully recover. It is permanently embroidered into our nostrils. 🤢😂
Late nights with scouts? Check.
Early mornings? Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? A distant memory.
Naps? Apparently, Sea Base has a strict no-fun policy. 😂
Coffee- Two leaders and all there coffee stops oh my!!!
And apparently, in true Sea Base fashion, we only lost one scout. 😂
The best part?
None of us actually knew he was missing. 🤦♀️
To be fair, he’s 20 years old, so apparently at some point you stop counting heads and start assuming they have developed basic survival skills. 😂
Many, MANY hours of planning, preparation, coordinating, packing, unpacking, repacking, paperwork, and probably a few moments of questioning life choices went into making this trip happen.
And through all of it, these leaders just kept going. No complaining. No dramatic “I’m done” moments. Just tired adults doing what they do best—making sure the scouts were safe, having fun, and getting every opportunity possible.
But then you watch these scouts.
You watch them overcome fears they didn’t think they could overcome. You watch them work together, encourage each other, solve problems, step up as leaders, and discover that they are capable of far more than they thought.
And suddenly, the humidity doesn’t matter. The sargassum doesn’t matter. The smell definitely still matters—but you learn to live with it. 😂
Because that’s the payoff.
To the four leaders who gave up 10 days, the spouses who held down the fort, and everyone who put countless hours into making this adventure happen—THANK YOU.
You didn’t just take 12 scouts to the Florida Keys.
You gave them an adventure, a challenge, memories, and experiences that will help shape the people they become.
And honestly… that’s worth every sleepless, sweaty, smelly minute.
Sea Base 2026: 12 scouts, 4 leaders, approximately 0 naps, one temporarily misplaced 20-year-old, countless hours of work, and memories that will last a lifetime. 🌴⚓💙😂
