This is a quick update because, with Visitor’s Weekend coming up, it is unlikely I will be able to do a Sunday posting.
As I type, three of our Big Trips have arrived back safe and sound. The kayak, Hunt canoe and sailing trips are busy getting gear and left-over provisions taken care of, enjoying much needed showers and greeting friends. The Alpine and Baker trips are in the ferry line in Anacortes and the bike trip is enjoying a leisurely ride back to Roche Harbor. The barge will bring all three trips back to Johns just in time for our famous “Killer Mac” dinner. Reports from all the trips are very positive. After a blustering departure on Sunday the weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold and no rain!
Those of us left behind had a great Nell Robinson Day – all the watermelons were found and subsequently eaten. Each of the five teams presented a skit at the camp fire that night – a great potpourri of topics and costumes. Our sleep-in breakfast the next day was sparsely attended. Most of us enjoyed a few extra minutes of sleep and swung through the lodge to grab a muffin just before the buffet closed.
All but one unit stayed close to home for the third overnight. The Foresters ventured over to Satellite Island – an adjacent island owned by the YMCA and generously made available to us through out the summer. Back on Johns the Ranger went to Read’s Point, Pioneers to Chapel Rock, Mariners to Eagle Rock, Vagabonds to Cottonwood and Voyageurs were at Rocky Top. Check out the attached map to learn more about the property. CNW Map 2008
Tomorrow night we will gather at the Bighouse to witness North West Coast Native dance performances by Bill Holm, his family and some of our staff. This will be a very memorable evening – button blankets, masks, drumming, all by fire light.
Then Visitor’s Weekend will be upon us. From noon until 5:00pm each day we will have families and friends enjoying the property, peeking into tipis, and joining us in singing. It may appear that most of the campers have visitors the reverse is true. Less than a third of the campers actually have guests. The program will run as usual, with units going to activities through out the day. Families will bring picnic lunches (and contraband! which they typically share with the entire unit)
I’ll touch base again early next week. Although it happens every summer, I continue to be amazed at how quickly the time passes. It’s almost time to say goodbye…
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Where Did The Time Go?
My apologies. The last time I wrote we were anticipating visitors and the departure of Little Big Trips. Suddenly I find that we are packing trunks, exchanging addresses and locating misplaced items. As usual, the Nor’wester time machine kicked into high gear just after Visitor’s Weekend and we suddenly find ourselves preparing to say good bye to our First Session campers.
A quick summary of last week:
Little Big Trips to the Cascade Mountains (Alpine), Lopez Island (Bikes) and several local marine parks (Sailing) enjoyed fantastic weather, beautiful surroundings and lots of laughter.
While they were away the Mountaineers hosted a very successful Coffee House Sunday evening, with a Las Vegas theme. The amount of talent we have in our community never fails to amaze me. Monday and Tuesday morning were filled with regular activity days. Tuesday afternoon everyone left on their last overnight of the summer. The weather continued in our favor, allowing groups to sleep out under clear skies and to take in the beauty of our solar system. Most units remained on property for that last overnight with the exception of the Rangers and Vagabonds. The boys paddled canoes over to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island while the girls checked out Satellite Island a bit to the north. All overnights returned before lunch and the trips were back on the property in time for evening activities.
Since then we have been moving at warp speed. Wednesday night the camp was treated to our dramatic presentation, Opry House. The younger campers performed Planet of the Perfectly Awful People while the older campers presented Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. It adds another layer to the day when you have lines to memorize and rehearsals to attend. Both productions were fantastic and the casts deserved all the applause showered upon them.
Thursday and Friday it was all about the Olympic Games. The camp is split into the Red and Blue teams and they compete for points at various activities hosted by the different departments. Team Captains, song leaders, and mascots encourage cooperation and sportsmanship. This is a great leadership opportunity for the older campers. Both teams are given an assigned song and select a secret song, which they perform at the Friday night banquet. The Red team performed Henry Martin and My Girl. The Blue Team sang Greenland Fisheries and Upside Down.
Over the two days team scores are announced through staff skits – this year Scobby Do and members of the Mystery Machine were the main characters. In the end the Red team had the highest score, but that is really secondary to the shared excitement everyone experiences. After the final scores were announced we sang “Keep on truckin, don’t stop truckin, the Reds beat the Blues today. But that doesn’t really matter cause tomorrow’s another day”.
Nestled into the Olympic Days was Art Night on Thursday. Artistic creations by campers and staff are displayed for the whole camp and groups rotate through various activities like Face Painting, Silhouette Drawing, Origami, Jam Session, and Snacks! The finale was the Fashion Show where campers strut their stuff, showing off multiple versions of the tie-die T, wonderful and funny silk screens, felt hats, etc. Another great evening with friends.
So today we prepare for saying goodbye. Trunks will be packed and ready for the uhaul by noon. Units will clean their temporary homes with the goal of leaving them free of any evidence that campers have been living there for 4 weeks and giving second session campers the impression that no one was here before they arrived. All their efforts will be rewarded with our all-camp dance tonight. 200+ people will gather at Mission Point to enjoy one last evening of contra and square dancing, with the Olympic Mountains as the backdrop.
It will be an early breakfast tomorrow – 6:15AM, and then loading the boats by 7:00am. But the bittersweetness of the situation – anticipating reunions with family while saying goodbye to good friends - will not be lost in the blurry eyed hour. It is typically a tender time for all.
Thank you for sharing your child with us. It has been a wonderful First Session.