Blue-Gold Banquet

Pack 280 celebrated the 99th year of Scouting and the pack's 7th birthday on Saturday with the Blue-Gold Banquet. This is one of our biggest events of the year with a great dinner, flag retirement, advancements, and the crossing over of the Webelos II scouts to Boy Scouts.

Click here for the photos.

Battleship NJ and NJ Aquarium

On February 15th, 25 family members of Pack 280 took a trip to the NJ State Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey. The aquarium was a great time with lots to see and do, but it was even better for the 21 who stayed overnight on the battleship.

Our tour began with a trip on a flight simulator (similar to what you can do on the boardwalk). Then we checked in to our assigned berths and took a self-guided tour of the ship. Appearently, we went a little off course, but we were just going to areas that weren't roped off- oops. Once all the other groups boarded the ship, it was time for a safety briefing, evening colors (lowering of the flag), dinner (click here to see our huge portions), and then a guided tour of the ship.

Our tour guide, Skip Leeson, did a fantastic job of explaining the history and significance of the ship. Rob Arlett, Jared's dad, asked Skip if he served in the Navy and amazingly enough he actually served with Rob's dad! Skip took us through many parts of the ship, some of which weren't open to last year's group, and taught us all the importance of battleships in many conflicts around the world. The Battleship New Jersey has a long history in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam, but was never hit by enemy fire.

The tour ended at 10:30 and everyone was ready for bed. We climbed into our bunks and tried to avoid hitting our heads and falling out. The bunks were only about half the width of a twin mattress and the bunk above was only about 20 inches away and were stacked three high. Seriously, I couldn't even bend my knees without hitting the top. All night long you could hear people knocking into the walls and tops of the bunks. Most of us were so tired that anything was comfortable, but I couldn't imagine living there for six to nine months at a time!

The pack hopes to make this an annual or bi-annual trip for the Webelos, but most agreed that it's not suitable for younger scouts. There is a lot of climbing up and down ladders, passing through hatches, tripping hazzards, climbing through tight areas, and plenty to hit your head on or trip over. This is an authentic battleship and is not refitted for the convenience of visitors.

Sam