Every morning these days, buses are pulling out of camp in different directions, uniforms are being put on, counselors are reviewing lineups, and boys are racing to breakfast with the excitement of knowing something special is waiting for them.
Yesterday, our Sub Seniors and Okees traded their uniforms for a day of trampolines, bowling, and a visit to the Maine Mall. Our Eagles spent the day at Funtown Splashtown, racing from one waterslide to the next with their buddies.
Today, it was the Hawks’ turn to head to Aquaboggan waterpark, while our Junior Greens enjoyed one of those classic Maine summer days– visiting a lakeside beach for a barbecue lunch, and an evening movie at Smitty’s with chicken tenders and pizza. These outings are the icing on the cake of a full-season summer camp experience. The boys genuinely love camp, but stepping off campus with their closest friends every once in a while creates memories they’ll talk about long after the summer ends.
Back at camp, there was hardly a quiet moment. We hosted our annual Camp Takajo Tennis Invitational, filling all seventeen courts with players from neighboring camps. Just down at the waterfront, our sailors were competing in our sailing regatta, taking advantage of a beautiful Maine day on Long Lake.
Our intercamp philosophy was also on full display in basketball. Rather than selecting just one 12-and-under team, we split the Junior Grey age group in three. One team competed here at Takajo while another traveled to a neighboring camp, allowing more boys the opportunity to represent camp at the same time. Meanwhile, our 15-and-under basketball team was on the road to showcase their skills at a neighboring camp.
In the evening, our Intermediates welcomed the girls from Tripp Lake Camp for an afternoon social.
One of the things I appreciate most about this point in the summer is that every age group is experiencing something different. While one camper is competing in a tennis tournament, another is sailing in a regatta, and another is flying down a waterslide.
There isn’t one version of a Camp Takajo day. There are hundreds of them unfolding simultaneously across our campus and throughout Maine as our boys get to go on off-campus trips.
We spend months in the off-season building this calendar. Looking at it on paper is one thing, but watching it all come to life with buses coming and going, sailboats crossing the lake, tennis matches filling every court, and boys returning to camp eager to tell stories from their day is something entirely different.
Week three has arrived, and Camp Takajo is most definitely popping.
