HIM Retreat 2022

The first installment of the F3 Gastonia HIM Retreat had been brewing for a long time in YHCs mind. Planning comes second nature for YHC and getting to do fun stuff with the guys is always…fun. That said, the plan was to head to Bonclarken, the conference center for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church in Flat Rock, NC. It’s an easy 1 1/2 hour drive up the mountain to the beautiful grounds where 1st ARP Gastonia’s house named Carroll Cottage waited for the PAX to arrive. This is what happened…

Boudin, CPAP and YHC left home just after 2 on Friday and arrived at the cottage right at 4 to find two guys wandering around the back of the house like they were casing the joint. Good thing it was just Oompa and Montross! A grocery list was made and we headed off to the mega-Ingles to get in several thousand steps while we stocked up for the weekend. Upon arriving back, a couple other dudes showed up and we messed around for a while. YHC broke out one of the best games ever to learn the PAX something new, Farkle! Its a dice game where you total up points based on different combinations and the first to 10,000 wins. It was fun.

At the appointed time, we headed to Pi Squared Pizza to have some authentic Detroit style pizza. Our tabel was waiting for us and they had already gotten a jump on cooking the “pi’s” when we arrived thanks to calling ahead. It seemed to be a hit as there was nothing left when the dust settled. From there we went to Triskaleon Brewing for some live music and good beer. Shirts were shed. There may be photographic evidence.

Back at the house we ate some food, played some games and generally messed around but hit the hay at a reasonable hour in preparation for the big day that lay ahead.

The alarm sounded at different times for the PAX and we gathered out front of the house for a countoff. 19 PAX were ready for the beatdown YHC had planned out. A disclaimer was given and we headed out for a mosey.

Down the hill and around the bend we found a flag flying where we stopped for the Pledge of Allegiance. Moseying on down to the pond we stopped for a warmup of Don Quixotes and Goofballs. More moseying happened and the we gathered at the gazebo over the water. YHC asked for the mission of F3, which Tesla recited verbatim flawlessly. AYE! 5 burpees, or at least as many as the PAX could manage given limited space. Moseying back on the trail led us to the hill on the lower side of the dam pond.

Elevens were called. Crab Cakes at the bottom, crab walk up the dam hill and V-Ups at the top were the command. The PAX handled this well. We tried EHing a couple of what looked like college age dudes who were running laps around the lake but the laughed and just kept going.

The PAX moseyed over to the YAB (Youth Activity Building) for the next part of the beatdown.

Dora 123 was on the list. Partner up and do 100 Def Leppard Merkins (aka CDDs), 200 Monkey Humpers and 300 Goofballs, counting the right leg only. While the exercises were done, partner 2 would run around the bath house about 50 yards away for some cardio.

A fellowship mosey past the Gaga Ball court and the Paintball woods led us to a soccer field where the PAX sprinted from one end to the other. Pretty sure YHC won this race.

More moseying took us to the cool enclosed, articifial turf Soccer Pit. This was a perfect place with even ground the next round of pain.

Luckily, the JBL Flip was toted around and the enclosed area had perfect accoustics for back and forth exercises. YHC called the exercise at each end with varied duration, however we lunge walked from side to side after each one. There were lots of Donkey Kicks, Australian Mountain Climbers, Merkins, Wall Sits and of course Lunges.

A short mosey over to the Camp Bunk House area took the PAX to the steep, frosty hill that many worried was too slippery for use. Not so! It was perfect for BOMBS. It went like this. Partner up for 50 Burpees, 100 Overhead Claps, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Situps and 250 Squats. Partner 2 would bear crawl up the hill and walk down the stairs to switch off. Some of the PAX took a faster, more unsafe path by running down the hill instead of the stairs. As far as YHC knows, only Oompa slipped on the frosty surfaces and he is tough enough that he wasn’t fazed.

When we were done, we fellowhip moseyed back to the yard at Carroll Cottage for namorama, prayer requests and announcements.

Breakfast! We cooked bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and even livermush (but it was still disgusting) and ate our fill. God is good! Just a little rest and time to let the food settle and we were ready to go on our extendo-ruck.

Look up Freights backblast for details on the ruck. It was fun.

We got back in time to cook dinner or hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. Before that though, we played some more Farkle and other games. Then dinner, digestion and relaxing. It was a full day to say the least! Bedtime came pretty early for some much needed sleep.

Sunday morning, some PAX got in a run or yoga but most caught up on sleep. All were happy with their choices, although some weren’t happy with the choices others made. Go figure! Next Breaker Breaker led us on a devotion about having a servant’s heart and leading by serving. Great discussion ensued. Bubba Sparxxx led a Q Source discussion based on the DRP and how that is the daily decision to make ourselves better and also those around us we may not even realize we’re impacting by taking the DRP. More discussion happened and we enjoyed it.

The last mission of the weekend, other than cleaning up the house, was to march over to the Flat Rock Village Bakery. There isn’t much room in the cozy little restuarant but they had a nice enclosed porch with a heater. The selection wowed the PAX and we chowed down. Some questioned whether they actually make their own product and it was confirmed that there is a guy at the bakery who begins baking the stuff each morning at 2am! That’s dedication to your craft!!!

We headed back to the house, finished cleaning up after BOS, Pigrim’s Progress and Kaepernick did the heavy lifting and then we hit the road. We’ll definitely do this again, at least annually, maybe more than that.

Until next time, keep taking the DRP and ALWAYS BE EHing!!!