Upper Senior Steak Dinner and Cabin Night
June 26, 2019 by Don Gentle
It’s hard to believe that today was the last full day of activities. It was another wonderful day with cool temperatures in the morning with a wonderful breeze. Many boys were still heading out on trips including tubing, paddling, climbing, mountain biking, and hiking.
Tonight is one of my favorite nights with our oldest group of campers. Zoob and I, along with Woody hosted the Upper Seniors for the Annual Steak Dinner Night. We started with a lot of gooey cheese, buffalo wings, and assorted sodas. From there dinner included Ribeye steaks, fries, toast, and salad. For dessert, we washed it all down with cheesecake. The boys ate until they could not eat anymore. We even had some leftover steak. After dinner, the results of the Upper Senior Challenge were announced. It was a wonderful time.
All of the other boys in camp enjoyed a great time with just the boys in their cabin. Some boys went off the rope swing, others went on another cabin overnight. As we wrapped up the individual events around 8:45, everyone headed back to their cabins for the night.
It sure has been an incredible three weeks! I can’t believe it is wrapping up already. Tomorrow afternoon we will begin our transition process by getting packed up, then one final all-camp color war event will take up the whole time after rest hour. Our banquet dinner follows with seating by cabin and table service including fried chicken, potato wedges, yeast rolls with honey butter, beans, and ice cream for dessert. Finally, we will wrap up the session with a campfire, songs, and a story. There will be a small group of boys receiving their 10-year handmade Fritz Orr paddle. I am so excited about tomorrow.
I would like to make you aware of some important information I will be sharing with you after the camp session. Camp High Rocks is participating in the Economic Impact Study of Organized Camping in North Carolina conducted by the North Carolina Youth Camp Association and North Carolina State University.
The NCYCA is our summer state camp association founded by myself and several of my colleagues at area summer camps including Page Lemel (Keystone) and Gordon Strayhorn (Illahee). It is an important association for our industry in the state. I will be sending out an email that will ask you to participate in a very important economic impact study of North Carolina summer camps. Please help us by taking the time to do this for us. Again I will be sending you an email after camp about the details, but I wanted to put it on your radar.
While I’m thinking of Closing Day, I’d like to pass along a few logistical details.
We’re looking forward to seeing all of you Friday morning. You are welcome to bring family and friends – we make plenty of lunch to cover guests that aren’t in our original count. If you know of anyone that is interested in a camp session for their son, they are also welcome to join us & see what we are all about firsthand.
Remember, the guys will be ready to see you at 9:45 am. Please do not plan to arrive until after 9:15 am when we have staff in place to load trunks and show you where to park. The campers will be well-occupied singing all of their favorite songs in a final and most raucous assembly until about 9:40. After you stop by the gym and get your son’s trunk loaded you will park in campfire field. You can then meet up with your son by the dining hall on Mystic Hill after assembly ends. After that, he can show you around his activities and demonstrate the skills he learned throughout the session.
Lunch will be served for everyone beginning around 11:30 am but feel free to continue visiting with your son’s counselors and friends. Be sure to catch up with your son’s counselor and stop by the cabin to get any belongings that did not get into the trunk. During the morning or on your way out, don’t forget to check out at the office and pick up your son’s envelope with cabin pictures, store account refund (hopefully!), and other important items.
Don Gentle
There are still about 150 loading from today…