There is literally nothing that beats a summer at Camp Tall Timbers, and one of the best nights at CTT is our whole-camp welcome campfire. Before I get too far into the details of one heck of a first full day at Camp Tall Timbers, allow me to briefly introduce myself. My name is Alex Fang, I am one of the cabin 56 counselors, and I have been at Camp Tall Timbers since 2004. To put that into perspective, my last summer I spent at home, I had seen Finding Nemo three times. My summers have only gone uphill since then. Even after almost a decade, there is not a day at CTT that I have not enjoyed. But I’ll be with you every day this summer, so back to the campfire.
After a brief explanation and demonstration of CTT traditions such as CTT’s signature hug and “Friends Song”, the campers were given an opportunity to introduce themselves to the whole camp through a cabin cheer. Cabin G, led by their counselors Georgia, Lydia, and Becca, did a cheer about their pretty hair that Becca, a professional hairdresser, did for them. Cabin 1 was introduced via freestyle rap from one of their counselors, former camper Alec Marks, and then did a cheer about how Cabin One was oh so much fun. Boys Tents, in rivalry with Girls Tents, did the historic and traditional “We are Boys Tents/Boys Tents we are/We live in tents/In tents we live” chant that has been around for as long as I can remember. Following their cheers, the whole camp sang “Country Roads”, a camp staple, and “Call Me Maybe”, which may or may not become a tradition (after all, it is SO catchy). The cabins were given another chance to present themselves to a camp through one of my favorite campfire games, cabin beatbox, where each cabin makes one sound and each cabin is called one by one until the whole camp is creating their own beat. Cabin 78, representing the Baltimore region, yelled “McGahee” (a Baltimore Ravens tailback) in a high-pitched voice. Boys Tents shouted “Balaban” in honor of their longtime camper, Michael Balaban. Cabin B spookily whispered “wooooo” which added a nice touch to our campfire. The night ended with more songs and s’mores.
Even though we have not been at camp for very long, campers are already setting camp records and starting their summer off on the right foot. Ethan McCann biked up the steep lake hill for the first time yesterday. Ashley Stern won a driving competition in golf. All of Cabin B mountain boarded for the first time. Tyler Maizels, in a particularly good day in activities, got a hat trick in soccer and won a game of “shoot the apple” in riflery. Also in riflery, Jen Heiman shot a gun for the first time and hit the target four times. CTT does not just celebrate accomplishments in activities however. As happy as we were about bullseyes and goals, people erupted in applause when Michael Balaban found a five-leaf clover and Sami Zerwitz found what was considered the most perfect s’mores stick in all the land.
In addition to reading the blog every day, be sure to like Camp Tall Timbers on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube page so you can be up-to-date on all things Camp Tall Timbers. I look forward to a great summer and if you have any questions/comments/concerns, feel free to contact us. Let’s have a great summer!