Once the dust from the bus died down, it didn’t take long for Camp Tall Timbers’ trademark zaniness to ensure that we had really slipped into our loud, obnoxious and nonsensical piece of summer peace.
Almost as soon as they got off the bus, Brandon Kagen and Ethan McCann went piece-for-piece in a pizza eating competition. The two Buffalo Village representatives each downed a very respectable five pieces while their cohort Ryan Kalata got experimental and topped his pizza with spaghetti.
The youngest boys in camp also got off to a solid start in archery thanks to Zach LaPorte and Will Todd sinking bull’s eyes on their first day at the range.
The first few days have been big for some other campers, as well. Garrett caught his first fish as a camper, which is a HUGE accomplishment considering I have been trying for two years and have never, ever caught one. Maybe the kids just have all the skill…
Down in the pool, many of the campers have discovered a new hero in the form of rookie counselor Kyle Moore, who just happens to be ripped like a professional wrestler. He teamed up with all of the campers present at a free swim and together they defeated the rest of the counselors in an intense game of water polo. I have a sneaking suspicion Kyle will be highly sought after when the Color War Tug-o-War comes around.
Another crazy phenomenon that happens around here is Dippies, which is when a group of clinically insane campers and counselors wake up in the morning and run down to the pool to swim a lap. The Dippies crowd has had a great turnout so far, but we’ll see if my Sleepies crew catches up once we really get into the full swing of camp.
So, thankfully, camp is back in full swing. There has been a loomster, a group of devoted Dippers has formed and children are already getting experimental with their food. Clue was a smash last night (Cabin 5 found out that Lindsay Heiman/ Ms. Scarlett was the killer), tonight is our first cabin night and tomorrow is Cacapon.
It’s just so good to be here, and of course we are all loving camp life with all of our camp family.