Welcome to campout memories, a series run by Historian Joe in which I reminisce on the fondest campout memories of my experience in Troop 123.

My personal favorite campout Troop 123 has ever put on was in 2013, when the Troop was taken to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What made this trip unique, among other things, was that we stayed in a different cabin for each of the two nights we were there. The four and a half hour drive was filled with story telling, and equipped with car TV screens for us to watch movies on the go. A little over the Tappan-Zee Bridge, and we arrived at our destination. The following morning we stopped at a restaurant to enjoy the local cheese steaks, and then visited a historical museum filled with audio-guided exhibits documenting stories of battles, settlements, and Supreme Court cases. That night we settled in our new cabin, which stood in front of a long field next to a dried-up river which, at night, made for a busy and intense game of manhunt. The next day we start on the long journey home, watching movies the whole ride back.

In the end, what made this experience stand out to me was that it was the first true time I got to interact with the new first-year members of Troop 123 on a personal level, something I didn’t quite get to do at Monadnock. The new friends I made in this Troop and the experiences they brought forth on this trip made for one of the few fond memories of my eight-grade year. Returning to Philadelphia would be my dream campout finale for my career in scouting, and I hope I can make a return with the Troop. Until then, this is Historian Joe signing out!