A Fine Summer Day!

June 9, 2014 by Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures

I made a point today to ring the first wake-up bell of the season.  It was a calm sunny morning with just a few clouds in the sky. The cool, moist mountain air felt amazing. As Barley and I hiked up the hill to the dining hall it was still pretty quiet.  The boys at Hillside were far too excited about the day to sleep. You could hear them whispering and shuffling about, doing their best to remain calm and in their beds until the bell.  As you could imagine, it was impossible :).  I hear a soft voice come through the screen “Hey Don,” and then another and another…  I just smiled and continued on to my goal.  I grabbed the rope to the bell and made some lusty tugs.  Sumner down in Connestee I followed the bell with revelry on the trumpet.  Finally, I made a hardy shout “Good Morning High Rocks” that echoed into the hills.  The day had begun…

What a day we have enjoyed!  Nothing screams summer camp like cinnamon toast for breakfast.  The delightful toast was accompanied by link sausage, oatmeal, camp-made yogurt, and assorted cereals.  My favorite combination is to take two sausage links and wrap them up in a softer piece of cinnamon toast resembling some sort of rich hot dog delight.  Heaven! It’s a good thing I lead an active lifestyle, because that stuff might just kill me :).

Morning assembly should happen everywhere.  It’s a prefect way to get going.  Sing a few songs; get a little goofy with some group power squats, and get excited about the day.  Think how amazing your day would be if you started it with that kind of excitement. They day just kept getting better.

The boys practically sprinted to their morning activities.  The paddling, climbing, crafting, horsing, and just plain hiking all made for a great morning.   Lunch lead us right into rest hour where the guys took a little time to catch up on some summer reading, maybe play some solitaire, or just plain relax. Another bell rings and we are off to snack and some more activities all the way to dinner.

Dinner took us right into evening activities where each of the age groups spent some time together running around on a field in some crazy made-up camp game. Or sometimes it is like what the juniors in Hillside and Connestee did tonight.  The counselors came up with some crazy pirate event.  It started with everyone training for basic pirate skills like screaming “ARRGH” and how to wear a bandanna or eye patch.  The skills advanced from there with learning how to plunder another ship by heading off the rope swing.  Finally the training had the guys climbing into canoes to hunt for buried treasure.   The fun never ends.

The pictures will give you a good idea of how our day went.  And to think, it’s only the second day of camp…

One quick note.  Zoob and I sent out a quick email this morning explaining a few details regarding your son’s activity sign-ups, his cabin counselor, and some reminders about emails, blog posts, and parents day.  Your son’s activity schedule that he selected last night is included in the letter.  If you did not receive it, try checking your spam box.  We sent it out to the primary e-mail address on file.

Have a wonderful evening,

Don