Today has been quite a golden day in the Canaan Valley! The sun is out, children are smiling, and camp is really starting to feel like it’s in full swing.
The day started out during Go-Getters with an energizing and exhausting game of Braunball. Braunball is a baseball-like game with no outs, lots of points (the winning team had 88!), and SO MUCH running. Each player gets to choose their own ball and their own bat or racket every time he or she is up to bat, leading to some pretty unlikely combinations. But don’t let the silliness fool you; the game is total workout! This morning’s rousing game included a great mix of younger and older campers all playing and having fun together.
After a delicious breakfast (featuring granola made by campers during yesterday’s MV Chopped interest group), campers once again spread out across the Canaan Valley to explore, learn and play in interest groups. Throughout the morning and afternoon, campers could be seen sharpening their ninja skills, diving deep into Dan Hole Pond searching for treasure, and scaling Merrowvista’s outdoor climbing wall, among many other activities.
The Canaan Valley was a little fuller than usual today because of our visitors from Miniwanca. Each summer, Miniwanca’s Odyssey groups—instead of hiking in Maine like Merrowvista’s—bike all the way from Merrowvista back to Michigan! Although their visit is short, we have enjoyed getting to share our traditions with them and learn some of their favorite songs too. And in true “best self” fashion they even offered to do the ARLOS at dinner tonight. Hopefully, one of these years we’ll get a Merrowvista group out to Miniwanca so we can return the favor.
This evening we had Crazy Dinner, a meal which will surely be remembered for quite a while! Campers and staff alike came sporting some of the most wonderfully strange fashion statements I have ever seen. Furthermore, every aspect of the meal was scrambled, with desert coming out before the main course, and song challenges happening while we ate. However, even though everything else was mixed up, the food stayed just as delicious as ever, with our talented and caring Food Program Staff serving up some tasty ravioli and broccoli, as well as some generous helpings of Parmesan cheese!
After a truly beautiful summer day, campers played Capture the Flag underneath a lovely sunset framed by the Ossipee Mountains. We closed out our day with our first Evening Reflection of the summer. Evening Reflection, like Flag Raising, is a time for all of camp to gather for a moment of pause and reflection. It also gives a village of campers an opportunity in which to stretch their Mental Fold by considering deep and abstract questions together. Tonight, we got to hear Sentinel Village—a group of Trailblazer boys—share their thoughts and reflections about interacting with people who are different from you.
And with that, everybody went back to their cabins, ready to do their own reflections at Village Insight and begin getting ready for bed. I have to say, the days are so full here, that I can’t believe it’s only the fourth day of camp! But given the community the campers have created so far, I am excited to see where they guide us the rest of this session!