Living at the Lake
That’s what we’ve been doing these days— really enjoying the Rockbrook lake. Even here in the mountains, the high temperatures have been knocking on 90 by the afternoon making everything at the lake all that more attractive. All day long, in fact, there have been campers and counselors splashing around, making up goofy jumps from the diving board, or just floating around on a tube. The kayakers have been happily getting wet as they practice their rolls, and the canoers, after paddling around a bit, didn’t hesitate to flip into the water. It’s great fun, by the way, to then try to stand up on the bottom of the canoe as it floats upside down. During the free swim periods, the water slide added even more excitement as girls climbed the 30-foot tower and slid (screaming!) down to plunge into the cool water. Classic summer fun!
Today was a day of regular, in-camp activities for everyone, but as I watched the girls confidently go from activity to activity, dash to the dining hall for meals after hearing the bell, check their mailboxes after lunch, and decide how to spend their free time, I thought about how great it is to see them being so independent. After this short week, this place is infused with focused energy, with self-directed ideas about what to do next, where to go and (easily) whom do be with. That’s really neat because it means the girls are making all these decisions on their own and learning to trust themselves as they navigate all the options. Of course, around every corner we’ve got caring adults trained to guide and encourage this kind of independence, and the choices available (the activities, people, and general environment) are carefully selected to be safe and positive, but all of this makes camp a perfect place for girls to grow more self-confident and independent. It’s clear here at camp, and I suspect you’ll notice it back at home too.
Today for lunch our awesome kitchen crew, led by Eulogia, hit a home run. It was a taco fiesta with fresh, secretly spiced, ground beef, black beans, Mexican rice, diced tomatoes, homemade guacamole, cheese and salsa. Each table had a plate of taco shells and bowls with all the different ingredients. And the shells kept on coming. One camper yelled proudly, “this is my eighth one!” The peanut butter and jelly station and the salad bars saw some action, but not much really.
The evening program tonight was the return of a special all-camp event hosted by our old friend Bill Grimsley, Game Show Mania. Using his podiums and scoring system, Bill put on a funny question and answer game that involved groups of campers, but also kept the whole audience involved in the show. After randomly selecting contestants, who then represented their cabins, he played sound bites and asked questions about pop music, movies and TV shows, but also about Rockbrook trivia. Bill was particularly good at making sure all of the contestants scored some points, not leaving anyone out. Prizes, like a giant red, white and blue cookie, went to cabin groups, and at times when the panelists were stumped and the audience knew an answer, the whole crowd was awarded a sweet treat. The audience of campers was really into the game, cheering on their friends. This was especially true during the staff round as the campers got to root for their favorite counselor and see them come up with some pretty funny answers. With costumes and silly antics part of the mix, it was even better.
A Full Day of Camp Activities
It’s the Hi-Ups who started the first full day of camp today by ringing the rising bell at 8am sharp. This gives all the campers 30 minutes to get dressed, clean their cabin a bit, and make it to the dining hall for breakfast, which today was oatmeal with all the fixings (e.g., toppings of brown sugar, walnuts, blueberries, and dried cranberries), sliced South Carolina peaches, and orange juice, along with our usual fruit, yogurt and cereal bar. After a few brief announcements and a quick stop at the Infirmary if they take daily morning medicine or vitamins, the girls were off and running to their first period activities. This is quite a sight with small groups of girls heading out in different directions, some dressed for horseback riding in long pants and boots, others in bathing suits ready to work on kayaking at the lake, and others with water bottles preparing to go on a hike out to Rockbrook Falls. There was a group of Middlers meeting at Hiker’s Rock to go rock climbing on Castle Rock with Katherine and Tara, a group of Seniors learning how to knit, and a group of Juniors headed down to riflery for their first experience shooting a real gun.
Between first and second period we have our “muffin break,” a time when everyone (literally at times!) runs to the dining hall porch to have one of Liz’s freshly baked muffins. It’s the talk of the camp to find out what flavor muffin Liz (the camp baker) has made that day. Today’s? Sugar Spice, and they were awesome! We all look forward to the surprise of muffin break each day.
Also this morning, the CA girls and their counselors went hiking with Jeff to John Rock in the Pisgah Forest. In addition to reaching the summit of the rock, there was a second goal to achieve— picking the secret theme for this session’s banquet, the big party the CA girls plan for the whole camp. It’s a big deal to pick the theme because it affects the food served, the music, decorations, costumes, skits, and dance numbers that might be included. The CAs work all session preparing for the banquet, so having everyone excited and invested in the theme is crucial. When we reached the top of the rock, and were enjoying the amazing view of Looking Glass Rock from up there, the theme was set. You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out what it is! 
The weather helped this afternoon by providing a nice cooling rain shower just at the start of rest hour. Rest hour is just that, an hour after lunch when everyone heads back to their cabins to rest. This might mean just reading in your bunk, or writing letters home, but for a surprising number of campers (and counselors!) it’s a chance to take a real nap. It’s really wonderful, and you might think that there would be complaining about having to take this time out, but the girls really do look forward to it… maybe because we stay so active at camp.
More dancing, swimming and making things (really cool pottery vases, for example) completed the afternoon camp activities, and cabin skits got everyone laughing down each Line’s evening program. It really was a full day at camp today. Be sure to check the photo gallery. We’ve got new stuff up there everyday.
Learn to Knit at Camp
Can I learn how to knit at camp?
You sure can! In fact, knitting has become one of the crafts at camp girls are really enjoying. You might think it’s old fashioned or something that only your grandmother would do, but knitting is really cool! And it’s not that hard to learn. With some basic pointers and a little practice you’ll be able to make a simple scarf, or even something more difficult like a hat.
The younger girls particularly like using the “Nifty Knitters.” These are special round, handheld looms that make knitting tubes really easy (there’s one on the shelf in the background in the photo). They are a fun way to see how knitting works and to make quick progress on a project before moving on to using knitting needles.
Knitting is one of those great crafts girls can easily do at home. It can easily become a life-long activity to enjoy for years to come.
Knitting Camp Girls
“Like your hat Maddie.”
You get to make some pretty cool stuff when you come to camp… like this hat for instance. Maddie knitted it when she first got to camp last summer, and from then on was rarely seen without it. It’s true; knitting has become an increasingly popular activity at camp. The Rockbrook girls are learning that knitting isn’t all that difficult (once you master the basic stitches!), is really a lot of fun, and is so satisfying when you see what you’ve made. It’s the kind of thing that you can then continue after camp at Home. It can become a life-long hobby!
P.S. That’s Looking Glass Falls in the background.
