Yesterday was another fantastic day on Johns Island! The day started with a delicious breakfast of cinnamon rolls, yogurt, and berries. The music department lead the camp out of the lodge and onto the front lawn for the flag raising ceremony carried out by representatives from each of the units. Then it was off to work to prepare for the day! The units were split up into groups, each with a specific task: milk carton boat building, pie making, carnival booth set up, and carnival booth sign design.After a lunch of hamburgers and a quick rest hour, it was time for the real fun to begin!
The festivities kicked off with the Fun Run, a loop around the property just over a mile long. Some of the campers were in it to win it, finishing the race in well under 10 minutes, while others decided to walk backwards. There was even a 10 legged contestant! Five girls from one unit tied their legs together and worked together to make it around the course.
After the fun run it was time to head down to South Beach for the races. First up was a canoe race among the younger units around Sunken Rock and back into the beach. The Rangers took an early lead and held onto it all the way to the end. The coolest part was when the Archers managed to get their canoe stuck on Submarine Rock. The Mariner Racers turned around to help the Archers out, abandoning what would have likely been a second place finish for them! On top of that, as loud as the cheer was for the Rangers when they hit the beach, the cheers for the Mariners and Archers when they made it back was almost deafening. It really was fantastic to watch the campers help each other out in a moment of need! The winner of the older unit kayak was no surprise, as per usual the Mountaineers came in first by quite a large margin.
The milk carton boat race however was the best that has been seen in years! This year with a strong wind blowing in the direction of shore from the dock, the race only took several minutes. The Foresters technically won the day, having made a raft out of milk cartons and swimming it to shore, but the wind powered boats were not far behind. The Mountaineers’ boat shot its way almost to shore nearly as quick as the swimmer, but at the last moment it got caught in a current close to the beach, allowing the Rangers boat to be the first boat to dry land in what was likely less than 10 minutes.
After the races had concluded, the entire camp spent some well-earned down time relaxing on the beach. Some were brave enough to take a quick dip in the water, but most of the camp just relaxed, played games and sang songs on the beach until it was time for the salmon bake. Dinner was as good as you can imagine!
The Carnival finished off the day. The units had each prepared a booth down on Mission Point, and it was time for all of that hard work to pay off. There was a Blackjack booth, a Speed Dating booth, a Marriage booth, Ring Toss, Palm Reading, Caricatures, and half a dozen more. It was a blast to see what these kids could come up with! But as the light faded, it was time to clean up and call it a night and say goodbye to yet another fantastic Fourth of July on Johns Island.
Scott, Camp Photographer
