With visiting day just three days away, I thought this would be an appropriate time to describe the day and give you some helpful hints on how to make your visit to Camp Takajo as memorable as possible. The weather forecast indicates that Friday’s high temperature will reach the mid-eighties and that we can expect high humidity levels. Saturday’s forecast is similar with, perhaps, slightly lower temperatures.
If we feel that the heat becomes oppressive, we will modify our program and take advantage of our beautiful waterfront. We encourage you to bring a bathing suit so you can experience the exhilaration of swimming in Long Lake. When you arrive at camp, you will be greeted by our staff, who will direct you to areas where you can park your car.
The whistle indicating the start of activities will blow at 9:15 AM. All visitors should assemble at our welcome arch, where there will be counselors with schedules in hand to direct you to your son’s first activity. We request that no visitors come beyond the arch until we blow our first activity whistle at 9:15 AM so that our boys can finish with breakfast, bunk cleanup, and preparations for the start of the day.
Please recognize that your son will be heading directly to his first activity and that is where he will expect to meet you. For the past four weeks, your son(s) has thrived in the structure of our routine. He is excited that you will get the chance to finally witness him in action. One of the biggest mistakes a parent can make while visiting their child is to remove them from the structure of our program by excusing them from their activities. That is often the time that boredom sets in and emotions run wild. By allowing your son to follow his schedule, you will keep him in his normal routine and allow him to share with you all the skills he has learned during his time with us this summer.
The longest period of the day will be a free period where we welcome you to join us for lunch in our dining hall. After lunch, we encourage you to join us in the Lodge for dessert. Our baker has been hard at work preparing some of our campers’ favorites, such as chocolate chip cookies and brownies, as well as an assortment of delicious ice cream bars. This will be followed by a rest hour where you can enjoy some quality time either sitting on our Adirondack chairs overlooking Long Lake or taking advantage of our facilities and playing tennis, shooting baskets or having a catch with your child.
For those of you who may need physical assistance getting around, we will have our “Uber” golf cart drivers available to take you to and from your son’s activities. These golf carts must remain available for those who need extra assistance and will not be available for round trips to your cars.
We are a nut-aware facility, and we go to great lengths to keep our campers and staff safe throughout the summer. Please pay careful attention to the foods that you bring into camp in order to help us keep our entire community safe.
One of the greatest challenges we face on visiting day is the exorbitant amount of food some parents bring for their children. While I can appreciate those that feel it is their responsibility to provide enough for all of the children in the bunk, if every parent of a bunk operated under that assumption, we would be overwhelmed with an incredible amount of junk food.
As a result of visiting day, our health center will end up being inundated with boys who are sick from the junk food they have consumed. The campus will be riddled with skunks that come out of the woodlands when mass amounts of junk food enters the camp. Campers will hide food in the bunks and look to eat it as replacements for our meals. This can result in the lack of proper nutrition, which is simply unhealthy for your children. In addition, bunk relationships can often be impacted. For example, some boys become possessive of their food and are unwillingly to share which may lead to unnecessary problems within the bunk. Finally, our entire Senior Camp will depart on week-long trips beginning the Monday after visiting day. So, they will be unable to take what you bring with them on their trips.
Visiting day ends at 5 PM. At that time, Warrior campers will go to their basketball court bleachers to report for their evening line-up, where the counselors will remain by your child’s side, providing them comfort until well after the moment you depart. Group Leader Hank Fortin will announce to all of the families that this is the time to say their goodbyes. This is your moment for one final hug and kiss; and, as you turn and begin to walk away, just remember the classic 1953 movie Shane and ride off towards the mountains, without turning back. 🙂
