Air cadets from the 747 Unicorn Squadron in Terrace had one of the longest journeys to their summer camps on Vancouver Island.
“Bus ride was long, but it’s worth it to be here,” said Levi Vanderploeg .
Some of the air cadets left home as early as 11:30 p.m. July 4 for their trip.
The cadets, most between 12 and 13-years-old, departed Terrace at 1:30 a.m. on a bus destined for the Prince George airport, picking up other cadets in communities on the way.
The Terrace cadets eventually arrived at Albert Head CSTC at 7:30 that night – more than 19 hours after leaving home.
Zoë Presby, 14, didn’t sleep at all before catching her bus, and – although she checked the list of items to bring more than once, still had her father make runs home to collect forgotten items – likely one of the reasons cadets were due at the bus pickup point an hour before scheduled departure.
Some of the Terrace teens weren’t so lucky - Damian Pigeon realized he forgot his favourite runners soon after his bus left, and is now wearing footwear borrowed from a friend.
“Camp is more than I expected, lots of cool programming,” said the cheerful teen of his course’s scheduled activities, which included flying, swimming, and an introduction to survival training.
Soon after they finished their administration, the cadets were sent off to their barracks to get some rest.
“I had a great sleep Saturday night,” said Elizabeth Barret. “On Sunday afternoon, I even got to have a nap!”
“Sunday’s focus was the cadets to settle in and make friends,” said Sgt Cunningam of his flight, i.e. class, activities on the Sunday after the cadets’ arrival, which included a late start – 8:30 a.m. - and teambuilding games throughout the day.
Levi, Zoë, Damian, and Elizabeth are just four of the 140 cadets here for the two-week General Training Course, which aims to expose cadets to summer training opportunities to help them plan their future goals in the cadet program.