Waikiki Wednesday

It was a delightful morning here on the mountain.  Life at 3000 feet has its advantages. The blue sky stayed with us all day.  The morning breeze picked up as the temperature began to change. It made for a welcoming morning. While it was warm today, we still save a few degrees from Brevard that is another 1000 feet down the mountain.  While Brevard was almost hitting 90 degrees, we hit 84 today.  Plenty hot, but not sweltering. 

After breakfast, morning assembly was the next big event of the day. The ever-important motion song is a key part of our day. Assembly serves several purposes, but mostly it’s about getting our bodies and minds ready for the day. After a few hilarious stretches lead by some of the staff, our assembly today included several 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.

It certainly was an amazing day!  The boys played hard as the cool morning warmed up to somewhat hot.  Not quite, but if you were active, it was hotter than you like.  Nobody was complaining, it just meant the lake felt even better. The pictures tell it all! You should see several Hawaiian-themed shirts out there today in honor of Waikiki Wednesday!

Breakfast: French toast sticks, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins, or craisins. Assorted cereals

Lunch: Taco Day: Soft tortillas and/or corn chips, black beans and/or ground beef, lettuce tomato, onion, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, lime, fresh cilantro, and even diced jalapenos.  Mexican corn salad tossed salad, and a special salad with apples, blueberries, and feta or spinach.

Dinner: Pork tenderloin with or without this lovely cream sauce (I went “with”), grilled asparagus, sweet potatoes diced and roasted, warm yeast rolls, romaine or spring mix salad, and scratch-made brownies for dessert.

The boys continued through their rotation of all the activities today. This afternoon, the first groups began coming around to activities they started on Monday afternoon.  This is where some of the instruction will take off and the boys will start to pick up interest.  The boys of Hillside and Connestee spent half the day on the high ropes course.

Tonight, we had our next group of cabin overnights head out into the “1000-acre wood.”  Hillside, Connestee, Flattop, and Foxhollow all headed out for overnights.  It’s always an adventure and a ton of fun for the guys. Each of our five shelters is situated on the property in a special location that shows the beauty of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.  Nestled in mixed hardwoods and towering rhododendron, these shelter sites are a young boy’s playground. I look forward to seeing them in the morning.

The boys are beginning to work through some of their group processes as they spend a good portion of their time within the cabin groupings.   Summers at High Rocks are all about fun, but it also means that we are learning some life skills along the way.  Group development has its ups and downs, but it is an important part of the human condition.  I will talk more about this in a couple of days.

Tomorrow looks to be another exciting day at Camp High Rocks!

Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures