Today was our first full day with a normal schedule! This meant Interest Groups galore, opportunities for campers to choose their own activities at Go Getters and Your Time, and some rowdy Nights Doings games to wrap up the day.
After a delicious “continental” breakfast, we said Aloha to our three Voyageur villages. They headed to Portland, where they will catch a ferry to Nova Scotia. There, they will spend 4 weeks biking before coming on back to camp where they will be welcomed heartily. We also sent Flag and Chocorua out on hiking and biking trips! As they went on their merry ways, Discover and Trailblazer villages went back to their villages for a bit of KCISPing and then ventured out for their first two interest groups of the day. Some campers went down to Dan Hole Pond for swim lessons, while others worked away in the Woodshop to create all sorts of masterpieces and a small, but dedicated group played an impassioned game of Dungeons and Dragons before coming back to the White Mountains Eating Lodge for lunch.
As usual, the Food Program staff knocked it out of the park for all of the meals today, and at lunch, we feasted upon some make-your-own chicken wraps. These things were seriously tasty and one camper in Blueberry Village even told me that it was the best chicken he had ever eaten. When I was not quite believing that it was the best he’d ever had, he told me that it only made sense – it was Merrowvista chicken, and therefore the best because the two were one in the same. He told me all of this very nonchalantly and his matter-of-fact tone stuck with me after the meal. After relaying the compliments to the chef, I was been thinking about the little tornadoes of joy that many of our youngest campers bring to Merrowvista – especially our one-weekers. Spending time with them helps me to see what camp can be like to someone experiencing it for the first or second time – it is one big adventure – even meals can be transformed to the extraordinary with the energy and spirit they bring to us. Their short time here is punctuated by many exclamations and sounds of excitement. All of this energy however makes Sacred Easy Time that much more Sacred, so after lunch all of our Villages headed back to their cabins to rest up.
We were pretty lucky with the thunder holding off for us throughout the day and only some scattered rain showers – we were able to do all activities as planned outdoors and in the pond! Even though we have tons of fun indoors, it was great to spend lots of time outside enjoying the Canaan Valley. Three Villages – Lincoln, Whitecap and Mahoosuc – all packed up lunches and went on hikes this afternoon for Village Fun Time. After Village Fun Time, campers had their third and fourth interest groups before they had a bit of Your Time. Even though it wasn’t the most golden of days, the Waterfront was a popular option, with many campers attempting to swim 10 laps in preparation for distance swims later this week.
After dinner, we were able to engage in two absolute camp classics – Gold Rush and Braun Ball!! The Discoverers had an exciting game of Gold Rush with loads of bandits (leaders) trying to steal gold from our campers – never to fear, the campers successfully returned the gold to the bank and all bandits somehow disappeared by the end of the game. Over at the baseball diamond, our Trailblazers played Braun Ball – a Swedish game that is similar to baseball and caters to every players’ strengths. The sun poked out behind clouds as the games were in full swing – ending this packed day on a beautiful note.
Signing off,
Joanie Fasulo (Community Coordinator)