Today was another wonderful day on Old Forge Mountain. Sundays are special at Camp Highlander because they’re often the only day of the week that every cabin is on camp and they offer a slower pace, which is exactly what we need after a fun-filled week at camp.

Sundays are rich with tradition and tend to be quieter, giving us time to reflect on just how much we have learned, laughed and loved at Camp Highlander over the past week. Campers and staff enjoy sleeping in and slowly make their way down for breakfast at 9:30 a.m.

After breakfast, cabins gather together and line up for chapel. Chapel is one of the oldest traditions at camp, dating all the way back to 1957. While the format of chapel has changed over the years to stay relevant to our campers, the messages of building character and strong values has remained for over 60 years.

At Chapel this morning, we read the book “What Do You Do With a Problem?” We talked about how problems are really just opportunities. They challenge us, shape us, push us, and help us to discover just how strong and brave and capable we really are. Even though we don’t always want them, problems can change us in positive and unexpected ways.

After lunch, we have an extended rest hour, which most of our campers really love. Rest is an intentional part of our Sunday routine as it recharges us all for another fantastic week of activities, adventure and fun.

Our afternoon activity has been affectionately called SUNDAY FUNDAY for many years! Today’s Sunday Funday activity was Division Play Day! Camp was divided up to play games and enjoy time with friends. Senior Camp had a bombardment tournament in the gym, intermediate boys had a ping-pong tournament and played other games in the Rec Hall. Intermeidate girls enjoyed a craft day of painting inspiration rocks, making no-sew pillows and weaving friendship bracelets. Junior Camp had a blast at the Minute to Win It Showdown. The cabins competed in over 10 competitions and Cabin 21 was victorious overall, winning a trip to Gus’s this week.

Favorite Details of the Day:

• Meals - Breakfast was blueberry muffins, bacon, eggs, fruit bar, oatmeal and grits. Lunch was pizza and salad bar. Dinner was a new camp favorite - Build Your Own Rice Bowls!! These are delicious and the campers love them! Lime Rice, Chicken, black beans, grilled peppers and onions, tomato salsa, avacado salsa, cheese and sour cream…who needs Chipotle?
• DJ Sunday - Today’s lunch DJ playlist was sponsored by Cabins 1 and 18! I love music in the dining hall on Sundays at lunch! It brings so much joy and life to the dining hall as we all sing along at the top of our lungs and dance like no one is watching. It is loud, it is crazy and it is SO much fun!
• Sunday Funday - Division Play Day
• EP - Campfire (We had to have it in the gym due to the wet ground at the campfire area.)
• Weather - We have been so lucky to escape much of the rain that the surrounding areas of Western North Carolina have had, but today we were not so lucky. The morning was beautiful, but just as we all headed back to our cabins for rest hour the sky opened up and started to pour. While this made for great sleep during our exteneded rest hour, it did put a damper on our afternoon plans. We had to move Sunday Funday and Campfire indoors. The high today was 78 and the low was 63. We have more rain in our forecast for this week, but it definitely won’t slow us down.

Congratulations to our Honor Campers and our Honor Cabins for week 1 Session C!

Session C Honor Campers and cabins:

• Junior Camp - Bonnie M. (Cabin 15) and Santi D. (Cabin 21)
• Intermediate Camp - Sasha L.(Cabin 12) and Brooks M. (Cabin 24)
• Senior Camp - Joey I. (Cabin 5) and Sam N. (Cabin 34)
• Girls Honor Cabin - Cabin 15
• Boys Honor Cabin - Cabin 32

Tonight at Campfire, as we sang some traditional songs, some silly ones and some more popular tunes, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the hundreds, even thousands, of campers and counselors who have sung the same songs, danced the dances, and laughed the same laughs in Sundays past. This is what makes camp simply timeless and simply wonderful!