Groups
Last night was a blow out night… the first night that camp separated into “groups” to do something special for EP. There were 7 special activities for 7 special groups… not a “dud” activity to be found. Excitment grew all afternoon and by the time the buses were pulling into camp it was all anyone could talk about.
We took one group to a trampoline park in Greenville, one to a baseball game in Asheville, we cooked wood fired pizza’s at a Putt Cove water party, put on a spectacular magic show for the little girls, a “Unicorn Party” (huge hit) for the senior girls, and a pool party for the Jr. Senior girls.
Margaret and I hosted the 9th graders at our house for a nice dinner party. A Cordon Bleu trained chef provided amazing food, but the biggest hit of the evening was just being together and celebrating our friendships. Most of these girls have been coming to camp for a very long time… many will find this is their last summer as a camper. Most camps classify fifteen and sixteen year olds as the oldest campers in camp. They have restless spirts and busy summer schedules… most girls of this age feel they have outgrown camp and have better things to do… so ALL camps celebrate their older campers and give them a chance to shine.
Since greystone has a whole group that is older than the rising 10th graders, Margaret and I take this moment to shower attention and express gratitude. A dinner party at our house seems to do the job nicely. The girls love getting dressed up and hanging out at Grey Gables. This is the house my Great Grandfather lived in when he ran camp. It is the house I grew up in, the house where Margaret and I raised our five children. It is a place of memories and special moments shared with family. It makes for a great setting for a great evening.
I will put only pictures from that night on the blog today, but encourage you to check out the photos from all the events last night. They were all wonderful.
Today we are shaking up the experience of the day for everyone. We slept late (till 8:30) then ate breakfast in the dining hall but skipped morning assembly (thus having normal class schedule for the morning). At lunch we will announce a surprise “Play Day” for the afternoon… classes will be cancelled in order to enjoy water activities all over camp. With the pool complex, water park, Putt Cove marina, Putt Cove campout spot, boathouse swim area, and streams… there are many opportunities for finding something fun to do… or not! It is a free afternoon, the most requested thing on both camper and counselor surveys last summer. Sure to be a hit!
Tonight we will have our first Council Fire. I give a short talk on “important things” (tonight we will consider Sincerity and Courage), we tap temporary honor council members, award the new “spirit of Greystone” award to a select few campers who have exemplified Sincerity and Courage at camp, and give out patches to those girls who have passed levels in their classes. It is a special night, one that we hope will be memorable and motivating.
- Breakfast: Chicken Biscuits
- Lunch: Shaved Pork Sandwiches with Curly Fries
- Dinner: Flank Steak and Polenta… and Bread Pudding!