Session 4 Day 5: A Damp Day, but Full of Joy
- Dave
- Jul 25
- 3 min read
The rain finally caught up with us, but that didn't stop us from having fun. It wasn't too bad in the morning. There were periods of rain and less rain, so we were able to carry on our activities with appropriate rain gear. That is quite fortunate because for the campers who chose the zipline as their free choice activity, today was their last chance. For people with an adventurous spirit, it is one of the highlights, so we would hate to send anyone away with getting their chance.
The other free choice activities today were shrimping, which is not affected by the weather, frisbee golf, and archery. Archery is partially under cover, so that is also a good rainy day activity. For the second round of archery, campers can take a test and get a sticker for the first or second level. For the second level, they need to know the parts of the bow and arrow, be able to string and unstring a bow, and get a score of at least 50 points with 15 arrows, a challenging but not impossible task.
The Teens spent the morning working on their survival skills. They alternated between shelter building and fire making. Appropriate activities given the wet weather, although it made it a bit more difficult to make the fire. When they got their fires going, with the help of a large tent, they cooked bread on a stick.
The first afternoon period we played an outdoor wide game. The campers are divided into two teams and each has a base. Each base has a number of balls in a basket. The point of the game is to steal the balls from the defenders and take them back to your base. But you have to be careful. If you are caught, you end up in jail.
For their final activity period, each team of both youth and teen campers spent time preparing for the closing campfire. Each team performs a short skit or show. This is always a favorite part of the week—not because the performances are polished (they usually aren’t!), but because they come straight from the campers’ imaginations. With a little help from their counselors, the campers brainstormed, wrote, and started rehearsing their acts. Some are silly, some are surprisingly clever, and all of them reflect the unique energy of each team.
We will end our week with the traditional closing campfire—one of the most meaningful parts of camp. Each team takes the stage to perform their skit. We also sing some traditional songs and have a short ceremony for the campers to reflect on what they have gained over the past week, and to recognize the counselors that have guided them. Part of the ceremony includes acknowledging the campers that have been to camp for several years. We have a few campers who have been coming to camp since they were just 5 or 6 years old.
That is all for tonight. We will return your campers to you tomorrow. We plan to be at the drop-off location at 3 pm. If you are driving to collect your camper, please find parking in one of the underground garages instead of parking on the yellow line so that our buses can get in to unload the campers.
Here is the link to the pictures. Tomorrow, we will post a link to the entire week's photos including a video and a slideshow of some of the week's highlights. Remember to download the ones you want to save.
