AWESOME

Over the weekend, we went camping (yes, again!) at Mountain Lake Conservancy and Hotel.  We spent our time on top of the mountain sans hotel and sans amenities...

Before the rain moved in, we went out with three vehicles on the fire trails to do a trail clean-up that we sponsor through my husband's "side business".  We offer $100 cash prize to the group or person that picks up the most litter off the trails... and then we make a matching donation to "The Plastic Ocean."

We started off the clean-up, with me jumping out to pick up a small piece of litter... and then it steam rolled from there.  Before we knew it, the kids were begging to get out of the truck to pick up litter.  How could we tell them no??  So, our 3 kids and their two friends that were camping with us and 3 kids that were riding in the trucks in front of us jumped out and started walking.....

And picking up litter....

My daughter's best friend.

And having fun....

My son with his friend behind him (and my daughter hiding in the back).

And in the end, they had walked nearly 2 miles and picked up more trash than we could've ever imagined...

Their proudest find... an old stereo (top left).

No... we didn't even come close to getting it ALL.

Some things are hard to believe.

Our crew from left: Liam, Chase, Henri, Claire and Emma

What's not hard to believe is how AWESOME kids are... these kids walked without ever complaining about picking up after other people... they picked up litter because they understand that someone has to do it....they had fun... and relished in the fact that they were making a difference.

From Mountain to Ocean

Over the weekend, we went camping in Montebello, VA (it's part of George Washington National Forest).

As part of our trip, we sponsored a trail clean-up held by the Rover Owners Association of Virginia. The rules were simple: Whoever picked up the most litter (aka trash) on the trails, they'd win $100 and we'd make a matching donation to The Plastic Ocean. We were so excited to be getting more involved with The Plastic Ocean by informing people of the issues and making donations to help fund their efforts.

You may be curious... why donate to an ocean cause when we're doing a clean-up in the mountains?? Simple... the issues of littering in the mountains are no different than littering at the beach... one day... a piece of litter thousands of miles inland will find its way to the ocean...it's only a matter of time...EVERYTHING is connected.

At the end of the day, we were completely overjoyed to see the bags of trash that people had picked up. In fact, the winning group picked up 3 very full trash bags of litter... and said that their kids were "totally into it." After the winner was announced, my husband briefly talked about the issues of littering and the effects it has on the environment, educated about The Plastic Ocean and explained why we were making a donation. A day after we got home from our trip, the winners let us know that they, too, wanted to make a donation to The Plastic Ocean. (Ripple) YAY!!! We'll be sponsoring trail clean-ups at all the camping events (at Nat'l Forests and Parks) that we attend and keeping up with making matching donations to our friends at The Plastic Ocean.

What can you do?? Anything, as long as it's something.

Get involved: Don't litter (intentionally or unintentionally), don't walk past litter, learn about the issues, speak up, teach, and give back.

A couple of years ago, I read this article and it had a huge impact on me....I highly recommend reading it:

"Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic... Are We??"