Carnival!

Every camper awoke this morning with one thing on her mind… IT’S CARNIVAL DAY! The sky is blue, the sun shines brightly, and all is well with the world! The carnival marks the successful completion of our first week at camp, something the girls have anticipated from day one. Campers LOVE the carnival… it has always rated as the second most favorite EP of the session (first is Banquet), and it is easy to see why. It is a blow out celebration of food, music, dancing, and fun. We have once again upgraded the carnival with more food, more rides; and done so while giving it a relaxed “country fair” feeling. It is going to be a wonderful night!

Excitement is not limited to EP’s… the girls are super excited about absolutely everything! Their chatter is a part of everything. It takes a while to quiet everyone for announcements in the dining hall and that is true in every cabin and in every class. Campers are jumping out of their skin with enthusiasm and we try to harness that energy to good effect. For instance, last night provided Greystone’s first ever “Mermaid Expedition”… about 300 girls grabbed flashlights after EP to search the lake for mermaids. Some girls swore that they saw the ripples of a one swimming just under the surface, I bet nightly mermaid hunts will happen after most EP’s for the rest of camp. So much fun!

Some Details about the day:

Weather… chance of afternoon showers, wonderful temperatures, glorious in every way.
Dinner… Food will be part of the carnival… eat what you like when you like… eat as much “real” food as you want (we limit junk food). The food court will open at the same time as the rides, so about half the camp goes to the rides and half gets food… so no long lines!
NC BBQ… slow smoked by Gervais and served with all the fixins.
French Fries… nothing is better than hot french fries, we serve them in cute paper bowls piping hot. We even have roaming french fry counselors (taking bowls of fries to the girls in other lines).
Funnel Cake… a favorite of all time.
Grilled cheese… getting a hot grilled cheese right off the griddle, then getting some fresh BBQ (served in cute bowls with slaw and corn bread)… put the bbq on the grilled cheese sandwich… YUM!
Cotton Candy, cookie decorating, sno-cones, nacho’s with cheese
The rides will be awesome (three new inflatable rides, each one will be a big hit).
Dance Contest… We finish with a camp wide dance contest. It is amazing to see so many girls jumping around with such glee. Immediately after the dance contest winner is announced we run back to our cabins to get cleaned up and ready for bed. Sleep will come quickly. The carnival is exhausting in a good way!

So today begins the one week countdown. One week from yesterday we will be home, a fact that catches everyone off guard. Each class has a laser focus on finishing projects and passing levels. Each night will feature bigger and bigger EP’s. We feel a sense of accomplishment and a sense of excitement, minutes pass like seconds and days disappear in an instant. Camp is going great and we are loving every minute!

Thanks for checking in.