One of the things that makes camp more fun is the unexpected - the little surprises that shake up our routine and bring joy through the unusual. We intentionally build in schedule changes like “Sleep In Saturday” because they make camp better. Simply by sleeping 45 minutes later, we make an ordinatry day feel special. As our well-rested campers came into the dining hall this morning, imagine their surprise seeing 72 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts waiting for them. We had some VERY HAPPY CAMPERS today! And the icing on the donut…no cabin inspection!! The dining hall erupted in cheers, whistles and high fives with this announcement. Donuts AND we don’t have to make our beds! BEST DAY EVER!! It’s these little surprises that have big impact and bring big smiles to their faces!
Today was Cabin Choice day, which is another way we intentionally shake up our routine. Today cabins got to choose from our traditional camp activities as well as some new programs like flag football, firebuilding, disc golf, making pizzas in the pizza oven, water aerobics, bombardment, mountain biking, can jam, soccer, card games, fishing, soccer, nail painting and more. Everyone was super pumped for their hand-picked day of fun!
Favorite Details of the Day
- Meals: Krispy Kreme for breakfast with scrambled eggs, fruit and bacon. For lunch we had copycat Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and mixed green salad. To go along with our Country Fair EP, we enjoyed some delicious BBQ for dinner. We have our own smoker on property, and our Maintenance Director, Dale, is the pitmaster. Pulled pork, pulled chicken, macaroni and cheese, vinegar coleslaw, baked beans and hushpuppies. It was out of this world!
- Weather: We expected some afternoon showers, but they never came. We had sunshine all day today, but there is a tropical storm headed our way. We do expect rain showers tomorrow, but they won’t slow us down!
- EP: COUNTRY FAIR! The gym and rec hall were both transformed into southern-style fairgrounds with everything from bull rides to pie eating contests. Everyone had a wonderful time, it was a great way to end our Saturday!
Tonight’s evening program was the biggest EP of the session, Country Fair which included games, prizes and snacks for our campers to enjoy. We had two stations for Country Fair this year at our Gillespie Gymnamsium and the Rec Hall. Everyone enjoyed soft pretzels, cotton candy, root beer floats, grandma’s cookies, and watermelon. There were games like fishing for lollipops, ring toss, frog jump, cornhole, arm wrestling, bull riding, fire in the hole and many more that kept our campers entertained all night.
I love this EP because it provides wonderful time for social interaction between our campers. While many of our EPs are structured and sometimes competitive, this EP is intentionally designed to promote independance and free choice. Campers can explore the gym or the rec hall, choosing the games they want to play, the food they would like to eat and socializing with cabinmates and other friends they have met. THEY LOVE IT! The games are fun and the food is delicious, but the company is what makes this EP so memorable. After a jam packed week of camp, Saturday is a time to celebrate and enjoy the simple gift of friendship. Only at camp can you get this technology free, good ole American Saturday night!
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About Melissa Fitzgerald
