Happy Birthday America!

The Fourth of July is always a great day at camp, and today was truly one of the best I’ve ever been a part of. We had a wonderful day saluting this great country with our annual Stars & Stripes celebration. This is my favorite day of Session B! We spent all day outside enjoying the beautiful weather, lots of fun games, eating amazing food and dancing the night away!

Fireworks bookend our day. One bottle rocket blasts just as the wake up bell rings and the patriotic music begins to echo from the dining hall. We end our day with a spectacular fireworks show on our athletic field that lights up the sky and warms our hearts. We dress up in patriotic costumes, play American-themed music and enjoy a different pace and schedule for our day! The campers and staff LOVE this day, and I do too!

For Stars & Stripes Today We:

• Reflected on the American Flag as Bryan read the Old Glory poem by by Howard Schnauber this morning at Reflect at the Rock
• Dressed up in patriotic colors and costumes ALL DAY
• Had the best surprise waiting for us on the table at breakfast…a Stars and Stripes T-shirt to commemorate our day
• Ran or walked the Freedom 5k, which is 3 laps around Old Forge Mountain (Fastest Female Camper - Aubrey D. Cabin 3, Fastest Male Camper - Kristopher M. Cabin 33, Fastest Female Staff Member - Maddie Breaux, Fastest Male Staff Member - Spencer Ranft)
• Played American-themed music all day EVERYWHERE! (Music makes everything more fun?!)
• Enjoyed a Color Bomb on our athletic field after the 5K (and a nice shower afterwards)
• Participated in team competitions around camp in the afternoon
• Danced a good old fashioned square dance in the gym
• And enjoyed the Camp Highlander Freedom Fireworks Show before falling fast asleep

Other Great Details of the Day

• Weather: We woke up to another day of slightly overcast skies, and we were perfectly happy with that! The cooler temperatures made the 5k more enjoyable this morning, and the sun came out for the start of our afternoon competitions. Mid afternoon, we heard thunder and moved to our rainy day plan for the rest of the competition. Everyone had a great time playing games and laughing with friends! The rain stopped before dinner in time for us to enjoy the evening.
• Meals: For breakfast this morning we had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage patties and a fresh fruit and yogurt bar. For lunch we had both grilled and fried chicken fingers and french fries and a salad bar. The campers and staff were shocked to see the disco ball turn on after lunch, and everyone went crazy for our Red, White and Blue ICEE popsicles. For dinner we had Dale’s famous bbq pulled pork and pulled chicken, homemade macaroni and cheese, baked bean, vinegar coleslaw and a salad bar. And to top off our patriotic day, ice cold watermelon slices for dessert!
• EP: HOOOOOWDY! Tonight was the first square dance of B Session. The entire camp put on their denim, dancing boots and cowboy hats and gathered in the gym for a patriotic night of dancing. We do-si-doed our partners, swang our corner ladies and ended the night with our Footloose line dance. It was a blast!

IT WAS ANOTHER GREAT DAY TO HAVE A GREAT DAY AT CAMP HIGHLANDER!