Camp Does The Body Good

August 1, 2017 by Don Gentle

I walked up toward the dining hall around 7:10 AM this morning.  The cool 60-degree air was wonderful.  I always enjoy the quiet of camp before the bell rings. My dog, Barley, made his immediate rounds while he followed me (sort of) up the hill.  In the quiet, you could hear a few staff making a morning run and even a couple of paddlers on the lake getting in a workout.  There were a couple of early risers eagerly waiting for the bell down in Connestee cabin. I gave them a quick wave as I hiked along. What a beautiful start to my day.

The kitchen was busy with the morning offering, but my mind was set on the locally roasted coffee in the corner.  I could smell the wonderful aroma of the scratch-made granola being made for the week.  I meet up with our leadership staff most mornings to get a sense of the day and the people in our community of camp.  We sort out a few logistics of the day and on those on the horizon, resolve any daily programming needs, and then talk about how the community is working through their first days of camp. Finally, it is time for breakfast and we all head in different directions as the boys come in for the needed sustenance. 

Breakfast started with a wonderful selection of cereals, including our house-made granola. The granola starts with oats, honey, and real maple syrup, then we mix in a few other lovely items and bake it in the oven. Nate was making up some scratch-made french toast on the griddle as well this morning.  Also on the hot bar was hard boiled eggs and oatmeal.  We rounded out the offerings with a selection of fresh cut fruit including watermelon, oranges, pink grapefruit, grapes, and blueberries. Finally, at the very end was brown sugar and raisins for the oatmeal, Greek yogurt, and syrup for the toast.  As you can see, we put some time in our breakfast and give the boys plenty of options.

Morning assembly is an important step every day.  It serves a number of purposes, but mostly it’s about getting our bodies and minds ready for the day. Our first assembly today included a number of motion songs as well as some other sing-alongs.  We then talked a little bit about cabin clean-up as our age group inspectors give the boys some feedback about their morning duties. Finally, we offered the boys some details about what might be available or special at free time and choice period as well as any special details that activity heads might have for the group.

The cabin groups headed out to try out a few more activities today.  Once again, the boys will have some opportunities to try out a few activities to see if it something they really want to sign up to learn the rest of the session.  There are some great pictures from the morning events.

Lunch was probably the most favorite of all; TACO DAY! It sure was a fantastic event.  We had chips and soft tortillas with a choice of beans, chicken, and ground beef.  The toppings included nacho cheese, shredded cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.  If that wasn’t enough, there was a whole salad bar to choose from including spring mix, a pre-made Ceasar salad, and all sorts of vegetable toppings.

While I have your attention, the best time for new families to see camp is when it is in action.  There are only a few days left in the summer for families to see what we are truly all about and even ask real campers and staff about our program.  If you know of anyone in the area over the next couple of weeks, be sure to have them come visit.  They can give us a call, or use this Book a Tour link.  We are always here.

This afternoon we wrapped up our activity try-outs with near perfect weather again.  The cool mountain air makes for a perfect environment to run around and be active all day long. Not only is it a great learning environment, it is just plain good for you rbody to move…a lot!

We had a wonderful chicken parmesan dinner with the option of just having just a chicken sandwich.  A lot of the boys went big and piled on the mozzarella cheese and sauce.  We had some wonderful waffle fries for a side along with a full salad bar that also included a couscous salad. I enjoyed eating with the boys tonight and hearing about their day.  It was quite a non-stop day with all sorts fo excitement.

Tonight the boys enjoyed some evening activity time with just their age-group.  Part of that time they took the opportunity to select their schedule for the rest of the session.  Tomorrow I will send off a letter letting you know your son’s schedule.  It’s going ot be a big day tomorrow!  I can’t wait!

Don

Today’s Pictures