Author: Glenn Smith

Because last night, CTT turned into Atlantic City.

Starting with $1000 on their CTT Credit Card, campers entered Atlantic City wearing bowties for boys and pearls for girls with the goals of winning the most money for their cabin and getting a chance to enter the esteemed high rollers club. They partook in blackjack, texas hold ‘em, roulette, the ball-and-cup game, arm wrestling, and craps to win money for their cabin. Not just being about the thrill of gambling, Atlantic City also had a juice bar (with a soda bar in the high rollers club), an interdenominational chapel for that classic Atlantic City wedding, fortune telling, and a guess how many jar of beads game (won by Javier Ripio for knowing exactly 370 beads in a vase full of water).

Miller Friedman utilized the night to demonstrate his knowledge of Jersey Shore music by successfully naming each Bruce Springsteen, Frankie Valli, Frank Sinatra, and Gaslight Anthem song played throughout the night. Max Penn and Jake Abel (whose dad celebrated a birthday yesterday and I am very sorry for not knowing that) spent the night winning hands of blackjack and celebrating at the juice bar. Despite being amongst the youngest in Atlantic City, Shayna Allentoff and Beck Mueller were two of the first campers with $2000 to enter the high rollers club. In 3^rd place, Boys Tents had an average of $1272. Cabin 3 had an average of $1420 in 2^nd place. But the winner of the evening, thanks to an overwhelming $12,000 from Sam Swindell, was Girls Tents with an average of over $1800! Special thanks to Tent Girls Sami Zerwitz, Jen Heiman, Nicola Lee-Oesterreich, and Reece Dennison for helping set up Atlantic City night and doing all the artwork.

Yesterday, Aiden Perman dove off the diving board and swam all the way to the shallow end of the pool without breathing. Speaking of Aiden Perman, he, Gavin and Travis Beggs, and Miller Friedman drove past the checkpoint in golf. Ziggy and Sydney Sachs won games of tennis. Shayna Allentoff won a game of Queen of the Court. Michelle Pollowitz made it up the climbing wall and Kevin Shefferman won a game of Frisbee Golf with +4.

Today, the CTTFFL and Boys Leagues continue with playoffs on the horizon. Tonight, we celebrate the 4^th a bit early by going to see the Winchester Royals take on the Waynesboro Generals in what will be a great game of baseball. Play ball!

While it may have looked like a blur of highlighters, last night’s 80s Neon Night at the Winchester Skating Center was a great time. Last night featured our campers defying gravity and skating for hours. All of Cabin 1 learned to skate for the first time, and Ryan Bernstein only fell once. Zach LaPorte and Javier Alonso showed off their skating abilities by consistently doing tricks around the rink. All had a fun time and even those that fell down got right back and up and tried again.

Lunches at CTT are something special. The Girls and Boys side consistently try to top one another and show the most spirit. The Girls do their traditional girls side chant and cheer after a successful completion while the boys bang their cups in a somewhat synchronized fashion. Yesterday was noteworthy as the girls “lost it,” and when that happens, all of Boys’ Side crosses over to the Girls’ Side to sing The Righteous Brothers’s “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling.” The girls swoon and the men return to their meals feeling proud that they “brought it back” to the ladies.

Boys Leagues continued yesterday with Albert’s Leaders of the Way defeating Sam P’s Albuquerque Surge and Toby’s Care Bears besting Sam F’s Fluorescent Caboose Traveling Mimes. Yesterday was also a good day for campers giving back to camp as Aiden Perman strung his own rod and Michelle Pollowitz fixed a mountain board. In archery, Adam Dunham got a bullseye. Jessica Hymer and Madi Gehring beat the challenge course spiderweb while Shayna Allentoff made it around the wild woozy. Jen Heiman scored seventeen points in King of the Court, or as she calls it now, Queen of the Court. Ryan Bernstein, Joe Balaban, Ziggy, and Miller “Steve” Friedman hit it on the green at the golf course and Jami Siegal and Sydney Sachs trod water for the longest at the pool. The Futsal tournament came to a close as well with the stellar team of counselor Will, Laz Friedberg, and Max Friedman (Liverpool) winning in the finals.

Tonight, CTT takes another trip up the highway to Atlantic City. Okay, well not exactly, but it certainly will feel like it as tonight is Atlantic City where campers will get their fortunes told by Madam Marie and roll the dice at the Roulette table. Lastly, all of us here at CTT would like to extend a Happy Birthday wish to great parent and blog reader Elise Harrison. Be sure to skip around the room in our honor and happy birthday!

After a week of fun, CTT is really in full swing. Boys Leagues is already deciding seeding for playoffs, Girl Power Hour is dramatically boosting the spirit of Girls Side, and campers are shooting bullseyes and scoring goals galore.

Yesterday, Hayley Sanders and Ziggy won games of tennis. In horses, Gabe Perman trotted for the first time while Reece Dennison and Nicola Lee-Oesterreich cantered. Sydney LaPorte, Javier Ripio, and John Barnes shot bullseyes. Shayna Allentoff and Alienor de Dieuleveult won games of art bingo. Max and Miller Friedman (unrelated, but still impressive) shot par in Frisbee Golf and Beck Mueller won a game of knockout. In a particularly impressive day at the climbing wall, Anna Hutzler, Hayley Sanders, Jami Siegal, Lucia Sanz Carpintero, Katherine Barnes, and Sydney LaPorte made it to the top of the wall.

Last night was CTT Game Show Night where cabins went around to different game shows to compete for the grand prize of getting canteen first. Campers competed intensely at Family Feud, Name That Tune, Password, and Jeopardy. At Password, Grant Newcome and Ryan Bernstein displayed their teamwork ability and how they could read each other’s thoughts as when Ryan was given the word “rock,” he knew to just say Dwayne Johnson for Grant to respond with “THE ROCK.” Laz Friedberg showed off his intellect by answering most of the trivia questions including knowing that a month has to start on a Sunday in order for there to be a Friday the 13^th and that elephants have a gestation period of twenty-two months. The cabins worked hard and at the end, Cabin H came in 3^rd place, Cabin 5 came in 2^nd place, and Girls Tents, with an incredible performance at Name That Tune, won game show night.

After the rain last night, today is a cool day and we can really feel that sweet summer breeze. Today, the Futsal tournament concludes with Liverpool (counselor Will, Laz Friedberg, and Max Friedman) and Bayern Munich (counselor Nick, Matt Kasoff, and Bobby Jaffe) duking it out in the finals. Tonight, CTT goes to the Winchester Skating Center for a fun night at the rink. Lastly, all of us here are elated that this week is our Wet Your Feet Week and Cabin 1 and Cabin B are excited for these new faces. Welcome to camp!

What a weekend here at CTT! There was the start of the CTTFFL, Cheesy Skit Night, Renaissance Day, and of course, all the other activities we have here.

In its seventh year, the CTTFFL is a staple of free swim activities. The season kicked off with the Red Bulls defeating the Purple Nurples 16-13 and the Orange Crush besting the Yellow Polka Dotted Hippopotami 21-7.

Aside from CTTFFL, Friday was another day of excitement here. Jake Greenberg and Luke Gehring won a game of knockout in archery. Jesse Alloy got a bullseye in riflery. Gabe Perman had a particularly good day winning a canoe race, catching a fish, and climbing to the top of the wall. Ignacio Rodriguez and Javier Alonso climbed to the top of the wall as well. Max Penn, after taking a brief blog hiatus, returns to this post with the stunning accomplishment of making a blindfolded half-court shot. Reece Dennison made a 3-point shot. Zach LaPorte shot an impressive +2 in Frisbee golf and despite his small stature, Ethan Harrison remarkably climbed up the hard side of the wall.

Friday night was also Cheesy Skit Night. Cabin H did their own version of the Red Carpet at the Oscars with Katherine Barnes as Taylor Swift, Sydney Alloy as Channing Tatum, and Hayley Sanders as Lady Gaga. Cabin 2 did a parody of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the campers received Golden Dysons and went to Albert’s Ice Cream Factory. Like the story, the boys disappeared one by one until Beck Mueller was the last one standing. Cabin 3 did a roast of members of their cabin and their counselor. For the first time in years, there was a tie for the winner of Cheesy Skit Night: Boys Tents and Girls Tents. Boys Tents told the story of counselor Albert, Jerry, and fruit loops with Miller Friedman as Jerry and Jake Abel as Albert, and Girls Tents did their own version of The Bachelorette with Jen Heiman as the Bachelorette and the rest of the tent girls mocking the Boys Tent group.

Saturday was Renaissance Day. Campers split into teams and instead of regular activities, went back in time to the Renaissance period and competed in themed activities. First, teams had to paint their own coat of arms and then play Capture the Painting. The teams also had to make a sculpture of their counselor leader. Then, they went to the upper fields for a competitive game of Quidditch (Hogwarts was probably around in the time of the Renaissance).

Today Boys Leagues continues with Toby’s undefeated Care Bears taking on Sam P’s Albuquerque Surge and Sam Friedman’s Fluorescent Caboose Traveling Mimes challenging Albert’s Leaders of the Way in hockey. The futsal tournament also concludes today. I can’t wait to see who wins!

As much as we love being at camp, out-of-camp trips are always a fun time. Yesterday, the older campers went white-water rafting in Harper’s Ferry and had a heck of a meal at Golden Corral while the younger campers went to Cacapon State Park for a great time at the beach and some FANTASTIC burgers and hot dogs.

At the park, campers enjoyed a lake all to themselves where Aiden Perman, Sarah Jewell, Sydney Sachs, and Shayna Allentoff used counselor Theresa Brecker as a flotation device and made in the deepest part of the lake. Lucas Sellem, Adam Dunham, Kevin Shefferman, and Alec Marks had a trick Frisbee throwing contest and Virgile Noli juggled a soccer ball for over five minutes. After a beautifully prepared dinner, campers became characters in the story of The Kidnapping of Princess Cacapon. They had to build a shelter for her, find food, save her from her kidnapper, and choreograph a dance for her approval; the final dances even made the princess (counselor Jamie Alloy) cry because it was so cute. Princess Cacapon was saved thanks to the heroes and all was well in Cacapon State Park.

While most of the blog is about what happens between breakfast and bedtime, CTT does not rest. The early mornings are filled with activities for those dedicated campers. Of course, we have Dippies, the tradition of waking up to swim a lap in the pool before breakfast (trust me, it wakes you up better than any alarm can). But there is burgeoning new activity in the morning that is rising to prominence: Runnies. Though traditionally, morning running has been a counselor activity, Ryan Bernstein, Hayley Sanders, Katherine Barnes, Sydney Alloy, Miller Friedman, and Matt Kasoff have been leading the charge and accruing more members to exercise in the morning. Just the other day, Miller “Steve” Friedman ran four miles and Matt Kasoff ran over four sprints up the lake hill before doing sixteen pull-ups. Us dippiers welcome more activities in the morning with open arms and have even started to merge with runnies leading to a great pre-breakfast workout.

Today, the CTTFFL commences and not that I have a bias as their coach, but I really think the Purple Nurples will take home the Jerry Smith Trophy. Tonight is also one of my favorite nights camp has to offer: Cheesy Skit Night. Working with their cabin, campers have to create and perform the funniest skit possible. Tomorrow is also a special day as CTT travels back in time to the Renaissance and we have Renaissance Fair Day tomorrow. Time for some jousting!

While everyone loves tubing or playing sports, what really makes CTT so great is the people and the friendships that last a lifetime. Last night was Cabin Activity Night where a cabin or tent group gets a part of camp to play and bond. Even longtime campers utilized the night to continue building the friendships that are sure to last forever.

Cabin 2 competed in a cabin-wide climbing challenge while Cabin 5 played world cup where Max Friedman was the winner. Down at the lake, Cabin H went tubing, and in that time, Sydney Alloy skipped a rock a very impressive six times. Cabin 78 worked as a team and was able to collect over 400 golf balls from the woods. Cabin 3 had a wrestling tournament and then a badminton tournament where Zach Laporte and Javier Ripio vanquished the rest of the cabin winning the series 5-2. Cabin B watched The Parent Trap and had facials done and Girls Tent had a spa night which I have been informed is when girls paint their nails and use various products on their face. Even after ten years, there are still some things at CTT I don’t understand.

Yesterday was also our first C-day a great time for campers to continue excelling at all CTT has to offer. Jacob Sanders won a game of knockout in archery while Nathan Allentoff and Ryan Bernstein won knockout in basketball. Aiden Perman and Ignacio “Nacho” Rodriguez caught fish. The dynamic Spanish sibling team of Jaime and Lucia Sans Carpintero made it up the climbing wall. In horses, Gabe Perman won red light/green light. In mountain boarding, Gentry Stromer made it all the way down the hill. Jen Heiman won a game in challenge course. At the pool, there was a diving and splashing competition where Aidan Brodnitz had the smallest splash, Devon Cantor had the biggest splash, and Laz Friedberg had the coolest dive.

Today is a very special day for yours truly. After ten daunting years, longtime camper and counselor Sam Friedman and I are grilling burgers and hot dogs for the campers at Cacapon State Park. While we have stood at the grill at different times, today is finally the day when our summers at CTT culminate and we get to lead the cookout that we have loved since we first got to camp a decade ago. Though I try not to talk too much about me in the blog, I am very, very, very excited for you all to hear from your campers about how the burgers were perfectly grilled and the hot dogs were scrumptious. After Boys Leagues and Girl Power Hour, we head off for a day at the beach and a cookout that will be one for the ages. Off to the beach!

With Taco Tuesday, a camp-wide scavenger hunt, and a starry night, yesterday was a day to be remembered.

Lunchtime is special on Tuesday. While all meals at CTT are fun whether it is the Girls’ Side chant or Cabin 5 singing the University of Maryland, College Park fight song, there is something special about Taco Tuesday. When the lunchtime bell rings, campers and counselors alike funnel through the cafeteria with mouths watering for a tasty CTT taco. After receiving their food, the fun does not stop; we go to what is traditionally the salad bar, but on Tuesdays, becomes a cornucopia of options for making one of the best meals camp has to offer. Though biggest taco-making and fastest eating contests don’t sound like much, Taco Tuesday is one of the most anticipated days of the CTT week.

Last night was also our Scavenger Hunt. The campers were split into teams and hunted for clues, which would become a phrase necessary for all campers at Camp Tall Timbers. Teams had to hunt for ping-pong balls and then rally them for a minute, perform trick shots in basketball, race canoes, throw Frisbees around the baseball diamond, race to put on a harness, and test their minds in trivia to earn clues. After over an hour of searching throughout all of camp, every team found all twelve clues spelling out, “Don’t leave your shoes on the porch or Dyson (the new camp dog) will eat them.” As a reward for finding all the clues, campers enjoyed ice cream sundaes and gazing at the starry sky and beautiful moon that graced us to remind us how beautiful CTT can be. Before going to bed though, a group of campers who wanted to continue exploring went off to search for fireflies and Aidan Brodnitz caught four in a jar.

Yesterday was our first full day of activities and it seemed that every camper did something noteworthy at each activity. Beck Mueller won the Monkey Olympics in challenge course. Max Penn, keeping with his goal of doing something blog-worthy each day, scored a hat trick in hockey. Ethan Harrison, Gabe Perman, and John Barnes climbed up the climbing wall. Ethan McCann won a game of knockout. Joe Balaban made a half-court shot.  Matt “Ziggy” Ziegelstein won eight games of tennis and Ignacio “Vans” Ibarrondo, Sam Blum, and Zach LaPorte shot a bullseye in archery. Jaime Sanz Carpintero was the MVP at his game of basketball and when the tetherball fell off the pole, he fixed it in a matter of minutes. In horses, Katherine Barnes won a game of red light/green light and later that day, with her songwriting partners, Hayley Sanders and Sydney Alloy, used the two chords they learned in guitar to write a song about teamwork entitled, “Teamwork.”

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 begins as well. 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!

Well another year has flown by and here we are back at everyone’s favorite place to be, Camp Tall Timbers. If the past couple days are any indication, First Session 2013 will be the best summer yet. In just a mere forty-eight hours, campers have excelled from sports to music to just simple camp fun activities like Jen Heiman’s feat of pouring a “perfect glass of water” (albeit spilling the entire cup on her first try).

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 spent close to a full year of my life at this camp (47 weeks and counting!) and every year I look forward to spending my summer vacation with your children and 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. To introduce themselves to the camp, the cabins prepared a skit to let CTT know who they were and what they loved. Cabin 5 changed the lyrics to the theme song from Phineas and Ferb to talk about how if you stick with Cabin 5, you will have a great summer. I’m sure they are correct. Cabin B had an elaborate introduction with a conga line and a cheer about how they were the Bear Cubs of Cabin B and the cutest campers in all of camp. Cabin 78 changed up the pace and, led by their counselors Tim Keith, Will, and Toby, became a platoon that was orderly and concisely informed the audience that they were strong men with big hearts. At the end, Cabin 3 was voted best cheer reenacting the classic Will Ferrell cheerleader skit from Saturday Night Live but with their own cheers.

After the cabin introductions, it was time for songs where tent boys and future rock stars Matthew Kasoff and Matt Ziegelstein played guitar and led the entire camp through “Wagon Wheel,” “Country Roads,” “We Are Young,” and for counselor Nick Whims’s 22^nd birthday, Taylor Swift’s “22.” By the end of the campfire, we were all closer as a camp singing songs and eating s’mores with Sami Zerwitz winning the award for best s’mores stick.

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. Sydney Sachs won a game of jail (a tennis game where the last person that has not hit it out, and therefore not in jail, wins). Ethan McCann, who had never played field hockey until today, scored four goals in the first game of field hockey. Jennifer Heiman scored her first ever soccer goal at Camp Tall Timbers showing that the more you come back to camp, the better you will be at everything CTT has to offer. Lucia Sanz, Max Penn, and Devon Cantor won games of knockout. Reece Dennison scored not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR touchdowns in the first (of many) intense game of Ultimate Frisbee for the summer. Aiden Perman won a game of gaga ball. Charlie McIntyre scored a hat trick in soccer. Max Penn, Miller Friedman, Zach LaPorte, and Sam Jewell made half-court shots in basketball and Max Penn, who has had a great couple of days for accomplishments, Alex Goldstein, and Ryan “Buns” Bernstein hit the green at the golf course.

But CTT is more than just sports. Hayley Sanders and Maddi Gehring shot bullseyes in archery. In their first time going down the hill, Cabin 2 and Cabin B successfully mountain-boarded and Cabin 2 went ten minutes being completely still in the freeze game. Ethan Harrison predicted the goose three consecutive times in a game of duck-duck-goose and Shayna Allentoff won the award for best hair braider. What a start to camp!

Camp is just starting to get into full swing. Today, we have our first full day of activities and the CTTFFL (Camp Tall Timbers Flag Football League) is in its seventh year and looking better than ever. With an influx of British counselors this year, the first 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!

CAMILLE ST REGIS

While I’m originally from Santa Barbara, California, I currently live in Maryland. This May I will graduate from Salisbury University with a degree in English and a minor in French. I am beyond excited to embark upon the next chapter of my life, which begins this summer at Camp Tall Timbers! In addition to reading lots and lots for my classes, I enjoy watching French films and painting. In fact, I have my own art business called Camillustration. Most of the time, I work with acrylic paint on a commission basis, specializing in portraits. Aside from my artistic life, being active is very important to me. I love running, surfing, and hiking. Memories of hiking and camping in Taos, New Mexico will always bring a smile to my face.
Since everyone in my family is an avid camper, spending the summer in a cabin so far from the city is something that my childhood has prepared me well for. Speaking of childhood, I am lucky to be able to see my siblings grow up. As the oldest child in my family, I love running around with my four-year-old brother, talking to my eighteen-year-old brother about school and my old teachers, and painting my ten-year-old brother, who loves to serve as my model.
Last summer I was a swim instructor and aftercare counselor at a summer camp in Rockville, Maryland. This summer, I am looking forward to working with kids again, but this time in a more artistic, creative environment. Though I was privileged to have time last summer to draw on the sidewalk with my campers, I am excited to play an even more instrumental in nurturing children’s artistic tastes and talents by planning activities that encourage them to explore the worlds of their imaginations. If you are interested in learning more about what I do as an artist, visit my artist page at facebook.com/camillustrations. See you at camp!

In the run up to Summer 2013 – just a few short months away now, we asked some of your favorite counselors to tell us what they have been up to over the Winter and what they are looking forward to most in the Summer ahead. Here’s what they had to say.

ALEX FANG:
Yo CTT! I don’t know about you guys but I could not be more excited for this summer. Life’s been fun in Orlando. Mickey Mouse says hi, but all I can do now is count down the days until I see some old faces, some new faces, and some faces of some counselors I have not seen in a long time that I know we will all love. Before you know it, we’ll be sitting down for campfires and skits and the White team will be well on their way to another Color War victory. Can anyone say White Elmer’s Fun Glue? We’re just around the corner and I can’t wait to get my blog and B-2 Hockey on. See you soon!

JAMIE ALLOY:
I am very much looking forward to this summer and seeing so many familiar faces as well as new ones. Since last summer I have been studying visual arts at Temple University in Philadelphia. After learning so much here at school I hope to share with CTT campers new projects and fun things to do. Can’t wait to work in the art shack again with all the creative campers!

NICK WHIMS:
Every time I see a photo from last summer, I get even more excited to see all of you again this year and just a little nostalgic for campfires! The Polar Bear and I will do our best to make CTT 2013 just as memorable. (barring anymore power cuts!)

ERIN SMEDLEY:
I’ve always considered CTT my second (or even preferred) home and, though many of my friends have outgrown camp, I refuse to spend a summer away from the Blue Ridge Mountains. This will be my second summer as a counselor and my tenth overall. Although CTT does offer the entire spectrum of possible summer camp activities, it is the people that bring me back. It doesn’t matter how weird you are because everyone is just as strange, but we’re a family and we welcome everyone! Currently, I am graduating from high school and will be playing soccer at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland in the fall with the intention of continuing to participate in theatre and pursuing my English/creative writing major.

SAM FRIEDMAN:
Hey Everybody!
As my freshman year of college wraps up, all I can think about is getting back to camp. I’m excited about seeing old friends as well as making new ones, and looking forward to another Blue team victory of course! Have a great rest of the spring and I can’t wait to see you all soon.

ALBERT ORIOL:
Albert here! I’m super excited for summer 2013. This will be my 11th year at camp. 6 as a camper and 5 as a counselor. What have I been up to outside of camp you may ask? Well, I’ve been making some cool videos and I’ve been uploading them to vimeo… other than that, I’ve been pretty busy with University. I’m really looking forward to seeing you all this summer. And remember, sign up for soccer!

The summer of 2011 was my very first year at Camp Tall Timbers. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been to sleepaway camp before, but that was girl scout camp and soccer camp for just one week. It was my first time at a traditional sleep-away camp and for three weeks! I was so nervous, being the new girl and all.

When I got to camp, I was filled with pride and excitement. We got a tour of the camp, and I was amazed. The camp was so beautiful. I looked forward to be able to do so many different things and meeting so many different people. When it was time to sign up for activities, I didn’t know what to sign up for! There were so many different options to choose from, activities varying from being in the Camp Musical to Riflery! The weeks seemed to go by so fast, too fast – because I was having the time of my life with my new friends and I discovered talents I didn’t know I had. The counselors were so welcoming and made me feel so special. Before I knew it, it was time for color war! Go – Winnie The Blue! My first camp experience was something I will never forget. I had the time of my life and CTT is truly where I am meant to be. I love Camp Tall Timbers.

Julia Stern – 7th Grade, 3 week Camper

As we enter the holiday season and look to a New Year, here at Camp Tall Timbers we gear up for our busiest time of the year (bar summer of course!) why’s that? I hear you cry… because it’s CAMP FAIR SEASON!

January, February and March are the months you will see us at your local malls, community centers and schools spreading the word about our awesome program and all the fun of Camp Tall Timbers. So stop on by, say hello, let us know what you have been getting up to and see a friendly face (maybe even some counselor alumni too!) – grab some freebies and bring a friend! We love to see you.

In 2013 – you can catch us at the following locations:

JANUARY

20^th – Temple Sinai, Dresher PA. 11-3pm

26^th – Sidwell Friends School, Washington DC. 1.00-3.30pm

26^th – White Flint Mall, Bethesda MD. 10.00-5.00pm

26^th – North Point Mall, Atlanta GA. 11.00-4.00pm

27^th – Gilman School, Baltimore MD. 1.00-3.30pm

27^th – White Flint Mall, Bethesda MD. 12.00-5.00pm

27^th – Kahler Hall, Columbia MD. 2.30-5.00pm

31^st – Tower Hill School, Wilmington DE. Time: TBA

FEBRUARY

2^nd – Tuckahoe YMCA, Richmond VA. 10.00-3.00pm

9^th – Tyson’s Corner Mall, Tyson’s Corner VA. 10.00-5.00pm

10^th – Double Tree Hotel, Charlottesville VA. 10.00-3.00pm

15^th – Thomas Jefferson Community Center, Arlington VA. 6.00-8.00pm

20^th – TC Williams HC, Alexandria VA. 5.30-8.00pm

23^rd – Dulles Town Center Mall, Dulles VA. 10.00-4.00pm

24^th – Dulles Town Center Mall, Dulles VA. 11.00-4.00pm

MARCH

9^th – Truxton Park, Annapolis MD. 10.00-2.00pm

More fairs TBC soon. Be sure to keep up to date with all our adventures on facebook! www.facebook.com/camptalltimbers

It pains me to say this is it. In less than twenty-four hours, the final goodbyes are said, between counselors and campers alike, it ends. It doesn’t really hit you until you look at the camp and realize it is a bit emptier than it used to be. But even when camp ends and people leave, all that changes is not waking up to a bell. The memories stay in your mind and the skills you learned stay in your muscle memory so a little bit of CTT is always with you.

As much as I love the big things at camp like campfires and bowling trips, I really remember the little things. I remember Greg Sheyn always refusing to get into bed and having to throw him there sometimes or the Rosenthal brothers and Oliver Walke being incredibly good at Frisbee golf that hopefully by the time they hit high school, they can represent the U.S. in the Olympics (hopefully it’s a sport by then). As much as I mock him, it is impossible to forget a Chet Stein story or Chet Stein skit or Chet Stein noise the same way it is impossible to forget Krista Ross-Black singing her heart out every day in preparation for her Grammy award. I don’t have enough space in this blog to write out every memory I have from Third Session, but rest assured, they were priceless.

And that’s what CTT is. It’s what it is to me and I think for most, it is a haven for fun and memories. Perhaps the greatest thing about CTT however, is that it is always there. For the next eleven months, all I think about is the next summer and I am comforted by the fact that there is a next year, a next summer, and a next opportunity to better myself and have a lot more memories. The bell may not ring as much and the cabins might not be as clean, but CTT waits for us; the same way we wait for it.

In a matter of minutes, I leave my blogging computer and head off to a college class, and I’m not worried like some of my peers. I hear from friends that they are worried about leaving home and making new friends and I just get to chuckle because I had a decade of Camp Tall Timbers and that does more for me than any freshman orientation Rollins College can offer me. I digress, but it is true, you may leave CTT and spend a summer working or training, but CTT sure doesn’t leave you. The traditions stay there and you rest easy because you know, deep down in your heart, that there is always a next summer, and there is nothing that makes me happier than picturing myself there.

We’ll be seein’ ya real soon, summer 2013 is less than a year away. This has truly been an honor. Thank you all.

Alex Fang

You gotta love a pajama party. You gotta love bowling. What better way to spend a night than combining the two? To top it all off, half the camp got a campfire!

Last night, half the juniors went bowling for a pajama party. The seniors had a campfire as a fun bonding time for the older campers. After a round of boom-chick-a-boom, we sang camp classics like “Country Roads,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Last Kiss,” and a new camp song, “Chicken Fried.” Following the song session, we broke out into our last prop skits and the winner was Albert and Rachel’s group who did a spin of the camp skit, “Doctor Doctor,” but replaced the medical scene with baking and it featured cameos by campers playing myself, Albert’s sister Georgia, and the Tummy Monster. The night ended with a telling of the story of the camp monster, Cropsy, and s’mores.

Yesterday was another great day for activities. Jack Clauss, Sam Greenberg, Max Shugerman, and all of Cabin G shot bullseyes. Hailee Williams won a game of jail. Oliver Walke and Aaron Rosenthal beat their last record and got par on the Frisbee golf course. Crawford Hemmis won a driving contest and Mikayla Pettit, Hailey Mostow, and Magan McNeal made it up the climbing wall.

Today, we flip-flop the activities and the seniors have their last hurrah bowling whilst the juniors have one last campfire. Here we go!

These last few days at camp are always special. We break some of the routine with out-of-camp trips and campers get to show the skills they have learned in camp, outside of camp. All of the balancing the challenge course activities did helped many last night at the skating rink. The theme was costumes and they were all gorgeous ranging from a Mister and Missus Tye-Dye to a toga. Of all the great costumes, Stevie Nocket had the best costume dressed as a Red M&M. The night ended with camp-wide dancing in the rink to the “Cha Cha Slide”, “Cupid Shuffle,” “Teach Me How to Dougie,” and “Telephone.”

This time also demonstrates how far campers have come in the camping season. Jack Clauss untangled his own fishing rod and Krista Ross-Black shot a bullseye. Sam Greenberg won a game of jail. All of challenge course has successfully ziplined and mountain boarders now board down hills of over one hundred feet! Additionally, the CTT Ping-Pong tournament is underway and the 3-on-3 Futsal tournament closes shortly.

Just because the fun comes to a close soon, it certainly doesn’t stop. Tonight, the juniors head out to go bowling whilst the seniors have their farewell campfire complete with songs, laughs, and s’mores. Here’s hoping I get a strike!

Runnies, go karting, and tie-dying. Even before the talent show began, we knew one of these last days here at CTT would be nothing short of awesome.

CTT mornings are a hidden gem at camp. There’s the traditional dippies that meets at the pool after the wake-up bell to wake up with a lap in the pool. As time has gone on, there have been movements to combat dippies and it was announced yesterday that runnies, waking up by running a lap around camp, would have their very own plaque at the end of the session giving dippiers like me a run for our money.

Yesterday was also a great day for individual campers even before the talent show. Cole Williams shot a bullseye and won a game of knockout. Aaron Rosenthal set a new 3^rd session record with a Frisbee golf score of +1 and Jack Whitehill set a record for mountain boarding down the hill in 12.02 seconds.

After a full day of activities, it was time for the CTT Talent Show. The show opened with Cabin A who did a well-choreographed dance to Cobra Starship’s “You Make Me Feel…” Autumn Mallon dazzled the audience with her gymnastics skills. Krista Ross-Black beautifully sang “Bust Your Windows” by Jazmine Sullivan, Hailey Mostow sang an Elvis Presley medley, and Justin Dryer sang Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” Reid Madison juggled and Livia Lampal and Dani Primerano demonstrated their fabulous hula-hooping abilities.

Other than individual talents, there were a few noteworthy group talents. The tent girls (with Jerome Williams as a backup dancer) cross-dressed and danced to “The Call” by Backstreet Boys. Cabin B did a hysterical skit about how females are preoccupied with their weight. One of the most interesting skits of the night was Boys Tents. They had Parker Mitchell as an adventurer, Chet Stein as a director, Aaron Walsh as a cameraman with Dakota Pettit as the boom mic holder, and Meier Parr as a bear. In the skit, the adventure crew would move to different areas to catch animals, like the jungle and the savannah, but halfway through the skit, Parker Mitchell got a nosebleed. Rather than break character and not get back on stage, he mended his wound and got back up there to finish the Antarctica setting for their skit.

Today begins our big finale to the end of camp. As daily activities climax with tie-dye and ziplining, our evenings are spent out of camp. The last couple nights of camp, we go bowling and have farewell campfires but tonight, we go to the Winchester Skating Center for a night at the rink! Let’s hope I don’t fall down!

Tent girls dancing to dubstep; Cabin 8 dancing to show tunes; such glorious sights can only happen at last night’s MTV Night. Each cabin received a genre and danced all night to try to win the coveted MTV Night trophy for their cabin.

Cabin 3, led by Kyle Foster and the Hemmis brothers, rocked out to Billy Squier’s “The Stroke” for their genre of rock and roll. Cabin A’s genre was 21^st Century pop artists and did an adorable dance to Selena Gomez’s catchy hit, “Love You Like a Love Song.” Cabin G had to dance to a song by a 21^st Century pop group and chose LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” while Cabin 1 danced to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” for their Disney genre. Cabin B had a very well-choreographed dance to country sensation Marc Broussard’s “Home.” By the end of the night, there was a tie between Cabin 4 and Boys Tents. Cabin 4, led by Ferris Bueller-esque lead singer Simon Rosenthal, did a phenomenal skit to The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” for their classic rock genre and Boys Tents had opera and performed “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera with Aaron Walsh as the Phantom and Oliver Schwartz donning a white dress and wig to be Christine Daaé. The tiebreaker was a skit-off where Cabin 4 and Boys Tents had to present a skit of Pimp My Ride. They were both very good, but the audience cheered loudest for Boys Tents and they got to take the gorgeous trophy back to their tents.

Today, Boys Leagues playoffs begin and the CTT Ping-Pong tournament commences with the entire camp competing to see who the true table tennis master is. 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. The winner of the talent show receives a free trip to ice cream haven Pack’s. Let’s see who has the best talent!

What a weekend here at CTT! Between Clue Night on Friday and Olympic Day on Saturday, there was fun all around!

Friday night was Clue Night where we made the famous board game a reality with counselors dressing up as Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, and the rest of the Clue™ gang. Campers went around to various stations set up at camp and complete challenges such as answering trivia questions, blindly shooting a basketball, or eating a piece of candy and guessing what flavor it was without looking at the wrapper. If the challenges were completed, they could guess the question. In the end, it was Mr. Green in the Rec Hall with a choomster (a very large potato chip).

Saturday was a different day. With a late wakeup and sweet breakfast, the camp was in a great mood and ‘courage’-themed services only boosted everyone’s spirits for Olympic Day. The day began with individual events in archery, riflery, climbing, challenge course, and pudding eating. Jared Lampal won the gold medal in pudding eating with an impressive 4.9 seconds and the Mostow siblings won three challenge course games to win medals. Noah Gross won the gold medal in basketball. Sam Hu and Dakota Pettit were particularly impressive winning two medals in archery and climbing. In riflery, Cole Williams won the bronze medal, Jack Whitehill won the silver, and Noah Braman took home the gold!

After individual events, it was time for team competitions in water polo, an obstacle course entitled “The Gauntlet,” a diving competition and a canoe race. There was also a Frisbee golf competition where the team of Noah Gross, Crawford Hemmis, and Simon Rosenthal got the bronze with a score of +8, Oliver Walke and Meier Parr received the silver medal for a score of +5, and Aaron Rosenthal and David Ayers won the gold medal with a score of +4. Oliver Walke was particularly impressive throwing a birdie from over forty yards away.

The day ended with three grand finales: a flag presentation, a relay race, and a synchronized swimming competition. Each team made a flag to demonstrate their spirit. The black team of Anja Schempf, Sam Greenberg, Maia Primerano and Sarah Jewell won the bronze medal for their Batman flag, the blue team of Hailey Mostow, Mikayla Pettit, and Josh McConnell got the silver medal for their Blue Brits flag, and the red team of Autumn Mallon, Tasha Pressler and Shelby Buyalos took home the gold for the Crimson Communists flag. The relay race, the Decathlon, was ten legs that spanned the entire camp starting at the pool with a race to get ten pennies and ending with a sprint up the golf hill where each team waved their flag in excitement to see who would win. Lastly, we had synchronized swimming where the red team got the gold medal for their dance led by Meier Parr to “Evacuate the Dance Floor.” At the end of the day, the red team was the winner and each member got a glittery gold medal and the whole camp had a pool party to cool off after an intense day.

Tonight is one of my favorite skit nights, MTV Night, where each cabin gets a genre of music and has to create a choreographed dance. The nights only get better as the week progresses with the talent show tomorrow and skating and bowling trips on the way!

Nobody deals with a thunderstorm better than CTT. Everyone was having a great time on the beach playing in the water and building sandcastles until about an hour into our trip to Cacapon State Park, a storm hit and we were all huddled into a pavilion to wait out the storm. Rather than worry about the thunder or be afraid of lightning, we sang “Singing in the Rain”, “Lion Hunt”, “Last Kiss”, and the signature CTT “Friends” song until we were ready to leave. The thunder made plenty of noise, but we were much louder!

When we got back to camp, we had a cookout and then engaged in cabin competitions in trivia, gaga ball, family feud, and name that tune. The night led to great cabin bonding with Cabin G rallying around Hailey Mostow for her impeccable name that tune abilities and Cabin 4 working together to defeat Cabin 3 in gaga ball. Boys Tents and Girls Tents had fun competing against one another, notably Chet Stein who had a perfect score playing CTT Family Feud. The night also showed some of the hidden talents of some of our campers with Zora Stovall dazzling everyone in trivia and Kyle Foster for knowing more about Disney than anyone else in the camp. Kyle also had a very impressive accomplishment balancing a shoe on his head whilst brushing his teeth.

Today, we start hitting our peaks in activities. Challenge course classes start ziplining, arts and crafts begin tie-dying their plain white shirts and making them glorious, and climbing classes are already conquering the hard side of the wall. Tonight is Clue Night where we turn the whole camp into the classic board game and play. Let’s find out who’s the best detective!

The bonds made at CTT last a lifetime. Whether it is because you all go back to camp together for years and years or you stay in touch once you leave, there is nothing that beats a friendship made at CTT. Last night, those bonds were solidified with Cabin Activity Night where each cabin spent a couple hours doing an activity as a group together.

Cabin G had a pool party and, in addition to having a blast at the pool at night with music, played red light/green light and Mother May I. Boys Tents played an intense game of soccer on the basketball courts before cooling down with a game of mafia. Cabin 3 conquered a series of challenges ranging from building a sacrifice to camp legend Billy Mathis to putting a golf ball with a large stick and Kyle Foster successfully drove fifteen golf balls at once! Cabin 4 played a super-secret camp game that can never be discussed outside the camp, but they had fun. Girls Tents had a relaxing night on the Rec Hall porch talking and playing card games.

Yesterday was also a big day for some of our campers. Mikayla Pettit and Brendan Cutick won games of knockout in archery. Sofia Navas Sharry, Stevie Nocket, and Shelby Buyalos became a formative team yesterday winning a canoeing race as well as scoring eight home runs in softball. Ewan Hemmis shot a gun for the first time and knocked a can over. Sam Jewell won a driving contest at the golf course. Mikayla Pettit, Hailey Mostow, and Rachel McNeal climbed up the wall for the first time this session and Asgeir “Ice” Olafsson won a game of knockout in basketball.

Today, Boys Leagues, a league where all the male campers are split into teams and compete for an hour every A and C day, continues with an hour of competitive play at the pool or upper fields and the camp heads off to Cacapon State Park! We have a fun day of sun, the beach, and an old-fashioned cookout ahead of us.

Look out Broadway, CTT is sending some campers your way. Last night was Cheesy Skit Night soap opera style where each cabin or tent group received a line and had to perform a soap opera featuring that line. Each skit was funny and dramatic in its own way and nobody disappointed.

Cabin G had the line, “that’s not an elephant, it’s a time machine” and told a story narrated by Krista Ross-Black where the girls transported to the wild west, Jurassic Period, and finally, the afterlife. The best skit from Girls’ side was Cabin B, or according to their skit, Salon B. Their skit featured all their campers sitting on chairs and pretended to get manicures and facials whilst gossiping until their line, “the cake is a lie” was uttered causing the entire audience to erupt into laughter. Cabin 1 was given the line, “I didn’t kill your mother, in fact, I AM your mother” and their skit was about a hobo that gave Aaron Foster a note saying that his mom was dead. After the despair, Jack Clauss, as the mother, appeared to inform Aaron, and the audience, that she, in fact, was not dead, much to everyone’s relief. The winner of the night was Cabin 8 who had the “most soap opera-y” skit of them all with the line, “I have a confession: I am secretly in love with your evil twin brother.” The skit was a romance between Justin Dryer and Reid Madison where everything was going swimmingly until Justin revealed his true feelings and crushed Reid’s heart.

Yesterday also featured some non-drama related accomplishments. Adam Lampal, Oliver Walke, and Sam Hu shot bullseyes at archery. Simon Rosenthal rode a horse at full gallop. Crawford and Ewan Hemmis successfully climbed the rock wall. Scott Sakura and Brendan Cutick won a driving contest and Jerome Williams, Josh McConnell, and Sam Jewell all caught frogs!

Tonight is Cabin Activity Night where, after having been at camp for a couple days together, cabins choose an area of camp to have fun and create those special bonds that last a lifetime. Let’s go!

There is literally nothing that beats a couple of weeks at Camp Tall Timbers, and one of the best nights at CTT is our whole-camp welcome backwards-hat campfire. Before I get too far into the details of one heck of a first full day at Camp Tall Timbers, allow me to briefly introduce myself. My name is Alex Fang; some of you may remember my brother as the blogger from last year. Have no fear, I am much better. I am one of the cabin 3 counselors, and I have been at Camp Tall Timbers since 2004. To put that into perspective, my last summer I spent at home, I had seen Finding Nemo three times. My summers have only gone uphill since then. Even after almost a decade, there is not a day at CTT that I have not enjoyed. But I’ll be with you for a while this summer – back to the campfire.

The campfire began with a celebration of camp unity in our backwards hats. Though it sounds kind of silly, it is truly an awesome thing when we all do something together, even if it is just a fashion statement. We then had a brief explanation and demonstration of CTT traditions such as CTT’s signature hug, the story of the ‘founder’ of camp, Billy Mathis, and his greatest composition, the “Friends song.”

After we were caught up on traditions, we broke into teams to work on skits. Each team was a mix of boys and girls and young and old and had to use a superhero and a random prop to tell the story of how Camp Tall Timbers was saved. While they were not the winner, the team with Deadmau5 as their superhero had the cleverest skit with Hailey Mostow as both Deadmau5 the DJ and then an actual dead mouse. The winner of the night was the Batman team with Meier Parr as the “tummy touching” villain and Asgeir Olafsson as the Dark Knight himself.

Following skits, it was time for campfire songs with the traditional “Country Roads” and a whole- camp sing-along of “Wagon Wheel.” The night ended with more songs and everyone’s favorite, s’mores.

Even though we have not been at camp for very long, campers are already doing things they have never done before and starting their session off on the right foot. Sam Jewell won the first home-run derby of the session. Crawford Hemmis perfected three magic tricks. Meier Parr won a game of Frisbee golf and Cabin 1, Rachel McNeal, Hailey Mostow, and Mikayla Pettit all mountain boarded for the first time in their lives.

In addition to reading the blog every day, be sure to like Camp Tall Timbers on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube page so you can be up-to-date on all things Camp Tall Timbers. I look forward to a great summer and if you have any questions/comments/concerns, feel free to contact us. Let’s have a great summer!

I always heard the expression time flies when you’re having fun and just assumed it was something people said to make me want to do stuff, but Second Session 2012 has proven that maxim true. The past three weeks have raced by, much to my dismay, because soon, coach buses will arrive and Second Session will officially be over. As devastated as I am that the best session I have experienced as a counselor will conclude shortly, I smile when I look back on these special weeks.

It is going to be hard to forget about watching Vance Pallone and Adam Tommer running to me yelling “thunder buddy!” whenever we had a thunderstorm or the enthusiasm the Rappoport and Dalton sisters had about going hiking to catch frogs at the creek. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Hayley Sanders and Julia Stern become leaders of girls side and replace Lauren Friedman as best female all-around campers and their impact on CTT is appreciated by all. Let’s not forget about Josh Arnold who, at lunch, thought he made an egregious error by putting cheese on his French fries and then put his plate in the microwave causing all of Boys’ side to rejoice that we now could make cheese fries. It is impossible to forget about Boys Tents’ brilliant “Day-O” skit which spawned a wave of campers yelling, “six foot, seven foot, eight foot, bunch!” to one another at random times. A special compliment to Jack “Vito” Parr who, as a CIT, led the camp in a good direction and I sincerely look forward to seeing him as a counselor.

There’s also a sense of joy throughout the summer watching campers do things they have never done before or progress in their activities. I cannot think of a day where I did not hear about Brett Richardson crushing a baseball or Jordan Abel doing something incredibly athletic in any sport. Watching Jacob Sanders get excited about a log flume put a smile on my face just as watching Brady Osterman get excited about kickball did. It’s not just these campers, but everyone who made the past three weeks so incredibly entertaining, fun, and blissful.

But, as nostalgic and sad these last few days are, they are also some of the best in camp. Boys Leagues just wrapped up and while I was personally rooting for Sam’s Fang’s Bloggers to vanquish any and all competition, Albert’s Rhinoceri maintained their status as an undefeated team and are the Boys Leagues champions. Also, campers have been learning lines for the past weeks in preparation for tonight’s musical, The Big Bad Musical, and the CTTFFL Super Bowl is today! Tomorrow is one of my favorite parts of camp, Color War, where the camp is divided in two teams (blue and white) and the competition is intense for the last two days. After color war, we get a relaxing pool party before we start cleaning and packing and working on our cabin plaques and eventually getting ready for banquet.

So with this final blog entry of Second Session 2012 I say goodbye. I have the greatest job ever as every day I get to tell you all how great my second home is. I appreciate that people have read every day and the occasional compliments about the daily Springsteen references renews my faith in society. Once again, good luck, goodbye, and be prepared for hours of stories your kids have to tell. Enjoy.

Well it was an interesting transition to go from Disney Night on Sunday to Peanuts’ themed King’s Dominion on Monday, but CTT sure had fun!

On Sunday night, a mysterious princess was casually visiting CTT until tragedy struck and she was kidnapped. Luckily, campers were on the case and travelled all around camp to find out who the princess was and what happened to her. At the lake, the Seven Dwarves were in canoes and had to be paddleboated to in order for them to divulge information. On the Upper Fields, Aladdin carried campers on sheets as part of his magic carpet ride and at archery; they had to shoot arrows at villains to save Pocahontas. After all the stations, including a spiderweb at the challenge course, each team had to come up with a skit on how to save the missing princess who was revealed to be Cinderella.

Monday, we went to King’s Dominion for a fun change of pace at an amusement park. With the temperature low and spirits high, CTT had a great day out with Jelly Chen riding her first ever roller coaster and Vance Pallone, Leonard Pasquier, and Jacob Sanders going through Snoopy’s Splash House over a dozen times, smiling each time! Even some of the more experienced campers had fun and did things they never had before. Justin Lasker went on his first ride with a drop and Ethan Polk-Trauman rode the Intimidator for the first time.

The past few days have been memorable to many campers as well. Ignacio Marco won a game of king of the court as well as winning a game of gagaball with Bastien Vitet, Justin Smedley, and Kyle Solomon. The CTTFFL began with the Purple Nurples being the league leader thanks to multiple interceptions and touchdowns by Jordan Abel. Vance Pallone won a game of knockout. Jacob Sanders and Maddie St. Aubin shot bullseyes. Melorie Jenkins conquered her fear of heights and climbed the wall. Brady Osterman, Brett Richardson, Jordan Abel won games of Frisbee golf. Lastly, Justin Leibow, demonstrating his basketball prowess, won two games of knockout.

The last few days of camp are always special to me. Relationships hit their peak and activities get to the point where it feels like you know everything; it’s the time that CTT feels like home away from home. Boys’ League concludes today with a dodgeball game and the CTTFFL playoffs begin. In addition to the sports competitions, the play is tomorrow and everyone is learning their lines in preparation. The art classes are tye-dying and mastering their painting skills whilst the rocketry classes are launching their rockets higher than ever before.

Tonight, we have a camp scavenger hunt and then the play and then color war and then our countdown to Second Session 2013 begins. Let’s go!

It’s hard to beat a weekend with Dance Thru the Decades, Campfire, and a carnival. The past couple of days here at CTT have been chock full of fun and entertainment.

Friday night was Dance Thru the Decades night where each cabin received a decade and genre and had to come up with a skit for it. Cabin B had the 1980s and told a beautiful story about marriage, to Lionel Ritchie’s “Endless Love” with Lucie Pasquier and Emily Smith as the couple. Using the 1970s, Cabin 3 had one of the most interesting skits performing The Who’s rock opera Tommy with Brett Richardson as the title character and Laz Friedberg as Tommy’s mom. Igloo 9 (Cabin 4) had modern dance music and did techno aerobics to “Call on Me” with Ethan Weinstein as the aerobics instructor. Cabin F had the 2000s and told the story of one of their campers, Maddie St. Aubin, and her love interest played by Julia Stern using the songs “The Time” by Black Eyed Peas and “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. All of these skits were entertaining and demonstrated each cabin’s dancing abilities, but there could only be one winner, and they deserved it.

When I saw The Dark Knight Rises, I thought that there could be nothing in 2012 that could top that. I was sadly mistaken as the skit Boys Tents performed was one of the funniest and greatest things I have seen in almost a decade at CTT and eighteen years of existence on Earth. Their decade was the 1950s and the skit started with Jack “Vito” Parr lip-syncing “Day-O” by Harry Belafonte, and Ian Patton and their counselor Sam held a sheet in front of the stage. When the line “Daylight come and me wan’ gon home” appeared, Justin Fribush and Aaron Morris arose from the sheet and mouthed the line and would proceed to go back under the sheet until the line “come, mister tally man, tally me banana” would be sung and they would lift up bananas. Riley St. Aubin was the conductor of the group and made sure bananas would appear on cue and send out Pol Casamada when a tarantula would be mentioned. Maybe it was one of those ‘you had to be there’ skits, but it was certainly a treat.

Just as everyone was ready to go back to their cabins and tents, ghosts invaded the gym and took everyone to Ghost Court! Ghost Court is when campers are charged with ‘crimes’ that they have committed against Camp Tall Timbers and are given ‘punishments’. Cabin F was charged with being afraid of bugs and in turn, had to read reasons why bugs are good for the planet. Ethan Weinstein loves fishing too much and had to carry a fishing pole around the whole day. Carl Lasker and Josh Arnold spider web the cabin too much (it is when they take yarn or dental floss and tie it around objects in the cabin making a ropes course spider web) so they had to be tied together for free swims, which did not affect them much as they are together all the time as it is. Cabin G, Pol Casamada, Riley St. Aubin, and Justin Fribush were charged with being in their cabin or tent too much so in turn, they had to broadcast where they were going every time they moved during free swim. Jacob Sanders, Leonard Pasquier, and Grayson St. Aubin were charged with playing their Nintendo DS far too much so they had to dress like a Pokémon and act like one during lunch. Cabin B collected too many animals as pets for their cabin so they had to act like frogs during second free swim. Cabin 8 never went to bed on time causing them to carry their pillows and blankets around during free swims. Lastly, Nora Seigle, a ghost, received far too much mail throughout the session so she dressed like a mailbox during meals and sung the mail song from Blue’s Clues when she received mail.

After that incredible, day, we had a late wakeup and friendship-themed services where Cabin F read a beautiful poem they all wrote about each other and their friends at CTT. Justin and Spencer Leibow reprised their presentation on family, but replaced the word “family” with “friendship” and Carl Lasker and Josh Arnold, using their Ghost Court punishment, did a poem on how, like spiders, they are very close friends.

Following services, we had a whole-camp pool party in preparation for the carnival. The carnival was a grand spectacle on the lower fields with a whale that shot water, a football tossing competition, a baseball game where you had to time when to swing exactly, tossing balls into a bucket or at cans, a hula hoop game, a face painting station, the traditional carnival game where you swing a hammer and try to hit the bell, a moon bounce with a climbing wall, and the triumphant return of the CTT slip ‘n’ slide! In addition to those activities, campers won tickets from some games where they could get prizes like glowstick straws, candy, plastic flutes, and more. That night, we had a campfire where we heard the story of Billy Mathis, the ‘founder’ of camp, performed skits, and sang songs before ending the fun-filled day with s’mores.

Today, we have the CTT Darft (intentionally misspelled) which is when the camp drafts players for the CTT Fantasy Football league and tomorrow, we take a trip to the amusement park!

Argh! Yesterday be Pirate Day here at CTT where ye campers competed in a pirate flag making competition, splash contests, walk the plank, water polo, and a giant pirate relay race complete with dizzybat, crabwalking, and a chanting of the drunken pirate song. The day continued with a scavenger hunt all over camp to find “pieces of eight” and then woo Calypso (counselor Rachel) by making her laugh. The night ended with a Pirates Ball and all were merry.

Aside from the pirate activities, the past couple days have also been eventful for some campers. On Wednesday, we went to watch the Winchester Royals vanquish the Front Royal Cardinals and a few lucky campers and counselors got the rare opportunity to stay after the game and run around on the baseball diamond for a wheelbarrow race, mill-and-grab, and capture the flag. Additionally, Hayley Sanders climbed up the hard side of the wall, Julia Perline won a game of knockout in archery, and Matt Kasoff won a standing-on-one-leg contest with twenty-five minutes on one leg!

Today, the senior campers go go-karting and Boys Leagues have a large dodgeball tournament. Tonight is Dance Thru the Decades where each cabin gets a decade to choreograph a dance to it and Saturday, CTT has its very own carnival with a moon bounce and other fun carnival games. Time for a great weekend!

Well some may have fallen, some may have just avoided the rink completely, but everyone had a great time at the Tank Top Party at the skating rink. Last night, CTT headed out to the Winchester Skating Center with the theme of a Tank Top Party. Ethan Polk-Trauman made a station in Cottage 7 where you could bring your bland t-shirt down and he could magically, with the help of some scissors, turn it into a stellar tank top to be worn for the night and his work was greatly appreciated.

Yesterday was a great day to show that it does not take long at CTT to be integrated in our community. The wet-your-feet week campers have only been here for a couple days and already Thomas Pearson has won a game of knockout and shot two bullseyes in archery, Eli Wazen won a driving contest, and Beck Mueller, Thomas Pearson, Reed Haske, and Daniil Em fed goats for the first time. Other campers are excelling as well with Jordan Abel mastering all forms of hockey scoring a hat trick in both field and street hockey. Robert Bell ziplined for the first time. In tennis, Taryn Dalton won games of tapeworm and jail. Brendan Arnold and Sydney Alloy both shot bullseyes and Ethan Weinstein won a game of knockout.

Today, Boys Leagues continues with Sam’s Fang’s Bloggers (the obvious favorite) battling Albert’s Rhinoceri in water polo and Corey’s Executive Line-Item Vitos competing against Toby’s Goldman-Sachs Backstabbers in soccer. Tonight, we head out to go see the Winchester Royals play the Front Royal Cardinals. Go Royals!

While by day, the gym is used for dodgeball and play practice, it was completely transformed at night to become the most happening boardwalk and beach in West Virginia.

Last night, each camper received a credit card with $1000 to use in Atlantic City and had the option of playing card games like Texas Hold ‘Em and Blackjack as well as Roulette and other carnival games. Other activities were offered like fortune telling, a wedding chapel, name that tune, arm wrestling, and knocking down cans. When they reached $2000, they were able to advance into playing at the High Rollers Club with complimentary Shirley Temples, Roy Rogers, and high stakes poker. At the end of the night, Ben Mendelson was the highest roller of them all with $3200 and Cabin F was the overall highest roller with an average of $1508 per camper.

I always thought that after all my time at CTT, very little would surprise me. I was wrong. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the ongoing rivalry between Boys’ side and Girls’ side at lunch, it is basically the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry times infinity. Boys tend to be the loudest at lunch chanting Ray Rice, doing Peanut Butter Jelly Time, and singing “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” to the girls. Yesterday, however, things changed. Girls’ side did their traditional chant, but then “Boys, Boys, Boys” by Lady Gaga began playing on the speakers and every girl in the camp flooded the boys’ area of the dining hall and performed a very well-choreographed FLASH MOB dance impressing all. Maybe 2012 is the year of the Girls’ side comeback!

Yesterday also had some more expected accomplishments. Brett Richardson, who at this rate will be in the MLB by the time he is a tent boy, won another home run derby.  Laz Friedberg won a smallest splash contest. Grayson St. Aubin won the choomster contest (largest chip at Lunch!). In swimming, Charlotte Cadman won red light/green light. Carl Lasker dazzled the camp when he won a game of jail, tapeworm, and king of the court in tennis. Another fun thing about camp is watching people do things for the first time. Yesterday, Beck Mueller, Ben Barry, and Scott Barry mountain boarded for the first time and looked so happy doing it. In Boys’ League, Sam’s Fang’s Bloggers defeated Corey’s Executive Line-Item Vitos (named after their CIT and star player) in basketball and Frisbee and Albert’s Rhinoceri vanquished Toby’s Goldman-Sachs Backstabbers in the same sports.

Tonight, we head to the Winchester Skating Center for a fun night at the rink. Let’s hope I don’t fall!

Though we have only been at camp for a week, campers are showing that it does not take long to excel in activities. Sydney Alloy, Julia Stern, and Hannah Stitely won a canoeing race. Brett Richardson won a game of knockout and a driving competition. Justin Smedley was the first person of the session to launch a rocket. Adam Fiergang won a game of Frisbee golf. Cleo Borthwick won tapeworms (it’s a game) while Ben Mendelson demonstrated his tennis skills by defeating thirty people to be declared king of the court. Hayley Sanders and Carly Dalton won games of jail. Sammie Cooper made it up the hard side of the climbing wall. Emily Walke hit the archery target while Adam Tommer won two games of knockout. Andrew Priest won a game of bang. Even the wet-your-feet week campers who have spent less than twenty-four hours at camp are succeeding with Declan Casper climbing up the wall for the first time and Michael Godek winning a cannonball contest.

Today, Girl Power Hour and Boys Leagues continue with Albert’s Rhinoceri tries to maintain their first place standing over Sam’s Fang’s Bloggers (easily the best Boys Leagues team name in the history of Camp Tall Timbers) and tonight, we turn CTT into Atlantic City for a night of card games and boardwalk activities. Let’s see who the luckiest gambler is!