VIRGINIA BEACH
With most of the focus lately on the Olympics in Rio, millions of people all around the world are watching it and keeping up with the medal count. But locally, the youth of the Franklin Summer Super Jam are deserving of gold medals for the participation in three different activities, many of which they did for the first time.

On Friday, the youth and staff of the summer recreational program traveled to Virginia Beach on a field trip. The first stop of the day was the beach at the oceanfront of the resort city.

There is nothing like the experience of walking on a sandy beach and getting splashed by the power of a wave. Many screams of excitement were heard as many tried to escape the wave before it would break, but for many small youth their running was overpowered by the wave to knock them down. After the short encounter with the beach and attempts to wash off much of the sand, it was back on the bus and off to Mount Trashmore.

After eating lunch, the youth and staff ventured to the top of the famous park. After posing for a Kodak moment, many of the youth rolled down the hill to its bottom. Many raced back to the top a few times and rolled again, gathering much grass in their hair and on their clothes.

After a delightful energetic visit to Mount Trashmore, it was off for the final stop at Iceland Family Skating Center. For many of the youth that had started their events in bathing attire, they now found themselves faced with the cold of the ice and their attire changed to winter clothing.

Many that could roller skate transferred their skills to the ice, but for others that were first-time ice skaters, they required the help of a metal scooter training aid. After about two hours of skating, many falls and the cold of the ice, it was time for the group to load up on the bus for the return trip to Franklin.

Overall, if gold medals could be awarded for wave-running and jumping, hill-rolling and slip-sliding on the ice, the youth and staff of the Franklin Summer Super Jam would be in contention of the awards.

The Franklin Summer Super Jam program is sponsored by the Franklin Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Virginia and the Franklin Department of Parks & Recreation.