Daily Report from the Journalism Committee:
Midnight Sun
Michael Graves
June 21, 2008
This morning we had cereal again. The only way to get the good cereal is to have someone in your tent that always gets up early. We get up at 8:00 and all the good cereal is gone by 8:15. “The cereal was magically delicious,” said Jacob R. He had been one of the few lucky people who got some of the Lucky Charms.
One of my favorite things we did was go to a farmers market. They had so many great food and souvenir stores. One of the big hits were the falafels. Doug Murch said, “They are fifabulous!” Many others also enjoyed the falafels.
After the farmers market we went downtown to the Solstice Festival. We were allowed to explore the area freely. Personally, that is one of the things I like most about this trip. You are given a time that you need to be at the van then they let you go wherever you want to. They trust everyone enough to let them have that type of freedom. The roads were closed in downtown Fairbanks for the festival. The roads were packed tight. At the beginning of the festival it was hot and sunny but later clouds came across the city and the temperature dropped. At one point it was 89 degrees, then dropped to 67 degrees. David said that the festival was a lot of fun and it was a great place for him to get souvenirs for his family.
We had some work to do after the festival. The 10k (6.2mi) Midnight Sun Run was that night. Before the run started we did our warm-ups. The exercises were led by a jazzercise group here in Fairbanks. Everyone was allowed to join in the dances. “Those were so fun. I loved them.” Said Kayla. After the warm-ups we had a few minutes to stretch.
I couldn’t believe how many people were out there. The announcer said the final count was 3,654 people. At the start of the race everyone was jammed onto one small street. As the race continued the crowd was spread out more and there was space to run. The army had a group running in the race, they were pulling a huge artillery gun. I thought the race was hard and all I had to do was keep myself moving. The race was a lot of fun. You could walk or jog during the race. The average time for our group was about one hour and fifteen minutes. Most of us finished the race by 11:30.
Right after the race we went to the midnight sun baseball game. We got there and it was already in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Panners were ahead 5-4 when we got there. Most of us went down to the concession stand to get our dinner. We were cheering for the Panners. By the end of the game the score was 10-6. The Panners had won! We hopped in our vans and headed back to the Tanana Valley Campgrounds. After such a full day most of us were asleep before our heads hit the pillow. Overall it was a fun and exciting day.
Chalk- Full
Delaney Hurst
6-21-08
Our day started at 7am and ended at 2am the next morning. This morning, everyone arose to the delightful singing of the junior leaders to “Happy Birthday to You”. Today was Nick Ramon’s 15th birthday, and what a day it was! First off was the Farmer’s Market; some people would say we are a stroll away from heaven. With famous Falafels, fried balls of beans and fresh veggies wrapped in pita, refreshing smoothies, and warm pies that were more like cake, it was the perfect brunch. There were also lots of gifts, homemade jewelry, and baskets. All of the vegetables and fruit were freshly grown in Alaska. So if your child comes home with an “Alaska Grown” shirt, you know what it means, they are quite popular too.
Later in the afternoon, we headed down to the river for some group activities. The first game was tag only everybody was “it”. There was a catch, we had a pair of socks on our heads and if they fell off, you were out. That game didn’t last very long. The next game involved partners, you had to wear a blindfold and your partner would stand behind you and steer you in the right direction. When your partner said, “Fire!” you had to throw a ball of socks forward with the hand that was not dominant and try to hit the other team. That game was challenging and fun at the same time.
As you all know today was June 21st and it was also Solstice Day, the longest day of the year. We spent all evening in downtown Fairbanks at the Solstice Festival which was like a fair. There were live bands, shows, shops, games, food, and crafts.
After the festival it was time for the Midnight Sun Run! We all put on our Alaska shirts and running shoes. Before the race, there was a costume contest; our favorite was the Jolly Green Giant. He painted his entire body green and wore a crown of vines, a green toga, and green running shoes. We also had a warm-up/dance routine. That was a lot of fun and we were really pumped up for the 10k. The army was there too, it was fun to run next to them and sing the chants with them. Sarah Dillman came with us again this year, last year she came in second with a time of 39 minutes. This time, she was determined to win. This was her 4th time racing. But, unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way she wanted. She came out with 40 minutes and 7 sec, which is still amazing! We are all very proud of her. The thing she loves about this race is all of the people that compete. She also appreciates how the whole community gets involved. All the neighborhoods got their hoses out and brought watermelons at the end which helped out like you wouldn’t believe. Sarah is definitely running again next year. Erin Welke had a great race, too. Her time was 1 hour and 3 minutes. She thought the race was challenging and fun. She also enjoyed cooling off in the sprinklers. Erin was very proud of herself, when I asked her if she would do it again, without hesitation she said, “Oh yeah!” Nick Ramon, on the other hand, did not like the race at all. He prefers the Solstice Festival much more, but he still had a good birthday.
When we finally arrived at the baseball game, there were only 2 innings left. The Panners beat the opposing team with a blow out of 10 to 6. It was very exciting during the last inning because the other team was about to catch up with the Panners, and then we pitched two strike outs and caught a hit. By then it was 2 in the morning and we were all exhausted.
In spite of all the huffs and puffs and sweaty shirts, I think today was extremely enjoyable for everyone involved.
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