When I walked into breakfast this morning, I could smell the remnants of cologne on our boys who attended the Camp Vega socials last night. For many, there was a kick in their step as they made their way to the buffet lines for French toast. I searched up and down a few forearms looking for some “digits” that sometimes appear after these mixers, always hesitant that I might see numbers that start with “(555).” To our boys’ credit, they acted like gentlemen, even if their advances were rebuffed. Once again, another teachable moment at camp.
It feels a little quiet these days without the leadership and enthusiasm that’s derived from our Senior boys, but we know they’re having a blast on their Big Trips. Our Inters returned home from their Boston Trip this evening, but not before stopping at Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire. A perfect ending to a great week, our thirteen-year-old boys enjoyed the thrill of riding the rollercoaster and a host of other wonderful attractions. Our boys came back with huge smiles and full of enthusiasm as they exited the bus this evening.
Our golfers made their way to the Samoset Resort for a 2:30 PM tee time. Perhaps the most scenic course they will play this week, our boys were in awe of this incredible course and were very respectful of the opportunity to play a round at this resort. After golf, there was still time for hiking Mount Battie before retiring in Ellsworth at the Eagles Lodge.
After an exhausting climb and summit at Mount Katahdin, our hikers slept in this morning (if you can do that in a sleeping bag in a tent) until 10 AM and made pancakes over an open fire. After cleaning up their campsite, they headed to Debsconeag Ice Caves followed by a moose tour. While there were no reports of moose, I think they found a great ice cream stand on the way home, which made up for it.
Our canoers paddling down the Saint Croix River made their way through Egg Point. By far the most challenging of our trips, these boys, while exhausted, are thriving under the elements.
Our Okees had an amazing day in Canada. After an amazing buffet breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, our boys made their way to Village Vacances Valcartier, the largest water park in Canada. With over thirty water slides, two lazy rivers, and a wave pool, our boys were in heaven. Pictures of our boys zipping down the water slides made their way back to camp and have been posted on our Instagram channel. After a barbeque lunch at the water park and some fun time browsing around Quebec, our boys made their way to watch the Quebec Capitales minor league baseball game. The Capitales are a professional baseball team, part of the independent Frontier League. Despite a rain delay, our boys spectated in the stands eating unlimited hotdogs and pizza and capped off a perfect day with ice skating.
Back at home, our Juniors are in specialty league, which is allowing our campers to select sports to work on skills that will allow some to feel more comfortable when participating in sports they don’t play very often. Other boys have the opportunity to increase skill levels in preparation for their rigorous fall sports schedule.
Our Warriors had a full day of regular program; but, perhaps the highlight of my day was watching our Warrior Crows play red light/green light during their instructional swim period. Under the supervision of our incredible swim staff, our little boys were taken out of their traditional American Red Cross swim classes and placed into our open pool area, where they had to follow the commands of the counselors who were calling out, “Red light, green light; one, two, three.” Our little guys perfected the skill of treading water while attempting to swim as quickly as possible to the other side of the dock. Our little boys were mesmerized for thirty minutes, playing a fun game that supplemented our traditional swim instruction.
A busy day was had by all, and a good night’s sleep is in order for everyone.
