Shelby here, reporting about another day in the Canaan Valley. Wednesday the 25th was an awesome day to be at Merrowvista for kids and staff alike. The weather was moody, with patches of blue skies and then patches of heavy rain. In true New England fashion, if you didn’t like the weather all you had to do was wait about 10 minutes. But, I was impressed by how the community embraced whatever mother nature was giving us. Once again, we tested and confirmed the theory that our skin is waterproof!
The morning started in the typical, daily routine. Campers were up bright and early for Go-getters and were seizing the day head on. Some folks even went on a pre-breakfast run to the top of “Camp Hill” on Canaan Rd. And then, after a plate of fluffy scrambled eggs, or warm oatmeal, and/or crunchy cereal, it was off to the races. Archery, climbing, boating, crafting, ALL types of adventures were going and these campers were not letting any precipitation take any of the fun away.
After a pretty run of the mill, jam-packed morning, this community was informed about an exciting event taking place that afternoon. We had the opportunity to welcome and celebrate campers from our sister camp, Miniwanca. This camp has an Odyssey trip of their own, that takes campers all the way from their site in Michigan to Merrowvista by their own pedal power. After an enthusiastic ringing of the bell, the entire community gathered at the dirt road with colorful signs, and loud energy, to watch these campers walk their fully loaded bikes to their destination: Merrowvista. Our campers, though not knowing these Miniwanca kids personally, were so proud of what they had just proved possible.
I liken the feeling to getting a visit from my own siblings. We grew up learning the same values, in similar ways, and fostering the same principles. And now, separated by geography and surrounded by different communities, when we visit one another we get to see how the other is thriving. We got to welcome Miniwanca Odyssey and now have the opportunity to show them how Best Self and Balanced Living looks here. These Session B Merrowvista campers are amazing young people to do so. We rallied around the cyclists as they walked into our camp and then ran down to the waterfront for a dunk in the rain. And then we went back into our routine with some new faces around camp.
Interest groups continued. During “Your Time” campers were able to either warm up in their cabins, play games in the e-lo, or opt outside for games in the drizzling. And both options were happily taken. After dinner, the clouds broke open and we were able to go on with our originally planned activity for the evening: Jetty Sock. Our Discoverers traveled from station to station, avoiding the Jetty Sockers (although many campers were LOVING getting blasted by balls of cornstarch fairy dust) and every last ounce of energy was used in this large group game. Our trailblazers played a life-size game of Battleship with water balloons. And the Miniwanca Odyssey campers had a reflective night down at our outdoor Labrinth. We are happy to have some representatives from our sister camp in town. All in all, a wonderful day.
-Shelby