Author: Glenn Smith

So your faithful blogger has been at camp for a while now, but it’s just hitting me how much goes on here. There is literally always something excellent happening. During free swim alone, your options could be yoga/pilates, a ping-pong competition, futsal, flag football, swimming or a poetry workshop. And that’s only the organized activities: there are always lots of little games popping up all over the place. Two nights ago was Murder Mystery Night, in which the dramatically staged death of a beloved cook led the whole camp to solve the mystery of whodunnit. Today, older campers are going white-water rafting, and younger campers will be spending the day at Cacapon State Park, swimming and running around and having a cook-out. There is never a dull moment.

That includes last night, which was Cabin Activity Night. As counselors, we spent breakfast frantically clamoring for the best spots around camp for our nights, but we all knew that no matter where we were, our cabin’s collective personality would make the night special. My cabin got the rec hall, but it was so nice out that we mostly hung out on the porch. We played improv games with much hilarity, but the highlight of the night was a game of Freeze Dance. Freeze Dance, of course, is a game where you dance like no one’s watching, and when the music is paused, you have to freeze, and the person who is too invested in the song to stop is out for the game.

Cabin F, the youngest girls in camp, were on the gym mats having a spa night. I saw them parade out from their makeup session, most having abandoned traditional mascara-lip gloss-blush-eyeliner for exotic face painting in riotous designs. The tent boys had the gym, and we heard them playing loud sports all evening, laughing and whooping the whole time.

It’s amazing how in only a few days, each cabin or tent group has developed its own distinct personalities, inside jokes, and little group slangs. I guess when so much is going on, it just happens naturally.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       The Zeta Psi Sluggers won their Boys League game

–       Charlotte Bell and Emily Walke did great in riflery

–       In Canoeing, Freddi Rappoport and Taryn Dalton flipped their canoe and caught a fish in it

–       The Dominant Dutch beat the Portugal Predators in futsal

–       Sebastian Fischbach and Emily Smith were the MVPs in futsal

–       Jerry Golub and Ryan ‘Buns’ Bernstein won the warmup competition in tennis

–       Shane Butler won knockout in archery

–       In Gymnastics, Freddi Rappoport and Mayson Smith tied in the cartwheel competition, and Jamie Stern had the best roundoff

–       In soccer, Sebastian Fischbach scored a goal with a bicycle kick

–       Leonard Pasquier kicked a 40-yard field goal in football

–       Mel Jenkins and Sammie Cooper completed the tension traverse in Challenge Course

My first flash friendship came later than most: I was sixteen, on exchange in Germany, singing in a local rock band in my town. I was part of the group, but something in me resisted: I knew I was leaving in a few months, so why should I let myself come to love these people I spent so much time with? It was better to remain cold, I thought, than to risk the pain of leaving them. But then, somehow, I couldn’t hold back anymore, and I found myself becoming friends with them. Even in the most lighthearted moments, there was a bittersweet undertone, because I always knew that it would end.

That’s the magic and the tragedy of summer camp friendships.

You can see campers negotiating their competing desires right now: on one hand, everybody wants to be a part of a little group, to have close camp friends with whom you spend all your time, whom you can go to with your camp dramas. And on the other hand, even the little ones know just how short three weeks is. At our opening campfire, we sang the Tall Timbers song: “Friends, friends, friends, we will always be, whether in fair or in dark stormy weather Tall Timbers will keep us together…” And on so many faces I saw hints of doubt. Will we really always be friends? When September rolls around, and my life is full of other friends and other dramas, will I really miss you? And if I do, will that pain be too much to bear?

So this is in defense of flash friendships. Because although there is that tragic knowledge of their coming end, there is also the vulnerability that comes with only having so long to have every conversation you want to have, to share every secret, to have every kind of fun as soon as possible. And although they are brief, this poignancy makes summer friendships stay with us. We fall in love with summer camp not just because we love playing soccer and doing ridiculous skits, but because we know that those flash friendships will be waiting for us next summer.

Which brings us to the last poignancy of flash friendships at summer camp: they do last. Across time, across distance, across years, summer friends are real friends. Just faster, deeper and more earnest.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       B2 Challenge completed a human knot in under two minutes

–       In soccer, Carl Lasker, Cole Christensen and counselor Kayla won, and Carl was the MPV

–       Sebastian Fischbach, Henry Golub and Aidan Brodnitz hit bullseyes in archery

–       Spencer Leibow was the first person to conquer all the sides of the climbing wall

–       Katherine Barnes won field hockey gagaball

–       The Ivory Toast beat the Dominant Dutch in futsal 4-1, with Jamie Stern scoring 2 goals

–       Charlotte Bell learned to dive, and Taryn Dalton won the biggest splash competition in swimming

–       Adam Fiergang made 17 out of 18 shots in basketball

–       In tubing, Aaron Mendelsohn flipped upside down, travelled underwater and righted himself without falling off the tube

Every session of camp has a completely different energy. Vibe, maybe, if you woke up feeling the 60’s this morning. Even with a good handful of returning campers, Second Session is shaping up to be exciting, ridiculous and fun in its own wonderful way. I could tell right away that Session 2 was going to be phenomenal when all the campers were totally down to move the very first evening activity inside for the rain. It went off without a hitch: campers flew from activity to activity, completing tasks and learning which things they might like to do more often during their time at camp. Interested in improv? Quick! Act out a skit using this rocket as something other than a rocket. Want to try canoeing? Better show how to put on a lifejacket. In an Activity Fair bingo, campers raced to complete all the required activities before time ran out. Even in the rain, it was a blast.

The next morning was time for scheduling. Everybody gathered in the dining hall, blank schedules in hand. This was not a timed activity, but the energy was just as intense. Plus, scheduling takes much more mental capacity than the Activity Fair. There’s a strategy to building your perfect day at camp. It goes a little something like this:

You have to start with Drama, Horses and Tennis. These are limited in spacing and in timing, and if you’re going to be in the play you have to have lots of spaces open for rehearsals and prop-making. If you happen to have scheduled yourself for mountain biking during one of the play’s rehearsal period, you’re out, my friend. So once you’ve reserved your spot in the play, or in the coveted Intermediate Tennis class, or on Speckleback out at the barn, you can move on to other activities.

Your next thought process is about geography. You probably want to take tubing, and you probably want to take field hockey, but you probably don’t want to take Tubing right before field hockey because they’re very far apart and you don’t want to get to field hockey dripping in lake water. So maybe you decide to go for riflery and then tubing, and do field hockey and rock climbing in the afternoon.

Everyone has their own goals for their schedule. Some head straight to the Arts and Crafts table, and fill most of their spaces with writing, arts and other creative pursuits. Others’ schedules are mostly full already by the time they leave team sports scheduling table. Scheduling is so intense when you’re doing it that you can forget that it’s all about what comes next, because after scheduling comes the real fun: actually doing all the awesome things you signed up for. Let the games begin!

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–      Alice Zhao won jailbreak in tennis

–      Sam Coleman made his first half-court shot in basketball

–      Eric Seigle won museum in drama

–      Jami Siegal and Emily Smith hit the target in riflery

–      Futsal World Cup teams have been made and the first game will occur today at free swim

–      Emily Walke and Zoe Zhang won Red Light Green Light in Horses

–      Writer in Residence Cristin Terrill is back for second session free swim and clinic writing workshops

A storm of wind and rain may have hit Camp Tall Timbers late last night, but today another storm is brewing: the Drama class is furiously preparing for the opening night of their play, Zombeo and Juliet. The cast met for a secretive meeting after breakfast, and the final dress rehearsal will take place during free swim. My camper, Sydney Sachs, will be starring as Juliet, and she’s taking the stress with remarkable calm and good humor. Tonight’s the big night, and the show must go on even if some people don’t really know their lines that well. I am not personally associated with the play in any way, and so from my comfortable distance I have no doubt that it will go off without a hitch.

I have no doubt that the play will be excellent because the play is a metaphor for Camp Tall Timbers as a whole, and I never doubt that Tall Timbers will be excellent. Sometimes you’re an hour before an evening activity, stressed about how it will go off, not sure if you broke the cabins up into groups in just the right way, and then it goes perfectly, and you’re left feeling proud and elated and just happy that the kids had a good time. The camp play and camp itself are like jumping off a diving board: you’re standing there looking down at the water, wondering if you’re going to belly flop into what looks like nothing less than arctic-temperature waters, and then you steel yourself and jump and it’s the most refreshing feeling in the world.

The camp play and camp itself and jumping off a diving board are remarkably like spending a day at Hershey Park, as we all did yesterday. Sometimes you have to hold someone’s hand as the roller coaster inches up the massive incline. Sometimes that hand is the most reassuring thing in the world, and it holds you over until you round the top and come hurtling down the other side, and you realize that you’re just fine. You realize that you are capable of so much more than you imagined.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       Ella Perkins and Makin Sowell hit bullseyes in archery

–       Orange Crush beat the Red Bulls in flag football

–       In Girl Power Hour, Jen Heiman, Grace Brown and Anna Hutzler won Mafia

–       Katherine Barnes, Hayley Sanders and Grace Brown tied in Sleeping Lions

–       The Yellow Spotted Hippopotami beat the Purple Nurples in flag football, and will advance to the Superbowl

–       Sydney LaPorte scored her first touchdown

–       Buns (Ryan Bernstein) hit a golf ball to the very top of the hill

High ropes courses are a fixture of summer camp life. The allure is unmistakable: suspended from the trees by ropes and wires, participants traverse great distances at great heights, facing fears and coming out with the knowledge that they did something they didn’t know they could. Elements like the zip line and the vine walk are high intensity and high reward, and most campers sign up for Challenge class with these in mind. But this is an ode to the less appreciated low ropes elements, where summer camp skills are made and perfected.

Like most people, I decided to become certified in Challenge course instruction because I wanted to climb around in trees, and facilitate kids’ learning about themselves while climbing around in trees. But as I learned more about Challenge course, I began to realize that the high ropes elements are merely the reward for working so hard on the low ropes course. In high ropes, campers work individually, but low ropes engages cooperative problem solving. One of my favorite elements is the Spider Web. The element is a complicated system of ropes creating various sized holes, and the objective is for the group to pass every member of the team through a hole, using each one only once, without touching the ropes at all.

When first presented with the challenge, most groups jump into activity right away, insisting that they can pass the larger members through lower, bigger holes and then, they say, “just toss the smaller people through the smaller, higher holes.” At this point I stop the action and ask a few safety questions. Campers then realize how unsafe their original plan was, and they begin to really think about things. It’s a kind of math, really: who can we send through who can support us from the other side? How do we make sure we leave enough big holes for the end? How will the last person get over without any help at all? As an instructor, this part is my favorite. The more I can step back and let the group discover their own collective strategy, the better it is.

When the group begins, one person at a time crawls or wheelbarrows or is lifted through the ropes. The team is focused and quiet and committed to the task at hand. As an instructor, my job is to be where the action is, making sure every move is safe, encouraging a rethink when necessary. Afterwards, when the whole group is through, I let them revel in the satisfaction of completing the difficult task, and then I help them decompress. Did you feel like the group listened to you? How do you think your group communicated during the challenge? What did you think was the highlight for your group as a whole?

Challenge course is incredibly fun, and for the most part, campers don’t even know that they’re learning valuable life skills like communication, sharing responsibility, trust, and creative problem solving. Yeah, the zip line is a fabulous reward, but the challenges themselves are a gift as well.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       Jami Siegal made it to the top of the rock wall for the first time

–       Ethan Harrison was the only brave soul at Dippies this morning

–       In Flag Football, the Red Bulls and Orange Crush will face off in the last game before the playoffs

–       Ziggy and Ignacio will battle for the title of Ping Pong Champion

I’ve been noticing something these past few days. I don’t know if it’s because something has shifted recently, or if it’s just that I’ve only now become aware of it, but there’s no doubt about it: Camp Tall Timbers campers are getting used to being without technology.

Back at the beginning of the session, I was legitimately concerned that a few of my campers would actually combust without their phones for three weeks. There was much drama over not being able to listen to music while falling asleep, and fear of missing out on snap stories, and I thought to myself, if these kids can’t go a few days without snapchat, how will they connect with one another the way you’re supposed to at summer camp? My fears were entirely unfounded, and did nothing but make me feel like a geezer. In fact, all of us here have adjusted to life without technology, and I think it’s doing things for us that we didn’t expect.

With the exception of writing this blog post, I’ve been almost entirely without technology for about three weeks now, and it’s surprisingly easy. I have no idea what’s going on in current events, or in my favorite TV shows, or on Facebook. I feel more grounded, like my real life is more real because it’s not tempered by a virtual existence. And I see a difference in the campers, too. Everyone loves the half hour or hour at night before it’s time to be in cabins getting ready for bed: they stand around and chat, or play ping pong or cards or tether ball. They’re just being with one another, and talking to people they might never get to know otherwise.

It’s the perfect antidote to a school year that’s a different kind of hectic. Most kids spend the rest of the year rushing about, working so hard, so stressed about tests and extracurriculars and everything else that there’s so little time to just be. Here, time moves differently. Life at Camp Tall Timbers is so jam-packed full of activities that each day speeds by in a blur of memories, and at no point ever do I find myself wishing I was watching Game of Thrones instead. Even though we’re busy here, there is time to just be with one another, to have long conversations about things that don’t matter and things that matter more than we could possibly admit. Here, we can spend five minutes watching a caterpillar inch up a maple tree. We have time to deeply discuss the differences between the birdsongs we hear in the morning and at night. We have time to soak each other with water guns and plot out a hilarious revenge. There will be no pictures of us soaking wet and grinning; no Facebook status will ever share that we spent half an hour last night searching out all the constellations we knew and inventing the ones we didn’t. These memories belong solely to us. And that, I think, is the whole point of summer.

One of the awesome things about Camp Tall Timbers is that there’s something for everybody. Whether you’re a soccer star, a wannabe famous guitarist, a budding artist, a mountainboarding aficionado or all of the above, you can do what makes you happy here. But some activities are across-the-board favorites, and at the top of that list is tubing.

Tubing happens down at the lake, which is a downhill hike reminding all those who pass there that they will have to trek back up in a matter of hours. But it’s worth it, because when you get down to the bottom, when you’ve strapped into your life jacket, you get this little burst of joy at witnessing what you’re about to do. You, brave tuber, will hold on for deal life to a big floating tube, tied to a twenty-foot rope, tied to a sleek and very cool jetski. You know, even before you try it, that you might at some point end up flying face-first into the lake, and that’s okay with you, because of one delicious word: Adventure.

Now, being a tubing instructor is a little different from being a tubing participant. While another counselor drives the jet ski, I sit backwards on it, releasing the rope, pulling it in strategically and trying not to laugh at the terrified, delighted faces of the campers we tow. For younger campers, Arnaud, the driver, goes in polite circles, eliciting laughter and glee from the little ones. Older campers, or more experienced tubers, get figure eights that send them bouncing across their own wake, white-knuckled and undoubtedly having more fun because of it. (I get medium-terrified by these figure eights as well. Just the other day I lost my balance on a bump and flew off, making the entire class laugh uproariously at my expense. What can I say? Anything for the campers.)

But seriously, tubing is the best. I have these two kids, Reese and Grace, who are about nine years old and are best friends from home. They’re tubing professionals. Whereas most other campers their age ask for slow circles, Reese and Grace go all out, all the time. Their smiling faces are epic, and so are their tumbles. And then there’s Shayna, who has established a complicated system she uses to communicate with me: faster! No, slower! Okay, faster again. Many of the older boys vastly overestimate their own abilities and go flying five or six times each trip.

When the class is over, Arnaud and I have the onorous task of making everyone actually leave the lake. “Just one more time!” they all beg, and no one likes to the the person who drags campers away from one of their favorite activities. But we always trek back up the hill, and we always say, Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to tube another day.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       Yoga is going on at the gym during free swims

–       Donovan Nordstrom, Tristan Coates-Park, Ben Perkins, Thomas Boals and Caden Hershberg all hit cans in riflery

–       Musical movie skit rehearsals are starting, led by CIT2s

–       Adam Dunham learned math at breakfast

–       Sydney Sachs and Adriana Machuca were on point in drama rehearsal

–       Backdrop painting for the play is coming together with much teamwork from all

–       Max Penn and Spencer Leibow’s group won Clue Night

Well folks, we are now solidly in the middle of Session 1, and you can feel the shift. Campers know where they’re supposed to be, friend groups are pretty much established and the settled routine allows for everyone to push themselves a little harder to make camp even greater. All this means that last night’s evening activity, Atlantic City Night, was quite possibly the greatest thing to ever happen on the East Coast in the past decade.

Evening Activities are planned and executed by counselors, but not all of us are involved in all activities. So although I know how much effort goes into every night’s event, I wasn’t sure what to expect out of Atlantic City Night. It went a little something like this: In the gym, there were different stations for Blackjack, Texas Hold’em and Roulette. There was also a fortune teller, arm wrestling and other activities. Each camper received 1,000 (fake) dollars to spend as they wanted, either on games or lemonade or tarot readings. If you got up to $3,000, you were a part of the elite High Roller’s Club, which met in the Art Shack. The primary incentive to enter the High Roller’s Club was the better drinks: in the Art Shack, rumor told, they drank ginger ale.

I was stationed at the roulette table, and boy did I have a great view. I got to learn a lot about our campers. Most of the younger campers bet in $10 or $20 increments, and flitted back and forth between activity tables. A few of the younger boys seemed tethered to the roulette table: no sooner had they lost $150 in a single game but they were back, certain that this round they would win it all back. Across the room, at the Texas Hold’em station, kids would hang back, learning the rules before sidling cautiously up to the table, certain that this was their game.

And then there was the “wedding chapel” in the rec hall. For some, this little ceremony was a chance to hold hands with their camp crush. For others (cough, Jen Heiman, cough) it was an opportunity to marry five people in as many minutes and accumulate as many plastic smiley-face rings as humanly possible.

When the evening activity was over, campers flooded out of the gym, comparing how much money they’d ended up with. Everyone was all smiles and laughter. That’s the mark of a good evening activity. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go plan tomorrow night’s campfire.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       The Wet Your Feet Week campers did a great job in golf

–       Sydney Sachs learned her first two chords in guitar

–       The Red Bulls and the Purple Nurples face off in flag football during first free swim today

Every morning at Camp Tall Timbers, as the sun creeps through the trees and the birds chirp cheerily, the wake-up bell begins our day. This eight o’clock bell is followed by another bell at 8:20, marking breakfast time. Personally, I use those twenty minutes to look out the window and contemplate the world before getting up to corral my campers into wakefulness. 8:00 to 8:20 is a quiet time in my cabin: we mostly do our own thing, dressing and washing and passing one another with bleary smiles, but while we putter about, other Tall Timbers staff and campers have bounced out of bed and are heading towards the pool for Dippies.

Ah, Dippies: the quasi-secret society of early risers who choose to go for a frigid swim before breakfast. It is difficult to explain my perception of Dippies: while words cannot describe the extent to which I do not want to jump in the pool that early, I also suspect that the regular attendees of Dippies sessions experience some sort of cultish glee in their activity. When, at morning announcements, the Dippies lifeguard announces the brave souls who were there, I watch these campers exchange proud glances. In these moments, I wonder if it would be worth exchanging my few moments of contemplation for that little burst of Dippies pride. And if I managed to drag myself to Dippies, would my campers follow suit? Would we become, through the power of leadership, a community of proud Dippies instead of sheepish Sleepies?

This is, of course a question about more than just an early-morning swim. I’m talking about leadership, and making the choice to do something different. Even as our Dippies risk the cold for that surge of adrenaline each morning, a new batch of young, nervous Wet Your Feet Weekers have begun their week at camp. These are campers who aren’t quite ready to leap into a full session, but who want to experience Tall Timbers nonetheless. I’ve had Wet Your Feet Weekers in my tubing classes: they jump gamely onto the tube and hold on as we zoom away on the jet ski. They are forging a brand new path for themselves. They’re choosing the scarier, more rewarding path. And that’s what makes them, and the Dippies, true Camp Tall Timbers greats.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       This week’s Cleanest Cabin Award (and the reward trip to Pack’s for ice cream) went to Cabins H and 5

–       Tie dye is beginning in the Art Shack

–       Grace Brown got a rally of 51 in tennis

–       Danielle Tundo and Adam Dunham hit the bullseye in riflery

–       Ignatio Marco flipped the tube over in tubing, but held on anyway

–       Ella Perkins skated around the roller rink in 18 seconds flat

–       Lori Belt got almost all the way around the challenge course route

My mom always told me that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and that seems to hold true for Camp Tall Timbers too. The dining hall is where we sit down with our cabin, fill our bellies and talk about our experiences of the last few hours. It’s where we connect, where we laugh and, in some cases, compete with great fervor for who has the biggest potato chip (it gets pretty serious, you guys. People get intense about potato chip sizes up in here.)

Another fantastic thing about the CTT dining hall is that it comes with its own reading material. By which I mean, since time immemorial, campers get together with their tents or cabins and the end of each session to create plaques that symbolize their experience at camp. One from 1976 reads “The Multicolored Chlorinated Dippies of Tents 1-7”. Another more recent one says, in simple block lettering with no decoration, “We Aren’t Creative Enough For This Plaque.” Plaques commemorate inside jokes and celebrate the biggest victories of the session. (My own campers have already come up with several ideas for our plaque. One hilarious night in our cabin, my co-counselor Kayla blurted out “A is for Excellent,” which saying immediately became the funniest thing ever and a must for our plaque. Another option is “YGG, You Go Girl”, signature phrase of beloved counselor Tonilee. I anticipate a lively and good-natured argument about which option will be the basis for our plaque when time rolls around to make it.)

Okay, one more great CTT dining hall tradition. This one is the Freeze Game. You see, even camp is not without its little responsibilities: after every meal, somebody has to clean up the table. And because this chore is so onorous, there is a special game we play to even out the work. When somebody calls out “FREEZE!” everybody has to pause in whatever they’re doing, whether it’s pouring lemonade or taking a big sticky bite of a PBJ. The caller must then get somebody to trip up, to move, and the first person to do so must wipe off the table after announcements. Creative “Freeze” callers pile things on campers’ heads to see what falls off, or call out the word when someone is away from the table getting a refill. But invariably, the loser of the Freeze game isn’t too put out, because that person gets to be the caller for the next meal’s game. All’s fair in camp and clean up, right?

Other Tall Timbers Happenings

–       Wet Your Feet Weekers Leah Lawson and Donovan Nordstrom did a great job in tubing

–       Rocketry launched their first rockets and it was awesome

–       Cooper Horn went mountainboarding for the first time

–       The Red Bulls lost to the Yellow Polka-dotted Hippopotami in flag football

–       Ping pong tournament players now have 48 hours to complete their next match-up

–       CIT 2s did a great job with the music at last night’s campfire

Yesterday was a Saturday, which means the usual class schedule went out the window in favor of a whirlwind day of challenges, cheers and fun. These much-anticipated all-day Saturday events always have a theme, and yesterday’s was College Day. Games included Freshman 15 (a no-hands pudding eating contest), Going to Class (which was actually Name That Tune) and water polo, which was only marginally related to college but was still a highlight of the day. Saturdays take a lot of planning, and it couldn’t be done without our CITs.

CITs (Counselors in Training) are the actual greatest. Our oldest campers, they spend the majority of their day doing normal activities, playing sports, making memories and doing the whole camp thing. But they also have some responsibility for the functioning of camp. They spend one period each day assisting counselors in teaching various activities, and they help get the littlest campers ready for bed at night. In this way they learn what being a camp counselor is all about, even as they get to enjoy the best of what Tall Timbers has to offer. CITs are usually having a ton of fun anyway, but part of being a CIT is modeling for the younger campers: good sportsmanship, positivity, good humor and high energy.

I’ll be the first to admit it: I love our CITs. They’re Tall Timbers pros: they know all the songs and all the traditions, they love helping out, and best of all, they’re not afraid to make fools of themselves. Okay, that sounds a little weird, but being super open about your weirdness is kind of a camp requirement. CITs get that, and they’re awesome. Whether it’s going above and beyond with their skits, spending their free time coming up with original poetry to share at Saturday Service or coming up with lots of ideas for ridiculous ways to make Theme Days even more fun, CITs take campering to a whole new level. So today I’m making a shout-out to our wonderful, wacky, creative, energetic CITs.

Other Tall Timbers Happenings 

– Jami Siegal learned to dive at the pool

– Devon Cantor made a halfcourt shot in basketball

– Reece Dennison rode bareback for the first time

– Michelle Pollowitz won three games of knockout in archery

– Corinne Polk-Trauman kicked a great last-minute field goal to win at flag football

– Danielle Tundo learned three chords on the guitar

– Hikers caught three crawfish and a salamander (and let them go)

CTT Alum and now best-selling YA novelist Cristin Terrill has been our writer-in-residence this week, and ends her time with us with a contribution to our blog!

After being a camper and counselor at Tall Timbers for ten years and then being away for ten more, I’m back at camp. Most of the faces are different, the familiar faces have few more gray hairs, and everything’s gotten a new coat of paint (or five) since the last time I was here, but in the essentials Tall Timbers is exactly the same: a fun and supportive environment for kids to grow within themselves and form lifelong bonds with others.

Tall Timbers is in my blood, which means it’s also crept into my work. In my first novel for young adults, the teenage protagonist is loosely based on one of the girls I counseled here, and when she and another character are forced to go on the run, they find shelter in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia. This was my tribute to Tall Timbers because it was my refuge as a teen. But my copyeditor insisted I change this. John Denver, she said, had lied to me. There were no Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia, she claimed. It was one of the few things I put my foot down about, and the reference remains, right there on page 248.

Getting to come back here (as a grown-up with a private cabin who can go to bed whenever she wants, no less) has been a wonderful and meaningful experience for me. I didn’t discover my love of writing until I was well into my twenties, so I’ve had a ton of fun working with kids who are already way ahead of me. At each free-swim this week, I’ve taught a writing workshop focusing on a different genre — from short stories to poetry to playwriting — and I’m continually surprised by the imagination and skill of the dedicated band of writers who have given up their pool time to come create with me. Creativity is a muscle you have to continually work if you don’t want it to atrophy, as it does for most of us as we grow up and are overwhelmed with more pressing concerns, but my hope is that teaching and encouraging kids to flex their creativity when they’re still young will keep their minds as effortlessly open and vibrant and uninhibited as they are now.

As one of my campers wrote during our poetry workshop:

My roots

Vary and spread

One day I will be able to

Reach the highest stars and clouds.

 

I’m getting these kids’ autographs now, ‘cause I know they’re going to be worth something someday soon.

It’s a big day here at Camp Tall Timbers. After lunch, the older campers will head off to go white-water rafting, and the younger ones will go to Cacapon State Park for a day of swimming, games and sun. And this morning, too, is no ordinary day. It’s an A Day on our three-day activity schedule, meaning that boys and girls separate into groups for Girl Power Hour and Boys Leagues. These are a great time for campers to bond with kids of other age groups who they might not have any classes with.

Here’s what I’m gathering about Power Hour and Boys Leagues: it’s a lot like being a Purple Nurple. Wait, that probably makes no sense if you’re not a Tall Timbers camper. The Purple Nurples are one of our flag football teams, and what I mean is, whether you play flag football during free swim or get super into Color War, what you’re actually doing is figuring out what you stand for, why you push so hard, and what it means to be a part of something.

Last night, my camper Anna Hutzler hurried into dinner a few minutes late after her flag football game, red-faced and sweating. She sat down beside me and wiped her face. “Did you win?” I asked.

“No!” she said with a massive grin. She went on to explain that they had been up the whole game, and had lost to the Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami 21-20 in the final moments, and her coach was great, and the other team’s coach was hilarious. The play-by-play continued for quite some time, and Anna’s smile never faded. You see, as insanely fun flag football is, it’s also accompanied by the simple and wonderful sensation of being a Purple Nurple. Or a member of the Blue Team during Color War. Or a Tent Boy. I don’t know. Maybe the flag football league is just a fun way to spend during free swim. Or maybe it’s something more.

Other Camp Tall Timbers Happenings

– Jen Heiman nearly beat the instructor in tennis, and Sydney LaPorte won her first game of Jail

– Sydney Sachs and Hayley Sanders made it to the top of the rock wall

– Grace Brown and Reese Rosenbloom vied for first place in the morning treading water contest, and Alex Brown won the afternoon one

– Orange Crush beat the Red Bulls in flag football

– Ella Perkins hit the can off the stump in archery

– Adriana Machuca and Lori Belt made it to the top of the wall for the first time

– Ethan Weinstein has already memorized his lines for the play

Summer camp has a funny way of pushing all of us outside our comfort zone in the kindest, safest way. Yesterday I got a chance to see in person just how supportive campers can be when their peers, and even their counselors, try something new.

When I got my schedule, I was concerned to see that I had been given a period of softball. I had never played softball in my life, and had only the faintest memories of hitting a baseball or two in middle school gym class. I was certainly not qualified to teach others. “Relax,” said my co-counselor. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” In that moment, I was reminded how our campers go out on a limb every day, try something new and discover to their surprise that they’re capable of so much more than they could have dreamed. If they could do it, so could I.

At the beginning of the period, I stood back shyly as the softball instructor led the class, flexing my lefty glove and watching Ella, Emily and Michelle hurl fastballs at one another with grins on their faces. Finally I worked up the courage to join them, and they welcomed me into their warm-up. I even caught a few in my mitt! As we moved from warm-ups into scenarios and various drills, I noticed that the CIT 2 boys in the class were kindly allowing me the time to run after balls I missed. They would diss one another in good humor, but they knew what it was like to be new at something, and they let me fumble in peace.

By the end of the period, I was sweaty and dirty, and even though I wasn’t nearly as good as the campers, I felt like I was a part of the class, and the team, and the sport. That night I lay in my bunk, listening to the quiet sounds of my campers shifting around preparing for sleep, and I knew that so many of them were thinking back on new things they’d done that day.  No wonder everybody sleeps so well at camp: when you play hard, you gotta sleep hard too.

Other Camp Tall Timbers Happenings

–       Ethan tried gymnastics for the first time, and did a great job

–       Adriana went tubing and fell in the lake

–       Shayna was the first person this year to climb the harder belay side of the rock wall

–       Emily won the treading-water contest

–       In tennis, Isaiah won the title of King of the Court

–       Flag football will begin today

–       In a Camp Tall Timbers first, we will soon be hosting all-day clinics for campers to focus on one skill intensively. There will be soccer, martial arts, horses and swimming, and CTT alum and published YA author Cristin Terrill will lead a writing workshop!

It’s a beautiful day up at Camp Tall Timbers. It’s our second full day of camp, which means our campers are finally settling in to the routine. Excitement was high at breakfast as campers compared schedules: one has improv and then riflery. Another has soccer and then challenge course. Whether they’re improving their skills in a sport, dousing themselves in glitter in the Art Shack or rehearsing for the much-anticipated camp play (Zombeo and Juliet: I’ve read the script, and let me tell you, it’s going to be too fantastic for words), everyone is diving into camp fun.

My name is Sydney, and I’m going to be your fearless blogger, reporting from the front lines of the ridiculous magic that is a summer at camp. I’m a brand new counselor here, which means that everything is new for me too. I get to tell you about the traditions, the songs, the activities and the people, with fresh eyes. Today I’ll be telling you about a certain Camp Tall Timbers tradition known as the Camp Hug. It’s the best kind of tradition: a little cheesy, and a lot over-done, but perfect for those exact reasons. It’s performed at the opening campfire, which we just had last night.

There are three main characters in our drama: the narrator, and the two inexperienced huggers who must be coaxed into performing a loving, comical hug. The first few times, the huggers bump into one another ungracefully, and perform their confusion quite well. The narrator offers instructions. “Try tilting your heads to the side. Don’t just keep your arms at your sides, wrap them around each other.” Following these instructions, the two huggers grasp one another and don’t let go. “No no no,” says the narrator. “Try this. This time, give each other two pats on the back and then let go.” In front of all the assembled campers and counselors, the two huggers give this a go, and perform a successful hug. They even ask permission first.

“Now you try,” calls the narrator, and the whole camp gets up, asks permission to hug, and hugs their neighbors with huge grins on their faces. I don’t know how it works, but this one simple skit turns Camp Tall Timbers campers into a family.

Maybe that has something to do with how excited everybody was at breakfast this morning. Were they remembering the hug from the night before? Even though they had classes with kids they might not have met yet, I think the campers knew that everyone they would be meeting today would be part of the same extended hug, and therefore, part of their new summer family.

Our world today could be described as fast-paced, troubled in part, technologically advanced, socially-challenged and competitive to name a few, so it may be difficult to find relevance in a traditional, outdoor, no technology allowed, happy-clappy summer camp for our growing children. How is it that these seemingly opposed environments are so much more relevant and valuable in a child’s life today, than ever before?

These generations will inevitably inherit the economic, social and environmental challenges that past and current generations have created. Therefore, the skills these children will need to master will be the art of critical thinking and problem solving as they tackle the challenges they face into adulthood. Developing these skills within the constraints of their everyday lives becomes increasingly hard as they work on dictated curriculums at school and have less opportunity for creative expression and spontaneity.

The true camp experience engages children in activities in which they are the planners, the implementers and the evaluators. The decisions they make as individuals and as part of a larger community have a direct impact upon themselves and others. These children are required to seek answers, try new things and experience new emotions. Children learn that it is ok to feel uncomfortable sometimes, working through excitement and anxiety, the result is an ‘I CAN’ attitude. These are the people we need our children to be to progress and have a positive impact in the wider world.

At camp, children are exposed to the best in human characteristics. Counselors are carefully selected to be the best role models for our children at a critical time in their growth and development. Children are highly influenced by these remarkable role models whose impact upon a child’s thinking, behaviour and attitude can be amazingly touching. The children see firsthand what it is to inspire, motivate, connect and relate. This is powerful and positive exposure outside the realms of school and parent, often viewed by the child as critical. The impact is long lasting success and achievement.

If we refer back to where we started, how is the camp experience at all relevant in the fast-paced lives of our future generations? The camp experience allows the freedom to be creative and explore that begins to shape and mold these critical thinking skills that will prepare the next generation to rise to the challenges that lie ahead and be heard!

Children need camp now more than ever!

“They say the happiest place on earth is Disneyland. They’re wrong. It’s camp.” – Taken from Summer Camp Confessions.

All of us busy families feel that enormous competition for our children’s time throughout the school year and summer vacation as we juggle day trips, beach trips, play dates, swim meets, sports practice, work, household management; the list is endless and the schedule is manic! It would be a good idea to hop off that runaway train occasionally and re-evaluate some of those habitual decisions we make for our children’s time. The summer school vacation is one of the most treasured and precious moments in our children’s lives that they never get back. With this knowledge it would be good to consider the value of the camp experience.

“Driving in to the camp road on the first day feels like you’re dreaming.” – Taken from Camp Life Confessions.

There is something truly magical about summer camps. Whilst at camp children are away from the social structures of home and school, enabling them to be who they really are. At camp children see a world of possibilities not open to them in everyday life. By investing in the summer camp experience we are investing in the growth of a young person and there can be no better opportunity.

So let’s cut to the chase: what can the summer camp experience give your child that they are not already getting in their busy lives? The camp environment is unique in that it creates a space where children learn to live together, they must respect and look after one another. During these developmental years where growth and change is profound, the children can make choices.

Children learn to take self control and make decisions within a controlled and safe environment. Whilst the decision may only be what to eat, what to wear, whether to play soccer or swim, these are the important first steps towards independence and active learning. Your child will feel empowered and responsible. Our children spend so much of their time being told what to do, how to behave, or where to be, and little if no time is allowed for them to just be themselves. We cannot always allow our children the freedom to flourish, even if we know we should. It is our job to help our children to thrive without us, and camp helps these skills to develop in the best possible environment.

There are endless opportunities for children to learn powerful lessons within a community. They interact face to face in meaningful situations around the camp fire, whilst sharing in collaboration on an activity, all powerful and profound opportunities.

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

Children have fun like never before and become masters of their own decisions. We must not disregard these experiences as frivolous. Play is a work, a context in which they can be creative and explore. A child who has truly experienced fun in their youth makes for a healthy adult and all the better for making the decisions without Mom and Dad.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers

So stop and think again about your hectic schedule for the summer vacation, have you allowed time for your child to just take time out from prescriptive activities and continuous schedules inflicted upon them by external factors. Make that change and let your child to explore the wonderful world of camp and all it has to offer them. Give them the chance to embrace opportunities that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Let’s give our children fond memories lasting a lifetime and develop skills that will enable them to tackle the wider world into the future.

When you are in school or at a job, two weeks can go on for what feels like years, but when you get to camp, two weeks goes by in what feels like a millisecond. The days feel long and filled with activities but before you know it, it’s all over just like that. In a short period of time, we’re back at school and all we can really do is look back.

So when I sit in my classes occasionally taking notes and staring at the clock, I will look back and remember Oliver Walke telling me every free swim that he was going to go play Frisbee golf and every lunch hearing about how he got an unbelievably good score that I am jealous of. I will remember at Granny’s Candy, how Aidan Trinity ran around every building at camp to get his balloon to base. There’s no forgetting, no matter how much I try, Meier Parr doing the truffle shuffle in Dance Thru the Decades. I won’t forget how Claire Schmitt, Tasha Pressler, and Sasha Coates-Park picked up a guitar and played it like Hendrix after just a couple of lessons, just like how I won’t forget learning to say otter in Spanish (nutria) thanks to Pablo Heredia, Kelt Van Meurs, Juan Diego Granai, and Juan Miguel Fernandez. Nobody can forget Greg Sheyn’s pigeon impression nor can they forget Will Tannebaum’s incredible ability to play baseball. Whether it is Reid Madison being spectacular at literally everything he does or Simon Rosenthal twerking, there’s no forgetting Third Session 2013.

And that’s what makes your time at CTT so special. While climbing the wall or scoring a goal is always enjoyable, and winning a skit night is a prize no award can ever replicate, it’s the memories you make here, the friends you have and hold on to, and the stories you can tell for years to come that give that lasting impression that makes camp home. Whether it is your first year in cabin 3 when your biggest accomplishment is getting an announcement or when you are a counselor and your biggest accomplishment is remembering to make an announcement, it is the people you encounter and grow with and the memories that you keep and tell stories about for years to come that make this little camp in High View, West Virginia just so great. After ten immensely incredible years here, I can safely say that there is no better place to spend a majority of your life than Camp Tall Timbers.

So with this final blog entry of Third Session 2013 I say farewell. For the past three years, I have been able to basically write about my life and time here at CTT, which has been made exponentially better with everything your kids have done. I love the comments daily about what you are thinking, and hearing from your children that you like the blog, it means a lot. Once again, thanks, goodbye, and be prepared for some stories and smiles and a countdown with less than 364 days to CTT 2014. We’re all waiting with anticipation. Wohelo.

When you give CTT a mission, they follow through: just ask Granny.

Last night, Granny gave everyone the task of saving her candy from the evil Willy Wonka and his Oompa Loompas. Completing daunting tasks such as grabbing a balloon with your teeth from the bottom of the pool, competing in intense charades, climbing the rock wall, using a golf club as a pool cue and sinking the golf ball in the hole, or shooting the bad candy at archery, all the campers worked to bring Granny’s Candies back to the base. On their way though, they had to outrun and outsmart some pretty talented (if I do say so myself) Oompa Loompas who wanted to eat all the candy. Despite the Oompa Loompas’ valiant attempts, CTT successfully saved Granny’s Candies and stopped the vicious Oompa Loompas from taking over the candy world.

In other camp news, at riflery, Oliver Walke, Adam Lampal, Ewan Hemmis, Jerome Williams, Pablo Heredia, Juan Diego Granai, Juan Miguel Fernandez, and Kelt Van Meurs shot cans. Reid Madison won the driving contest at golf and Will Tannebaum won the home run derby.

Today begins our big finale to camp. With the ping-pong tournament and futsal tournament ending today and Boys Leagues having their playoffs, we are hitting our last strides. The challenge course classes are ziplining and arts and crafts are tye-dying their hearts out. Tonight, our younger campers have their closing campfire complete with songs, s’mores, and stories and our older campers go bowling. Let’s hope I get a strike!

Who knew we had so much talent here at CTT? Between animal noises, singing, guitar playing, and dancing, last night’s talent show was truly a treat.

Kicked off by a duet by Gherry and Camille, we knew the talent show would really entertain us all. Will Tannebaum demonstrated his yo-yo prowess, even doing a trick between his legs. Reid Madison and Jared Lampal rapped and sang Kanye West’s “Heartless.” Doing a song for Gherry and Camille, Crawford Hemmis played “Here Comes the Bride” on guitar before performing an encore of the Mario theme song. Autumn Mallon did a spot-on goose noise and Greg Sheyn did a spectacular pigeon impression. Justin Dryer sang both parts to “A Whole New World” and, with Shelby Buyalos, Oliver Schwartz, Meier Parr, did a great improv skit. Girls Tents, led by Flore Grange, sang “Frere Jacques”. Julia Cozard sang all the states in alphabetical order and Hailey Mostow sang part of “Just the Way You Are.” Livia Lampal and Jordyn Woodling danced to “Oops I Did it Again”. The winners of the evening were Aaron Rosenthal, Aidan Trinity, Oliver Walke, Scott Sakura, Simon Rosenthal, and Noah Gross who did a hilarious dance routine resulting in them winning the coveted free trip to Pack’s.

Camp really has some sharp shooters this year. Yesterday, Michael Godek, Corbin Mauck, Noah Gross, Simon Rosenthal, Scott Sakura, Kyle Foster, and Max Shugerman shot cans in riflery. In archery, Jenna Ross, Harry Kaplan, and Cole Williams shot bullseyes and Cole also won a game of knockout. In Frisbee Golf, Aaron Rosenthal got a -1 and Oliver Walke tied the CTT record with a -4. Harry Kaplan won the home run derby. Pol Casamada won the biking time trial and Dylan Schloer ziplined for the first time. Kelt Van Meurs, Juan Diego Granai, and Juan Miguel Fernandez climbed the wall and Cole Williams and Reid Madison won the golf-driving contest.

Tonight is Granny’s Candy where the campers break up into teams and go to different candy factories around camp to defeat Willy Wonka and his evil oompa-loompas and save Granny’s Candy Factories. I can’t wait!

While we love every second of our time here at CTT, out-of-camp trips are always a special treat. Last night, we went skating at the Winchester Skating and Family Fun Center and the theme was twins. Aaron and Simon Rosenthal utilized their familial ties to be even more twinny than before by wearing the same clothes. Anja Schempf and Janalyn Thurber dressed identically, and while they are not technically twins, Reid Madison and Jared Lampal decided to take their brotherhood to the next level and become twins as well.

After a week of camp, it is great to see how many campers are doing so well. Jared Lampal won a game of jail. Ethan Fannon, Jared Lampal, Meier Parr, Tristan Oldham, Sam Greenberg, Pol Casamada, Kyle Foster, Adam Lampal, Oliver Walke, and Owen Abbey shot cans in riflery. Tasha Pressler, Jill Boylan, Autumn Mallon, and Claire Cozard climbed up the climbing wall. Ethan Fannon, Crawford Hemmis, and all of cabins 1 and 2 ziplined for the first time. Jerome Williams won guitar trivia. Kyle Foster, Scott Sakura, Adam Lampal, Harry Kaplan, and Pablo Heredia drove past the hill in golf and Jerome Williams saved a frog.

Today, Boys Leagues playoffs begin and the CTT Ping-Pong tournament continues with the entire camp competing to see who the true table tennis master is. Our older campers go go-karting today while other campers play Ultimate Frisbee during free swim. Tonight is another special night with our talent show that demonstrates some of the skills and abilities campers have that cannot be shown in normal daily activities. Let’s see who has the best talent!

Weekends at CTT are unforgettable. Between Dance Thru the Decades Night and Wild West Day, these past couple days were some for the record books.

Friday night was Dance Thru the Decades when each age group got a decade and had to do a skit or dance to that decade. Cabin 1 and 2 performed “That’s How You Know” with Jerry Golub and Aaron Foster as the prince and princess and Jack Rampy as an adorable trumpet player. Cabin B did a dance to “Grenade.” The winner of their age group was Cabin 5 who did a hilarious dance to “Thrift Shop” with Tristan Oldham as Macklemore. In 90s, Cabin 4 did a 90s rap medley with Adam Lampal as the protagonist who is from West Philadelphia, born and raised, Oliver Walke as counselor Toby, and Simon Rosenthal as their love interest. Cabins G and H danced to “I’m Too Sexy” with Claire Schmitt as the lead singer. Cabin 3 won for 90s with a hysterical skit to “Barbie Girl” with Pablo Heredia as Barbie and Juan Diego Granai as Ken. In 80s, Cabin 8 danced to “The Final Countdown” with Will McCain as the lead guitar player. Girls Tents did an 80s pop medley with Anja Schempf as the lead character. Boys Tents won 80s with a skit to “Somebody to Love” starring Meier Parr as Freddie Mercury. In the next round, Cabin 5, led by Tristan Oldham, danced to “Twist and Shout” and Boys Tents danced to “Play That Funky Music” with Meier Parr doing the truffle shuffle which was interesting to say the least. The winner of the whole night was Cabin 3 who had Pablo and Juan Diego reprise their roles and did a great skit to “Girlfriend.”

Saturday was a different day all together. We woke up an hour later to a sweet Saturday breakfast complete with cinnabuns, donuts, and muffins. For the first time in at least ten years, but probably ever, Boys Tents, particularly Justin Dryer, led services about learning lessons. As services ended, Old Crow Medicine Show began to play and in came cowboys on broom-horses to announce it was Wild West Day! The cowboys had to arrest Slippery Joe Melon in the lake and complete the chieftain’s challenge that involved them using their stealth to avoid being hit by the chieftain. Then, it was time for Outlaw Pete’s Revenge where, after spinning six times, campers had to go under a parachute and climb up a slip and slide. Special mentions to Tre’ Ingram who thought he could run up the slip and slide and even when he fell, he smiled and realized crawling was a better option and Justin Dryer who flailed a few times but still made it up. The competition ended with presentations of Wild West Skits won by the white team due to Jerome Williams’s stellar dance moves to “Thriller.” After a competitive day, we had a pool party and did a traditional CTT whirlpool.

Today, the Ping-Pong Tournament begins and the futsal tournament comes to a close. Tonight, we head to the Winchester Skating Center for a fun night at the rink. Fingers crossed I don’t fall down!

Everybody loves a day at the beach. After a normal morning of activities, we loaded up the buses and headed to Cacapon State Park. The sand was soft and the water was not too cold so it made for a great day for all. We played Frisbee and passed a soccer ball around and then had a cookout. The night ended with an obstacle course throughout the park and a fun and safe bus ride home.

After just a few days at camp, we already feel at home. Dippies is slowly, but surely accruing members. For those who don’t know, Dippies is when, at the wake-up bell, you head down to the pool and jump in. Trust me, it is a great wake-up. In daily activities, campers are shooting bullseyes more and more and Zach Buchalter caught a fish yesterday. Boys Leagues is fully underway and all the guys are playing competitively in soccer, kickball, basketball, and dodgeball while at Girl Power Hour, the girls do aerobics, dance, and dodgeball. Tonight is Dance Through the Decades where each cabin will get a decade to create a dance or skit to and tomorrow is Wild West Day where instead of normal activities, we wake up a bit later, have cinnabuns for breakfast, and spend the day as cowboys. Yeehaw!

I have spent 10 years at Camp Tall Timbers. I have seen a French boy bury his watch. I have actively participated in an evening activity celebrating a fictional creator of CTT. I organized a night celebrating citrus fruits. I have watched countless male campers dress as women to win skit nights, and I once spent part of a night watching a large British man throw tree stumps across the lower fields. Never, in ten years, have I seen a whale marry a seal, until yesterday.

After a long and fruitful courtship, Gherry the Whale and Camille the Seal wed in front of the whole camp. For those of you who are unaware, Gherry the Whale came to camp in July of 2012 to help us with our Carnival Day. Loving camp (like most), he stuck around until the end of the summer and helped his adopted father and stellar camper-counselor, Ethan “Eazy-E” Ebinger, with activities. Unfortunately, his father did not have him return to CTT at the beginning of the summer. Gherry begged his father to have him come back to his home away from home and eventually, he said yes. He arrived at camp in August and has had a smile on his face since then. At camp, he met Camille the Seal and their love of CTT and water brought them together.

In what was probably the best wedding at CTT to date (sorry Emma, Karina, and Glenn), Gherry and Camille sealed it with a kiss. After Crawford and Ewan Hemmis ushered guests to their seats, the ceremony began with Autumn Mallon, Mayson Smith, Kyle Foster, Jenna Ross, and Claire Cozard walking Camille down the aisle. The couple prepared their own vows and after a tear-jerking ceremony, they had their first dance to “Kiss From a Rose.” Following the first dance, Oliver Schwartz and Tristan Oldham told a heartwarming best man speech for Gherry about how Camille has changed him for the better and Autumn Mallon read her maid of honor speech about how she loves Camille. Then, the guests gathered for the horah and the traditional lifting of the bride and groom in a chair. The reception ended with a rocket launch to symbolize how Gherry and Camille’s love will continue to expand like the universe into which the rocket is launched.

In non-inflatable animal marriage news, yesterday was a great day for camper accomplishments. Max Shugerman won the bike time trial. Claire Cozard, Sasha Coates-Park, and Cameryn Johnson went mountain boarding for the first time. Ethan Fannon and Tristan Oldham shot cans in riflery. Cole Williams, Pablo Heredia, and Riley Smith shot bullseyes. Jordyn Woodling won a game of jail. Crawford Hemmis, Ewan Hemmis, and Jillian Boylan climbed up the wall. Jerry Golub, Garrett Fannon, and Zach Buchalter made it all the way around the cable walk in challenge course with Zach going part way around one-handed.

Today, Boys Leagues and futsal continues and we have a special day planned. Be sure to be on the lookout on the Camp Tall Timbers Facebook page and YouTube page for the new episodes of Good Morning Tall Timbers.

CTT is a unique place. While I am sure other camps have soccer and canoeing, I feel like very few reward sixteen year old boys for dressing like girls. Last night’s Cheesy Skit did just that.

Cabin B featured Mia Sorongon watching television with the rest of her cabin acting out commercials that she grew fed up with and ended the skit by reading a book. Cabins 1 and 2 told the story of milk and cookies being stolen and Jerry Golub as the camper who tragically could not get his afternoon skit until heroes, played by the other boys, saved the day. Cabins G and H acted out a haunted house with Sasha Coates-Park as the leader. Cabin 5 did a hilarious documentary skit on obesity with Kyle Foster and Greg Sheyn as an obese couple and Tristan Oldham and Ethan Fannon as their exercising role models. Cabin 3 had a dinner party hosted by Gherry, the camp inflatable whale, but unfortunately Gherry had poisoned everyone at the party and luckily Crawford Hemmis discovered who did it and saved the cabin. Cabin 8 featured Tre’ Ingram as a magician who defeated all his opponents. Girls Tents did a Mean Girls spoof with Shelby Buyalos as Regina George. The winner came down to a tie with Cabin 4 and Boys Tents. Cabin 4 parodied characters from various comedy movies with Adam Lampal as Kenny McCormick, Scott Sakura as Jackie Chan, and Simon Rosenthal as Napoleon Dynamite all to save Gherry the Whale from being kidnapped. Boys Tents did a Wizard of Oz musical spoof with Oliver Schwartz as a vehemently voluptuous Dorothy. The tiebreaker was a silent movie skit with Boys Tents being the winner with their hilarious ‘The Sandlot’ skit.

Yesterday also showed how far some campers have come. Zach Buchalter and Crawford Hemmis shot bullseyes in archery. In tennis, Reid Madison won a target game. Adam Lampal, Pablo Heredia, Kelt Van Meurs, Juan Diego Granai, Juan Miguel Fernandez, Ethan Fannon, Kyle Foster, and Jack Rampy shot cans in riflery. Harry Kaplan and Reid Madison won king of the court. Janalyn Thurber and Darby Bouweiri won games of art bingo. Owen Abbey and Will Tannebaum won home run derbys. Pol Casamada, Dylan “Gulp” Schloer, and Jack Rampy hit the black in riflery (one away from a bullseye) and Claire Schmitt and Kyle Foster (who has made more blog appearances today than any camper thus far) won a driving contest in golf.

Today, Boys’ Leagues commences with all of boys’ side being split into four teams to compete for the rest of the session in sports, and the CTT Futsal tournament continues as well. During Free Swims today, there is a dodgeball game and later, CTT gathers for the wedding ceremony of Gherry the Whale and Camille the Seal. Tonight is Cabin Activity Night where the cabins get to bond at an area of camp and build on the friendships that will last a lifetime. It’s time for another great day!

After a brief 365 days, here we are back at Camp Tall Timbers for Third Session 2013! In a mere couple of days, cabins are uniting, campers are exceling at all CTT has to offer, and there isn’t a single sad-looking face in all of camp.

Before I get too deep into all the fun we’re having here at CTT, let me give all of you new readers a brief introduction about me. My name is Alex Fang and this is my tenth summer here at Camp Tall Timbers and after that first bus ride from Pikesville Middle School back in 2004. I have actually spent a full year of my life at this camp (53 weeks and counting!) and every year I look forward to spending my summer vacation with your children and at this great camp. You’ll hear a lot from me over the next few weeks so let’s get to the campfire.

Last night, we had our annual tradition of a “Welcome Campfire” complete with the teachings of old CTT traditions like our camp song, “Friends, Friends, Friends,” the signature CTT hug, and of course, s’mores. The campfire began with the classic camp song, “Boom Chick-a Boom,” but instead of passing it with many styles, it was led by counselor Tim Allen and went through underwater, custodial, astronaut, Valley girl, and more styles. Keeping with the new activities at campfire, we had the first ever Third Session Camp Tall Timbers Nature Portraits where each cabin had to use what they could find in the surrounding area (sticks, rocks, hay, etc.) and make a portrait of their counselor. The winner of the night was Cabin 3 who used firewood to make their counselor Albert’s body, and grass to make a hair and skateboard.

After the stunning Nature Portraits™, it was time for cabin introductions.  Cabins 1 and 2 stated that they lived in a zoo and each had an animal noise. Following the announcement that introductions can involve planes, water, and opera, Cabin B hit the nail on the head by having a crash landing, opera, and boat. Cabin G talked about how their campers are the best campers that their counselors could have. Cabin 3 did chants about their campers and attributes about each, with Crawford Hemmis excitedly saying how much he loved video games. Cabin 4 had puns with each of their names. Cabin 5 grunted about each of their campers and explained that they are the best cabin. Cabin 8 answered random questions to show their true colors like “You gave birth to the first unicorn, what is its name?” Girls Tents did their introductions in French and Boys Tents retold the story of The Hunger Games with Oliver Schwartz (following in his brothers’ footsteps) playing Katniss and Meier Parr as Peeta. Following the cabin introductions, it was time for songs as we sang “Wagon Wheel” and “Country Roads.” By the end of the campfire, we were all closer as a camp singing songs and eating s’mores.

The campfire was not just the only place at CTT where all had fun. Campers have been setting new records and accomplishing new things since day one. Kyle Foster, Max Shugerman, and Zach Buchalter shot bullseyes. Reid Madison and Ethan Fannon won a driving contest in golf. Kyle Foster and Michael Godek shot cans in riflery and Oliver Walke is proving that he is the best Frisbee player in camp shooting a hole in one and getting a -3 on the Frisbee golf course.

Camp is just starting to get into full swing. Today, we have our first full day of activities and with an influx of British counselors this year, the CTT futsal tournament will be happening soon as well. All in all, I am 100% positive this will be my, and everyone’s, best summer yet.

Don’t forget to follow CTT on Twitter @camptalltimbers, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube page and you can feel like you are with at camp all the time. Let’s have a great summer!

I hope you all have enjoyed the blog this summer. Alex Fang has done a great job of keeping you up to date on all the camp happenings so far.  I asked for a little space today to express my thanks to all of you for helping make the summer great to date.  Our staff has done a great job in running a fun, safe program.  Camp would not be what it is without a hardworking Administrative staff as well.  Emma Knox and Mark Clark have worked very hard making sure everything runs smoothly, from scheduling to laundry, transportation to clothing and most importantly the care and safety of our campers and staff.  My father, Jerry, is also a great help in keeping things running smoothly here, with over 50 years of camp experience he knows it all.

The final player in our team, Karina Gershowitz, will be leaving Camp Tall Timbers to start a career in teaching in the Washington DC area.  Karina has been with camp off and on for 9 years and the last 3 working full time on camp marketing, summer programming and our Rookie and Tryout programs.  She is a great organizer and has been the key person in upgrading our social media presence and follow-up contact with our clients.  While Karina will be missed we are confident that she will always have some contact and connection to camp: she met her husband Jason here and was married at camp as well, so that should help.  I am sure you join the rest of us in wishing Karina continued good health and success in her new endeavor.

Thanks, Glenn

The end of Second session is the definition of bittersweet. On one hand, we get a trip to Hershey Park; get to see a dance show and play, and Color War. On the other, of course, sadly, CTT Second session 2013 ends.

We learn skills at activities and have fun during free swims but the best thing about CTT is the memories. We have the memory of Jelly Chen eating a lemon, including the rind, at Citrus Night. We have the great memories of Boys Tents’ skits with their cliffhangers and multiple parts. We recall the masterful performance of Ethan Polk-Trauman and Matt Kasoff “Fly Me to the Moon” at the campfire. Speaking of campfires, remember how great Nature Portraits were? We sure do. Who can forget Spencer Smith’s spot-on impression of Nicholas Cage in Cheesy Skit Night or Jordan Abel’s prowess at greased up watermelon in Gross Day. I’ll always remember the excitement the Rappoports and Daltons had every morning at Dippies and the joy Ian Osterman would receive from beating everyone at ping-pong and tennis. There are too many memories at camp for one blog post or even website.

A special thank you to Boys Tents for stepping up as camp leaders better than any tent group in the past, including my own, and really showing the camp is in great hands long after this staff leaves, and another shoutout to Pol Casamada and Jasmine Whims for being great CITs and I hope to see them as counselors next year.

Here at camp, things slowly come to a close and we’re preparing for that fateful day where eyes are teary, bags are packed, and everyone is embraced in a classic CTT hug. The CTTFFL ended with the Purple Nurples winning the Jerry Smith Trophy. Color War starts tomorrow with the Blue team trying to get another victory against the White team. Today is the final for the futsal tournament and the CTT Fantasy Football Darft commences. Tonight, we have a great night ahead with the art show, dance show, and the play: A Family Reunion to Die For. Then, we finish the Ping-Pong tournament, have our last banquet, say a few words about our time, and leave.

So with this final blog entry of Second Session 2013 I say farewell. For the past three years, I have been able to basically write about my life and time here at CTT, which has been made exponentially better with everything your kids have done. I love the comments daily about what you are thinking and hearing from your children that you like the blog, it means a lot. Once again, thanks, goodbye, and be prepared for some stories and smiles and a countdown with less than 364 days to CTT 2014. We’re all waiting with anticipation. Wohelo.

Matt Kasoff is wearing a safety vest and doing the safety dance. Noah Hayes is Texas Pete. Yup, last night was Ghost Court.

But before we get into the punishments, last night was also MTV Night filled with hilarious dances and skits. Cabin 2 did a remake of Titanic to “My Heart Will Go On” with Vance Pallone as Jack and Jacob Sanders as Rose (this will make sense in a couple paragraphs). Cabin 3 did “Good Feeling” with a dance. Cabin B did a Despicable Me 2 themed dance to a medley of pop songs. Cabin G danced to “Ready or Not” with Sydney Sachs and Emily Smith as the leaders. Cabin 4 did a medley of songs to tell the love story of their counselor and counselor Molly with Gabe Margolis as Molly. Cabin H danced to “Wannabe” with Juliette de Metz as their choreographer. Cabin F told a day in the life of Boys Tents with Katherine Barnes as Justin Leibow, Hayley Sanders as Carl Lasker, Sydney Alloy as Ben Mendelson, and Julia Perline as Matt Kasoff, who got hurt. Cabin 78 did a hilarious dance to The Script’s “Hall of Fame.” It came down to a tie between Boys and Girls Tents. Girls Tents did a skit to “Red Cup” with Sammie Cooper as the director that had them change roles. Boys Tents did a whopping six-minute skit to a medley of songs about administrator Mark, played by Josh Arnold, and his snuggie. After the tiebreaker, Boys Tents was crowned the winner, but they didn’t get long to celebrate as ghosts invaded the gym and it was time for Ghost Court.

Ghost Court is when campers get charged with various ‘crimes’ and the camp is the jury, which is probably why most plaintiffs are guilty. Cabin G and Cabin 3 always ask questions like “when is the bell going to ring?” or “when is murder mystery night?” so because they like questions so much, they must be like the great question askers before them, Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. In addition to dressing like the great thinkers, they must present the answers to their own questions. Sydney Sachs must answer, “How long is a piece of string?” Robert Bell must answer, “Why are we here?” Jami Siegal must answer, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Mason Corby must answer, “What was the best thing before sliced bread?” Lori Belt must answer, “What’s another word for thesaurus?” Grayson St. Aubin must answer, “Do fish get thirsty?” Emily Smith must answer, “Do penguins have knees?” Shane Butler must answer, “What do batteries run on?” And lastly, Lucie Pasquier must answer, “What shape is the sky?”

Ethan Polk-Trauman is afraid of bugs so he must wear the bug chain of shame. Aaron Mendelsohn and Ben Mendelson (pronounced the same) are not related. But that is so confusing since they act alike and have roughly the same last name, so today, they will be married at free swim. I wonder which name they will decide to go by. Cabin B loves balloons. Fun fact about Camp Tall Timbers administrator Emma Knox: she is (very distantly) related (no joke) to the scientific genius who created balloons, Michael Faraday. In order to properly thank her for her ancestor’s contributions to their lives, they must ask her at the beginning of each meal and free swim, “Is there anything you need, oh great descendant of Faraday?” Margaret Rappoport acts like she is her sister’s mother so now, she must feed Freddi Rappoport at meals. Cabin 4 is in love with How I Met Your Mother. While I agree that the show is stellar, they are far too interested in it so today I will narrate the story of how they all met.

Matt Kasoff gets injured too much. Like maybe two summers he has not been injured, so today, he is Mr. Safety Man and dons an orange vest and hardhat. Today at free swim, he will give a “Dangers of Camp: How to Be Safe” presentation and perform the safety dance. Cabin H paints their nails far too often, so today they will paint their nails to represent the characters and scenes from The Three Little Pigs and tell the story at free swim. Girls Tents is obsessed with wallabies so today they must wear a pouch with a baby joey and recite the Australian national anthem. Noah Hayes always does shots of hot sauce so now he is dressed as Texas Pete. Cabin F is very obsessed with boys so to curb their obsession, they are wearing signs that say, “I am a strong, independent woman, I don’t need no man” and counselor Sam Friedman will lead them as well as counselor Toby Thwaites in an intense workout session to toughen both Cabin F and Toby up. John Barnes plays the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air too often so today he is dressed like the Fresh Prince and when he leaves the cabin, his counselor Nick will throw him out like Uncle Phil did to Jazz. Emily Walke and Hayley Miller, Jake Sanders and Vance Pallone, and Josh Arnold and Carl Lasker spend too much time together so today, they act, dress, and speak like their counterpart and must go by their friend’s name. Lastly, Melorie Jenkins sings opera too often so tonight, she is writing and performing an opera about camp linen exchange.

Today, in addition to the fun of Ghost Court punishments, is the CTTFFL Super Bowl with the Purple Nurples taking on the Red Bulls and Boys Leagues has its final matches. Tonight is Citrus Fruit Night. The first of what should be many food themed nights, the campers will learn and compete in many citrus-based challenges. I can’t wait!

When you are in college, it is an interesting conversation with your friends as to why you will not be hanging out with them this summer as you will be at camp. When they ask is it worth it, I can point to this weekend to say yes, yes it is. Whether it be watching campers turn into detectives or witnessing the Leibows spaghetti wrestling, Murder Mystery Night and Gross Day just reminds me how great CTT truly is.

Friday night, we were set for a nice Board Game Night. We’d play some Monopoly and have a good night. But as we were playing board games for a few minutes, counselors Eric and TV suddenly died! It was time for the CTT Detectives to spring into action and compete in various challenges to get clues as to whom the murderer(s) was. They had to hit tennis balls into a small target, pass a hula-hoop through the whole team, shoot basketballs, arm wrestle, string beads, choreograph a group dance, and play a guess who you are game. Luckily, the talented detectives figured out the murderer and because of that, Eric and TV are still alive today for activities. Phew!

Saturday was a different day all together. After overcoming-obstacles themed services, it was time for Gross Day. In the morning, there was muddyball (dodgeball with mudballs) and spaghetti wrestling where the Leibows and Coopers were able to settle their sibling rivalries. After lunch and some well deserved showers, there was poop (chocolate pudding) art and frozen willy before we headed down to the lake. At the lake, we played seaweed searchin’ and greased up watermelon. In seaweed searchin’, you had to dig through pounds of seaweed to find golden bells and golf balls. One of the highlights of the day was greased up watermelon. In teams of six, campers entered the lake to grab a very greasy watermelon and try to put it in a boat. Jordan Abel and Aaron Mendelsohn mastered the strategy of carrying the eighteen-pound watermelon between their legs to confuse the other players as to where the watermelon was. The day ended with a Rancid Relay where you had to do a wheelbarrow race with your hands in pudding, play tic-tac-toe in paint on someone’s back, and more.

Today, we return to normalcy, at least by CTT standards, and have our last C-day. Tonight is MTV Night where each cabin picks a song to choreograph a dance. Lastly, a special happy birthday to Mrs. Dana Cohn. Thanks for being such a loyal blog reader and Alexis is doing great here at CTT. Happy birthday!