Cannon Report – Week 2 – 2011
Ka-boom! The cannon blasts and the campers head to dips with the confidence of seasoned veterans. Many of the Juniors have participated in their first Flag Trip, and the Seniors had their first opportunity to go on an advanced trip, either hiking or kayaking at Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. All of camp laughed together Friday night at the Comedic War of Attrition, then enjoyed a sun filled day at the beach Sunday afternoon.
The vans rolled out heading to Pictured Rocks bright and early Monday Morning for their six hour drive North to Lake Superior. Eight campers and four counselors split into two groups to hike and kayak along the beautiful sights of Pictured Rocks. The two groups endured rain Tuesday morning, sidelining the kayakers due to high waves. Spirits stayed high, and the kayakers were able to make up all lost ground thanks to solid determination and smooth water. Everyone had a great time, and rolled into camp with big smiles Thursday afternoon.
The Juniors spent a night on the trail this week too, only, they made it all the way to “Canada” (our back meadow) for the Junior Flag Trip. The J-Flag is a game of tackle capture the flag between the North and South teams played on camp’s back property. The Flag Trip, whether Junior, Backwoodsman, or Senior, is the practical application of Christian Science, and a ton of fun. This year Sam Reger helped the South Team, and Reed Timoner helped the North team by planning meals, cooking, lashing, and leading raids. South started off strong, but North was able to bring the score back to a tie before judges called “Game Off.” To watch a video created by camp photographer Fred Morrison, visit here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AXtQ884KPU&feature=player_embedded.
With all the trips out this week, it is easy to forget about all the great things going on at camp. The weather decided to cooperate this week so we could have our first cabin days. The cabin of Shawnee used Weldon Rutledge’s lathe to spin wood and created cool plates, while Argosy celebrated a Travis Beckwith-Grey’s birthday by baking a cake big enough for all of camp! Speaking of Argosy, Argosy and Black Swan were fortunate enough to be involved in a camp first this week, the Lost Boys. Lost Boys is a morning activity based off the story of Peter Pan and his lost boys. The activity was intended to give the youngest campers unstructured time to use their imagination and play in the woods under the supervision of Steve Hufstader and Drake Schaberg. Although at times it was more like Lord of the Flies than Peter Pan, all the boys enjoyed their time together in woods.
Friday afternoon and evening brought us the seventh annual Comedic War of Attrition, the competitive variety show that pits North versus South in skits, songs, and impersonation among other things, all for celebration of the arts and comedic effect. It was a fun night, full of laughter.
To cool ourselves off from Friday night’s Comedic War, we spent all of Sunday afternoon in Lake Michigan. We took out sail boats, canoes, kayaks, the new paddle boards, and windsurfing boards. We had kids on the tramp, and playing in the sand. It was the perfect way to end the week, and helped to finalize the feeling that summer is here because the lake is finally warming up! After another great week at camp the boys feel that they know this place like the back of their hands, and are ready to take on the final week of the three week session!
