"I Love This Camp"
Last night after EP I was checking in at the Health Hut. We renovated this important area of camp this year and the space looks spectacular (bright, open, organized, fresh, and super clean) but what really made my heart glad was seeing the nurses gathered together after a long day. They were laughing, working on charts, organizing things after the day, and enjoying eachother’s company. It looked like a fun place to work… a fun group to work with. As we were chatting, a cabin group stopped by to get the overnight first aid kit. The campers were waiting outside as the counselor got the things from the nurses inside. The campers did not know that we could hear their excited voices clearly through the open window and I took the opportunity to eaves drop, and it was so great! They were talking all at once with delight and anticipation in thier voices for the excitement of the big night ahead of them. All of a sudden one of the girls just yelled out “I JUST LOVE THIS CAMP!” and everyone laughed!
These were not little girls… they were teenagers who would not typically be given to such abandon. This is the magic of camp. We become comfortable with each other, less self conscious, more confident, more emotional, more authentic, more loving, more child like. The credit for this sweet spirit goes to the Lord, it is a condition of the heart afterall, but also to the girls themselves. They are “playing the camp game” and finding out that they are good at it!
Last night’s Vespers program was absolutely lovely, and it was also marked by barely contained exhuberance. At one point as the candles were all lit and the pavilion glowed with the 700 candles carefully held in little hands I said “LOOK at the beauty of this moment”… and about 10 girls stood up and looked around! It was a precious EP, a beautiful ceremony, and the girls did a great job of not busting out of their skin with the excitement in their hearts.
Camp is going very well and we could not be happier with our first week. Today we will enjoy some friendly competition in our classes as we have our first “Challenge Day” of the summer. The Odds and Evens decorated the Dining Hall for breakfast (truck drivers special… a camp favorite). We will announce the winner of the morning’s competition at Lunch to a deafening roar. The girls love showing team spirit, expect to see lots of green and gold in the photos today!
A brief word about our trail programs: hiking and riding. Riding takes place with a “Western” theme on our Apple Hill property that surrounds camp. The girls love to ride through camp and be seen by their friends on their pretty horses, but they delight in the beautiful trail that follows the lake shore then climbs to a beautiful view that overlooks all of Tuxedo. They see turtles sunning on logs, blue herons and wood ducks, fish jumping, and even Osprey soaring over hidden lake… then they dive into the woods after crossing a beautiful lakeside meadow. The cool quiet of the woods is only broken by the sound of hooves as they take a moment to stop talking and just look around. It is a wonderful trail ride… but the best trail experience of camp is elsewhere!
We purchased a neighbor’s mountaintop family compound a couple years ago and named it “Thunderhead”. It is located just 10 minutes from camp and features two homes that we have adapted for camp use, six miles of trails, and 50 mile views of South Carolina (we can see downtown Greenville!). Girls sign up for daily hikes which leave each morning after assembly and return at lunch. We built a network of trails in order to better experience the beauty of this place and I think that the whole experience showcases nature in an exceptional way. The girls see bear markings (male black bears scratch large trees to mark their territory), deer tracks, bobcat tracks (if they are lucky), pilliated woodpeckers, turkey, Chuckar partridges, and absolutely amazing wild flowers and trees. It is a wonderful place and will provide some wonderful moments this summer.
Tonight we will have a crazy dress up EP (Decade Dance). The girls dress up in crazy costumes and dance in our outdoor pavilion by the lake. The music is fun but getting ready is the biggest part of the evening. The Girls Will Love It!
Lunch is chicken tacos; dinner is flank steak and polenta.
Have a Great Day!