Author: Glenn Smith

What a weekend! Even with the rain that to seemed to appear out of nowhere, CTT thrived these past couple days with Cheezy Skit Night and Alternative Sports Day.

Friday night was one of the best nights camp has to offer, Cheezy Skit Night. Each cabin was told to create an alternative ending to a movie and present it to the camp. At the end of the night, there was a three-way tie between Girls Tents, Cabin F, and Dorm 8. Girls Tents performed Romeo and Juliet with Melorie Jenkins as narrator. Their alternate ending was that Romeo and Juliet did not die and they wrote a letter explaining the whole snafu. Cabin F performed a spin on The Hunger Games where Katniss, played by Hayley Sanders, killed Peeta, played by Katherine Barnes. Dorm 8 reenacted Titanic with Aaron Mendelsohn and Ben Mendelson as Rose and Jack, but this time, the boat did not sink, and Rose went off with another man. The tie-breaking skit was a The Lion King performance where Dorm 8 crushed the competition mixing Titanic and The Lion King into a hilarious end to a hilarious night.

Saturday was a different day. With a late wake-up, the camp had family-themed services where Justin and Spencer Leibow gave a presentation on why family is awesome. Then, we broke out into Alternative Sports Day where we played games like opposite dodgeball where when you get hit, you go to the other team and French Darts where you throw a Frisbee at a pole to hit it or knock off a cup that is on it. We also had very intense games of crab soccer, pickle, and extreme cup-stacking. Due to the rain, the baseball game was cancelled, but that didn’t stop the fun as we had a camp social filled with party rock dancing and fun for all.

Today, Boys Leagues continues, the Camp Tall Timbers Flag Football League (CTTFFL) begins the drafting process, and it is also Olympic Night! We also welcome the wet-your-feet week campers who are going to spend a fun-filled week here at CTT and I know they will have a great time!

Nothing beats a day at the beach. Whilst seniors went white water rafting through Harper’s Ferry, the rest of the camp went to Cacapon State Park for a fun day on the beach. Our day at the beach was filled with fun activities. In addition to a gorgeous day to tan and play in the water, Vance Pallone and Laz Friedberg played football while Hayley Sanders led the Cabin A girls through the beach giving counselors new nicknames (I’m Mr. Meat).

After a fun time at the beach, we had a cookout with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs before beginning a Battle of the Sexes race. Boys and girls started in a circle and had to get their whole team through a hula hoop. Following the hoop challenge, each camper had to limbo under a tree, hit a ball with a badminton racket, and crab walk to a pavilion where they choreographed a dance awaiting their last member. The boys did the “creep dance” from The Lonely Island, but the girls amazed all with a beach-themed routine that ended in Katherine Barnes being held high on a pyramid.

We have a B-day today and tonight is one of my favorite activities: Cheesy Skit Night, where each cabin has to perform a funny skit. Tomorrow, we take a day off from normal activities and have Alternative Sports Day before going to watch the Winchester Royals play. Time to play ball!

If Camp Tall Timbers can teach one thing, it is to see the silver lining. As lame as a thunderstorm that delays and cancels activities is, it does make way for cooler weather and one of the most interesting evening activities I have seen in almost a decade.

With Cabin Activity Night cancelled due to rain, CTT went to the gym for an unknown activity. Upon our arrival, every cabin was given a paddle with their cabin number or letter on it and we saw a table with random items on it. Then, Mark Clark came on with the megaphone as an auctioneer and revealed that each cabin was to receive $100 to bid on the items, but we did not know what they would be used for. Most of the items went for about $40 until the case of balloons where cabins were borrowing money from others to try to get the balloons which eventually went for $164 to Girls Tents. After the auction, each cabin was to use their items to build the tallest tower that they could. By the end of the allotted build time, Cabin F came in third place using Styrofoam cups and scotch tape to build a 4’8” high tower. Cabin A came in second place utilizing paper clips, paper, and a cardboard box to create a 5’8” high tower and the winner of the night, winning fifteen minutes of extended curfew and free sodas, was Cabin 4 who combined a roll of string and a box for a whopping 6’4” tower!

Despite the rain, campers were still able to excel in their activities.  Robert Bell won a game of knockout in archery while Justin Leibow, Spencer Leibow, Jonah Gutman, and Ben Mendelson won games of knockout in basketball. Jasmine Whims made a half-court shot in basketball. Melorie Jenkins shot a bullseye in archery. On the newly built Frisbee golf course, Matt Kasoff, Carl Lasker, and Josh Arnold were our first winners.

Yesterday was also the commencement of Boys Leagues where all of Boys’ Side is divided into teams and competes in a different sport each time they meet. In their first game, Albert’s Rhinoceri defeated Sam’s Fang’s Bloggers (I’m rooting for them in all activities from now on) and Toby’s Goldman-Sachs Backstabbers vanquished Corey’s Executive Line-Item V-Necks. Today, they compete again for two hours.

Also, today CTT heads to Cacapon State Park for a fun day at the beach while senior campers go rafting. Off to the beach!

Do you ever wonder what life would be like if all of the commercials we saw on TV were done by kids? Think of how much funnier commercials would be. Well that’s exactly what last night’s Commercial Night was here at CTT.

Last night, each cabin was given a prop that they had to advertise to the whole camp and they all succeeded. Cabin 1 sold a pool noodle by demonstrating its many uses ending with Vance Pallone using it to kill a swarm of zombies. Cabin F advertised the “stay-put wig” with Hayley Sanders as the narrator and Maddie St. Aubin as the old woman who needed the wig in order to go about her daily life. Girls Tents had the most interesting skit of the night as they used their prop, a flashlight, to go find an ostrich, and when the flashlights turned on, Melorie Jenkins was on an inflatable ostrich running towards the stage! Cottage 7 (they prefer cottage, not cabin) sold one of their campers, Carl Lasker, as the horsemaster and used their prop, a broom, as his horse.

At the end of the night, there was a tie between Dorm 8 and Boys Tents. Dorm 8 had promoted body spray where Andrew Priest was their counselor, Corey, before the body spray, and Ben Mendelson as Corey, after he applied the body spray. Boys Tents did a spin on the traditional “Doctor Doctor” skit with Ian Patton as the director, Jack “Vito” Parr as the mother (wearing their prop – a dress), and Aaron Morris as the doctor. Instead of just doing the “Doctor Doctor” skit, they used the format to advertise their product, Memorex. The tie breaking skit was to use a new prop to make a commercial and Boys Tents overwhelmingly won with their advertisement for Transformers using a die as the cube.

Yesterday also demonstrated how quickly Second Session can pick up activities, whether they are building off of skills from last year or just learning them now. Sam Brami was the first person of the session to climb up the hard side of the wall and Aaron Morris made it up the wall in a potentially record-setting fourteen seconds.  Ian Patton learned his first guitar chords. Justin Leibow won a game of knockout in archery. Justin Lasker and Sydney Sachs shot bullseyes. In tennis, Ben Mendelson won the first game of king of the court of the session and Taryn Dalton won a game of jail. In the legendary B-2 Hockey class, Ethan Polk-Trauman, Alec Geis, Justin Leibow, Brady Osterman, Riley Smith, Jordan Abel, and Nora and Eric Siegle scored in what was one of the best games of hockey I have seen in a while.

Today, we have our first C day and tonight we have our Cabin Activity Night where each cabin goes to a different part of camp and has fun together as a cabin to get a good start to the bonds made in the camping season. Here we go!

As sad as I was that First Session ended, I could not be happier that Second Session 2012 is here and the best way to bring in the new session and new faces is with a whole-camp welcome 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, I am one of the cabin 7 counselors, and I have been at Camp Tall Timbers since 2004. To put that into perspective, my last summer I spent at home, I was in tears due to the ending of Rugrats on Nickelodeon. While I sincerely miss the adventures of the Pickles gang, I could not be happier that all of my summers since Rugrats’s termination have been spent at Camp Tall Timbers. Even after almost a decade, there is not a day at CTT that I have not enjoyed. But I’ll be with you for the next three weeks, so let me tell you about our first-ever ‘backwards hat campfire’.

Though it started as a comment in passing, word travelled that the welcome campfire would be backwards-hat themed and by the time people came down to the campfire, most of the camp were wearing their hats backwards. It was just one of many signs that CTT is unified and ready for fun, even this early in the session. The campfire began with a brief explanation and demonstration of CTT traditions such as CTT’s signature hug and “friends song.”

In honor of the backwards hats and Jay-Z, a pioneer in wearing your hat backwards, each cabin was given the opportunity to give a Public Service Announcement about their cabin. Dorm (they prefer to be called dorm, not cabin) 8 did their introduction to the tune of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” but instead of West Philadelphia, it was West Virginia and instead of spending time on the playground, they spent time on the porch of Dorm 8. Cabin A did a cheer about how they are the best with a dance by Autumn Mallon. Boys Tents, in rivalry with Girls Tents, did the historic and traditional “We are Boys Tents/Boys Tents we are/We live in tents/In tents we live” chant that has been around for as long as I can remember. The best Public Service Announcement of the night was Cabin F who, in addition to having awesome backwards hats, did the longest rhyme pattern of any cabin.

Following cabin introductions, it was time for campfire songs with the traditional “Country Roads” and “Wagon Wheel” and the not-so-traditional One Direction hit song, “What Makes You Beautiful,” which I do not foresee becoming a long-term campfire song, but who knows? 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 setting camp records and starting their sessions off on the right foot. Brett Richardson won a biggest splash contest. Brady Osterman shot a bullseye. Anna Merkx, Autumn Mallon, and Emma Clark shot a gun for the first time. Even counselors are trying new things as Georgia Oriol, even though she has been at camp for ten years, mountain boarded for the first time yesterday.

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 session and if you have any questions/comments/concerns, feel free to contact us. Let’s have a great summer!

Well this is it. The fact that first session ends doesn’t really hit me until the second session kids arrive and as excited as I am to have some new blood in camp, I still reminisce about some of the first session shenanigans that made these past three weeks special.

It is going to be hard to forget about Harrison Forest always challenging counselors to pickup basketball games even when the counselors are easily four times his height, or Sydney LaPorte, Taylor Kasoff, and Sami Zerwitz being the loudest girls in all of camp and making sure that everyone knew it. Let’s not forget about the night Max Penn dressed as a girl twice just to win a skit night, or the day Matthew Ziegelstein became Viking Ziggy, the cream of the crop. Who can forget Joe Balaban’s hilarious impression of Levi or Enrique Rodriguez singing “Call Me Maybe” (yea it stuck around after campfire) in the most haunting falsetto imaginable? A special shout-out to Michael Balaban and Tyler Costopoulos as they were stellar leaders of camp, and I cannot wait to see how they are as counselors.

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 I did not hear about Ethan McCann doing something incredible in basketball or Ashley Stern driving a golf ball further than anyone else. Watching Justin Kagen ride his first big roller coaster put a smile on my face just as watching Reece Dennison catch her first football pass did. Marc Blitz helped pioneer a new game where you catch a Frisbee whilst mountain boarding and that will hopefully be at camp for a long time.

But, as nostalgic and sad these last few days are, they are also some of the best in camp. 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 with the Red Bulls going against the Green Machine. 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 First 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 compliments about the daily Springsteen references renews my faith in society. Once again, thanks, farewell, and be prepared for hours of stories your kids have to tell.

 

Perfect weather and no problems, sounds like a great day to spend at Hershey Park. Elizabeth Stern and Sydney Sachs rode their first upside down roller coaster yesterday and Casey Dennison rode her first roller coaster ever! With the temperature low and spirits high, CTT had a great day out.

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. The Plátanos are the Boys Leagues champions and CTTFFL playoffs begin today with the first-seed Red Bulls go up against the fourth-seed Purple Nurples and the second-seed G-Machine plays the third-seed Black Attack. 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 our counselor hunt where campers search camp in teams to find counselors and then the play and then color war and then our countdown to next first session begins. Let’s go!

Weekends at CTT are unforgettable. Between MTV Night and Wild West Day, this past weekend was one of the best weekends in a while.

Friday night was MTV Night where each cabin was given a genre and had to make a music video for that genre. Cabin B had pop and performed an adorable dance to Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.” Cabin 3 had current-day music and performed “Starships” by Nicki Minaj with Jake Greenberg as Ms. Minaj and the rest of the cabin as her backup dancers. Boys Tents miraculously connected blues music and Romeo and Juliet and had a hilarious skit. At the end of the night, there was a tie for first between Cabin 56 and Cabin 78. Cabin 56 had performed a medley of Boy Band songs as they mocked the counselors with Joe Balaban as counselor Levi, Adam Dunham as Corey, and incredible dancer Malec Sayyad as Hugh, and 78 danced to indie rockers Of Monsters and Men’s hit song “Little Talks” with Matt Kasoff as the male lead and Max Penn as the female lead. The tie-breaker was a MTV-off so each cabin had to act out a show on MTV. Cabin 56 chose “16 and Pregnant” and Enrique Rodriguez was the mother; Joe Balaban reprised his role as Levi to be the father of the child. But, the winner of the night, was Cabin 78 as they performed a hilarious rendition of “Teen Wolf” with Max Penn as a female lead yet again and Jake Abel as the teen wolf.

The fun continued into Saturday with Wild West Day. For the morning, each team had to write a Wild Western skit, paint a cowboy hat, and make a brand for each camper. In the afternoon, teams went in rotations to a rodeo where they had to lasso a wild stallion (or just a very well costumed counselor) then they went to dueling where when the sheriff said “draw,” you had to shoot your opponent with a water gun and then a water balloon toss. Lastly, they went to the massive obstacle course, Outlaw Pete’s Revenge, where they had to drive through a course and then go through obstacles on foot, all while avoiding Outlaw Pete (yours truly) and his water gun. At the end of the day, each team performed their skits and the White team was the winner of the day due to their How I Met Your Mother-inspired skit with Michael Balaban as the narrator.

The weekend also gave way to some more camper accomplishments. Ethan Harrison climbed up the wall three times. Zach LaPorte and Alex Goldstein hit home runs. Brianna Sewell ziplined for the first time. Tyler Maizels shot a small bouncy ball from fifty feet away in riflery and Matthew Ziegelstein dunked a basketball for the first time this session.

The last week of camp is always a great one. Tonight is Disney Night and tomorrow we go to an amusement park. The play is in a few days and then Color War. We’ve got a great week ahead of us!

The weather here is unbelievable! It storms one day and is sweltering the next. At least yesterday’s water day cooled everyone down. After a morning of B-day activities, campers split into teams and competed in wet sponge dodgeball, a water relay, water limbo, and a water balloon toss. That night, we wound down with a superhero themed campfire where campers were given a superpower that they had to act out. After their skits, there was a freeze art competition followed by a campfire complete with sing-along songs and s’mores.

Today, Boys Leagues has two hours of competitive play and the CTTFFL continues with playoffs just around the corner. The weekend ahead also has fun activities with tonight being MTV night where the campers perform their own music video in front of the whole camp and Saturday, we forgo regular activities and have a special themed day and Saturday is Wild West Day. Yeehaw!

Yes, there was another storm. I’m all out of rain-related puns, but at least spirits are high. Last night was like any other Cabin Camp-Out night. We ate burgers and hot dogs and enjoyed time together as a cabin. By 9:00, almost every cabin had a fire and was roasting marshmallows and enjoying each other’s company, the way the night should be. Then some wind came, then some more wind, then a boom, and then, we were all safe and sound in our cabins.

But, like always at CTT, no amount of rain can stop our fun. Cabin 4 had boatloads of fun watching the storm roll in while Cabin 56 had a large game of Stratego. In an impressive display of strength and willpower, Cabin B stuck it out, watched the storm, told stories, and eventually stayed outside all night. Though they are not the biggest fans of Cabin Camp-Out Night, Girls Tents had a great time having a dance party in the showerhouse as they waited out the storm. In usual fashion, Boys Tents played Smartest Tent Boy, this time with Cabin 78, but despite the added competition, Michael Balaban maintained his title as the Smartest Tent Boy in Camp Tall Timbers.

The rain hit late yesterday so we were still able to have our activities. Yesterday was the first time of the session rockets were launched and they were awesome. Aaron Forest and Devon Cantor won games of knockout in basketball and Ethan McCann, who will likely go to the NBA, as for the umpteenth time, made a half-court shot. Yesterday was also the debut of a new game for canoeing, Blowing in the Wind, where the campers have to pick up balls in the lake and each are worth different points; the winner of the first game was Sam Brami, Cooper LaPorte, and Harrison Forest.  In CTTFFL news, the Red Bulls and Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami defeated the Black Attack and Orange Crush respectively, and in an intense game that went into overtime, the Purple Nurples vanquished the G-Machine/Real Teal Turtles (they are slowly becoming a unified team) with Justin Kagen as the MVP for scoring two touchdowns.

Today, the seniors go Go-Karting in the morning while the rest of camp does regular B-day activities. In the afternoon,lots of fun water games to stay cool and later have a campfire, assuming of course, there’s no rain. Fingers crossed!

Waking up to Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” and an impromptu camp sing-along of the national anthem breakfast: CTT loves the 4^th of July. Campers and counselors alike are swaggin’ out in USA pride tank tops and American Flag t-shirts. Despite our Independence Day festivities being rained out last night, we still love the holiday.

Due to the rain, we did not get to see the Winchester Royals play, but we were able to have a pool party and dance party and who needs college summer league baseball when you have an entire camp shouting, “Stop the beat! Drop the bass!” to Rune’s techno masterpiece, “Calabria.” Yesterday also featured some new accomplishments from campers. New ‘Wet-Your-Feet-Week’ camper Jadyn Craig won a smallest splash competition while Justin Kagen won the biggest splash contest. Aaron Morris was the first camper this whole summer to climb up the hard side on the climbing wall. Adam Dunham shot four cans in riflery. Hannah Levitan and Claudia Munoz Perez went tubing without falling off, which is a pretty big deal!

Today, the CTTFFL continues and new franchise Black Attack works to build off the momentum from their victory against the Orange Crush. Tonight is one of my favorite evening activities at CTT – Camp Out Night (formerly Cabin Night). We have a cook-out and then sleep out under the stars as a cabin. With a campfire and s’mores, cabin bonds are formed and everyone has a good time. Time to camp!

Britain versus America. Tis a battle that has been fought for centuries, and last night, it hit Camp Tall Timbers. We were all ready for ‘International Night’ and a celebration of different cultures when it was revealed that British administrators Emma Bean and Karina were murdered and CTT had to figure out who did it. The campers went around to each station to ask witnesses what they saw and develop a story for as to how Emma and Karina were murdered. At the end, counselor Levi, the patriotic American, was the killer as he was upset that Emma and Karina mocked him because the U.S. dollar was not as strong as the pound and he was too American to let that comment slide without a fight. Thankfully, they were both at breakfast today and we can all put this little murder thing behind us.

Some of the best meals I have are at CTT. It isn’t really the food, but the atmosphere. A few days ago, all of boys’ side walked over to the girls to sing The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” After working hard on a new chant during Girl Power Hour, girls’ side unveiled a new “Girls Side” cheer which the boys then combated with banging on tables yelling “hey” and then changed the Yao Ming cheer to a cheer celebrating Baltimore Ravens star halfback, Ray Rice. The energetic atmosphere makes any meal delightful.

Yesterday was also the commencement of the CTTFFL. After a six-year hiatus, the Green Machine returned to the CTTFFL and won its first game against the Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami and the Red Bulls defeated the Purple Nurples. In other CTT sports news, teams 5 and 6 won games of Frisbee (the team names are coming, don’t worry) and team 8 defeated team 7 in hockey in Junior Boys’ Leagues. In Senior Boys’ Leagues, the Fugly Filosoraptors won their basketball game putting them in first place in the league.

CTT is always a place for new things. Yesterday, counselor Alec Marks created a new game which combines mountain boarding and ultimate Frisbee and Marc Blitz won the first ever game of that. Ashley Stern did what golf pro, Eric, said “was very close to impossible” and drove the ball into the small ball bucket on the other side of the driving range. Max Penn, Miller Friedman, Michael Balaban, Jason Shefferman, and Ethan McCann made half-court shots in basketball and Matthew Ziegelstein (or as he now prefers, Viking Ziggy) won a game of knockout. Sydney LaPorte and Marta Juanes made it up the climbing wall and Grant Newcome shot a bullseye in archery. Lastly, Ethan Harrison shot a stuffed lion in riflery.

Today, we spend the night at the Winchester Royals baseball game to watch America’s pastime and see some fireworks to celebrate the 4^th of July. Let’s play ball!

Well some may have fallen, some may have just avoided the rink completely, but everyone had a great time at the 80s Dance Party at the skating rink. Last night, CTT headed out to the Winchester Skating Center with the theme of 80s Dance Party where Jake Abel wore the most neon outfit imaginable and girls’ side had their ponytails off to the side. The night was a lesson in perseverance. Nathan and Shayna Allentoff claimed they could not skate at all and by the end of the night, they made it a whole lap around the rink. Jack Corby fell at least a dozen times, but he eventually got the hang of it and was skating like a pro. Justin Kagen learned how to turn and made it around three times without falling.

Yesterday, CTT unveiled the brand new Frisbee golf course complete with real metal holes. Longtime Frisbee golf champion Michael Balaban won the first game with two under par. Max Penn won a golf hitting contest by hitting the bucket on the other side of the course three times. Ethan Harrison, Justin Kagen, Sydney Alloy, and Mason Corby won games of knockout in archery and shot bullseyes. Speaking of knockout, Kevin Shefferman, a longtime knockout player, won a knockout game in basketball.

Today, Girl Power Hour meets to work on their new chant for girls’ side and Boys Leagues has another two periods of competition. The camp musical is also under way and expected to be one of the best camp productions in a while. Tonight, we celebrate all of the cultures of Camp Tall Timbers with International Night.

If Mother Nature thinks that a teeny tiny hurricane can stop CTT from having fun, she is dead wrong. For what we lack in electricity, we make up for in high spirits, and this past weekend’s activities proved just that.

Friday night, CTT had its first ever Spy School to train campers to be the best spies they could be. In the school, they learned the art of surveillance by looking at zoomed in pictures and figuring out what it was, the pressures of being interrogated where Dean Lawless interrogated the spies to try to obtain information, the knack of code-breaking using a key and symbols to uncover an encrypted message, and lastly, the complexities of weapons and tactics through an obstacle course in the gym. When the spies were ready to graduate, they were called into duty early as they needed to free administrator Karina from the lake shed using their skills they learned in Spy School. Thankfully, Karina was saved and the spies proved they are ready to face the real world.

Saturday was a different day. With a late wake-up, the camp had love-themed services before being told that we had all traveled back in time and it was Ancient History Day. Campers were divided into four teams: Greeks, Romans, Samurais, and Egyptians, and competed in a canoe race as well as other ancient Olympic games. They also had to make their own shield to display at the toga party. After a day of competitive play, the day ended with a Chancellor’s Dance where it was announced that the Samurais were the winners of the day and declared the strongest historical group.

The weekend also illustrated how far some campers have come in just a week. While they have never shot a gun before, Pablo Zavala, Adam Dunham, Taylor Kasoff, and Pablo Chacon hit the target, Lucas Sellem hit it twice, Will Todd hit it three times, and Miller Friedman got a bullseye. Ethan McCann climbed up the climbing wall, and made a half-court shot in basketball. Grant Newcome and Zach LaPorte also climbed the wall. Though he has no plans to become a professional wrestler, Jake Abel defeated his entire wrestling class in matches.

Today, Boys Leagues continues with the Fugly Filosoraptors and Team Rocket going up against the Rasta Hippos and the Plátanos in kickball for the seniors and for the juniors, teams 5 and 8 challenge teams 6 and 7 in dodgeball (names are in process for them). We also have our CTTFFL teams set up and the games begin shortly. Tonight, the camp heads off to the Winchester Skating Center for a night of skating and fingers crossed that nobody falls. Time to go skate!

Rocks. Perhaps the simplest game in history, and yet it was one of the best parts of yesterday’s trip to Cacapon State Park. Whilst seniors went white water rafting through Harper’s Ferry, the rest of the camp went to Cacapon for a fun day on the beach. Upon arrival, the campers rushed into the water for Rocks. For those of you who are not familiar with Rocks, which I assume is most, it is a game where you try to keep the volleyball up in the air for as long as possible and when the ball hits the water, you yell, “ROCKS!” and lay at the bottom of the water, like a rock. It is exponentially more fun than it sounds, trust me.

Our day at the beach was filled with other fun activities. CTT legend Dean Lawless made his triumphant return to camp and led a group in a Frisbee throwing competition. The younger boys buried each other in sand and Nathan Allentoff won the award for “most buried.” The beach also gave way for pickup soccer and football games and everyone had a good time.

After a cookout, CTT had its first camp-wide rock-paper-scissors competition and Ryan Kalata was the winner. Last night was also the debut of a new game, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Introduced by counselor and AP U.S. History scholar Corey Greenwald, the campers are divided into two teams and each turn, they pick a sign and whichever team wins, has to tag the other team. Vampires beat werewolves, werewolves beat Abraham Lincoln, and obviously, Abraham Lincoln beats vampires.

Our trip to Cacapon was a special day for me as well. I try not to delve into my personal life in the blog, but yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Since I was nine, I had seen admin extraordinaire Mark Clark grill burgers for trips and I, like many other former campers, was determined to share a grill with him. Yesterday, that happened, and it was glorious. To all those former CTT people that read this blog, just know that you too can cook with Mark Clark if you bother him enough.

Due to the sweltering heat, we have an afternoon pool party today and then the debut of a new evening activity, Spy School Night. Let’s see who the best spy of them all is!

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 of hours doing an activity as a group together.

Cabin G went ziplining last night and everyone in the cabin was able to zip twice. Cabin B used their time to have a spa night as apparently, they are very rare at camp (I personally do not know, but they informed me it is very difficult to have time to do each other’s nails and facials during activities). Cabin 4 went to the gym to have an intense sports competition from football to soccer to basketball and closed with dodgeball. Down at the lake, Cabin 56 had a “Somalian Pirate War” where they raced canoes and paddleboats. Girls Tents set a camp record for most volleys in a row in volleyball and also spent time making bracelets for all the male counselors which we all greatly appreciated. Boys Tents had a driving competition at the golf course and afterwards, they went mountain boarding where Aaron Morris and Michael Balaban mountain boarded for the first time. Their night ended with a classic camp pastime: Smartest Tent Boy. Smartest Tent Boy is a very intense trivia competition amongst the oldest boys in camp where they see who is the smartest by mixing Trivial Pursuit and other miscellaneous trivia questions people have. Last night, Alex Goldstein was the winner and currently holds the title of Smartest Tent Boy.

Yesterday was also a big day for some of our campers. Interestingly enough, ‘Knockout’, a game where the level of difficulty increases with each round, was the most featured game yesterday. Riar Schell won games of knockout in basketball and archery. Jeremy Goldstein, Justin Kagen, and Aaron Forest won games of basketball knockout. In non-knockout related accomplishments, Michael Balaban and Miller Friedman won a game of Frisbee golf and Sydney Alloy and Jack Corby made it furthest on the ropes course.

Today, Boys Leagues has two hours of competitive play at the basketball courts 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.

After a rigorous day of sports, aquatics, and all other activities, it is nice to just be able to sit down and enjoy a night of theater. Last night, CTT did just that as it was Cheesy Skit Night: TV Family style. Each cabin was given a family from a popular television show to act out and nobody disappointed. In 3^rd place, the Girls Tents acted out a hilarious version of Keeping up with the Kardashians with Taylor Dennison as Kim. There was a tie for first place as both Cabin 78 and Cabin 1 received perfect scores. Cabin 1 made an adorable CTT version of Rugrats with their counselor Nathan as the dad and the rest of the cabin as the Pickles and Finsters as they searched for Lil throughout Camp Tall Timbers. Cabin 78 performed an episode of Modern Family with Jake Abel as Jay and Pablo Zavala Saez as a humorous and fairly accurate Gloria. After a clap-off to decide a winner, Cabin 78 earned the title of cheesiest cabin and for the first time ever, won a Cheesy Skit night trophy.

Yesterday also featured accomplishments from other cabins as well. Cabin 1 completed all of their challenge course activities and Girls Tents played and succeeded in field hockey for the first time and Reece Dennison won a hitting contest. Ethan McCann caught a fish. In addition to learning his first guitar chords, Aaron Morris climbed the climbing wall in under thirty seconds. Jen Heiman won a game of jail in tennis. Adam Dunham got a bullseye in riflery. Displaying his many talents, Joe Balaban won a game of knockout in archery as well as learning his first guitar chords to play “Call Me Maybe.” In one of the first football games of the summer, Aaron Forest caught two interceptions for touchdowns. Miller Friedman was an MVP goalie in the legendary B-2 Hockey class.  Sydney Alloy, another multi-talented camper, hit a golf ball for the first time yesterday as well as playing guitar for the first time. Lastly, Matt Kasoff shot not just one, but two bullseyes in two shots at the archery range yesterday.

Today, Boys Leagues (now with a Juniors and Seniors league) begins where all of boys side is divided into teams and competes in a different sport each time they meet, and Camp Tall Timbers Flag Football League (CTTFFL) teams are made. Even though it is only our first “C” day, CTT feels like a second home even to all those new campers. First-time camper Malec Sayyad said, “It’s like there’s nothing I can’t do here.  It’s a good thing we got three more weeks,” just to illustrate how much fun it is here.  Tonight, we have Cabin Activity Night to solidify bonds in the cabins that are sure to last a lifetime.

Be sure to check out the first episode of GMTT that you can find on CTT’s Facebook and YouTube pages and let’s have another great day!

There is literally nothing that beats a summer at Camp Tall Timbers, and one of the best nights at CTT is our whole-camp welcome 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, I am one of the cabin 56 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 every day this summer, so back to the campfire.

After a brief explanation and demonstration of CTT traditions such as CTT’s signature hug and “Friends Song”, the campers were given an opportunity to introduce themselves to the whole camp through a cabin cheer. Cabin G, led by their counselors Georgia, Lydia, and Becca, did a cheer about their pretty hair that Becca, a professional hairdresser, did for them. Cabin 1 was introduced via freestyle rap from one of their counselors, former camper Alec Marks, and then did a cheer about how Cabin One was oh so much fun. Boys Tents, in rivalry with Girls Tents, did the historic and traditional “We are Boys Tents/Boys Tents we are/We live in tents/In tents we live” chant that has been around for as long as I can remember. Following their cheers, the whole camp sang “Country Roads”, a camp staple, and “Call Me Maybe”, which may or may not become a tradition (after all, it is SO catchy). The cabins were given another chance to present themselves to a camp through one of my favorite campfire games, cabin beatbox, where each cabin makes one sound and each cabin is called one by one until the whole camp is creating their own beat. Cabin 78, representing the Baltimore region, yelled “McGahee” (a Baltimore Ravens tailback) in a high-pitched voice. Boys Tents shouted “Balaban” in honor of their longtime camper, Michael Balaban. Cabin B spookily whispered “wooooo” which added a nice touch to our campfire. The night ended with more songs and s’mores.

Even though we have not been at camp for very long, campers are already setting camp records and starting their summer off on the right foot. Ethan McCann biked up the steep lake hill for the first time yesterday.  Ashley Stern won a driving competition in golf. All of Cabin B mountain boarded for the first time. Tyler Maizels, in a particularly good day in activities, got a hat trick in soccer and won a game of “shoot the apple” in riflery. Also in riflery, Jen Heiman shot a gun for the first time and hit the target four times. CTT does not just celebrate accomplishments in activities however. As happy as we were about bullseyes and goals, people erupted in applause when Michael Balaban found a five-leaf clover and Sami Zerwitz found what was considered the most perfect s’mores stick in all the land.

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!

It felt like only yesterday I moved into Cabin 2 and prepared for 3^rd session. Now, what feels like just a few days later, it is all over. The campers have surprised me this session for sure. Everyday this session somebody got a home run, a bullseye, or accomplished something they never would have at home, like tube without falling off, or win “it” which I’m sure your kids will explain to you when they arrive home.

Yesterday alone, Meier Parr won a game of king of the court and jail, Noah Gross bowled a 138 at bowling (the best score of any camper…and some counselors…including me). Cabin F survived a bee apocalypse in Challenge Course. I recently discovered that many of the scenarios in Challenge Course are fictional. Ashley Stern and Sofia Gonzalez-Kosasky won games of team jail. Additionally, the juniors had a very successful night bowling where everyone’s score in their second game was higher than that of their first.

But, alas, as much fun as these two weeks have been, it has to come to an end. Each session seems to have a few moments that stick out. Cabin 2 dazzled the camp with a well-choreographed dance to “The Show Goes On” only to be robbed (I’m still a little bit bitter) by an even better dance by Girls Tents. Teddy Geis flaunted his comedic talents at the talent show. Stevie Nocket and Catherine Ni Dhroighneain tried to coach Boys’ League teams. Jake Welfeld did a backflip at the first campfire. And despite numerous people telling me it would never happen, my brother returned to counseloring to become my co-counselor.

Even the day-to-day aspects of camp have been memorable. Everyone who tried, climbed the climbing wall, tubed, or shot a gun. As I write, campers are zip-lining right now for the first time, mastering their putting skills, and canoeing faster than ever before. I especially enjoyed how many kids improved their fishing skills from class to class. For as long as I have been here, I have never seen a group of kids adapt so well to Camp Tall Timbers. A special thanks to CIT2 extraordinaires Simon and Nathaniel Schwartz for being the best counselors-in-training ever in all my years at CTT.

So with my last bit of space, I want to thank all of you at home for reading. I hope the blog has kept you updated on your incredible kids and amused you from time to time. 3^rd Session 2011 has been a blast and I’m very excited for these kids to keep coming back and maybe attend 1^st or 2^nd Session. This blog has given me an excuse to eavesdrop, ask questions, get to know your incredibly awesome, hilarious, and witty kids better, and really remind me about how much I love this place. These past two weeks have been magical and I am very grateful to have had an audience (so to speak) for my first year of counseloring. I am sure that your kids will come home with significantly more stories than I have been able to give you and for that, I apologize, but with so much fun here, it is hard to report it all. In conclusion, thank you for reading and commenting, and I hope I have served you well.

Sincerely,

Zach Fang

Camp Tall Timbers is beginning to wind down and it is very apparent among the counselors that the campers have learned a lot. Tiffany was really impressed how well her C2 class handled a stubborn horse. Also many campers in Tiffany’s C5 class learned how to untack horses. Tristan Oldham climbed both the hard and easy walls simultaneously. Keegan Morrisroe won a game of knock out in archery. Keegan also won a game of world cup in soccer with his teammate Parker Mitchell. Nick Johnson won a game of jail in tennis. In basketball, Sofia Navas Sharry and Brendan Cutick won games of knock out. Clay Hawkins lost a tooth. Though we are late in the session, campers are still attempting new things. Aaron Rosenthal and Oliver Walke both mountain boarded for the first time and Tyler Mostow zipped for the first time.

The roller rink also allowed for campers to expand their horizons, with someone from almost every cabin skating for the first time. Simon Schwartz rolled skated for the first time and, as expected, was a natural and proceeded to skate around the rink 15 times without falling. Jenna Ross, Hailey Mostow, Taryn Dalton, Carly Dalton, Livia Lampal, Freddi Rappaport, Noah Gross, Aaron Rosenthal, Simon Rosenthal, Teddy Geis, Josh McConnell, Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky, Quinn Cook, Matthew Van Aken, Ben Olek, Tony Spangler, Cole Williams, Justin Dryer and Meier Parr all roller skated for the first time and Adam Lampal and Oliver Walke roller bladed for the first time. Many of the experienced skaters played games such as tag, which Nate Schwartz claims he won, and had a limbo contest, which was won by Jake Welfeld with Oliver Walke in a close second. Flip Flop tried to slide under the limbo stick on his stomach in a bear costume but was disqualified despite the campers’ protests. The trip to the roller rink is always one of those evening activities that gives the campers a lot of freedom, and I was really impressed how this session’s kids got really into the theme and skating. We all had a great time and enjoyed the late wake up this morning.

Many of the older campers went go-karting yesterday morning. This allowed the younger campers to have a lot more interaction with the counselors. For example, Andrei Ross was the only member of his climbing class and climbed the hard wall twice and the easy wall five times. Hunter Morrisroe and Nick Johnson each won two games of jail. Hunter also canoed around the lake multiple times. In archery, Sofia Gonzalez-Kosasky won a game of knock out. The baseball class turned into a home run derby with Nate Schwartz, Oliver Schwartz, Meier Parr each hitting a home run and Sam Greenberg hitting two. Livia Lampal lost a tooth. Also, during third period, it happened and Matt Van Aken won twice and Chet Stein won once.

Last night’s evening activity was the talent show. Thanks to tireless promotion by Maya, it was a huge success. We had 25 acts ranging from Jaclyn Welfeld’s growl to Boys Tents 6 song medley. The MCs for the night were Nick, Flip, and Albert. Albert also entertained the crowd with his animal noises in between sets. The vocal and dance classes all did their performances they had been working on in class, but anyone was allowed to enter. Keith made a band with campers and counselors. Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky performed an acoustic version of “Stairway to Heaven” and his sister, Sofia, did a couple songs on the ukulele. Teddy Geis channeled “a comedian from 1980” and entertained the crowd with some of his own material while Quinn and Holden Cook told some more well-known jokes. Josh McConnell showed off some of the dragons he drew and explained their powers. Jenna Ross and Hailee Williams did a very funny scene about trying to get a mime to share pizza. Jake Welfeld showed off his acrobatic ability by doing such tricks as a backflip and a “kick-the-moon”.

In addition to Boys Tents, Caoimhe Ni Dhroighneain, Shelby Buyalos, and Gentry Stromer did a dance as did Catherine Ni Dhroighneain, Stevie Nocket, and Sofia Navas Sharry. Singing was also a popular talent. Hailey Mostow covered “Love Song”, Taylor Antonis sang Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb”, and Jasmine Williams won the talent show with her version of “Hate on Me” by Jill Scott. Flip Flop and Julie ended the evening on a messy note with a “Special Treat” cooking show that resulted in Julie, wearing a poncho, covering herself in whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and ice cream. Both the campers and counselors were in hysterics. This morning, a much cleaner Julie introduced the theme for this session’s trip to the roller rink: decades. It should be a blast.

Many of the younger campers really took the spotlight yesterday and are showing that though this is their first year, they too can make a major impact on camp. In archery, Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky won a game of knock out and Tristan Oldham, Ben Olek, Gabrielle Heller, and Max Jagger all got bullseyes. With his cousin Flip Flop’s constant prodding, Jack Morrisroe climbed the wall for the first time. Matthew Van Aken won the chipping competition in golf. Hunter Morrisroe, Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky, and Gentry Stromer all climbed the wall in climbing, which Julie named “Lord Equinox”. In Julie’s challenge course class, Cabin 2 successfully completed the “Australian Trolley” and went into the “Tricky House”, but has not made it out yet. Down by the lake, Aaron Walsh caught a fish using live bait caught by Nick Johnson. In baseball we had a great game with Oliver Schwartz and Sam Greenberg each hitting two home runs. Sam Greenberg and Noah Braman won games of knock out in basketball.

We also had a number of firsts yesterday. Sofia Gonzalez-Kosasky shot a gun for the first time and her brother Daniel not only rode down the golf hill on a mountain bike, but also tried his first soda… and he really liked it. Sorry Mrs. Gonzalez-Kosasky.

Campers and counselors alike raced around camp last night to try to get to the bottom of the disappearance of one of the camp’s beloved figures, Mark Clark. It was Clue night! The campers raced around from station to station where counselors who might be involved in the crime made them do tasks in exchange for information. Emily’s station taught campers important life guarding information such as how to do chest compressions and when it is not safe to go into the pool. Keith’s station was a big hit. He created a court room environment and made campers debate on the merits of their favorite tv shows and he judged who had a better debate. In the end only Collin’s team correctly guessed the weapon, the murderer, and the location. They received canteen first. Overall another great day at Camp Tall Timbers. Today everyone will be preparing their acts for the 2^nd CTT Talent Show of the summer!

Cheesy Skit night is one of those evening activities that dominates the entire day. Some campers spend all year preparing their skits for cheesy skit night. Nonetheless, campers still participated in their usual activities, using free time and rest hour to prep for their skits. In tennis, Hunter Morrisroe won a game of jail and Sofia Navas Sharry won a game of knock out in archery.

Like MTV night, the cheesy skits were very high quality. Each cabin was assigned a line that had to be included in the skit. Many of the skits mocked the various counselors. Cabin A scored very well with a skit about how Livia Lampal woke up with half a moustache. Cabin 1 worked around the line “fluffy little one” to create a detailed skit about wizards including Gandalf and Merlin. Cabin 2 had the line “why is there a tiger in the bathroom?” and parodied a movie with the counselors as the characters. Simon Rosenthal’s impersonation of Nick was hysterical.  Other notable impressions were Emily Walke attempting a British accent in her impersonation of Sean and Sofia Navas Sharry portraying Fairly Oddparents character Chip Skylark in the Girls Tents skit.

Closing the night was Boys Tents who blew everyone else out of the water en route to a perfect score. With Chet Stein repeatedly saying “mmm that’s some good pudding”, Boys Tents spoofed scenes from Harry Potter, Titanic and Star Wars. Boys Tents won a pool party but the campers have many more opportunities to win fabulous evening activity prizes, starting tonight with Clue.

Yesterday it happened. Many campers experienced the longtime CTT tradition that is only known as “it” for those who have not played before. All I can say is that the game takes place during free time behind closed doors in the gym, is open to anyone interested, involves a lot of clapping, and my kids keep asking when we’ll play “it” again.

Up at mountain boarding, Jake Welfeld, Brendan Cutick, Tyler Mostow, and Justin Welfeld all nearly made it down the challenging hill. Keegan Morrisroe and Shelby Buyalos won knock out games and Noah Braman and Ashley Stern shot bullseyes in zombie survival 102. Archery’s sister class, zombie survival 101 (riflery) saw Parker Mitchell and Simon and Nate Schwartz get head shots on paper cut-out zombies. Ben Olek, Shelby Buyalos, Ashley Stern, Taylor Antonis, Anja Schempf, Josh McConnell and Taryn Dalton all made it up the wall in climbing. Keith noted that Josh and Taryn were the youngest people to not only climb to the top but even attempt that wall all summer. Julie’s challenge course class “made it out of the bad house”. My goal for the end of the summer is to figure out what actually happens in challenge course. Taryn Dalton, Jaclyn Welfeld, Carly Dalton, and Livia Lampal all fished for the first time. I was psyched how they all picked it up really quickly for campers that young.

Jerry Smith received a special announcement for beating golf master Sean in a putting competition. In basketball, Holden Cook and Matthew Van Aken won games of knock out. Albert’s soccer class saw Jake Welfeld and Keegan Morrisroe win World Cup playing as the country Israel.

The evening activity was home alone night. The counselors created a variety of scenarios that kids would do while home alone. The activities included throwing pudding at Ethan, pillow sumo wrestling (something that Alex and I still do while home alone), writing on the walls, balloon toss, a fashion show, “trash the yard”, make-your-own-ice cream, and a dance party. Oliver Schwartz and Meier Parr won the balloon toss and Justin Welfeld dominated any challenger in pillow sumo. Tonight is cheesy skit night. After narrowly losing to Girls Tents in MTV night, Dan and I will be working with my kids all day to take home the victory.

We had our first trip yesterday as Camp Tall Timbers spent an afternoon and evening at Cacapon State Park. The day began as they always do, with campers going to their usual activities in the morning such as riflery, fishing, archery, and Boy’s League. After lunch and rest hour, we all boarded the buses and headed off to Cacapon lake.

At Cacapon, the campers and counselors spent the afternoon swimming in the water, making sand castles, or just chilling out and enjoying the nice day. The campers built a number of sand castles. Cabin A girls built a huge Chinese themed sand palace and Cabin G worked with some of the younger girls to build another large sand castle. Hunter Morrisroe and Jerome Williams both dug large holes big enough to sit in. Tristan Oldham found a baby turtle and most of the Cabin 1 and 2 boys spent a good part of the afternoon trying to convince their counselors to let them keep it as a cabin pet (they were unsuccessful). The boys of Cabins 34 and 56 spent a good portion of the day playing a water game they came up with called “Categories” and trying to tackle Flip Flop. Jake Welfeld received a special shout out from Flip Flop by successfully doing a backflip off of his shoulders. Tony Spangler and Josh McConnell spent much of the day looking for fish in the quieter shallows. Many of the other counselors and I spent a large portion of the day running away from campers who tried to drag us into the water in all our clothes. The kids were having so much fun that we decided to cancel the organized evening activity, a sand castle contest, and just let them play until we left at dusk. After a fun day in the sun, the counselors had little trouble getting most of their kids right to bed so they could get a good night’s rest before another busy day at CTT.

Yesterday campers were active outdoors not only all day, but many all night as well. During the day we had a number of athletic accomplishments. Simon Rosenthal was named the MVP for Collin’s Boy’s League team. Aaron Rosenthal and Noah Gross won the longest drive competition in golf and Sofia Navas Sharry and Stevie Nocket hit golf balls for the first time. Jacob Welfeld, Justin Welfeld, Brendan Cutick, and Tyler Mostow all mountain-boarded for the first time. Jenna Ross hit almost every pitch that came her way in softball. Finally, Lori Belt won the basketball competition.

A number of other campers participated in other outdoor activities. Jerome Williams rode a horse for the first time. Freddi Rappaport and Taryn Dalton kayaked for the first time. Holden Cook and Carly Dalton made it to the top of the climbing wall. Emily Walke caught a nice bass. Simon Schwartz and Aaron Walsh had head shots in riflery (zombie survival 101). Catherine Ni Dhroighneain and Hunter Morrisroe won games of knockout in archery and Anja Schempf sniped a bullseye. During lunch, Flip Flop lead the boys side in the first “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” of the session. For those at home who don’t know, “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” consists of all the campers going to an empty table in the back, banging loudly, and singing a song with nonsensical phrases such as “where he at/ there he go/ peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat.” It is one of the most popular of the many camp mealtime traditions.

The evening activity last night was cabin night where campers are given the option of sleeping under the stars and building a campfire at a designated location. Quite a few cabins chose this option including Cabin B whose campers had never slept out before. The cabins were located anywhere between the lake and the golf course. I was with Cabin 2 which was located at the top of the golf course. We began the night by getting dried grass and logs to build a large fire. We then went for a lengthy hike through the woods on horse trails so it was dark when we lit the fire. After lighting the fire, we let it die down a bit and began to roast marshmallows. The night ended with my co-counselor Dan and I telling the campers funny stories and discussing our experiences with camp as the campers slowly faded off one by one. We woke up with a thin layer of dew on our sleeping bags and lugged our stuff back to the cabins to get ready for breakfast and another busy day at Camp Tall Timbers.

When a camper does something notable at Camp Tall Timbers, they receive an announcement at lunch time. Counselors relish in making these announcements and quite a few make one nearly every meal time. Yesterday was no exception with announcements ranging from the lake at one end of camp to the rock wall at the other.

Yesterday morning we saw our first fish of the session with a nice size bass caught by Ashley Stern. Alec Geis, Sam Hu, Simon Schwartz, Noah Braman, and Jack Morrisroe all won contests in riflery, also known as “Zombie Survival 101”, because in addition to learning how to shoot guns, Ethan teaches campers facts about how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Ethan’s follow-up class, “Zombie Survival 102” (archery) also saw quite a few snipers with Adam Lampal, Harry Kaplan, and Julia Trice all winning games of knock out. Up at the tennis courts, Parker Mitchell, Noah Braman, and Justin Dryer won games of jail. The rock wall continued to be a hot spot for campers testing their courage and braving it to them top. Jaclyn Welfeld attempted the wall for the first time and Sophie Delta climbed to the top in her very first attempt. Nate Schwartz received a special shout out for climbing the wall faster than anyone had seen in a very long time. Not all announcements involve an individual accomplishment. Flip Flop gave all of cabin 1 an announcement for “finding the Holy Grail behind the spiderweb” during their challenge course session with him. I’m not sure what that means but cabin 1 claims they had a blast doing it.

Yesterday’s evening activity was the first skit competition of the session, MTV night. My first year at camp was 2003 and this was one of the strongest and closest MTV nights I have ever seen. Cabin A started things off with their rendition of “Circle of Life”. Everyone was quite impressed that girls that young could choreograph such a complicated dance for the entire song. Other highlights included Cabin B bringing back some of the favorite dance moves of the summer, Cabin F’s reenactment of the Taylor Swift song “You Belong With Me”, and watching Emma return to being a counselor and help the Cabin G girls during “I Want It That Way”. The night resulted in a three way tie between Cabin 2’s version of Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On” which the judges commented “felt like a real music video”, Girls Tents’ rickrolling the audience during their 80s Mash Ups, and Boys Tents’ hilarious delivery of a number of Boy Band songs. After a series of dance offs, Girls Tents came out the winners of the night. Overall another excellent busy day.

Welcome to the Third Session! My name is Zach and I’m picking up where my brother left off. I am an incoming senior at American University studying political science and a former camper at CTT. Third Session has been an absolute blast so far. We have a number of kids who are new to camp and many are trying activities for the first time.

Up at horses with Tiffany and Dan, Jaclyn Welfeld rode a horse for the first time. Alec Geis, Livia Lampal, Margaret Rappaport, Jasmine Williams, Freddi Rappaport, Taryn Dalton and Caro Lipsitz all shot guns for the first time with riflery experts Ethan and Erin. Keith and Julie’s climbing classes saw Livia Lampal and Freddi Rappaport try the wall and Freddi made it all the way to the top. The lake also gave campers the opportunity to try many new activities with Taylor Antonis and Lori Belt tubing for the first time, Sophie Delta, Hailee Williams, and Gabby Heller canoeing for the first time and Hailee Williams and Jenna Ross kayaking for the first time. Even the older campers were trying new activities. Tent boy Nate Schwartz attempted mountain boarding for the first time, and did quite well according to Rachel. Much to the excitement of Emma, Dippies have become very popular this session, especially with the younger ladies of Cabins A and B.

In addition to attempting new things, a number of CTT campers exceled in their activities yesterday. Sam Greenberg hit a home run in baseball. Matthew Van Aken won the accuracy contest in golf. Caoimhe Ni Dhroighneain and Jasmine Williams won soccer world cup. In hockey, Holden Cook won a game of world cup and Quinn Cook and Justin Welfeld won the 2 on 2 game. The Cook brothers also won a game of jail in tennis as did Jake Welfeld.

At the campfire, each cabin had to come up with a cabin cheer. Cabin 56 wowed the judges with their creative cheer and backflips by Jake Welfeld. The campers also learned numerous camp traditions and songs such as Boom-Chicka-Boom, “The Friends Song”, “Lion Hunt”, “Herman the Worm”, and “Boomba”. The evening ended with the entire camp roasting marshmallows by the campfire and making smores.

Who knew CTT would have so many future stars on Broadway?!

Last night’s musical, Everything Is Groovy, featured over twenty campers singing and dancing to a tribute to the American 1960s. The show starred Spencer Leibow as Travis, a young hippie that is putting on a Woodstock-esque festival entitled Music, Beads, and Flowers. Travis and his friends Muriel (Erin Smedley) and Alice (Hayley Sanders) work together to put on the festival and get the biggest rock stars in town, The Lemonbugs (Sydney Sachs, Jack Parr, and Ian Osterman) to perform. Trouble hits, however, when Mrs. Porter (Justin Leibow) and the local sheriff (Mike Springer) appear and try to shut down the festival. Despite these speed bumps, the show goes on and Music, Beads, and Flowers occurs and it is a humongous success for the hippies.

But, alas, as much fun as the past three (and for some, six) weeks have been, it ends in a few days. Like many of our campers, I too leave at the end of this session. Today, Camp Tall Timbers begins my favorite two days of every year, Color War, and I will not be writing as the White team needs my help to cheer us to victory. I want to take my last post to sincerely thank all of you for reading the blog throughout the past few weeks. It has truly been an honor to keep all of you updated and I am very thankful for the positive feedback you have given me (even though the website says Emma is the camp blogger and a lot of the feedback is complimenting the fact that every blog title is a song by rock ‘n’ roll messiah, Bruce Springsteen.) The blog has given me an excuse to eavesdrop, ask questions, get to know your incredibly awesome, hilarious, and witty kids better, and really remind me about how much I love this place. These past six weeks have been magical and I am very grateful to have had an audience (so to speak) for my first year of counseloring. I am teary as I type this so I just want to say thank you once again, I hope that you have enjoyed the blog (or have at least found it amusing), and I hope to communicate with you once again further on up the road.

Sincerely,

Alex Fang

The judge has spoken. Last night, the CITs turned into ghosts and their souls went to the Camp Tall Timbers Ghost Court where they tried campers for crimes that they have committed against CTT, and Judge Flip Flop revealed to them their punishments. Ian Osterman took the stand for thinking he is the ladies’ man (though he is quite adorable) so his punishment was to dress up like a girl. Justin Leibow followed for thinking the weirdest things in life were the coolest, so now he must walk around discussing the finer things in life such as cheese and caviar. Up next was Brady Osterman who always seems to be at the scene of a crime, but never at fault of said crime. Because of this, he must present five reasons at lunch as to why the conflict in the Middle East is his fault. Hayley Sanders took the stand for always spilling her drink at meals forcing her to ask others to pour her drinks for her. She must also drink through a straw at all meals to ensure that she does not spill. Back to the boys’ punishments, Spencer Fields was charged with always sleeping in late so today, he had to attend Dippies and give five reasons as to why Dippies is better than sleeping in. The last individual punishment of the night went to Vance “The Boss” Pallone for being such a gosh-darn cutie-patootie so today, he dons a bear suit and some ratty clothes and now is a hobo and whenever somebody tells Vance that he is cute, he must reply with, “Well, I was…once.”

After the individual punishments, cabins were tried at the Ghost Court. Boys and Girls Tents were charged with being too messy so Boys Tents has to carry toilet paper all day offering to pick up any mess they see whereas Girls Tents must compose a cheerful cleaning song to sing for the entire camp to hear at lunch. Cabin H was obsessed with painting their nails so now they must set up a manicure station at the pavilion and offer a manicure to anyone who would like one (I am so excited!). Cabin 2 was accused of waking up so early (like 6 A.M. early). Since they are up this early, we might as well put them to work so at breakfast, they were handing out spoons, knives, and forks when people arrived.

We have our last full day of activities today. Campers in challenge course are going on the zipline, arts and crafts campers are tie-dyeing their shirts, and CTTFFL is ready to conclude with its Super Bowl. But perhaps most importantly, the musical is tonight! Many campers have been working hard running lines and dancing during their free time to prepare for tonight and I’m sure that it will be a show you do not want to miss. During the intermission of the play, we have our Art Show so the talent of CTT’s artists can be displayed. Let the curtains go up!