Bright, Beautiful and You Couldn’t Ask For More!
Dear Parents & Friends,
A sunny day here at camp that was bright and beautiful which made everyone’s day. By 10:30 the temps began to rise and so did the activity level. We had a wonderful breakfast with French Toast and all the trimmings. Tonight’s dinner was baked Ziti with fresh broccoli and cauliflower from the garden, fresh bread, pears and salad from the garden. Mealtimes are great at camp because we really do sit at the table and converse. Everyone at our table chips in and campers at the table do their share as well. There’s lot of please and thank you’s and in a room with 350 people one needs to keep things orderly and tidy as best we can. There’s hardly a meal goes by that someone doesn’t turn over a drink or drop their silverware. And that’s an all for one moment when everyone tosses their napkin into the spilled liquid and the spiller retrieves a towel or more napkins. No one fusses or cries over spilt milk we just clean it up, continue our conversation and keep eating.
I hope you are enjoying the photos each day as it hopefully provides a glimpse of our day here at camp.
Mountainside chose their activities tonight and Thurs. they leave on those adventures. I was just talking with Josiah, their Head Counselor about their upcoming adventures. The climbers will climb at either Looking Glass or Cedar Rock. Bikers will spend their adventure on the more than 100 miles of trails at Dupont State Park and Pioneers will travel for an overnight up into Pisgah National Forest, where elevations reach over 6000’.
I checked in with several activity areas today including Outdoor Living Skills and Web of Life. Both really get the children out into the GV hinterland. We have a beautiful piece of property and try to utilize a good bit of it for hiking and exploration. It’s abundant with water and many species of plants and critters. All the better to explore! I also checked in with Archery and yes, tomahawk throwing. Now don’t panic parents because Mark W. has been with us for about 5 years and brought this activity to camp several years ago. It’s a lot of fun and not easy. Tomorrow he’s offering some serious sling shot lessons with our arsenal of wrist rockets. Because of the weather the waterfront was a great place to be today. Many children tried their hand at the tension traverse over the lake which is pretty difficult. It’s a tight wire strung over the lake for about 30 feet. You hold onto a rope that is connected up high in a nearby tree and you do your best to traverse all the way to the other side. I’d say it’s on par with the zip line as a fun and challenging waterfront activity.
Half of camp is camping out tonight and you couldn’t create a better night for it. Clear, cool and just enough breeze to make it pleasant. As I walked backed to the office after the dance, you could smell and see the smoke from all the cabins camping out. By dusk I’m sure the campers were winding down from their campfire dinner to a smore’s dessert. Tonight’s campfire for those that didn’t camp out, was dancing in the Lodge with Jess Kauffman. She’s a great teacher and taught several dances from around the world. After that we settled down for a few Tajar stories. (Learn more about the Tajar from you children).
We have quite a few musicians at camp this session, some of whom performed at our Sunday Service. Hopefully some will repeat or perform anew at our Friendship Campfire on Thurs. night. But, whoa and slow down because that’s the last night of the session and we’re having way too good a time to think about the end. Stay tuned for more between now and then.