Second Session Success

Today we brought our second session of camp to a close and had to say goodbye to all of the great girls who helped make it a success. Over the last few weeks, as we’ve lived together and shared so many good times, we have all grown in important ways and together had great fun (well, except maybe for the bug bites!).

It’s been a wonderful pleasure to have your girls here at Rockbrook, and we look forward to next year when we can meet again in the Heart of a Wooded Mountain.

Thanks everyone. We’ll miss you!

Summer Dancing

Today started out with unusually cool weather accompanied by a very slight drizzle off and on. Given the warmer, more ordinary summertime heat we’ve been experiencing lately, it was a nice change for camp. And that drizzle sure didn’t slow us down any! We were happily enjoying all of our regular activities. The drama class, which usually meets inside the Junior lodge, was playing a funny improv game called “Bus Stop.” Using just a couple of props, the girls take turns creating a bus stop scene with some crazy, unexpected character waiting for the bus. As the scene unfolds, the goal is to guess who the mystery character is in the scene. Inevitably, the game includes actors and audience members cracking up.

Down in the Lakeview Lodge, the Middler and Senior dance classes were rocking out practicing routines for the end of camp dance show. Led by the “two Lindseys” (Both dance counselors are named Lindsey this session), there are some technical moves in the choreography, making practice pretty important. The Junior classes spend more time playing games— Freeze Dance!! —and learning more basic dance moves.

Down at the riflery range the girls are really improving their skills. It seems like everyday at lunch, Leah and Molly the riflery instructors are announcing new girls who shot bullseyes. There’s been so much shooting down there, Richie had to replace the target hangers because they were completely shot up! It will be interesting to see the giant pile of shells leftover at the end of the summer.

For lunch today, Rick made us a Mediterranean feast with homemade hummus, freshly fried falafel, toasted pita bread, olives, feta cheese, tomato and cucumber salad. I heard several comments about the hummus being “really good,” probably because it had just the right amount of lemon and salt. There was some action at the peanut butter and jelly station and salad bars too, but not as much as you might think. For dinner, Rick and Alison teamed up for a special dessert: ice cream cake. They took some of the leftover, un-frosted birthday cake and layered in slabs of ice cream and even more chocolate cake. Chocolate frosting and a little icing decoration was added to make these works of art! When it was all over, not a crumb was left.

Tonight was also a dance night for the whole camp, this time with the boys up at High Rocks. It was quite an operation to get all 220 campers up the mountain (two shuttles using all of our vehicles, plus some borrowed from High Rocks), but we all made the trek to enjoy a square dance out on their 3 tennis courts. After the girls got over some initial jitters, they were soon having a surprising (to them at least!) amount of fun. It’s all very lighthearted and silly, with part of the fun being learning the moves, but also messing up by turning the wrong way or grabbing the wrong hand. After a short break for cookies and lemonade, we were back to the dancing— winding the clock, trapping a birdie in the cage, and lots of partners being swung. On the ride home several senior girls commented that they enjoyed the square dance even more than the “pop dance” we had last week. I’m not too surprised, but happy to hear another example of camp providing a new, and surprisingly enjoyable experience for our girls.

Camp Life is Handmade

There was a little bit of Potter Mania at Rockbrook today. Marking the release in theaters of the final Harry Potter film, we decided to decorate RBC in all things HP. We of course had plenty of campers and counselors dressing up as characters from the series— lots of maroon and gold, green and black stripes, Harry Potter shaped eye glasses, and lightning bolt shaped scars (drawn with dark eye liner or paint) on dozens of foreheads. Some of the campers clearly planned for this day because their costumes included more elaborate hats, capes, wigs and make up. Girls were decorating magic wands, and carrying them around, would shout out spells now and then with a sly giggle and in their best English accent. Several of the counselors and the Hi-Ups really pulled out the stops by decorating the dining hall like the Great Hall of the Hogwarts Castle: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, all represented. The equestrian staff even put together a game of Quiddich for the girls, keeping the theme going. This involved riding around a series of cones and, from atop their horse, trying to toss a small ball through a hula hoop at one end of the ring. The whole day was very imaginative and fun.

You may have noticed this from checking the online photo gallery, but one of the neat things about life at Rockbrook is how much time the campers here spend doing things with their hands. Everywhere the girls are making things, building things, and decorating things. All of the arts and crafts activities are examples of this (weaving, painting, sewing, ceramics, etc.), but so are the adventure activities (climbing and paddling, e.g.), the sports (archery and riflery, e.g.) and even the horseback riding. These girls are working with all kinds of physical materials, manipulating, shaping and arranging real, not virtual, things. They are, in this way, connecting to the physical world, often to nature, and to their own sensations and feelings.

What’s important about this “hands on” experience central to camp life is how much the girls really love it. This may be because the rest of the year lacks the same opportunity for kids to do much with their hands, and it’s simply novel and fun, but it could also be because camp is feeding a hunger. Perhaps kids need chances to work with their hands, to make things, to forge real connections with the physical world, and modern life, with its pre-processing of almost everything, is making “hand work” (working “by hand”) less common. The manual character of camp is satisfying an important need kids don’t even know they have. Instead, they simply know it’s really fun, really satisfying, to make stuff, whether it be a clay pot, a tie dye t-shirt, or even a magic wand. Maybe, we as human beings need this kind of manual experience, and we’ve forgotten it. Thankfully, there is camp to remind our children! As they grow older, we can hope they’ll remember the satisfaction they gained from working with their hands at camp. If so, I suspect they’ll be happier.

Early Sliding Rock

For today’s cabin day, that weekly day when we change from our activity schedule to whole-cabin events, we reached into our bag of tricks for the Middlers. The Pisgah National Forest is still quite crowded this week, and we wanted to take the girls to sliding rock. Avoiding the crowds is important when you need to bring 85 people, so what did we do? We went when there was nobody else there, when, we might say, nobody would be crazy enough to go— in the morning before it officially opened! We have a relationship with the Ranger to allow us to go “at our own risk,” but we always bring several lifeguards, staff members trained in wilderness first aid, and of course plenty of strong counselors. We had the place 100% to ourselves from 9 to 10am. So was the water cold? Oh yes, but no colder than usual, and the air temperature was in the 70s, so it really was fine, and super fun for everyone. Then to add even more chill (a creamy, yummy chill) to the equation, we stopped at Dolly’s Ice Cream Bar so everyone could have a cone of the their favorite flavor. I asked the girls if it was too early for ice cream or if they were too cold to have some, and they of course screamed “No!” This was one of those completely surprising, very fun group events we love at Rockbrook.

During the first free swim period and during rest hour, the mini session campers packed their luggage so we could move their trunks. Tomorrow is their closing day and we have to say so long for now, so a little preparation is needed. The afternoon activities moved indoors when it started to rain (another of our afternoon thundershowers), but this gave all the age groups extra time to finish up projects and just spend time together.

At dinner, the Hi-Ups decorated the dining hall in an “Under the Sea” theme for a “mini-banquet.” This a special dinner that brings together skits, costumes, dance performances and food… a themed party for the whole camp. The campers and counselors wore their red RBC t-shirts making the whole dining hall almost glow with red.  Looking around the dining hall, I was reminded again just how great these girls are with each other and how close they’ve grown over the last couple of weeks.

After dinner, the mini session girls and their counselors gathered in the lower line Lodge for their closing evening program (counselor impersonations) and a fire in the fireplace. Like the Spirit Fires that close our main sessions, this one, even though it was inside due to another spell of rain, included traditional songs, a few girls talking about their favorite moments from the session, and Sarah relating her thoughts about Rockbrook and what it means for us all. In the old stone lodge and before a beautiful crackling fire, it was a very nice setting to think back and recall all the fun we’ve been sharing. There are always a few tears at these closing campfires, but they are the good kind of tears. They are born from our camp friendships and connections, that while marked by a period of separation during the school year, will certainly last until next summer, and beyond. This is definitely good stuff.

A July Sunday

One way we punctuate the week at Rockbrook is to change the pace on Sundays. We follow a different schedule and plan special surprise events for the whole camp. It began today by sleeping in, which felt wonderful after the very full week we’ve been enjoying, but even better, the girls and their counselors came to breakfast in their pajamas and robes. Rick arrived much earlier in the kitchen and baked for us his yummy maple cinnamon coffee cake to complement the regular yogurt, cereal, and fresh fruit bars.

After breakfast the girls returned to their cabins to clean and sort things, as today is also the day laundry goes out. You can imagine how that might take a while! Around 10:30 the whole camp, dressed in their red and white uniforms, then assembled in cabin groups around the flagpole on the hill for a flag raising ceremony led by the Hi-Ups (10th graders). This included presenting the flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and singing “America the Beautiful.” As we stood in the bright morning sunshine, overlooking the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance, and flanked by the historic camp buildings, this was a very neat scene.

Next, the girls walked down the lower line to a special wooded area of camp for our chapel service. For years now Rockbrook has been explicitly non-denominational and ecumenical with no religious affiliation. It’s been a place where girls from all cultural and religious traditions (and non-religions!) can feel comfortable. Instead of specific religious texts or ideas, our chapel services are more thematic, focus on general human values (things like honesty, friendship and community), and are led by the girls themselves. For example, today the Middler line presented their chapel on “Simplicity” by leading several songs, reading a poem, and talking about what simplicity means to them. Sarah read (paraphrased actually) a short book to the girls called “Crispin: The Pig Who Had it All” by Ted Dewan. It’s about a spoiled pig who, instead of receiving the kind of big gifts he’s used to, gets an empty box from Santa. He naturally struggles with this at first, but in the end learns about imaginative play. Sarah connected it with camp, of course, noting how being at Rockbrook also encourages us to simplify (no technology!), yet equally inspires our imagination, sense of wonder and connections with others. The chapel is intended to be a quiet time for reflection and an opportunity to gather together as a camp community. It’s a nice balance to the zany fun we enjoy the rest of the week.

After lunch, which was a classic combination of baked ham (or tempeh), green beans and mashed potatoes, and after rest hour, which included a brief, welcome thundershower, the whole camp geared up for the Rockbrook Olympics. We divided into 3 teams, anticipating tomorrow’s holiday— red, white and blue —so that teams included girls from all three age groups. Each team, dressed and painted in their color, came up with a cheer and assigned participants for different relay events to be held down on the landsports field. We had a water balloon toss, a sack race, three-legged race, dizzy lizzy, spoon and egg carry, army crawl, sponge relay, frozen t-shirt thaw, a wheelbarrow race, and a huge, group hula hoop relay. The energy level was intense as everyone raced from one event to the next, stopping now and then for a drink or snack under the tents. For the final event, we all headed back up to the lake for a greased watermelon relay. Even more cheering! As is typical around here, we’re not really sure who “won” because we didn’t keep score. There’s just no need, and it’s really not that important, when you’re having this much fun playing and cheering everyone on.  So much fun!

Rockbrook Here I Come

Wow, we have an excited group of girls here right now! Today we opened our main session of camp and welcomed a full house of 198 girls to Rockbrook. Finally, after waiting all this time— months and months in most cases— camp is here. From the very first moments they drove into camp, you could hear squeals and laughter all over the hill, counselors cheering, and plenty of chatting as returning campers reunited and new campers were introduced to everyone. One car was decorated with paint to proclaim all this enthusiasm… “Rockbrook Camp Here I Come” and “Cool, Amazing, Magical, Perfect” and “I Go to Rockbrook Camp for Girls.” I think I-85 up from Atlanta got the message there! Girls and their families arrived most of the morning. Everyone checked in with the nurses and office folks, moved luggage to their cabins, made up their beds, and still had some time to explore camp a bit.

To really kick things off, the bell rang and called everyone to the dining hall for some of Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese, fresh fruit, and salad for lunch. A little comfort food can do wonders for any “butterflies” that might be lingering. It didn’t take long for the singing to start. It was a little timid at first, but grew louder as everyone realized that louder is better when it comes to singing silly songs. And that’s true throughout the session; the singing grows and grows. Right after lunch we headed out to the main hill of camp for an assembly. We introduced all the head counselors and directors and learned the songs for each line (age group), but the highlight was an enthusiastic skit/song about camp hygiene sung by the directors. Sometimes we’re having so much fun at camp, we might forget to shower or brush our hair, for example, so a funny song can be a great reminder.

Next we all walked down past the lake to the gym to watch the counselors perform their activity skits. These short presentations of songs, skits, dances or even demonstrations are to help the campers learn about the different activities offered at Rockbrook. They are also great ways for the campers to meet all of the counselors in camp. We heard plenty of funny songs and saw some great acting. The climbers demonstrated a few moves on the climbing wall, and the paddlers integrated a boat, paddles, helmets and PFDs into their skit. Later after dinner, the campers will sign up for their first set of camp activities, so these skits are a great way to get them excited about what’s available.

The rest of the afternoon, each line took turns coming down to the lake to do their “swimming demonstrations.” This is where all the campers and counselors review the important safety protocols in place at the lake. They demonstrate their swimming ability and if sufficient receive their very own buddy tag for the tag board, and this year, a special green bracelet that qualifies them to go down the new water slide during free swim periods. The Rockbrook lake is fed by a mountain stream, so the water can be quite chilly. For most everyone, it’s “refreshing” to say the least, but with a little getting used to it, the girls love it.

Meanwhile, cabins were taking tours of the camp and having cabin meetings. All of this preparation will let us launch right into regular activities tomorrow. Horses, Kayaks, Clay, Rifles! We’ve got a lot planned.

Be sure to check out the online photo gallery. We post photos everyday that you can see after logging into your parent account.

Oh, and please comment on these blog posts. We love to hear what you think!

Ready with Rose Trees

The rhododendron bushes, our “rose trees,” are blooming, so come on second session campers! Let’s get started! All of the counselors are here busily preparing their cabins and activity areas, while the maintenance crew has been hard at work trimming and spiffing here and there. Everything is ready for tomorrow’s big day. We’ve been waiting and we’re excited!

Closing Campfire

Each session, the Hi-Ups, our oldest (10th grade, 16-year-old) campers, go on a three-day outdoor trip with Jeff. It’s a special trip packed with adventure, really great food, and time to relax and enjoy being together. It’s impossible to mention all the highlights, but they include things like wake boarding, waterfall hiking, camping, swimming, rock climbing, and cliff jumping. At one point, the girls swam up to a waterfall and climbed up several rock ledges to pass through the falling water into a small cave behind. The pounding cold, cold water and the roar of the waterfall made this such an intense feeling. When jumping into the lake from different heights, we could always count on hearing big happy screams. And the food… steak burritos and burgers for dinners, lunches of sandwiches and wraps, and eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes… Yum!

This session our camp-wide musical was Schoolhouse Rock, and today was the big performance for everyone at camp. This is a wonderful play that has lots of parts and plenty of familiar songs making it easy to includes campers of all ages. Based on the popular TV series, we heard A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing, Three is a Magic Number, Conjunction Junction, and several others sung by different groups of girls. The audience was thrilled to several solos and plenty of dancing, really giving several girls a chance to ham it up!

The final event tonight was our closing campfire, the “Spirit Fire.” This is a tradition that goes back to the very beginning of Rockbrook. It’s a special campfire attended by the whole camp dressed in their “whities” (camp uniform and red tie), and is a chance to sing songs, recognize and reflect upon everything we’ve accomplished over the session. Girls take turns speaking about their time at camp, and about what Rockbrook has come to mean for them over the years. It’s a wonderful, calm time to remember our camp friends, as well as the fun and excitement shared during the session. To end the Spirit Fire all the campers and counselors light a small white candle from the central campfire and then stand together for a last couple of songs. With all the lights off in camp, with the sounds of the creeks and crickets, and with the whole camp softly singing by candlelight, this is just beautiful, and a very special time.