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Second session is now well under way. The campers are getting into their daily routines and the activities they selected, the flag football league starts today and we expect to hear about the beginning of the baseball league any day now. The rifles are firing and the balls are bouncing, the bats are ringing and the swimmers are swimming.

It is camp as usual. A normal day is scheduled, but unscheduled activities also have a neat way of popping up and drawing our attention. A perfect example of this is the other day when, on a whim, several guys from the Buffalo Village decided to attack cabins A & B and their counselors with water balloons, guns and bottles. A & B responded by brandishing their own water weapons. It was a fight.

Yesterday, cabin B counselor Breanna stood at lunch and challenged the BV to a formal water battle. The BV of course answered the call. It was scheduled for second free swim and when I approached from the riflery range I saw Taylor and Casey Dennison circling the area outside the bunk, ready to attack the first BV camper or counselor who was unlucky enough to show their faces.

Isaac Lewis led the charge for the BV. He came out with the few water balloons they were able to scrounge up and a water gun, which was supplied by Eli Sachs (he had a huge bag of guns and supplied the cabin). Athena Lewis came at her brother, but the rest of the BV stormed the A&B porch.

Counselor Eva tried to nail me with a water balloon. Well, three balloons to be exact. Let’s just say I don’t want her on my baseball team. Hayley Sanders, however, pegged me in the back and I want her in my outfield.

Brendan Arnold and Brett Richardson doused Breanna and the boys of the BV managed to capture counselor Carla’s water bottle. She had to come to our porch to get it back, which resulted in her getting a decent size bottle of water poured on her.

When it was all said and done, everyone outside was wet. We had to retire to go work on our skits for ‘Movie at a Glimpse.’ Both sides claimed victory and because of the dispute a rematch is scheduled for later today. I’ll keep you posted on how that shakes out.

‘Movies’ was the evening activity. The idea was that each cabin had to perform a blockbuster movie in less than a minute. Then they were given a characteristic (for example, my cabin did an arrogant version of Elf) and they had to perform it again.

There were several perfect scores given. Cabin B’s rendition of a sick Wall-E netted the top score of four stars, as did a musical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles performed by cabin four. In the end though, the judges decided to go with cabin seven’s version of The Sandlot. They received the CTT Emmy at breakfast and celebrated accordingly.

Tonight, we are gearing up for our first cabin night. Wednesday is a special day for all of us here at CTT because we get to hang out with our cabin mates for an entire night of activities. I know everyone in camp is looking forward to it and they should, because this is how our strongest relationships are formed- by spending good quality time with our friends.

That just about sums up another big day here at CTT. Girl’s leagues started today, flag football is any minute now and our first out-of-camp trip, to see a minor league baseball game, is tomorrow night! Everything is in full swing here and there is a ton of fun stuff to do every day. The campers are starting to feel the everday excitement that is CTT, and seeing them have fun and try/ excel at new things is what this place is all about.

Hey everyone, sorry about the total lack of blogs since last Wednesday. Everyone I’ve talked to loves daily updates and I love to give them, but some big things were going down in regards to wrapping up first session and beginning this one. I’m back now, and after the madness of Color War, the sadness of the first group of campers leaving and the excitement of the new batch I can assure you I will have tons to talk about.

On Thursday and Friday last week I got my first chance to experience this phenomenon known as Color War. It began early in the morning when the generals, Trow and Rachel/Medusa for white and Spanky and Krista for blue, came barging into the bunks at around 7:30 sounding sirens and calling names. Everyone received a bolt of either blue or white paint to sort out the teams, and the games began!

It was sheer madness for a day and a half. It began with a cheer face-off outside the pavilion before breakfast, included team sports and an unruly, yet oddly carefully organized Apache Relay (which included near every activity at CTT, even a gum chewing and bubble blowing stage) and wrapped up with the presentation of the team songs, skits, plaques and speeches.

The battle was at a near dead heat going into the presentations. The Blubonic Bots had taken a lead early in day one but The White Glove of Michael Jackson battled back by winning the Apache. It would all be decided on the spacious front porch of the rec hall.

The Bots skit parodied the Transformers saga, while The Glove’s skit showed Michael Jackson protecting small children from evil robots. The songs were well written and performed with great enthusiasm and the plaques from both teams looked great. Hannah Sherman delivered a powerful Obama-esque speech for the blue team that got the crowd cheering and her near tears (this is her last year, so appropriately so).  The white team sent up Ian Lever, who spoke about campers being able to realize their personal potential in an environment that is incredibly conducive to doing so. His speech was equally fiery and the crowd was moved.

After the closest Color War in years, the judges convened and deemed that The White Glove of Michael Jackson had won! After some cheers, the teams embraced and it was over. Just like that, we saw that the bond between all of the people at CTT was instantly restored, and that through everything we are all still one big family.

The next day, it was time to say good-bye to first session. It was tough to see familiar faces like Lindsay Heiman, Bob, Tucker and everyone else get on those buses and leave. The people on those buses had made the three weeks that made up first session truly magical. But everything that is good comes to an end, and eventually we all must trudge back into real life…

On Sunday, those buses returned and this time they were carrying campers for second session. There are some familiar faces from last week like Jakeable, Miller, Hayley Sanders and the Dennison triplets but for the most part, there are a lot of new names to learn.

The second session really got rolling last night at the camp fire. It started with a rousing round of boom-chicka-boom, a rock/paper/scissors tournament and an interesting game your kids will have to teach you on your next trip to the beach called “Cut the Cake.” Jason Gersh and his buddies Ziggy and Matt Kasoff treated us all to a mini-set of songs they have been working on in their guitar classes, including one that I feel really sums up life at CTT.

Amidst the craziness of the first few days, such as the start of boy’s leagues, flip-flop (the sandal) advisories and an ongoing fight between Rachel/ Medusa and Flip-Flop (the counselor) about whether peanut butter is good or nasty (for the record, 80% of the people at breakfast sided with Rachel and are supporters of the by-product), CTT has a feeling of home. It is a place where we all come to be ourselves, to be with friends and to try new things. This is a place where we can come to really live.

The song Jason played was “I Feel Home” by OAR, and thinking of CTT and the people seems to echo the words of the song. Even at the beginning of the session, this group of campers has come to their second home, a place they love to be, with the people they love to be with.

I feel home when I see the faces that remember my own,
I feel home when I’m chilling outside with the people I know,
I feel home and that is just something I feel,
‘Cause home to me is reality and all I need is something real.

-OAR

After a huge day at King’s Dominion, everyone in camp was grateful for the late wake-up this morning. We were all really tired after returning around 11 p.m., but I think it was worth the late night and the long ride.

Campers and counselors boarded chartered buses at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. After a lengthy ride on the highway and lunch on the bus, we arrived at the theme park for a day of roller coasters, water slides, a hot sun and extremely overpriced food (if you’ve never been there, think $3.75 for a 20 oz. soda).

For my group, which consisted of Jakeable, Miller, Brandon Kagen, Ziggy and a few other big names, the day began at a big, blue piece of terrifying-looking twisted metal appropriately named The Dominator. I was, in fact, dominated by The Dominator and sat with the bags as I watched my group climb aboard. One group, led by Adam Gersh, were not intimidated and successfully dominated the Dominator by riding it four times.

After stops at the equally menacing Anaconda, terribly frightening Volcano, the ferocious Grizzly and the rather tame attraction known as Scooby-Doo’s Haunted Mansion (my favorite of the day) we hopped on some water rides. Most groups followed the same pattern but in slightly different orders. The one thing we all had in common is that the day at King’s Dominion flew by too fast, but we had a whale of a time while we were there.

Emily and Nicole took their first roller coaster ride of their lives and Jennifer Heiman went on her first ever ride that goes upside down (which was, respectfully, the Flight of Fear). Ethan McCann won a huge stuffed bear in the first game he played, Hannah Sherman made off with a giant monkey and someone gave Twix’s group a giant husky dog.

We all spent way too much money in the various gift stores and candy shops. Several boys from the BV purchased custom trucker hats and I bought a giant bag full of tasty gummy treats.

As we boarded the buses and left, it was tough to believe the day was over. From my perspective, the day began with Barry Manilow, included some rides that were almost as terrifying as Mark’s singing along with the aforementioned crooner and ended with McDonald’s. In that context it seems an incredibly bizarre day, but it really was another lifelong memory made at/with CTT. I’m sure the campers will tell you the same.

Now with King’s Dominion in the past the big thing completely blocking the horizon is Color War. And after that comes the day none of us want to think of- the end of the session and leaving CTT.

Today, the Buffalo Village established their dominance over the rest of CTT in a big way.

For the last week, the boys have been sneaking away to the art shack with counselor Krista. They have been hush-hush about their covert project and told people they were just working on a new banner for the cabin. They have been working diligently for some time now, and this morning CTT saw what they were up to.

The boys rose with the sun (well, a little later. Probably about 45 minutes before the rest of the camp) and went to the art shack. Their counselor, Trow, let them in and they made a beeline for their banner.

When the rest of the camp arose a while later, they looked to the flagpole expecting to see Old Glory but instead saw a BV banner! It was adorned with all of the kid’s signatures, buffalos in the corners and random sports equipment. It warns people not to look at Medusa/ Rachel. It states that the kids are awesome, but the counselors are just OK.

All in all, the flag perfectly displays what the young men have taken away from their first year of camp. They fought through homesickness, learned new traditions and routines, furthered their knowledge and skills on the field of competition while making good friends and lifelong memories the whole way. Collectively, I’d say the men in the BV had a great first session of camp and are going to be ready when next summer rolls around.

There will be some big things going on in camp today outside of the BV. The CTTBL resumes play with the biggest rivalry in baseball: My Red Sox vs. Twix’s Yankees. These two squads will test each other during the first free swim with the league lead on the line.

After that, the flag football league will crown a champion. The Red Bulls, coached by Zach and yours truly, will be taking on Spanky and Julie’s Orange Crush. The two teams met before this season with the Bulls winning by three, but this is the Super Bowl and anything can happen. I know Ill be wearing my ¾ length Bill Belichick-style shirt for the game. It should be highly competitive and fun to watch.

That sums up our Monday here at camp. With a new flag and some big games, the campers will hardly have time to look ahead to tomorrow’s trip to King’s Dominion. But I know it is in the back of their mind, because despite my games today I am already feeling terrified of the ‘fun’ metal monsters known as roller coasters.

So, we have two big days upcoming at CTT. Oh, and a little thing called Color War. It will be a grueling, tiring few days for everyone but they should also be some of the best days of the summer. I won’t be able to blog tomorrow, but I will be back soon with news from CTT’s takeover of King’s Dominion…

The last two days at camp have been some very big ones. We’ve traveled out of camp, became royalty and danced the night away. Then we got a big surprise…. But more on that later.

On Friday night, CTT rode into town to catch a little minor league baseball action and some pre-Independence Day fireworks. The day began at camp under cloudy skies and it even began to rain a little on the way to the ballpark, but luckily for us the weather cleared up and we were able to enjoy an awesome night of baseball, pyrotechnics and friends.

We arrived in the fourth inning with the Royals in the lead. Unfortunately for the home team, we must have brought some bad luck with us because the Rockbridge Rapids chipped away at the deficit, then smacked a grand slam in the seventh inning to take the lead. The Royals lost the game, but the camp had a great time regardless.

The kids munched on hotdogs, peanuts and other goodies as they cheered on the team. I wasn’t around the older kids, but my boys in the BV found front row seats right behind first base. We had to dodge a few foul balls but the kids loved it. They were autograph seeking at every opportunity and watched in awe at the speed of the game.

After the final out, we all filed into the bullpen for the fireworks. The show lasted around 25 minutes and it seemed that they were right on top of us. Max Penn pretended to shoot every single firework for the entire show. He thought it was hilarious, but counselor Chris Brown called it annoying.

Saturday was Royalty Day. We began the day with the traditional service, then we saw counselors Aram and Susan ride around the gym on horseback! They stopped in front of the group and read off the teams, and then we all split up and began planning.

We came up with team names, colors and even a fairy tale, which was performed that night. After rest hour, the games began.

At one station we played siege ball, which is a dodge ball-type game where you have to protect your castle. Then there was a bit of an obstacle course at the lake. Three campers had to eat apples dangling on strings without touching them. Then there was a riddle and a canoe race at the lake. The last station was mask-making, which were to be worn at the ball/dance party that night.

One of these races came down to the wire and ended rather controversially. One team, In the Land of Tiana, was incredibly behind when the senior campers jumped into the canoe. Due to some extremely fast paddling by Kelly, they were able to catch up to the Royal Weiners vessel, which was piloted by Lindsay Heiman and Alex Fang.

Fang decided to jump out of the Weiners canoe to hand-off a sheep, which was part of the race. He couldn’t get back in, so he ran along the shore beside the boat while Lindsay and Kelly were neck and neck. As the two boats neared the finish line, it became apparent Tiana was going to win. Then Fang jumped in the water and shoved Tiana’s canoe! Race director Krista gave the race to Tiana, and there was alot of arguing between the judges and the Weiners. In the end, the win stayed with Tiana.

After the day’s competition, campers danced and sang together at the royal ball, but that wasn’t the end of the night…

Partway through Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face,’ the doors flew open and CITs clad in ghostly white sheets flew in. They roared and shrieked and herded everyone up the hill. The veteran campers knew it was time for Ghost Court!

Many campers were tried and found guilty by Judge Mookie and the ghost court. There were a lot of interesting judgements handed out. Some of the best were-

Girl’s tents- For using too much electricity, they are wearing signs that say ‘Go Green or Go Home.’

BV- For being just too cute, they must growl when they are approached by a camper or counselor.

Jennifer Heiman- For being messy in the bunk, she has to dress like a pig and oink when she speaks.

Boy’s tents- For never listening to announcements, they must sit attentively on the floor in front of the speaker of each announcement.

And some campers who love to be in the cabin will marry said cabin this afternoon.

It should be an interesting sight to see. I, for one, have never witnessed a cabin-human ceremony. There were lots of other interesting punishments given out, so ask your child if he or she received one. Who knows- you may now have a genuine CTT cabin in your family.

Well, that sums the last two days as best I can without writing a novel for you folks. I can’t believe we only have a week left in this session! But it will be a big one, with King’s Dominion in two days and color war looming on the horizon…

Following two soggy days at camp, everyone is outside rejoicing in the sun this morning. But, true to the weather patterns of the summer thus far, there are some dark clouds rolling in. We are all hoping they disappear because tonight is our trip into Winchester to see the Royals in action.

A few of the Royals made it to camp on Wednesday to play a little baseball with the kids and counselors. A lot of the kids got autographs and a few of them made fast friends of the minor leaguers. Everyone in camp is pumped to make the trip and hopefully the fireworks afterwards will not disappoint.

Is there anything more American than sitting with your best friends and watching a minor league baseball game and fireworks the day before our nation’s birthday?

There will be quite a bit of action before we head to the ballpark. Today begins the playoffs of the flag football league. In the first round the Red Bulls, coached by Zach and yours truly, will be taking on Jacqui and Chris’s Purple Nurples. The Nurples are the only team to beat the Bulls this year, but they did just lose to the Orange Crush who in turn lost to the Bulls on the first day of competition.

Speaking of Spanky’s Crush, they will face Twix and the Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami today. The Hippos won the first match-up between these two squads, but this is the play-off. Anything can happen and I’m sure the usually lively and avid fan base will turn out as well.

During breakfast today I noticed something peculiar. Kevin Trow, a counselor who is well over six feet tall and weighs well over two hundred, plays college lacrosse and lifts weights everyday, was carrying a tiny tie-dye teddy bear. It certainly was a strange sight to see such a formidable young man carrying a stuffed animal, but I didn’t say anything because everyone has their quirks.

It became apparent during announcements what the deal was.

After a few announcements, Rummer from the girl’s tents stood and walked to the front of the mess hall with a prepared statement. As it turns out, she had insulted Trow’s smile and he had stolen the bear in retaliation. As she read her statement, she apologized and talked of how his smile resembles that of a Colgate model. Apparently pleased with the formal apology, he flashed his pearly whites for her as he made his way to the front of the room to return the bear. It was a pretty humorous exchange to start what should be a pretty cool day.

Since today does look promising, I think I’m going to get out and enjoy it. Plus, I have to go coach some football. I hope everything is well with you folks, because everything is going smoothly here at Tall Timbers.

Usually, Wednesday nights are known as cabin nights. This means all the counselors and campers in a cabin spend the evening together playing basketball, or swimming, or fishing or whatever else they want to do. This was the designated week that the campers and counselors would all camp out at various locations around camp.

The tarps were being cleaned and the sleeping bags were being rolled with the whole camp abuzz about the evening ahead. Hamburgers and hot dogs were on the grill and the other necessities were packed.

But then, only moments before the bell to end the second free swim, the clouds started spitting a tiny amount of water. While we all waited to see if it would stop so that we could have our outdoor adventure, that spitting turned into a steady rain and at times a downpour.

As we watched the water trickle down the hill and wash out some loose gravel, we saw our hopes for an outdoor cabin night wash away as well.

We all stood around and wondered what to do next. We went ahead with our cookout dinner under the pavilion despite not knowing what was headed our way as far as an evening activity goes. When it seemed like we had waited forever under the pavilion, Jacqui, Karina, Mike and Dean grabbed the bullhorn and announced that instead of sleeping outside we were going to have a pageant to decide Mr. and Mrs. CTT.

Each bunk had to pick one counselor to represent them in a three-segment contest. The entire bunk had to help out and we had less than an hour to put it all together!

Despite the short time to prepare the evening was a smashing success. The first segment, the question and answer session, was fun but the real action began in the evening wear competition. The selected counselors went all out on their costumes with help for their bunkmates. One of the neatest costumes, in my opinion, was Twix’s ridiculous get-up. He wore a leopard-print Snuggie and a gold vest.

I have no idea where you get a leopard-print Snuggie, but he rocked it like no other.

The most impressive outfit from the girl’s side had to belong to Charlotte. She took to the catwalk in a zebra-print one-piece pajama suit. I had no idea they made infant pajamas to fit adults, but a tip of the hat to the girl’s tent group that produced one.

The talent contest was the marquee event of the night. The girl CITs sang a song with all of their names in it and centered on their contestant, Nicole. Tis demonstrated his ability to fight ninjas and Julie showed everyone how good a counselor she was by speeding through a day in her life. Even I got into the act, using the children of cabin one as weights so I could get a workout.

The gym waited in anticipation as the judges conferred to make a decision. First the boy’s winner was announced. I don’t want to brag, but I guess now would be a good time to tell you that you are reading the words of the new Mr. CTT. Me and my boys from cabin one took the title with us to the BV and boy, were we excited.

Next, the girl’s winner was announced and Nicole, with help from the female CITs, celebrated her win in her orange leggings, cowboy boots and suspenders with a studded belt.

It was a fun night at camp, and a very impressive end to what could have been a ruined evening. I guess the ability to churn out an event like the Mr. and Mrs. CTT pageant in about an hour is what makes Camp Tall Timbers so special.

The fact that everyone pitches in and tries to make the activity as fun as possible is testament to the quality of people that make up our CTT family. We had so much fun in what was basically an improvised activity it just shows that it doesn’t really matter what we do, as long as we do something together. Halfway through the first session, the CTT community is coming together into one big, happy unit.

Last night was a quick blast of loud music, a sudden flash of neon clothing, a stiff breeze as someone sped by and the ensuing crash of a body hitting the floor because CTT boarded the buses and went roller skating.

As soon as we got there, it became very apparent which ones of us were veteran campers and counselors. These individuals, like Lindsay Heiman, Adam Gersh and other veterans pulled on skates and began easily zooming around the track as soon as we arrived. Others, like the young men of the Buffalo Village, the girls of cabins A & B and myself, considered it a major feat to be able to even stand on the skates.

Some people took some time at the rink to play some video games. Admin Mike spend a substantial amount of time playing a basketball shooting game, but one determined camper was able to make a long-lasting mark on the game. Eric Morrell stepped to the line with the goal of beating the high-score of 66.

When we left the rink, Eric owned the record. He smashed the previous record by 10 points, finishing with 76. So it wasn’t only a flamboyant and fun night for those of us at CTT, for some of us it became a record-breaking evening.

Before the skating adventure, another game of the Camp Tall Timbers Baseball League was played on the diamond in the center of camp. The Red Sox and the Wildcats faced off, with the league lead at stake for the Sox.

When it was all over, the Sox cruised to a 10-4 win over the Cats and a one-game lead in the CTTBL. The highlight of the game was when Bobby Jaffe, who was filling in for counselor Krista, made an amazing double play at second base by snagging a sharply hit line drive and then diving to the bag to tag out counselor Bill.

This sets up a showdown between the Red Sox and the Yankees. If the Yanks win, the division will be tied. If the Sox take it, they will have a commanding two-game lead. The camp waits in anticipation for the next round of CTTBL play…

One lucky camper became a father yesterday. Kind of.

Ben Mendelson was sitting on his bunk during rest hour when a fly landed on him. He swiped it away, but before he did the fly managed to give birth to a maggot on him! So congratulations to Ben and the Mendelson family on their new tiny, white parasitic addition!

In preparation for our trip to the ballpark on Friday night, several players from the Winchester Royals are coming to camp today to hang out with us during free play and maybe give us some tips on how we can improve as players. It says a lot for these guys to come out and do this, and I know all of the baseballers around camp are eager to learn an inside trick or two from some real pros. This should prove to be another neat and informative day for all of our campers.

Well, that is the word around camp. We all had a blast skating and can’t wait for our next outing, although sitting around camp isn’t too shabby either.

The Royals will be here soon, and I’m trying to go get some help fielding grounders…

Due to some continuing connection problems, we are still unable to print emails and upload photos, and our blog is sporadic! We apologise for the inconvenience and will be up and running again as soon as we can. In the meantime, we encourage you to use the good old US Postal Service to contact your campers! As always, feel free to call our office with any questions or concerns.

I may have witnessed one of the most humorous things of the season this morning during breakfast.

It began during announcements when Spanky and Adam Gersh theatrically made their way to the front of the mess hall. From the looks on the two counselors faces it was apparent they had a juicy tidbit they were waiting to spring on the campers and admins. As soon as they began to talk, admin Mike froze them.

Soon after, Jason Gersh stood up and made an actual announcement concerning the meeting place of one of his outdoor classes. Then he began to speak of a terrible tragedy, and Mike froze him!

Then counselor Rachel/Medusa stood up and made began to speak of a news story concerning Yao Ming, the center for the Houston Rockets and one of Mike’s heroes. A very distraught looking Mike then quickly froze her.

Before Mike’s freezing spree could continue, Emma froze him! She then unfroze the counselors who spilled the news of Yao Ming’s possible career-ending injury. Mike was near tears when the news was leaked and the campers, counselors and admins broke into a “Schmao Schming” chant.

Elsewhere in camp, there are some more exciting boy’s league competition being played this morning as the Lacksplash Savages and the Twixie Cups duel in hockey and Ultimate Frisbee. The Fighting Trowjans and G-Force will be in action as well as they take the basketball courts for some hoops action.

In other camp league news, the flag football teams took the field yesterday for the third and final regular season games. On field one, the Red Bulls used a long touchdown by Lindsay Heiman and a 25-yard Ian Lever field goal with four seconds remaining to overcome the pesky Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami 10-7. This game came down to the wire and all of the spectators were on the edge of their seats.

On the second field, defending Super Bowl champions Orange Crush dropped another game to the Purple Nurples, tying the Nurps, Bulls and Hippos at the top of the standings with 2-1 records. It will be interesting to see how the seeding for the play-offs turns out, and the participants wait in anticipation as the numbers are fed into a computer… Joking. We will actually play games to decide a winner at CTT.

In Camp Tall Timbers Baseball League, the Red Sox and the Yankees are deadlocked atop the standings due to the Yanks (1-0-1) win over the Blue Jays (0-2) yesterday. Today, the Red Sox (1-0) and the Wildcats (0-0-1) square off with the division lead at stake for the Red Sox. I don’t want to appear biased, but I am wearing a Red Sox jersey and will be playing second base…

There was also a near showdown at the challenge course today when Mike and a group of young ladies were using some of the equipment. A van full of Timber Ridge campers pulled in, and as Mike said, “…saw us and pulled out of there before we had to throw down.”

Tonight the entire camp will head out to a skating rink for an evening of fun on wheels. When this was announced at breakfast the faces of the campers lit up with smiles and the air was filled with cheers. Skating night is a big one at camp, and like most of the campers, I can’t wait to board the bus and pull on some skates.

I am also preparing myself for some pain, but you all should prepare yourselves to hear all about our skating adventure tomorrow as another day dawns at our favorite summer destination.

Mahalo.

So sorry to keep you all in suspense, but I am back to report the score from Friday’s opening game of the Camp Tall Timbers Baseball League. I am proud to say that my Red Sox racked up eight runs in the top of the first inning and weathered a late game comeback attempt, which included a monster homerun by admin Mike, to defeat Adam Gersh’s Blue Jays 8-7.

The Red Sox got a boost from first baseman Nicky Feldman, who had a big day at the plate. He stepped into the leadoff role on the offensive side with no qualms or hesitation, and together with shortstop (and cabin mate) Ethan Harrison made up a lethal one-two combination that had the opposing pitching staff scratching their heads the entire game.

Counselor Jason Gersh started on the hill for the Sox, but after getting into trouble in the second inning CIT Julie came in to finish the game. Counselor Rachel made two highlight-worthy catches from her post in left field, which were as big a surprise to her as it was to the hitters (despite being a devout baseball fan, Rachel spends most of her time on the soccer pitch).

The second game of the CTTBL will be today, featuring Twix’s Yankees and Bill’s Wildcats. I’ll sure be there scouting out the competition, and in doing so I’ll be able to bring you the scores and highlights with the next post…

Big things have been happening off the diamond as well. It has become apparent during riflery classes that CTT is full of highly trained snipers. Nate Fink, Cory Nigrin, Rachel Beiser, David Morrel, Jessica Hymer, Jake Shapiro and Ben Mendelson all hit the spinning targets multiple times.

The spinning targets are basically steel circles hardly bigger than a spoon. These guys are hitting these small targets from over 50 feet away with tiny .22 shells. This is an impressive feat for anyone, let alone a group of campers who generally only shoot during camp.

Now that you have a bit of a mental image at what these marksman are doing, try to wrap your mind around the fact that Joe Curran was able to connect on six of eight shots, including three in a row.

At the challenge course, Jordan scurried to the top of the wall in only two minute and 37 seconds. This is quite a feat because I’m not sure I could scale the vertical structure in two hours and 37 minutes.

On the football field, teams competed in their second game of the 2009 season. Each game came down to the wire and everyone had a blast.

On the first field, the Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami defeated the Orange Crush 24-19. The Hippopotami used a time-consuming short passing game to run out the clock and narrowly escape with the win.

The other game came down to the very last series. The Purple Nurples and the Red Bulls traded the lead throughout the game, but when the Bulls failed to convert on fourth down with the scored tied at 14 and with 15 seconds remaining, the Purple Nurples used a long pass to move to cover the field. With no time remaining on the game clock, Corey Greenwald hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass to seal a 21-14 win over the Bulls.

Nicky Feldman led the way for the Bulls with two touchdowns.

For those of you keeping score the BV continued their siege on the girl’s side by capturing counselor Krista, who they quickly re-named Fairy Girl. The boys were able to make her un-freeze three times, meaning she has to clean the cabin one meal table three times.

Today, there are some girl’s league competitions taking place along with the aforementioned CTTBL action and tonight is the Counselor Hunt, where some counselors will be hidden and the group of campers that finds the most counselors will be named the winners. It sounds like a fun evening activity to cap off yet another awesome day at Tall Timbers, which thankfully seems to be the norm around here.

A thunderstorm has disabled our internet service at camp. We are blogless.without email and unable to post daily pics. Rest assured everyone is fine and camp is running smoothly. We hope to be back on line soon. As always please feel free to call with any questions or concerns. Glenn Smith

Last night marked the first outside camp trip of the session, with the younger campers going to Trout Pond and their older counterparts going on a white water rafting adventure. I was lucky enough to accompany the group to Trout Pond, where everyone had a great time.

The first highlight from the trip requires me to correct an error in yesterday’s post. I incorrectly referred to the largest potato chip as the loomster, but I have now learned that title is reserved for only the largest fry. The chip with the most mass is known as the ‘choomster.’ Sorry for any confusion, but I’m still catching onto all the fun quirks and inside jokes here at CTT.

Regardless, there was a good-sized choomster found, flaunted and later consumed by Kevin Shefferman of cabin one. At this juncture, the boy’s side leads the loomster/choomster race 2-0. Also worthy of accolades is Alex Goldstein, who ate an incredible six hotdogs at dinner.

Elsewhere among the chicken-fights and water-wrestling mayhem was a counselor- burying contest. Counselors Chris Brown and Spanky were buried up to their necks in the white sand and the campers sculpted the counselor’s coverings into designs. Campers turned CB into a formidable sand mermaid, but were bested by the folks who turned Spanky into a trident/cactus. It was a tight contest, but counselor judges Rachel and Aram unanimously decided in favor of the trident/cactus hybrid.

Before the big trip, there were some notable happenings around campus. The boys in the Buffalo Village (boy’s cabin one) have had a vendetta against certain female counselors and older campers. In the past few days they have captured Squirelly Girl/ Hannah Sherman’s sandals by defeating the CIT girls in both dodge ball and ga-ga ball. They now hang proudly by a string on the BV plaque on the front porch of cabin one. They have also managed to make Medusa (also known as counselor Rachel) clean their meal table twice.

Perhaps the most astonishing of the BV’s feats so far is the successful capture of two girls in three days at meals. This warranted a “girl on boy’s side” chant by the entire side and admiration from their counterparts.

There has also been a fair number of animals captured, named and released over the last few days. At arts & crafts, Olivia found a frog. The class promptly named it Ralph Liggy IV. After the formal naming, Liggy was released and will hopefully live a long and happy life in the area around the art shack.

Down by the lake, the Dennison sisters are finding success as anglers. Reece caught her first fish yesterday, which her sister Casey promptly named Bob. Not more than a few minutes later, Casey caught her first fish. Reece quickly named him Billy.

As if catching fish weren’t enough, Taylor and Reece also rescued a stray paddle- boat from a kayak. All in all, it was a big day at the lake.

In the morning, the boy’s league competitions dominated most of the athletic facilities. The Twixie Cups overcame G-Force 8-5 in softball, while the Lacksplash Savages smacked the Fighting Trowjans 4-0 in dodgeball. As we speak, league play rages on as the Savages and the Cups face-off in soccer and basketball whilst the Trowjans and G-Force compete in hockey and ultimate Frisbee. Result and details will start to trickle in soon…

As another days dawns at CTT so does a new baseball league and all of the fun and excitement that accompanies a good game of America’s past time. The first day of competitive play will see Adam Gersh’s Blue Jays and my own Red Sox take to the diamond. Waiting in the wings will be Twix’s Yankees and Bill’s Wildcats, who are equally ready to turn double plays and smack multiple base hits. It should be a highly competitive, highly skilled and very fun league to be a part of, so please wish all competitors (mostly the Red Sox) luck as we begin the season.

Following an evening of good times and better friends at Trout Pond, I cannot wait to get out there amongst the campers and counselors and have yet another amazing day at CTT. Whether it be on field trips, baseball diamonds or at the lake, every day at CTT is a special one and it is my pleasure to be able to bring you closer into the family.

I’ll be back on Sunday with some more, and hopefully news of the Red Sox successful victory over the Jays…

Mahalo.

There aren’t a lot of things in the world that can compare to the opening days of summer camp, and at Camp Tall Timbers the first few days are the among the most special of the season.

There is a great mix of nerves and enthusiasm as the campers and counselors are beginning to settle into their schedules, as well as a great sense of excitement as some of CTT’s traditional contests and competitions begin to take place. One of the most fun contests is the search for the ‘loomster,’ which is a hunt for the longest fry or the largest potato chip during meals. The boy’s side came up with the win in the first loomster search of the year when David Morrell was served a fry over six inches in length. The boys watched in amazement and the girls in disgust as he chomped down on the prized morsel, the size of which was so remarkable that administrator Mike made an argument to hire bouncers to protect it.

Despite not finding the loomster, the girl’s side still managed to have a good day. In the morning the teams for the Girl’s Leagues competitions were announced. This session will see Bob’s Blackout, the White Gangsters, the Blue Pikachu’s and the Red Participants of Positivity compete in an array of different contests.

In other good news for the girl’s side, Amy Caplon bested counselor Adam Gersh in two-of-three ping-pong games. In a lunchtime announcement, Adam declared that Amy is the best player in camp and is accepting all challenges. Several challengers piped up, but there has been no word if anyone was successful…

Amy also had a big day at the riflery range, where she and Nicky Feldman (of boy’s cabin one) fired a gun for the first time in their lives. The first shot is a special one. You feel the weapon come alive in your hands after you pull the trigger and you see the target jump after your round makes contact. It is enough to hook some people for life and there is no better place to harbor that interest and learn respect for the weapons than from counselors Jason Gersh and Bill at CTT. The riflery classes are very popular for this session, and some young shooters are having remarkable success. Max Mendelson, also of cabin one, is the epitome of a fast learner on the range. In only his second shot, he hit one of the spinning targets. This is impressive, as it is a feat I have not yet achieved despite teaching four riflery classes this session!

Some campers learn things outside of the teaching classes and competitions. One resourceful girl, Jennifer Heiman, had a feat of conservation that is unequaled so far into the session. Jennifer got off the bus on Sunday with a bottle of Coke and just finished it on Wednesday. That is one bottle lasting four days. She got a round of applause during the dinner announcements, and deservedly so.

Jake Abel is learning the art of a peaceful protest. In response to what he felt was a disappointing lack of cream in his orange cream pop, he wrote a very professional and strongly worded letter to Rich’s Ice Cream to request more cream for his future snacking endeavors. The camp is eagerly awaiting the response from Mr. Rich, hopefully to inform us that the amount of cream has been drastically increased.

That sums up some of the bigger headlines thus far into the summer of 2009, and as the younger campers look forward to this afternoon’s trip to Trout Pond and the veterans prepare to go white water rafting, rest assured I will be around with my ears open and my notepad ready to bring you all of the day’s news and observations from the first session of 2009.

Mahalo.

Every session at Camp TT seems to get marked by different things, and usually it happens when nobody’s noticing. All day I’ve had this song Lollipop by Mika in my head, that people have been playing all over camp this session, and I just realized that whenever I hear it from here on out I’ll probably think about this summer. A big phrase this session was “Yeah boys’ tents.” This was the session that counselor Mike Conti was into laser combing his hair, the Mookie Mobile was introduced, and the tent boys decided to write home and ask if they could shave their heads. I know I didn’t blog about it much or maybe at all, but it was the session that cemented my love for a game that Emma and I like to play called Pass the Pigs. The Blue team adopted the saying “Whatch-u talkin’ ‘bout Blue-wis?” and crossed their arms and huddled together whenever they said it. I’ve been trying to commit to memory the things everyone does that are so funny, and it’s so hard to remember all that I tell myself to. I think what I always take away most is that it is all really funny – there’s this easy sense of humor and that weaves through CTT, and I don’t know whom it starts or ends with, but it’s always here.

It’s been a whirlwind day. Color War culminated at lunch, with songs, chants, and two outstanding plaques. Santa’s White Fluffy Beard had the first ever 4-dimensional plaque, which consisted of 3-D layered art and Ryan Clifford’s watch (giving it the fourth dimension of time). Blue Fresh’s plaque was a stage made with real stage lights (polystyrene cups with christmas lights inside) and an ipod on the back that played boy band music. While we waited for the judges’ decision, I heard some people on the blue team point out to some white team people that the sky is blue, and the white team people saying back that the clouds are white. In the end…Blue won the song, White won the cheer, and Blue won the plaque, making Blue Fresh this session’s Color War champs. People were jumping on each other and hugging, and then within about five minutes it was on to the next thing, and behind us.

I went down to Free Swim and saw Counselor James do an epic bellyflop. When it was time for everyone to get out, the counselors started yelling “Get out of the pool! It’s lunchtime!” and diving for campers in slow-mo to pull them toward the ladders. The campers tried to dodge them and laughed, it was cute.

We had a loomster champ at lunch: Juliet Mullins. Girls’ Side created a ‘smoomster’ competition for smallest fry, which backfired when Boys’ Side Ryan Clifford won. It was announced that, after two weeks of all the campers looking for it, Evan Cook’s camouflaged water bottle was found on the golf course. All the announcements were done in cracked voices today.

I just came from the Art Shack, where cabin groups are working on their plaques. Others are packing up and getting ready for tonight’s banquet, which always includes special food Debbie and the crew have cooked, decorations by the tent girls, and Snoopy pops for dessert. Afterward, we’ll have plaque presentations, golden feather awards, and a slideshow — with music — of all the pictures from the session. As excited as I am to get home, I have a bit of a heavy heart this afternoon. I know a lot of campers feel the same about ending the session and saying goodbye until next year.

Anyway, I’ve had a lot of fun writing the blog this summer. It’s given me an excuse to eavesdrop, ask questions, get to know your kids better, and have a beautiful time. Thanks a lot for reading.

All the best, Jodi

Yesterday morning the whole camp divided into Blue Fresh and Santa’s White Fluffy Beard. Color War was announced this morning when the generals (counselors Karina, Chris, Adam, and Jordan) ran into each cabin before breakfast and painted blue or white stripes on their team members. The teams gathered in front of the dining hall to cheer and, after breakfast, decided on their names. Blue Fresh is a tribute to 2 Fresh, a band that was founded by five counselors at CTT (For a performance by 2 Fresh, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypsdP_ynjs). I guess Santa’s Fluffy White Beard is a tribute to Santa.

Lunch was silent, with the quietest team winning points for the meal. It’s a very exciting meal for the Admin table because we can hear each other talk. Jerry came in and said “Woohoo” before he sat down, and Glenn came in doing a little dance. Each team spent most of the time flattering the judges: writing love notes on their plates in ketchup, bowing in front of them, giving them massages. Since two of the judges have twins here at camp, it was announced that there would be points deducted for wrong twin name-calling.

This afternoon was full of meetings and competitions: Balloon Stomping, Speed Math, Powderpuff Football, Tug-O-War — always one of the highlights. Blue faced off against White at pretty much a tie, and we Adminers faced off against the counselors for fun (we won! In the counselors’ defense, I think they were a little tired)

I sat in the art shack for a while and worked on some knitting while members of each team – Albert Oriol, Camille Horan, and Kate Pantano for Santa’s White Fluffy Beard, Molly Shay, Kenna Hinton, and Sara Ginsburg for Blue Fresh — worked on their team plaques. I stopped in last night to see the progress. I don’t want to give too much away yet but there are some new twists this session that are pretty impressive.

Some announcements: The winners of the home run derby are:
For girls: Taylor Dennison
For boys: Jake Abel
For counselors: Mike Hertlein

Camper Albert Oriol beat Adminer Mark Clark in the ping pong tournament quarter finals.

Though Debbie, the cook, and I took Wednesday night off to catch up with each other (we both worked here in 96), the night’s camp play was wonderful by all accounts, with special shout outs to Joe Gillette, Kenna Hinton, Jack Parr, Sara Ginsburg, Juliet Mullins, Jake Abel and Matt Kasoff for their key performances, and of course huge thanks to counselor Karina, who made it all happen. I made it back in time for the art show afterward, which was wonderful.

In the last few days the Knitties’ projects have really come together. Both Casey and Reece Dennison bound off to make their projects into purses – they look great! And Taylor Dennison bound off her piece of yarn art.

Yesterday evening was reserved for the Apache relay, which always makes me sort of emotional. Campers are scattered two-by-two at their stations. The race stretches all over camp – down to the lake, up to the horse stables, across the main field…Each pair of campers has a task they compete in: skipping, riddle solving, football throwing, kicking field goals, hitting golf balls. This year, it kicked off with “Escaping the bus,” in which the whole team had to cooperate on getting off of one of the two buses fast. The last person off the bus was the first person to start each relay.

The race passes from camper to camper, and there are people from their team to cheer them on every step of the way. The coaches switch off at different places so they can make it through the whole relay. The judges bike alongside the action to watch the whole thing. So basically, when you see a kid running up the hill, there are about 8 people flanking them and cheering them on, plus everyone who’s waiting for them at the next station cheering them on too, and it always makes me all oogly inside.

In the end, White prevailed, with tent boy Tyler making it up the last stretch of the uphill lake road and ringing the bell. We had canteen and then scattered to get ready for initiation. Any camper who’s already been initiated meets to up the hill to get into their togas (boys in the gym and girls in the rec. hall), while any new campers/counselors gather in two cabins and wait to be surprised. The energy at the rec. hall was contagious, and I helped tie a bunch of togas and put on my own. Most of us headed down the trail to our “stations”, while a few stayed to lead the new campers. At the bell, they came down to the office and we lined them up quietly.

In silence, we led them down the path through the woods. The path was lit every several feet by ‘smudge pots’ (small fires in pots), with many of our campers standing like statues in their togas by each one. They did such an amazing job – each camper had a pose and didn’t move; everyone looked ancient. I’d love to tell you what happened after that, but the rest is a secret!

The older campers stayed up late working on their Color War stuff, and I heard them bright and early this morning practicing behind the gym and down at the pavilion. It’s pretty bittersweet to think we only have one more day.

One more blog to come, stay tuned!

Jodi

Whoa, how did it get to be July 30th? There was supposed to be a game of Find Evan Cook on the Golf Range at second free swim today, but it just started raining a few minutes ago. The trick to finding Evan Cook is that he owns this amazing camouflage suit as well as a camouflage water bottle. Although, his water bottle has been lost and no one can find it (despite the one soda reward) because no one can see it. It is similarly difficult to see Evan himself during Find Evan, but eventually he gets up and comes in for dinner.

It was an amazing day for flag football; The Purple Nurples faced off against the Red Bulls for the Superbowl at first free swim. The Purple Nurples, a true Cinderella story –who lost every game until the playoff that got them into the Superbowl– sailed to victory with much thanks to coaches Chris Brown and Jacqui Clark, and MVP Michael Springer. As usual, we brought our chairs up to sit and watch the spectacle. The rocketry class set off rockets every time a touchdown was scored, and the dance team came on after the show to do a choreographed number by counselor Myi. Counselors Ryan Hertlein (dressed up as John Madden) and Brownie commentated, detailing the game play by play and also offering funny asides and fake histories on all the campers/players, such as where they went to college and how many setbacks faced before making it to the Superbowl.

Some announcements: Brendan Arnold had the loomster today at lunch. Ashley Scheller scored a bullseye in archery and Jesse Alloy nearly tied counselor Drew Wolfe’s record of getting every arrow in Archery into the target (he only missed three). Jasmine Whims beat all of girls’ side in a game of Knockout. Quinn Morrow made a legitimate ping pong serve onto the table all the way from Riley’s play area, and Vito climbed Lord Equinox ten times in one activity period.

Just as an aside, I want to say that most of the announcements are hard to record faithfully. For example, today counselor Jason made two announcements that were just “Oh yes!” Often, people stand up and announce that admin’er Mark is doing a good job and then sit down again. Plus, there are different styles to the announcements. Today, everyone made their announcements in a “Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here!” voice. Sometimes they make their announcements as if they are asking questions, like “Today? In Riflery?” And then everyone goes “Riflery?” The Gersh brothers are known for the most over the top announcements, which usually involve running, jumping and waving their arms.

Anyway, the Ghost Court punishments were fulfilled yesterday, with a few stragglers finishing up today. Jordan Kovalsky stood in the middle of the dining hall and explained what “Nam” means. It can be something really bad–derived from “Viet Nam”, really good– derived from “Phenomenal”, and something that’s good when you expect it to be bad, but I don’t know what that’s derived from, and I still don’t really understand “Nam.” I was standing with nurse Sara when Carl Lasker came up to give her his ghost court gift– a sparkly rock he’d found–and told her she was a really good nurse. Unrelated to ghost court, there was an outbreak of pointing at lunch, where the entire boys’ side and the entire girls’ side just started pointing at each other, walked to the center of the room pointing at each other, and then stopped pointing and walked back to their seats.

Anyone who did not do their ghost court punishment was gathered up by the Judge Mookie Mobile at Free Swim. Unfortunately there was a rebellion and Judge Mookie was pushed into the pool.

In the evening we had Cheesy Skit Night. Cabin G&H did an awesome skit about Eskimos, with subtitles, and Girls’ Tent Group 2 did a funny show using rocks with smiley faces as actors, but Ug’s group, Girls’ Tent Group 3, won 3 Gouda’s from the judges with a song-filled number and came in first place.

Right now, the seasoned campers are meeting behind the gym to talk about Initiation. It’s a really beautiful night and always a secret until it happens. The actors are practicing the play. And people are talking about color war – it even made it into the Knitties talk today.

Things should be pretty exciting from here on out. See you tomorrow!

So as promised, here is a long blog! Where did we leave off? I guess it was Holiday Day and the Social on Saturday night.

So I came out of my cabin Saturday afternoon and there was a group of campers doing line dances on the rec. hall porch with noisemakers in their mouths. It was the Holiday Day New Year’s party – one of the activities they could opt to sign up for for the afternoon. It felt so random, seeing a bunch of people having a dance party in the sun. I passed some people on their way to the Cinco De Mayo tortilla wars where, apparently, they were throwing real tortillas.

There was a bigger dance Saturday night: the Valentine’s social. Lots of people had dates. Some people had six dates. Some people had dates that they never talked to except to ask them to be their dates. You know the drill. With the exception of a couple of slow songs, the DJ played the usual peppy camp favorites. Little Ethan Weinstein busted out a line dance and pretty soon the whole camp was doing it. We don’t know if he made it up or if he learned it somewhere. That kind of thing happened a lot. Everyone would look around and then someone else would start doing something random with their elbow or some kind of clapping move and soon the whole camp was doing it – every single person. Camper Joe Gillette showed me a crazy kicky dance.The whole thing was great.

The next morning was the Leadership One hike. Counselor Steve and I had campers Theresa Brecker, G’Burg, and Camille Horan in the jeep on the drive to Shenandoah National Forest. The girls gave Steve a quiz from one of their magazines on how good he was at interpreting the flirting signals of boys. Impressively, he was deemed “Master Interpreter.” We talked about other deep things on the drive, like what it would be like if we could all read each other’s minds, and whether we’d rather lose our hearing or our sight.

The hike was beautiful. We ate at the top of the mountain and several of the campers spotted a baby buzzard that they named Candace Cameron. We also saw a giant beetle that someone named Brian. We stopped at Pack’s on the way back for ice cream and Molly Shay had a sundae, a snow cone, and a root beer. On the car ride back the girls played their ipod over the car speakers and sang a few. We got back just in time for dinner.

Murder Mystery Night started early, with a performance by Counselor Ryan Hertlein in the dining hall, pretending he’d been poisoned. The campers started whispering that it was murder mystery night, and a few minutes later, after Ryan was ‘taken up to the nurse’, counselor Staci announced that it was. The campers went from station to station all over camp, finding clues about who had done it. In the end, it was discovered that counselor Jason was the culprit, poisoning Ryan because of camp’s Baltimore/Houston rivalry. Afterwards, the campers were taken to the rec. hall to watch a movie while the counselors secretly prepared for Ghost Court. They ran into the rec. hall in their ghost costumes and gathered up the campers to bring them up the hill above the golf course, where a campfire had already been started.

Judge Mookie (Mike Hertlein), who is from the underworld, presided as usual, announcing that anyone who did not do their punishments would be taken to “Judge Mookie’s punishing lair.” At one point several campers rushed the judge’s bench and Mookie chastised the ghosts, whom he calls his ‘children’ and who are supposed to protect him.

Some of the crimes and punishments that were handed out are as follows:

The girls of Cabin G were convicted of asking too many questions. At lunch today they’ll have to give their answer to the ultimate question: “What is the meaning of life?”

Jakeable was convicted of always being the last camper out of his cabin for breakfast. He had to get up this morning and stand outside the dining hall, giving everyone who walked in a “sincere, unique” compliment.

The girls of Cabin H were convicted of continually nagging to be ‘ghost courted’. They have to dress like ghosts all day today.

Alex Fang and A.J. were convicted of waking up the tent boys each morning in different annoying ways. They had to wake up and do dippies this morning.

The boys of Cabin 3 were convicted of being too cute and getting along too well. They had to dress and act like gangsters all day.

The boys Cabin 4 were convicted of going to the nurse for every little thing. Today, they each have to give a present to the nurse.

Jordan Kovalsky was convicted of using a word she made up, “nam,” all the time. Today at lunch, she has to give us a definition of “nam”, it’s origin, and has to use it in a sentence.

Julie Clark and Lauren Friedman were convicted of getting along too well with their siblings, and they must ignore them all day today.

Counselor Brownie wasn’t convicted of anything, but he is still being punished. Today he has to finish all his sentences with the words “Texas Toast.” He will also be covered in shaving cream so that the campers can throw water balloons at him.

But wait, there’s more…

Yesterday was King’s Dominion. I ran into the camper/counselor groups throughout the day and everyone looked like they were having a good time. I faced off against Glenn in a water gun race and lost. We rode the Dominator three times. On my way out, I played a quarter toss game and won a humongous stuffed dragon. Jakeable won a huge stuffed frog at the same game. Emma won a big pink fish at bowling, and brought it back for Ethan Weinstein, who spent the day with the doctor because he was feeling under the weather, but is feeling better this morning.

I made sure to get my compliment from Jakeable at breakfast. It’s a normal activity day today, which is kind of nice. All sorts of secret plans happen in the last week of camp – so it’s nice to have a couple of regular days before things get really exciting.

I’ve been out of camp all day with the Leadership One Group doing a hike, so I’m sorry this blog is going to be short! There’s a lot to cover:  the Valentine’s dance, which was awesome…today’s hike, on which we found a baby vulture we named Candace Cameron and a beetle we named Brian…Murder Mystery night…and ghost court, which is going on as I write. Plus, it’s up early in the morning for King’s Dominion.

I promise an extra long blog on Tuesday with all included, but for now I’m off to ghost court so I don’t miss  special time with Judge Mookie….

Jodi

Last night was Dance of the Decades. There are always high expectations for this night, and it did not disappoint. There was the usual number of boys dressing up as girls for the fashion show beforehand. The tent girls did a fantastic, funny dance to an 80’s medley. The Cabin 2 boys got really into their rendition of Daytripper. A-Tom rollerbladed across the stage and Max Penn threw a ‘shooting star’ in Cabin 4’s performance of AllStar. Zack Cohen played electric guitar while cabin 5 performed. But Cabins G&H won the day for their excellent choreographed dance to a medley from the 00’s. That didn’t stop the Boys’ Tents from jumping up and hugging each other when the winners were announced.

Ezra Rudman cut his long curly hair short after getting an okay from his parents. Most of the tent boys are hoping to get permission from home to do the same. A few stink bombs have been exchanged down in the tents. An upcoming game of ‘Find Evan Cook’ has been announced – Camper Evan will hide and we will find him.

Every Saturday the CIT’s run a camp service where we read poems, sing songs, and talk about a theme. Today’s theme was things we celebrate. Ethan Polk-Trauman played guitar and blew kisses for one of the sing-a-longs. The campers each wrote one thing they celebrate on a paper leaf and the leaves were used to make a tree on the rec. hall wall. Some things campers wrote:

Dinosaur Day
Family Reunions
Christmas 06 in San Diego with my family
This very moment
Onesies
Hannukah
CTT
When my Pikachu came out of my Game Boy and kissed me
When I can put on my pants without falling over
You!
Camp
Stuff
When my brother was born because I always wanted one

Campers Morgan Berry, Lexi Smith, Spencer Leibow, Matt Kasoff, Jasmine Whims, Philipp Stein, and Michael Springer got up to read little quotes about life. Everyone said things like “That’s deep.” and “So true.” when they finished, and gave them high fives. Then some campers and counselors got up to read poems they’d written. Orli Berman and Dana Marks did an interpretive dance to a poem by counselors Staci and Sarah about fireworks. Kenna Hinton and Maggie Johnson read a poem titled “Kenna and Maggie’s Poem Exclamation Point Exclamation Point Exclamation Point”. Alex Fang read his hilarious poem about all the things he celebrates. Some examples: when Riley says his name, various levels of Pikachu, Full House Marathons, and that his ipod charges in 30 minutes but plays for 2 hours.

Jerry Smith and I talked about the poems afterwards, and he said how blown away he is with what great things the campers come up with. He says it makes him think twice about the End-of-Session limericks he does every year. But we love Jerry’s limericks and the last night of camp wouldn’t be as special without them.

Finally, we launched into Holiday Day! The campers can sign up for the activities they want to go to, like: President’s Day presidential dodge ball (a president is elected and has body guards), a Halloween hike to the haunted house, Easter Egg decorating and hunt, a Passover ‘Egyptians vs. Jews’ Red Sea Game, Cinco De Mayo Tortilla Wars, Festivus Suds Wrestling, Saint Patty’s Pin the Leprechaun on the Pot o’ Gold, a New Year’s Countdown Dance Party, and Christmukkah ‘Family’ Photos with Trees/Dreidels/Sidewalk Chalk. Rumor is Santa will be making an appearance. Tonight we’ll have a Valentine’s Day Social. Thanks to counselors Steve, Conti and Sami for planning such a cool day!

Morgan Berry finished her scarf today in Knitties! We are gearing up for King’s Dominion on Monday….

More to come…

Jodi

We had a perfect night at the Winchester Royals game. It was a beautiful breezy evening, and the sun set behind the field, and the Royals actually won, although we only stayed until the 7th inning. Some counselors and campers brought signs to hold up for player #19, who is the best hitter and the best looking, and the kids did lots of songs from the bleachers. Some players came out and signed people’s Tall Timbers shirts, baseballs, etc. It all felt really old fashioned. Whenever we go out, I am really proud of our campers – they always have a good time but they’re also really well behaved. They did the wave and cheered a lot.

This morning we took Mayson and Riley down to the creek to wade in the water and skip stones.The creek runs through the valley behind camp, through a small waterfall we sometimes hike to with the campers, and on down to a beautiful river. We ran into the fishing class down by the water where, according to lunch announcements, Erin Uhlfelder caught a pine cone. We were back up at the baseball field to see part of the home run derby, which will resume on Sunday. So far, I think Jakeable is in the lead.

Tonight is Dance Through the Decades! The campers will spend rest hour, free swim, and their time after dinner picking their songs and getting dance routines together (each cabin has been assigned a decade between the 1950’s and 2000). Can’t wait to see what they come up with! It’s always one of the most fun skit nights to watch. It’s so cool to be somewhere where you see a show almost every night.

I walked past Leadership 1 group this morning while they were talking about how important it is to be a good example to the younger campers. I think they really are. It’s fun to see how the campers of different ages interact, giving each other hugs, the older kids looking out for the younger ones.  At night skits, the younger kids often lounge on the older kids, like family.

I don’t have that many announcements today: Bradley Griffith caught a fish and named it after his counselor, Adam. Ryan Hertlein will no longer be known as Mike Hertlein’s brother after running to the church (which is a really long way) and back this morning. Leadership 2 is building a picnic table and they are almost done!

More tomorrow…

Not so much to report today. It’s gorgeous out. Emma Hully and I both had camp-related dreams last night. I dreamt counselor Dean and I were fighting mobsters in pin-striped suits. Emma dreamt that Aurelien appeared on the cover of The Daily Telegraph for inventing a ‘Wind’ decathlon (a decathlon involving wind sports such as kite flying).

The Choco Tacos won last night’s activity, which was Human Board Game. It was a pretty cool set up, and the first time the activity has ever been done here at camp. Giant ‘boards’ (with spaces to land on) were set up up for Candy Land and Trouble. Teams had to roll, move spaces, and follow the directions for each space. The Choco Tacos sang their team jingle for us today at lunch.

Signups for the Homerun Derby have been announced. Brad Griffith, Rhenard Walker-Chesser, and Hunter Green cleared the mountain boarding obstacle course. In Girls’ Leagues, Olivia Seltzer was really into Gaga ball today. Molly Shay and A.J. climbed Lord Equinox using one hand. Jesse Alloy and Forest Green got bullseyes in archery. Matt Kasoff lost a tooth and everyone cheered. I forgot to announce this yesterday, but Casey Dennison rescued a canoe while kayaking for the first time. Counselor Chris Brown was drafted in the Fantasy Football Darft. Alex Fang stood in line and got his dinner completely on one foot, doing tree pose from yoga.

We’re off to see the Winchester Royals baseball game tonight!

Last night we headed to the roller rink in Winchester to get our grooves on, listen to a lot of songs from the 90’s, and wear glow-in-the-dark jewelry. I was happy to see that several of the girls had cool rainbow socks to go with their skates. Right as I hit the rink I ran into Justin Lasker, who needed help lacing his skates. We sat on the carpet and laced him up, which took forever, and just when I was sure he must be feeling really frustrated (since all the kids were already out on the rink having fun) he simply said “Thanks for helping.” What a guy.

The kids made all sorts of chains, holding hands. We pretty much had the rink to ourselves except for a couple who help to run the rink and who know how to roller skate slow dance. I went a few rounds with a few different kids. Vito and I circled a few times while we discussed which season is the most awesome. Vito said he wished it would turn winter as soon as camp is over because then he can play ice hockey, but I argued that that was a bit hasty because we would miss Halloween. In the end I think we decided we like the seasons as they are. Jasmine Whims and I worked a little bit on our backward skating.

Just as things were winding down and campers were getting out on the floor for the cha cha slide, Jesse Alloy fell and chipped his front tooth. He is fine, but it was a shock at first, and counselor Dean came over to talk to him about the time he chipped his own tooth while singing Peanut Butter and Jelly Time. Admin talked to Jesse’s parents and a dentist (former counselor Erica Patthoff) and the tooth chip is being carefully looked after by nurse Sarah.

We got home late. I heard a thunderstorm move in long after I was in bed and fell asleep to the rain, which has lasted us all day today. In honor of the rainy day, the counselors organized a Mr. and Mrs. Camp TT competition. Each cabin had to select a counselor to enter in the contest. Then they had to help that counselor succeed in the following categories: skit, swimwear, evening wear, question, and talent.

The skits told the story of why each counselor deserves to be Mr. or Mrs. CTT. Chris Brown, for instance, entered the world as a ray of sunlight – deaf, blind and mute- but learned to see from the eagles, and taught himself English before coming to camp. Jordan co-wrote Harry Potter and went to middle earth to save the fairies. Miranda learned from angel Orli Berman what camp would be like if she had never been a counselor here.

A few highlights from the talent portion: Sami and Miranda played the cups (their campers made the music), Ricky fought sharks (played by the boys of cabin 4) while scuba diving, Ryan Hertlein bench pressed the boys from his cabin to a soundtrack by Faith Hill, Eileen and the tent girls did an awesome song and dance routine to “Breaking Free,” the tent boys rapped – with a special solo by Albert Oriol, and Mike Conti built a pyramid out of his campers while laser combing his hair.

Questions ranged from “How will cultural diversity affect the economic stability of the UK?” to “If you had one wish what would it be?” to “Why?” Chris Brown answered his question by saying that “The answer to everything is me.” Mike Hertlein said he didn’t care about his question, all he cared about was disco, and then danced.

Mr. and Mrs. CTT were announced at dinner. The winners were Jordan and Ryan! Their cabins will get a pizza party tonight.

I can’t believe that I forgot to tell you we did indeed beat the world record the other day for secrets told about Dean while Dean is standing right there. Here are some secrets I learned about Dean:

Dean has two right legs.
After a car accident, he was accidentally implanted with a monkey’s heart.
He has lots of stuffed animals on his bed and most of them are angels.
That’s a wig.

Well, tonight is human board game night, and the sun is supposed to come back tomorrow….

J

The sun woke me up this morning, but by the time we all met on the gym mats for yoga the clouds were rolling in, and it started raining during breakfast. Then the sun came out again and it was a bright hot day in time for Free Swim.

Rather than regular activities, we’ve been having special ones. This morning there was an Egg Drop, where ten teams had to use things such as bubble wrap, cardboard, and foam to wrap up an egg before dropping it off the gym stairs (without breaking it). For this afternoon, campers were allowed to sign up for two major activities. I am sad to say not many of them signed up for Storytelling! But for what it’s worth, I made a Camp TT mad libs, and we will be playing something called Desert Island, in which the campers will make up characters who are stranded on a desert island and trying to get off of it by telling the most intriguing story about how they got there. Other activities include wet dodge ball (played with sponges), water polo, making bracelets/necklaces, and hiking.

Now that the Knitties have gotten the hang of knitting, we have gotten into the habit of talking a lot while we knit. Some recent topics include: riddles, ninja worms (what they are and whether they really exist), interesting anecdotes from our lives, and deep thoughts. The deepest thought of today was whether, if you are trying to get somewhere, and you are constantly closing half the distance–as in, going half,  then another half of that, and another half of that — will you ever get there? We unanimously decided that, sadly, no you will not, but that that blows our minds.

I joined some counselors for a night out last night — to have dinner and see the new Batman movie. We sat at Chipotle and talked about –what else?–camp. We talked about how it has shaped all our lives. Mushy but true. We also talked about tacos vs. burritos. We stopped at Sonic on the way home for ice cream and were served by a waitress in rollerskates. We unanimously loved the movie.

Announcements: Much to counselor Chris Brown’s chagrin, he continues to be dominated in staring contests by camper Matt Kasoff. The boys won last night’s activity, Battle of the Sexes, and gave a special shout out to camper Alex Fang this morning for his inexhaustible knowledge of pop culture. It is almost time for the Ping Pong Tournament.

I sat in the pavilion today and observed the Fantasy Football Darft, mostly so I could blog about it. I didn’t understand a thing that was going on but it was really fun to watch. There was a team at each table, led by a counselor being advised by a small group of campers on whom to draft. Volunteers Reece Dennison and counselor Sami wrote the draft picks on a huge paper on the wall, and I must say their handwriting was excellent. Each group would make it’s pick and then the other tables would find some way to tease them about it.

Rollerskating tonight!

J

Some of the best nights at camp are when things don’t go as planned. Last night the campers spread out across the fields and woods to sleep out with their cabin groups. A couple of counselors drove off in the Gator to deliver food for them to cook over their fires (only the younger campers stayed under the pavilion to eat before they left). From under the roof of the pavilion, we watched them trickle away, and the moment the last camper disappeared over the ridge, the breeze and the grey clouds came rolling in. Within ten minutes, it had started to rain, and the kids (picture about seventy of them) started appearing over the rise, sleeping bags over their heads, pouring back toward us, converging on the dining hall.

Glenn, Emma, Lynne and the counselors mobilized, organizing everyone into the dining hall for dinner. We shuttled food from the grill. The counselors made an assembly line to hand out burgers and hot dogs (since most campers were supposedly eating out; the cooks had the night off). The admin staff started talking about what the night’s activity should be. Lynne went to retrieve cabins G and H, who had decided to stick it out for dinner in the woods.

In the end, it was decided that we’d show a movie, and while the kids regrouped after eating, counselors hung blankets over all the windows of the dining hall and moved all the tables. Some other counselors put on music and had a dish doing/dance party. Every time someone brought a new stack of dishes back, they made this loud cheering noise. Later, Jacqui and I talked about how camp is like Mary Poppins because it can make doing dishes strangely enjoyable.

I came outside in time to see there was a rainbow over the dining hall. Tyler Kelly remarked that if he were a dragon he would fly over it. Everyone was in a goofy mood. I had a pillow fight with Bradley Griffith and got chased by some campers with water balloons. Finally everyone but the oldest campers disappeared into the dining hall to watch the movie. Counselor Karina and the tent girls made up a dance in the rec. hall instead. Glenn made hot pretzels. Everyone got to bed a little late, which is usual for cabin night so it was okay. Only one dedicated camper, Aurelien, showed up with the counselors for early morning yoga, while most of the regular camper/yogis slept in.

I had some nice conversations yesterday. One with Orli Berman, counselor Jane, and counselor Ryan Clifford about poetry and drawing. Orli and Ryan recited poems for us. I got to catch up with alum Sammy Brusca, who had his first year here during my last year as a counselor, in 96. The last time I saw Sammy he was the tiniest camper, and now he’s twenty – ahh! It was fun sitting on the office porch and talking about the kids and counselors from that year, like Jaime, who was an expert juggler. We also decided that we both love Seattle, even though neither of us has ever been there.

Some announcements: Alec Marks held four cups stacked on top of each other while frozen yesterday. Jakeable was the last one out of his cabin for breakfast for the second day in a row, and as a punishment he must have fun all day. If anyone sees him not having fun they are to report it to Brownie. We will be going for another Camp Tall Timbers world record today: the most secrets told about counselor Dean while Dean is standing right there. A lot of the older campers are on a rafting trip.

Talk to you tomorrow!

It’s Alumni Day and several former campers have come back for a visit. I don’t know if it was on purpose for our visitors, but the campers put on quite a show at lunch. First, Boys’ Side got up and sang You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ to Girls’ Side, then both sides did some cheers. Older Gersh (Jason) defeated younger Gersh (Adam) in Slow Fighting, Mike Hertlein had everyone sing the Yao Ming song to mark some kind of Yao Ming basketball anniversary that I don’t really understand. Boys’ side did Peanut Butter and Jelly Time.

Some announcements: Brady Osterman and Hunter Green overcame the Mountainboarding Obstacle Course. Casey Harvey, Caroline Harvey, and Reece Dennison finished their knitting projects and Reece held hers (a belt) up in front of the whole camp at lunch today for cheers. Philipp Stein caught his first fish. Two people won a coveted soda from counselor Kevin for defeating his climbing path: counselor Chris Brown and camper A.J. Roshfeld. Steven Miller got a bullseye and Ridge Green got a balloon in archery. Georgia Oriol is standing here beside me and wants everyone to know she climbed Lord Equinox awhile ago, in case I didn’t put it in the blog before.

Last night, we had Gladiator commercials before the Social. Each team had to do a commercial showing why their Gladiator was the best one. Ian Berry narrated the life story of the Lone Knitter, Dana Marx was the commentator on Moose (who broke loose at a moose show). Counselor Chris Brown, as the Dominator, dominated in such areas as creating world peace, making everyone 19 again, and solving poverty and hunger.

The Social started and, after I successfully scared my niece away with my uncool dancing, nurse Sarah and I walked down to the pool and created a synchronized swimming routine. We swam until it got dark and walked back up the hill as the Social was winding down. I sat on the grass after Sarah went inside and just listened to the music while the last bit of light faded, thinking about the socials we had when I was a counselor, and how the music is different but the whole vibe is the same. It’s the campers’ time to dress up a little bit, dance, sometimes with someone they ‘like’, and mingle. I have lots of fond memories of those nights, and it’s sort of strange and nice to sit on the grass quietly when you know that, up the hill, campers are having these nights that they will probably always remember.

Counselor Ryan Clifford is trying to get over 50 people to write I Heart RC on their hands. Joe Gillette, Georgia Oriol, Taylor Dennison, Merce Vilanova, Molly Shay, Jamie Alloy, and Theresa Brecker came to Knitties and revealed that they are all members. 32 people have joined so far.

I caught up with Renee Brodsky, who was a camper, met her husband here, and was also ‘camp mom’ back when I was a counselor. She and her friends created the Friends Friends Friends song, which has made a huge comeback recently. I got to talk to alumni (and camper moms) Lori Friedman and Jill Ginsburg too. They were saying how hard it is to express to people who’ve never been what camp really is. It’s like this long vacation but also this exceptional life experience that stays with you. I was saying that I wished I could put it better but I don’t know how!

Anyway, cabins are sleeping out tonight!

Later skaters….

J

It was a hot one yesterday so our afternoon activities were shortened and we all headed to the pool for a pool party. A couple of the counselors (Mike Hertlein and Jacqui) sat by the diving board and handed out questions to the campers as they jumped off the diving board like: Monkeys or chickens? Red or blue? Are you cold? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? So many of the counselors spend time that could be ‘breaks’ for them making up games for the kids – you see it all day long.

At dinner, I learned that on most days, with very little fanfare, Molly Shay and counselor Dean Lawless have a pbj eating competition. This involves eating their pbj’s into different shapes (for example, a triangle, or – like yesterday – a football), then having a judge decide whose shape is most accurate. I was asked to judge yesterday, and Molly won for artistry by saving her crust to use as the lacing on top of the football. Go Molly!

Mealtime announcements: There were bullseyes in archery from Caroline Harvey, Emily Morrow, and Taylor and Casey Dennison. For the first time in memorable history there was a loomster tie, and everyone shouted “loomstersssss”. Counselor Kevin offered to buy a soda for any camper who can complete his new path on the climbing wall. In boys’ leagues, the boys “learned how to run.” Sydney Alloy caught a fish. The first Fantasy Football Darft (not draft) is coming up next week. Aurelien Vitet ate a 6 decker pbj at lunch, Philipp Stein spilled 6 icecubes and Zack Cohen received 6 pieces of mail. The Yellow Polka-dotted Hippopotamice (YPHs) defeated the Purple Nurples in flag football. Max Penn was carried into the dining hall by two counselors for his birthday: they made a chair out of their arms, walked him in, and held him up while he ordered his food. Of course, we sang to him and he skipped around the room.

Last night’s skit was Movie in a Minute. Each cabin had a movie to act out in a brief amount of time. Some notable performances: Girls Tent Group 2 did The Lion King, with Molly Shay as Simba and Maggie Johnson as the spirit of Simba’s father calling out to him from the back row of the audience. Vito starred as Princess Leia in Cabin 5’s Star Wars. Tent Group 3 did Titanic, with Torie Seltzer wrapped in a white sheet as the iceberg. Cabin 7 did the movie 300, with Michael Springer as Leonidas. The Boys Tents did Beauty and the Beast, with Belle played by Ezra Rudman and the Beast played by Johnny Reno.

Even though the day was hot, it was another cool, gorgeous night and the older campers lingered on the grass and by the porch as usual for a little chill out time before bed. The counselors usually sit on the porches outside their cabins after the kids have gone to sleep, spread out blankets and talk. It’s really peaceful.

Camp is a good combination of tradition and variety. There are never too many ‘normal’ activity days in a row before there’s something special to interrupt them, like a trip outside camp or, for instance, Saturdays. As usual for a Saturday, we started out with a late wake up and cinnamon rolls. And then it was announced that today is Gladiator Day. The kids were divided into teams and started getting ready for the day’s events. I walked down to the creek with Riley and Mayson and their babysitter Kim, and we waded and caught crawfish in our buckets. It was a refreshing morning.

We’ll have a Saturday night social tonight up at the basketball courts.

More tomorrow!

Jodi

Yesterday afternoon the camp went to a place called Trout Pond for a landmark day of swimming, lying on the beach, and a big cookout. Camp has been going back to Trout Pond for as long as I can remember – I spent a couple of memorable days there as a counselor, getting buried in the sand by my campers, playing volleyball, etc. This time, I decided to stay back and run some errands in Winchester (including picking up more needles for Knitties), and when I got back, I had the whole camp to myself. I started to think about Cropsy, the camp monster.

The full moon was just rising and I was sitting on the porch writing and trying not to think about Cropsy when the buses came rolling into camp. The campers were all singing really loudly and they came pouring out of the buses. The tent girls had their radio playing and started dancing around in a circle with counselors Sami and Miranda the younger kids headed straight for their cabins for bed. Everyone seemed so relaxed and wound up at the same time; some of the people from the two separate buses were hugging each other as if they hadn’t just spent the whole day together, and the counselors I asked said it had been a really great day. And then it was striking how quickly everyone went from jumping around and socializing to suddenly moving off to their tents. Most everyone must have conked out, because within about twenty minutes the camp was mostly silent and most lights were out and I was standing on the porch without anything to do. I talked Kim, who looks after Riley and Mason, into a game of Pass the Pigs, and then reluctantly went off to bed.

Prompted by the temporary emptiness of the camp, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the camp TT critters. There is Sushi, the tiny dog, and Gabby, the big dog. There are robins who come out and roll in the dirt of the baseball diamond when there are no kids around. There is a skunk who lives under the shed at the top of the hill but has yet to show himself. There are deer. Last night, before the campers got back, I came across a doe and her baby grazing in the field above the pool – the mama stamped her foot at me and then they ran away. Counselor Nicole said she, too, woke up to see a couple of deer by her tent last night. I have a big exotic bug in my cabin who crawled up onto my nightstand this morning and just sat and looked at me while I was cleaning my room, though generally my cabin has been bug free! Of course, there are the tons of fireflies that come out at dusk and float everywhere.

I don’t have a lot of announcements except that there is a new kind of announcement in which the girls follow everything their counselors announce with the word “Ladies” and the guys, in response, say the word “Men.” It was announced that Evan Cook knows an awesome game called “the pen game” and is willing to give lessons. Counselor brothers Jason and Adam Gershowitz pulled their pants up high for their announcements but I did not understand what they said .

There is talk bubbling of this Saturday’s activity – Presidential Election Day. I wonder if you find this as mysterious as I do. We are wondering what activities such a day might include, but the organizers are keeping it under wraps. If you’d like to throw out any theories, let me know.

J

Here are some mealtime announcements from the past 24 hours! Justin Fribush, Spencer Leibow, Casey Dennison, Rhenard Walker-Chesser and Zack Cohen won the scavenger hunt in hiking. Evan Cook and Emily Jaffe got bullseyes in archery. Joe Gillette chipped a golf ball into a bucket. Brady Osterman, Ethan Polk-Trauman, Taylor Dennison, Nathan Long and Spencer Leibow found a frog and named it Freddie. Leadership One learned to think outside the box. The Red Bulls beat the Purple Nurples in flag football. Ethan Polk-Trauman was recognized as being ‘the toughest camper’ (as in, the person who always wants to keep playing or doing an activity, no matter what) and was available to sign autographs in the pavilion after breakfast. The world record for biggest imaginary tea party was set at Free Swim yesterday, when fifty-five campers showed up to hold invisible cups (with pinkies pointed), pass the strawberry jam, and talk about politics in British accents.

It’s 10 am and counselor Myi is teaching her famous, crazy aerobics class next door in the gym. There’s disco music playing and the tent girls are yelling out with the moves they’re doing. Myi’s class has become well known because it’s run like boot camp (lite), with Myi hollering and getting everyone siked up. It’s mostly the older girls who take the class, and they love it. I just went over and peeked at them and am pretty amazed that they have so much energy at 10 in the morning.

It was a full activity day yesterday. I joined  Jacqui and Jane’s writing class and got to interview Olivia Seltzer with ten questions I made up myself. It was cool learning about Olivia. She said that if she could be anything or anyone other than who she was she would be a tree. Also in the class were Olivia Winston, Carolyn Harvey, my niece Emily VanDerSluys, Casey Harvey,  Merce Soler Vilanova, Torie Seltzer, and Maria Nupponen Camprecios. Knitties, which is growing fast (!), welcomed its first male knitter, Nathan Long. The Knitties are turning out to be very dedicated, and taking their knitting with them to do throughout the day.

In the afternoon I saw some of the tent campers walk, one by one, to the middle of the field and flop onto their backs to look at the clouds. I sat on my hammock for awhile and did the same thing. I really like the simple conversations that people have at camp. I overheard counselor Mike Hertlein say that he always calls dogs ‘puppies’ and cats ‘kitties’. That is pretty typical of the kinds of talks people have here. It’s pretty hard to picture from somewhere else, I think, just how simple it is.

It was cabin night last night. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a really mellow night on which each cabin gets to choose something to do on their own. In know I’m always saying this about everything but it really is one of my favorite camp nights. One group went down to the pool for the evening. A couple of groups had campfires at spots on the grounds that they picked. One cabin chose to do arts and crafts. I joined Girls’ Tent Group 1 for a spa night on the rec. hall porch. Counselors Nicole and Staci made several different bowls of face masks and foot scrubs (out of sugar, oatmeal, honey, stuff like that), made lemonade, and put on some relaxing music. We watched a movie, painted our nails, and chatted. After the younger campers went off to bed, the older campers gathered on the porch in a big knot and just joked around until their 10 o’clock curfew. We may have had our biggest early morning yoga class yet today, with almost twenty people (about half guys and half girls) showing up to welcome the day zen-style.

Something I’ve been thinking about since the second session started is how much the campers *make* camp. I know it’s a no-brainer but it’s been on my mind more than usual lately. Second session is definitely different than first session, and I’m sure third session is really different as well. Each one is great, but in it’s own distinct way. It makes me think about how so much of what camp feels like comes from who the campers are and what they are willing to share with us. For example… (Stop me if you’ve heard this before)! When I was a counselor, we had a boy named John. He was maybe eleven or twelve.  One night some of his cabin mates found out his middle name was Whipple, and started calling him that. Everywhere you went in camp that session, you could hear people calling “Whipppulllllll!” out to him when they passed him. He became this huge celebrity. He even made a guest star appearance in the Color War cheer. And he obviously loved it. My old friends from camp and I still talk about Whipple from time to time and what a cool kid he was and how we’re pretty sure he had one of the summers of his life thanks to being ‘The Whipple.’ (Hey John Whipple, if you’re out there, write me at [email protected] and let me know!) Anyway, my point is, when I think about that summer the things that stand out most are people like the Whipple, and the girls I had in my cabin (I can remember them as well as if I saw them last week!), and the spontaneous, random stuff that came from people just acting like themselves.

Anyway, it’s a trip to Trout Pond today – with swimming and a cookout.

More tomorrow!

Jodi

Okay, so where did we leave off?

At lunch yesterday, a chant started up near the windows closest to the driveway. It began with just one or two counselors chanting ‘Jordan’ and then got bigger and bigger, though most of us didn’t know why until camper Jordan Kovalsky came through the double doors. She had arrived a couple of days late, and a bunch of people jumped up to hug her. It’s so cool how often the campers get to be stars here. It’s one of the things I like about the size of our camp.

I haven’t mentioned it so far this year, but most cabins have a system for deciding who cleans the table at meals, and it’s called Freeze. The counselors have the kids freeze in the middle of what they are doing, and then try to make them laugh or move in some other way. Sometimes it involves everyone standing on their chairs. I noticed them doing Freeze yesterday and realized I hadn’t mentioned it!

A few announcements. At breakfast this morning, Albert Oriol was recognized for spilling 99 fruit loops – the most fruit loops anyone has spilled so far this year. Erin Uhlfelder kicked a field goal. Ethan Weinstein caught two paddleboats and his first fish in Fishing. Marley Smith and Emily Morrow conquered Lord Equinox (one of the climbing walls – the other is Sir Halifax). At archery, Kate Pantano, Jordan Kovalsky, and Noah Meltzer won in knockout. The Lexi’s (Cohen and Smith) parked a paddleboat backwards. And Georgia Oriol acquired a middle name for the first time ever – Harriet.

The afternoon was spent in ‘A Day’ activities. After dinner I joined an impromptu game (with no name, half made up on the spot) in the baseball diamond. It started out with a few of the younger boys and slowly pulled in about twenty campers. It involved everyone being assigned a number and catching the ball when their number was called, and it pretty much made no sense and had no object, but everyone seemed really excited to play..We were good and sweaty by the time the bell rang for the evening’s activity…Pool Party!

It really did feel like a party. We had great music, played water polo (some of the counselors vs. a ton of kids), took turns off the diving board, and at one point everyone in the pool held hands and made a whirlpool. A few smaller kids swarmed counselor Ryan Clifford to be popped up in the air like little balls. The kids who didn’t want to swim set up their towels on the grass like it was a beach and hung out, talked, read…Finally the kids headed into their cabins for hot showers and to wind down for bed. The oldest campers stayed up a bit later and hung out on the office porch. It was a nice chilly night, and I popped into the doctor’s house to see if they had anything good to read, and then curled under my covers with a mystery. This morning is sunny and breezy.

Campers who showed up at early yoga include James Winston, Justin Fribush, Forest Green, Jack Parr (Vito) and Quinn Morrow. At breakfast, counselor Dean stood up to announce we will be trying to set some records for the Camp TT World Record book this session. The first will be for the biggest imaginary tea party, which will be held in the pavilion at Free Swim. British accents will be used.

My cabin is in such a great spot. As I’ve been writing this I’ve seen mountain bikers going up and down the drive, campers walking to their activities, people practicing the Camp TT hug, a robin looking for worms, the photography class looking around for good shots, and a few people checking out the hummingbird nest in front of the nurse’s house. I can also hear the campers learning the music for the camp play.

Tonight’s cabin night, where each cabin spends doing an activity of their choice (usually camping).

Gotta go, tea party time!

J