Thrift Store Thursday?
August 1, 2019 by Don Gentle
It sure is wonderful up here on the mountain. The crisp air once again had us super excited about running around camp. The high today just around the upper seventies. High Rocks sits just over 3000 feet, which makes for some great cool evenings and moderate days. We even stay about 5-8 degrees cooler than Brevard on an average day. It sure makes for a wonderful experience.
The best part of my day started in assembly this morning. I need to get upfront from time to time just to remember why I love it so much. What if we all got up each morning and shared a wonderful breakfast with eggs, grits, toast, fresh fruit, and assorted cereals. Follow that with you and your family heading into the next room to do some motion songs, get goofy, and go crazy. THEN you head off to work or school. Wouldn’t that be a great start to every day? It sure is here at camp. Assembly allows us to loosen up, let go, and be happy! Nobody is cool in assembly. Maybe that is why it’s so awesome. We jump around, we laugh, and we get excited about all that surrounds us. Anyhow, I enjoyed my time in the front this morning…almost as much as the campers.
I know many of you parents are wondering how everyone is doing, and I hope the nightly blog and pictures give you a good sense of the daily routine of camp. In the next day or so the first letters from High Rocks will be arriving in your mailbox. There is the possibility of a letter coming home that may worry you. So let’s talk about homesickness. It’s not a scary word. It’s all about growing up one step at a time. After more than 20 years here at High Rocks, I have some pretty good experience with kids and camp. That being said, a little homesickness is normal. More often than not, what you are reading in those letters today has passed. They are on to bigger heights. Remember, we are professionals. If you feel worried at all just drop us a line. Don’t forget to do the same for your son. Give him some encouraging words; tell him how proud you are and how he will be just fine. Try not to go on about how the dog misses him, or all the cool things you are doing at home. When you are learning to take some steps on your own, sometimes you fall down and get back up. It’s definitely not a reason to stop walking. Camp is a super place to step out on your own. If you do feel like you need to give us a call, we are here to help. Don’t forget, the boys love mail. So keep sending it.
Back to today’s events. While the oldest age group was able to hit the high ropes course on the first day of camp, the rest of the cabin groups started their rotation today. Each of the boys will have an opportunity once this session to spend either the morning or the afternoon on the course with their cabin mates. The ropes course was busy with the boys from Connestee hanging out for the morning.
Climbing is always one of the most popular activities in camp. There is something about learning how to climb up. I feel like it must be some sort of primitive instinct to conquer something. The boys hit that tower like it is their mission in life. Today we had our first trip out to our natural rock site on the property. The area we call “High Rocks” is about a ten-minute hike out of main camp. It is a great opportunity to climb on real rock and we do not even have to get in a van and drive anywhere.
Kathleen, our special events director, hosted a fun and hilarious event called “Thrift Store Thursday.” The boys could come by “the store” up at the dining hall during their 12:30 free time. It turned out to be quite a fun event.
Tonight Hillside, Connestee, Lakeside, Flattop, and Outpost hit the trail for their cabin overnights. Age group 3 stuck around for some waterslide and rope swing action while the other guys hit the field for some run-around games.
Chalet and Overlook headed down to Pisgah for the second batch of Chill Night. The boys will hit world-famous Sliding Rock and all of its chilly mountain water and then head back to Dolly’s for some wonderful ice cream with unique “summer camp” flavors, only available at Dolly’s.
Tomorrow looks to be another exciting day at Camp high Rocks!
Don Gentle