Happy Fourth of July! It has been a densely packed first few days of camp. It is hard to believe that the campers only arrived last Wednesday, yet soon it will feel like the whole month of July passed in the blink of an eye. On the first night, we sat around the campfire and heard the story of Keenondaweha and how his legend reflects the spirit of Cayuga. Several of our bunks are reading stories at bedtime: Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Desperaux, Gary Paulsen’s Hatchett, and Jeanne DuPrau’s The City of Ember. Our after-breakfast clean-up contest remains competitive, and, perhaps because of the hot weather, the check marks on our four cabin shower charts have already recorded over 87 showers! We have found a rhythm of established routines and seem to have survived our bouts of homesickness. I am extremely proud of our staff -- their sense of responsibility and compassion with the campers is extraodinary.
You have may have heard from camper letters about our adventures at the Waterfront, hobbies, Cayuga Hockey League (CHL) nail-biters, services at the Fire Circle, or star-gazing (the skies have been remarkable almost every night). These are just some of the things that we have been up to during our first few days at camp. Lots of mail has been delivered to and from the village. Keep the letters and emails coming! It means a lot to the boys to get something at mail call.
Today I spent time with one of our youngest bunks asking the campers about some of the things they have done for the first time: got up on the knee board, played floor hockey (CHL), paddled a kayak, slept away from home, set tables in a dining hall, played roof ball, dressed for Halloween in July, got up on water skis. Then they listed the things they wanted to accomplish this session: to play a round of playak polo, to ride the banana boat, to learn the rules of Euchre, to ascend the climbing wall. All these goals are likely to be met by month’s end, and I can only hope that the remaining weeks in July will be as rich for the campers as this first five days.
