Any night where Jake Abel dons a Mohawk, Ian Osterman and Laz Friedberg spike their hair, turn their t-shirts into girls’ clothes, and wear their underwear over their shorts, and Carl Lasker and Josh Arnold turn into desert wanderers is a good night at Camp Tall Timbers in my book.
Last night, CTT went to the Winchester Skating and Family Fun Center for a few hours of skating, arcade games, and socializing. The theme of the night was twins and the campers took that to a whole new level. Other than the previously mentioned groups, there were many sets of twins that made the night very entertaining. Scott Franklin and Grant Leibow went as twin lax bros, Justin Leibow (despite having his own twin) and Vance Pallone went as nerds, and Brett Richardson and Brendan Arnold were twin superheroes. While the costumes were entertaining, the best part of the night was watching the new campers leave their comfort zone and learn how to skate. Jack Corby, who swore that he could never learn to skate, made it one lap around the rink without falling and Laz Friedberg, who has never skated before, made it two laps without falling. The campers stood tall (for the most part) and made our skating night a blast.
By the halfway point in camp, everyone has learned something new. Jesse Alloy learned how to restring a guitar while John Fortney, Greg Sheyn, and Laz Friedberg learned their first chords. Cari Farmer, Katherine Kearns, Courtney Clark, and Grace Barnes got their first bullseyes in archery. While some campers are learning things for the first time, others are perfecting their skills. Veteran campers Spencer Leibow and Ian Osterman caught fish. Erin Smedley won a game of knockout while Brett Richardson and Jake Gutman shot bullseyes. In the CTTFFL, my Purple Nurples defeated the Orange Crush thanks to touchdowns by Scott Franklin (who claims that sports are not his thing), Adam Tommer, and Jake Gutman as well as the playing by the game MVP, Justin Leibow, who was our quarterback and intercepted the Orange Crush twice. The Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami defeated the Red Bulls due to two touchdowns by Grant Leibow and one touchdown from Jake Abel.
Tonight is my favorite evening activity Camp Tall Timbers has to offer: Under the Stars Night. The whole camp has a cookout and then cabins go to different camping spots around camp where marshmallows, chocolate, and matches await them. The cabin works together to make a bonfire to sit around and cook s’mores. The night leads to a great bonding experience for the cabin as stories are told, games are played, and relationships are made for the rest of the session and even for the years to come.
Time to go be brave and sleep under the stars!