By: Ranee M., Southern Pot of Gold Reporter

What’s up, California Rainbow.  I’ve got an amazing story to tell you and you’re never going to guess what it’s about.  I call it…..“Southern Rainbow Camp 2022!”  So put on your hat and sunscreen and take in the fresh air, chattering wildlife, trees, birds, the pool, the SMORES and (if you ask Mr. Mark Read) the often elusive BIG SHOWER SPIDER!, then you’re ready for camp.

This year’s camp theme was “STORYBOOK CAMP”, and it was unforgettable.  From the food, to the games, to the pool, to the amazing new activities.  Of course, there were old favorites too.  It wouldn’t be camp without a picture in the big chair or a night of Bingo.  Everyone had something fun to do and friends to hang out with – if you were bored, you must not have been in the same place as we all were that weekend.

Almost everyone arrived Friday night in time for dinner before starting our annual movie night.  This year we got to watch “Rise of the Guardians!” What a coincidence and very appropriate for our Camp theme, as the movie is based on the book series The Guardians of Childhood and the short film The Man in the Moon by William Joyce. Such an amazing movie, if I do say so myself.  Then it was lights out because tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

The next morning, after staying up late to create our posters everyone was a little slow getting down to the main hall.  I heard, there may have even been a visitor of the small, four-legged, long-tailed and whiskery type that visited a cabin or two and kept everyone up to the wee hours.  After breakfast, we had our annual Pantaloon Parade and Poster Parade.  These girls are all so creative and talented.  The day was spent Zip Lining – did you see Mrs. Garcia our State Mother Advisor for 2023 on the zip line??  There was also tree climbing and Grandie Pool Jumping.  Each of the California Grand Officers in attendance and Lexie Grand Rep to California from Nevada jumped off the diving board. Who did you think had the best form at the pool?  You certainly can’t forget the Grandie Auction on Saturday night.  The bidding was heated at times. Wow, there appeared to be a lot of purple, with purple wigs and purple boas and purple, purple, purple.  This year, Southern Rainbow Camp raised $3162.75 for the Grand Service Project – Pawsitive Teams, Service and Therapy Dogs.  Wow, that is amazing!  Mrs. Regier arrived to join us on Saturday too and we waited this year to have skits on Saturday instead of the normal Friday night, so Mrs. Regier could watch all the fun!  And BINGO happened.  Sydney did a bingotastic job of calling numbers and Lexie from Nevada got to call a few numbers too.

A big thank you to Ms. Jenni Orozco and her team for putting together a super camp experience.  We couldn’t do it without you.  You kept the activities going and the fun happening.  Thanks to Mr. Mark Read for some fabulous pictures.  

Hope you’ll all be able to join us next year for a super spectacular spooky “HAPPY HALLOWEEN CAMP”.  Until next year – make sure to keep the sunburns to a minimum, leave the place better than you found it and ..….Happy Camping!

By: Addy T., Northern Pot of Gold Reporter

What did you do this summer? Well, I can tell you this summer I got to go camping, now what is camping? Camping is the outdoor activity where you live outside your house in the wild with a tent, some other essential camping equipment, and gear. Camping is actually a great hobby and people love to go camping because of entertaining activities like hunting, fishing, boating, hiking and roasting marshmallows with a campfire

The California Rainbow Girls got the chance this summer to attend Northern summer camp for the weekend. This gave the girls the opportunity to gather around the campfire, sing campfire songs with some of the Pioneering Wolfpack’s Grand Officers, play games, swim in the lake, and they even got to watch some of the Grand Officers jump in the lake. Then the girls were given the opportunity to dress up the Grand Officers. Cloud 7 got to dress up Carley L. The next day the girls had a devotional led by San Jose Assembly and they did an amazing job! At the end of the day, everyone’s feet were dirty, their hair was messy, and the girls got to leave with memories for a lifetime. The highlight of the weekend was Mr. Whitten in his Superman costume and raising $3,100 for the Grand Service Project! The international Order of Rainbow for Girls is a nonprofit organization for girls between the ages of 11 and 20. Our organization prepares the girls of today to be the leaders of tomorrow through leadership, sisterhood, and service. If you are interested in supporting California Rainbow check out www.gocarainbow.org !

By: Carley L., Grand Charity, Assistant Grand Editor and Rep. to WA/ID

I was initiated into Rainbow at Grand Assembly on March 28th, 2018. After only two terms I was elected into the line as Faith. I was extremely excited and couldn’t wait to start planning my installation for when I became Worthy Advisor. I quickly knew I wanted to make it beach themed, as my favorite place to visit is the beach. After my mom and dad purchased all the decorations, dress material, and carry-ins, Covid said hello there! And decided to stay for a while. After my installation was delayed for a term, my Advisory Board decided it was time to move forward and start planning for our Assembly’s first Zoom installation. At first, I was devastated. I had seen all of my Rainbow sisters have their dream Worthy Advisor installation and mine was going to be virtual. After coming to terms with this decision, I decided to look at all the positives of having a virtual installation. My family and friends who wouldn’t have been able to travel to Sacramento for an in-person installation were now able to attend. My pets, who provide me with great joy and humor, were able to sit right next to me during the installation. My family and I decorated our living room which was super cool, delivered care packages to the girls & adults of the Assembly, and had delicious food and cupcakes delivered to our house to enjoy after the installation. Even our neighbors had an outdoor viewing party, so they could all watch the installation together. Overall, the day felt really special. 

During the early days of quarantining during the pandemic, my family and I tried to remain positive and enjoy events on Zoom, but just like many others, sometimes we struggled. Instead of staring at our computer screens all the time, we started taking trips in our RV and quarantining at various beaches. I hate to say this, but in some ways, Covid was a blessing. My sister and I were able to learn virtually while having a view of the ocean and beach. I remember I was supposed to have a really hard English test Sophomore year that I didn’t have to take due to “not having school for two weeks” which turned into a whole year. I was also able to make so many memories with my family that I would not have been able to make if it wasn’t for Covid. My family went on 12 different RV trips over Covid. Most of them were to beaches because we’re kind of a beach family. I found a love for the beach even more than I had before. All of those memories are ones I will have for a lifetime. I will always remember building unusual sand castles, seeing new places I had never seen before, and having ice cream daily… maybe more than once a day. Once school started I wished I could go back to the endless fun, the seagulls trying to take our food, making Tik Toks galore, and the hours of boogie boarding with my sister, Macey in the ocean. The memories we make with our family are some of the most important memories that you will ever make in your life. I will always cherish the memories I have with my family, not only through Covid but throughout my whole life. They are the ones I know I can always count on and who will always be there for me. They are my people and I will love them until the end of time.