Well another year has flown by and here we are back at everyone’s favorite place to be, Camp Tall Timbers. If the past couple days are any indication, First Session 2013 will be the best summer yet. In just a mere forty-eight hours, campers have excelled from sports to music to just simple camp fun activities like Jen Heiman’s feat of pouring a “perfect glass of water” (albeit spilling the entire cup on her first try).
Before I get too deep into all the fun we’re having here at CTT, let me give all of you new readers a brief introduction about me. My name is Alex Fang and this is my tenth summer here at Camp Tall Timbers and after that first bus ride from Pikesville Middle School back in 2004. I have spent close to a full year of my life at this camp (47 weeks and counting!) and every year I look forward to spending my summer vacation with your children and this great camp. You’ll hear a lot from me over the next few weeks so let’s get to the campfire.
Last night, we had our annual tradition of a “Welcome Campfire” complete with the teachings of old CTT traditions like our camp song, “Friends, Friends, Friends,” the signature CTT hug, and of course, s’mores. To introduce themselves to the camp, the cabins prepared a skit to let CTT know who they were and what they loved. Cabin 5 changed the lyrics to the theme song from Phineas and Ferb to talk about how if you stick with Cabin 5, you will have a great summer. I’m sure they are correct. Cabin B had an elaborate introduction with a conga line and a cheer about how they were the Bear Cubs of Cabin B and the cutest campers in all of camp. Cabin 78 changed up the pace and, led by their counselors Tim Keith, Will, and Toby, became a platoon that was orderly and concisely informed the audience that they were strong men with big hearts. At the end, Cabin 3 was voted best cheer reenacting the classic Will Ferrell cheerleader skit from Saturday Night Live but with their own cheers.
After the cabin introductions, it was time for songs where tent boys and future rock stars Matthew Kasoff and Matt Ziegelstein played guitar and led the entire camp through “Wagon Wheel,” “Country Roads,” “We Are Young,” and for counselor Nick Whims’s 22nd birthday, Taylor Swift’s “22.” By the end of the campfire, we were all closer as a camp singing songs and eating s’mores with Sami Zerwitz winning the award for best s’mores stick.
The campfire was not just the only place at CTT where all had fun. Campers have been setting new records and accomplishing new things since day one. Sydney Sachs won a game of jail (a tennis game where the last person that has not hit it out, and therefore not in jail, wins). Ethan McCann, who had never played field hockey until today, scored four goals in the first game of field hockey. Jennifer Heiman scored her first ever soccer goal at Camp Tall Timbers showing that the more you come back to camp, the better you will be at everything CTT has to offer. Lucia Sanz, Max Penn, and Devon Cantor won games of knockout. Reece Dennison scored not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR touchdowns in the first (of many) intense game of Ultimate Frisbee for the summer. Aiden Perman won a game of gaga ball. Charlie McIntyre scored a hat trick in soccer. Max Penn, Miller Friedman, Zach LaPorte, and Sam Jewell made half-court shots in basketball and Max Penn, who has had a great couple of days for accomplishments, Alex Goldstein, and Ryan “Buns” Bernstein hit the green at the golf course.
But CTT is more than just sports. Hayley Sanders and Maddi Gehring shot bullseyes in archery. In their first time going down the hill, Cabin 2 and Cabin B successfully mountain-boarded and Cabin 2 went ten minutes being completely still in the freeze game. Ethan Harrison predicted the goose three consecutive times in a game of duck-duck-goose and Shayna Allentoff won the award for best hair braider. What a start to camp!
Camp is just starting to get into full swing. Today, we have our first full day of activities and the CTTFFL (Camp Tall Timbers Flag Football League) is in its seventh year and looking better than ever. With an influx of British counselors this year, the first CTT Futsal tournament will be happening soon as well. All in all, I am 100% positive this will be my, and everyone’s, best summer yet.
Don’t forget to follow CTT on Twitter @camptalltimbers, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube page and you can feel like you are with at camp all the time. Let’s have a great summer!