Busses were lined up outside the dining hall this morning and after our boys gobbled down their breakfast, our Eagles (finished fourth grade) hopped aboard and made their way to Funtown Splashtown for an exhilarating day at the waterpark. Bright sunny skies and humid temperatures made this the perfect destination for our guys.
Our Inters and Subs (finished seventh or eighth grade) boarded their yellow taxis and headed to Spare Time for some bowling and good laughs. Later in the day, they enjoyed watching Indiana Jones while munching on popcorn and candy.
Our Subs and Inters stayed out for dinner and came home with great appreciation for their fun day out of camp. Our Okees had a full day of head-to-head competition against the staff. In the morning, our oldest campers battled our counselors in an intense beach volleyball match. While the Okees gave it a gallant effort, the counselors prevailed. Looking for some redemption, our Okees challenged their counselors to dodgeball in the early afternoon. Payback was on our Okees’ minds. I am assuming this was because of their loss earlier in the day and not because of how they have been treated for the past two and a half weeks. Like sharpshooters, our Okees fired balls precisely, plucking off counselors at will and easily winning this second round of competition.
Hot and sweaty, our Okees went to the waterfront with our counselors for water polo. They elected to mix up the teams for this day’s final event in the spirit of competition. These kinds of events break up the routine in camp and provide some of the most iconic summer moments.
Our Pioneering staff continues to provide exceptional opportunities for boys of all ages. Today, a few bunks of Hawks (finished third grade) made their way to the Cold River/ Little Deer Hill Mountain for a hike. This four-mile loop with modest challenges took our boys two and a half hours to complete. Hot and tired, the boys had the opportunity to dip in the Cold River; which, according to our boys, is an appropriate name.
We took advantage of a beautiful evening and had a cookout. Once again, our oldest boys made their way around camp and picked up their little brothers for a family dinner. Sitting on the picnic tables overlooking Long Lake, our boys had a relaxing evening sharing stories and spending quality time together. Our fishermen made their way out to the sailing dock, where the chum in the water lured the fish in and made the work easy for our boys.
As the sun set, a few bunks of Crows (finished first or second grades) made their way out to our treehouses for s’mores, bunk bonding time, and spontaneous play. Our three treehouses have unique designs; one has a twenty-foot slide, the other is a double-decker with a firefighter pole, and the third requires the boys to cross a bridge before entering this octagonal home in the woods. By the time Taps blew, our boys had welcomed the call and were happy to retire for the evening.
