Five girls from Louisiana scout out Hood Canal

CAMP ROBBINSWOLD, Mason County — Arielle Fraino dips her hand into an aquarium and pulls out a moon snail, a creature that resembles a 10-inch pancake with a shell on top.

"Kiss it," she says, shoving it toward fellow Girl Scouts at a camp on the Hood Canal.

Fraino and her friends shriek, laughing as two of them kiss the snail.

Fraino, 16, is among five Girl Scouts from Louisiana who flew to Washington state this week for a free camp on the Olympic Peninsula. Hurricane Katrina devastated the Scouts' two Louisiana camps, knocking down more than 90 percent of the trees at one site.

To Fraino, attending the weeklong camp means summer will be what it was in the days before Katrina: a time to meet new friends, laugh and go sailing.

To her mother and grandmother, Danielle Wise and Betty Marchand, the free trip for Fraino is an example of the good will that emerged after the storm.

The family lost everything to Katrina — a house and a trailer in St. Bernard Parish, a used car lot and an insurance business. They fled the New Orleans area in August with a few changes of clothes and little else.

In the days after Katrina, strangers donated time, energy and supplies to help Fraino and her family start rebuilding their lives from Philadelphia, Miss., where they moved after the hurricane.

The free camp also offers hope to the family, said Marchand, 60. It is proof that the storm that washed away houses and trees could not wash away community and kindness.

"It's taught me how good people can be," Marchand said by phone from Mississippi. "Yeah, there's some bad apples in the world, but there's so many good people." Fraino was resigned to staying home this summer after learning that camp in Louisiana had been canceled because of the damage from Katrina. But about a month ago she learned she could apply to attend an out-of-state session, with national and local Girl Scouts branches picking up the tab for transportation and other costs.

Fraino applied and waited. Two weeks later, a response came.

"I was so happy," Fraino said. "I was just jumping around and having a good time."

Fraino and her sister Shelby, 14, are among 27 Louisiana Girl Scouts attending free summer camps throughout the United States this year. Shelby is at camp in New York state.

On Tuesday, Fraino and her new friends went kayaking on Hood Canal. They learned about the unusually low tide that day that left eel grass peeking out from the waves.

They used a long net to scoop up small crabs and other creatures to add to the camp aquarium.

Fraino says besides having a good time, this week's camp will leave her with a set of experiences she otherwise would not have had. This is her first trip out West, allowing her to see snowcapped mountains larger than any she had seen before. There are more hills here, and fewer bugs, she says.

It's colder here than in Louisiana, where hurricane season has returned.

Back at home in St. Bernard Parish, southeast of downtown New Orleans, debris still lies in piles on the street. The family's house has been gutted to remove mold and other flood damage. They hope to return, but the rebuilding process is painfully slow.

But here in Washington, Fraino is not thinking about that too much.

Charlotte Hsu: 206-464-8349 or chsu@seattletimes.com