Rumor has it that we are nearing the end of this humid spell and that temperatures may fall into the mid 70’s on Friday. I am very proud of our campers and staff at Camp Takajo for persevering through this brief heat wave.
Our intercamp schedule remained in effect as our 13-year-old boys represented us in a baseball tournament, and our 15-year-old boys participated in soccer tournaments. Our fourth grade campers had a blast at the beach with our annual beach party, hosted by our in-house DJ extraordinaire Shad. He is the only guy that I have ever met who can successfully moonwalk on the sand. He had this entire age group singing, dancing, building sand castles and doing the limbo. As a special reward for the way we managed the heat, I had a massive raffle in the dining hall which brought the campers on their feet. I introduced some new Takajo swag that included some very cool hoodie and zip-up sweatshirts and an awesome Takajo baseball hat.
The highlight of the evening was when our oldest campers assembled their Takajo families and met with them on the senior baseball field to talk about their experiences as a Takajo camper. This is an opportunity for our oldest boys to spend quality time with their younger counterparts and share the traditions of this camp. Our youngest boys sat in awe as they had this unique opportunity to rub shoulders with the leaders of our camp. It is events like these that make our camp feel like a family.
As the sunset over Long Lake, our Okees brought their families down to the beach for an Independence Day ceremony. This included speeches from an Okee camper, American counselor, and an overseas counselor. We all listened to each speaker’s perspective on what Independence Day means to them. When the speeches concluded, the sky above our waterfront lit up as we enjoyed an amazing fireworks display. As the sound of the fireworks erupted and the beautiful colors illuminated the sky, I looked back at our boys with great pride knowing that these moments will leave an unforgettable mark on their minds.
