Pictures on this page and linked pages are selected from many taken with our own cameras during our trip out to Shelby, Michigan and back, and in and around Shelby (Oceana County) during activities that we participated in together as a youth group (as opposed to with our work crews).

	We left from St. James' on Saturday afternoon, June 21st, and drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where we stayed overnight in St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal Church (2309 Packard Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48104; web: http://www.st-clares.org).
	In Ann Arbor, we went to a Qdoba Mexican Grill for supper, and then back to St. Clare's, where we assembled our cross in the parking lot to take to workcamp.
	On Sunday morning, we left St. Clare's by 7:30 am and drove about an hour north to Lansing, where we stopped to see the state capitol building. Then we went to a Bob Evans for breakfast, and drove on to Shelby, arriving around 12:30 pm.
	We were one of the first groups to check in at the camp, which was based at the Shelby High School. The school was part of a combined campus that included the middle school and elementary school, and there was a town park adjacent to the middle school part of the campus. Here are scenes around the camp during the week. (Includes video of GET DOWN -- the full sequence.)
	For our Wednesday afternoon off, we took a guided tour of a working local dairy farm and milk processing facility at Country Dairy where they produce milk, butter, cheese and ice cream. We learned about dairy farming in general, the dairy industry, and the history of the farm (which was founded by a Dutch immigrant and is now being run by the fourth generation of his family). Our wagon tour took us to see the cows, how they are milked, how the milk is bottled, and the processing facility where it is turned into cheese, butter and ice cream. We ended the visit with treats for our taste buds: we ate ice cream in their shop.
	Then we went to see the gigantic Silver Lake Sand Dunes situated between the shore of Lake Michigan and Silver Lake. We climbed up the dunes to the top, where the view was fantastic, and some of us rolled down them into Silver Lake and swam a bit. People said you could slide down the dunes on cardboard, and we tried it, but that didn't work too well. Pics from the dunes are here.
	On Saturday after the camp was over, we went to Cedar Point Amusement Park (Sandusky, Ohio) for an afternoon/evening of fun. We stayed overnight at Grace Episcopal Church in Sandusky (15 Wayne St., Sandusky, Ohio 44870; web: http://www.gracesandusky.org). Some pics from Sandusky and Cedar Point are here. We left there on Sunday morning and got back to St. James' in the afternoon.

Things we remember from our trip:

the swings at Cedar Point -- midnight run to the woods -- creamers in the cafeteria (main food source?) -- time with our crews -- hurrying to eat in the restaurant by the dunes -- loud snorer(s?) in our room -- "pork comes from cows" -- a calf chewing on my pants -- GET DOWN -- people we met (inviting and generous) -- connecting with God -- our residents -- becoming closer to our youth group -- the sand dunes -- Thursday night program -- eaten alive by mosquitos -- the long drive -- excitement on the residents' faces when they saw the finished work -- trying to slide down the dune on cardboard and wiping out -- playing with a dead bird in the parking lot at the rest stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike -- Noah in a pink shirt -- drooling all over myself on Dragster at Cedar Point -- Mr. Josey jammin' in the evening programs -- sign seen in Shelby: "There are only two things we can offer our children: roots and wings" -- "wanna buy a duck?" game -- Millennium Force at Cedar Point -- foot washing in an evening program -- showers -- ultimate frisbee, playing in the championship game -- so many animals on the work site -- building a cool cross together as a youth group to take to camp -- playing with the heifers -- seeing the Harbor Springs group again -- building a great deck -- the roller coasters at Cedar Point -- our resident's children -- sand dunes -- baby cows -- songs -- the classroom we slept in -- whipped -- lack of Frisbee skills? -- swimming at the dunes -- Dragster at Cedar Point -- beating the boys in football -- Manski -- ultimate frisbee/team showers -- "It's a Cinnapretzel!" -- our room, cheese steaks & other food products -- Noah's driving skills . . . oh wait, never mind -- chicken noises in the night -- "Really? Really?" -- frisbee -- Country Farm Dairy -- clothes/trash pile in the guys' room -- The Quest (sand dunes) -- good love -- chilling with the bros -- ____ski -- microwave -- triple crew -- meeting my crew -- the lesson on forgiveness -- hearing real-life experiences of God in our lives -- leading the group devotions

Page updated: July 14, 2008