It is great to see a new group of campers so excited to be back at camp. All yesterday afternoon, the tent girls kept passing by me with a radio, singing loudly, with their arms around each other. Weatherwise, it was a perfect day. There’s so much to blog about I don’t know where to start. Maybe with announcements.
In baseball, Aurelien Vitet scored a homerun and Justin Fribush got a web gem. I don’t know what a web gem is but I am told it’s impressive so yay! It was announced at mealtime that Glenn got a haircut and counselor Dean shaved his mustache. Jakeable beat counselor Sami in ping pong. Ethan Weinstein, Carl Lasker, and Max Penn each got six skips across the water in skipping stones. Kenna Hinton and Molly Shay kept their arms around each other for a record of 1 hour 18 minutes 14 seconds and 82 milliseconds yesterday afternoon. Spencer did 4 back flips underwater and Justin did 3 front ones.
I spent a lot of the morning yesterday visiting with the different activities (it was a ‘sampler’ day, while kids picked what they wanted to do and sorted out their schedules) and taking pictures. Counselors Brenna and Chris let me have a go at mountainboarding up on the golf course, which was fantastic. It was my first chance to really talk to Brenna, who is from New Zealand and has a really cool accent. A bunch of the girls gathered in the gym to practice their dining hall cheers. Later, a bunch of counselors and kids gathered on the office porch and we just sat and talked. Sara Ginsburg (G-burg) asked me to put her in the blog for no reason in particular.
At rest hour (after lunch) we had our first official meeting of the Knitties. The Knitties will gather every day to knit scarves and headbands. Casey, Reece, and Taylor Dennison came, as well as Sydney Alloy, and special guest Brad Griffith (who didn’t knit, but sat and talked with us).
The evening activity was a campfire and s’mores down at the lake. The kids were divided into groups to make up skits in which they ‘saved camp’ from something. Some of the things that camp was saved from: Ben Affleck, Dinosaurs, Ninjas, Martians, and Gambling. Meanwhile, Emma Hully continued to knit the scarf she started last session. Brownie led a workshop on how to give a camp Tall Timbers hug, with counselors James and Ryan demonstrating the elements of eye contact, bending in the right direction, and the “double back pat.” Then all the campers had to give each other hugs. Anyone who didn’t get a hug (like counselor Steve Friedman) was tackled and hugged by several people.
Counselor James teamed up with camper Ethan Polk-Trauman to play House of the Rising Sun on the guitar, using three chords Ethan had only learned that morning! Then counselor Jason and camper Matt Kasoff played the next and led a singalong. G-burg and Juliet Mullins got up and sang.
The moon was so bright over the lake, and when Glenn, Emma and I left the campfire, we didn’t need a flashlight to get up the hill. Usually at night the fireflies float over the water, and a couple of bullfrogs (named Mario and Guiseppe) pipe in. It is really a sight to behold.
This morning, a bunch of counselors and campers showed up for 7:15 yoga. Some of them went on to join the Dippies afterward for a fully packed morning. After breakfast, Doctor Lee and his son, Nathan, discovered a hummingbird nest in front of the nurse’s house and have kindly offered to lead campers up to see it after lunch.
Later potaters…!
J