Expert Tree Climber

Playing a game of 3 man kickball.

This week the All Access group traveled out to Georges Island for the 2nd time this summer and it was my first time playing sports at the beautiful island. After lunch we headed inside the fort, the "fun way", as my coworker Patrice calls it. We followed her through a small square opening in one of the walls of the ginormous fort and through a series of doors until we exited into the broad daylight of the bridge and into the field. Settling under a large tree near a bench, we plopped our things on the floor and it seemed going up the tree was the plan.

Vince is too strong!

At first it looked like a good, fun idea and so I went along. First up was Patrice, followed by me and Vince was last. It was all fun and games until I got up there, a good 6 ft. if not more off of the ground. Too scared to move I just gripped the large branch I was on. Patrice convinced me to move over to make room for Vince. It was pretty cool after all, but then it was time to get down. I don't know how it came to be me being the first to get down, but I wasn't fully prepared for what was coming next.

You can see the fear on my face!

I was told to go down the way I went up, which I could not quite remember at the moment. Frantically thinking, I crawled onto my belly to get down feet first so that my senior harbor educator Jenn could help lower me onto the bench. As I panicked to get down, Jenn guided me and as I laid sprawled over the bench with my limbs dangling Jenn started panicking! All of a sudden she started yelling, "Oh my God! I can't do it Kharliyah! I'm sorry I can't help you, you have to stay like that!" I couldn't handle it, I was cracking up stuck in the tree slowly slipping. As I got closer to the bench Jenn realized she could help me after all. HOW DARE SHE TRY TO LEAVE ME IN THE TREE!!! I forgive her but I won't rely on getting out of trees through her anymore.

See you next week in All Access
-Khar 

First Week On All Access

At George's Island

  Our first week on all access was George's island. we was excited to go to the island because it's our first week on are sight and excited to bring other camper's from different community to visit George's island. Last week kids was excited to go to the island because it was there first time going on the boat and first time going to an island. Early on the morning when we was heading to the boat some of the kids thought we was going on a big boat, one of the fancy boats but they thought wrong but they enjoy being on the boat. On the boat some of the kids like to play quack delleomack quack quack quack but they don't want to face the king of the game so some of the kids be calling me to have rematch so they could face the champion but they always lose every time they face me, but at the end of the day they beat me because i'll let them win.

  When we got to George's island some of the kids didn't really want to play sports but we found few of them, some of the kids was interesting going on the adventure at George's and going fishing with Andrea. also, my favourite part of the day at george's island was hearing kids screaming at the tunnel because some of the kids ask us if it was scary going to the tunnel but i told them am not sure gotta find out them self so i heard them screaming it was so funny so they came to me that  wasn't scary but eventually i told them i heard them from far away, so i started joking around with them. Some of the kids wanted to play a game so we started football team i was the captain and christian, i pick the kid with the glasses so i started laughing because i had a kid with the glasses and and few girls on my team but they thought wrong so i told christian never judge the book by it's cover so we started beating them but at the end of the day all of us had fun and experience about george's island.    

Good day at Piers Park..........

                                                             Good Day At Piers Park

old but the game

      Last week at Piers Park was going great with the kids and I. When the days was passing it was going great with Mauricio, Esmeralda, Ana, Nikita, and I because we was playing a little game called fishy fishy cross my ocean and drip drip drop. We had a little water splash at Piers Park, while we were playing the game but lots of kids were trying to chase me with cup of water but I escape from them. Ana was trying to get me too but I ran from her, so I pick up the bucket of water and toast the water to her and Esmeralda. She was like saying something to me about how I'm paying for her hair salon, I was like me, it wasn't me that wet your hair, it was the little kids behind you. I told her to start splashing water on Esmeralda too with the water gun, so I got both of them with cold bucket of water and I got the other staff because they was standing like a status so I got them wet, everyone was having fun at piers park with hot weather outside.

For a Walk

      When the day was ending lots of kids were trying to do the trick I was doing, so they told me if I could teach them how to do it but I was like it will take a while to do the trick and it dangerous because they could break something. The tricks I was doing were front flips, back flips, and the other one is when you laying on the ground and flip back then front. But after we finished sport, sailing, and kayaking we went for a walk to see if we find any trash around Piers Park and Harbor Sea. There's more things to talk about the"Good day at Piers Park" to be continued........

Sincerely, Carlos Garcia

Once a kid, Always a kid

David speaks to groups before boarding the Provincetown II to Spectacle Island

Today marked the first day of All Access Boston Harbor, where we interacted with a variety of different kids from all over the city and surrounding towns of Boston. I was a little bit nervous at first as to how the kids would react to me, but once they started to fill the pavilion, with their staff and the help of my co-workers, we bonded quite nicely. I met a lot of cool and interesting kids of all different ages who were excited about the voyage to the beautiful Spectacle Island to try something new. I felt like a kid again being around the groups, it was almost like reliving when I attended camp.  I saw a mirror image of the young Dexter Andrews in a lot of the children, which helped me to not only relate to and interact with them, but to be comfortable working with them and teaching them some of the things that I learned when I was in their shoes as an EXCITED and CURIOUS camper. 

The heat of the sun beat on the pavilion and heated it like a sauna when the group of about four hundred young boys and girls arrived early Thursday morning. The Save Harbor All Access staff walked through the pavilion constantly talking to people, children, sponsors, parents & partners. I grabbed a chair and found a group of kids sitting by themselves, and I began to socialize and get to know each individual. By doing that, it broke the kids out of their comfort zone to allow them to become comfortable again. It led to a great day.

Helping kids out

David preached frequently to try something new, something that you've never done before, and the past two days had been my first time visiting the islands!! The best part out of the experience was the second day; being more active than the day before, more vocal, more leadership, more of EVERYTHING! I gathered a group of young kindergarten kids and encouraged them play sports.  We ended up hiking behind the theory that once we reached the top we could play a variety of sports games. 

A group of kids and the staff took off storming for the top of Spectacle Island , I almost did too until my senses brought me back to realize that there were three kids whose spirits were down. The first: crying with her feet drilled into the hot gravel path (Harmony), the second threw a temper tantrum because the other kids wouldn't share the ball with him (Kevin), and the third who seemed to be uninterested in playing with the other kids(Sasha). I just talked my way through the process of motivating each of them to pick up their energy and get involved. I've never dealt with 3 kindergarten kids all in crisis at once (doing something new-Dave)! I gave one the ball, cracked jokes to other and luckily I have a strong enough back because I carried two of them 90% of the way up to the top. By time we reached the top all of the kids were united and playing together, it was a good sight to see! Can you believe that!? A sight better than the highest point on the Boston Harbor! Yes indeed it was.

I felt like I really connected with those boys and girls in a way that almost brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that I was doing something that I enjoy doing, giving back to neighborhoods in the city/state of where I was born is unreal. To impact hundreds of lives of the youth is remarkable in the eyes of me and I pat my self as well as the rest of the Save The Harbor staff and our partners on the back for the excellent job they have done so far this summer. 

I taught a very curious and excited young gentlemen how to fish (depicted above). Although the young man faced hardships in his first fishing experience he rejected my assistance! With a supergrip on the fishing pole I almost spoke no language he could understand; behind his eagerness to reel in a fish. It's all good! It was a good time. That young man is an example of dedication to not give up on something considering it was his first time.!

Cheers to a excellent week of All Access and all the groups who have been apart of it. Thanks for the opportunity and I look forward to cherishing many more days like these. 

-Dex