Today is Sunday, a unique day in the Nor’wester week. Breakfast will be served at a relaxed 8:30AM rather than 8:00AM. After breakfast units will return to their personal piece of real estate to hang-out and clean up for their weekly inspection that will happen this afternoon. There is time set aside every morning for a little tidying up around the unit, but Sunday morning a ‘deep clean’ happens. Success in this effort means ice cream sandwiches for dinner on Monday. Given our location and the logistics of keeping ice cream from turning to ice milk on its trip over here, this is a treat appreciated by just about everyone.
While their unit mates are cleaning up the unit, a couple of campers will stay back in the lodge preparing Nosebags. This is our sack dinner of PBJ, fruit and 1/2 a Twix bar. Our main meal on Sundays is served at 1:00pm and the Nosebags will be shared sometime after 5:00pm. Each unit will walk out to a beautiful spot on the property to enjoy some quality unit time together.
Most notably Sundays bring us together for Chapel in the morning, where a unit will present a reflective topic for the entire camp. Past topics have been Friendship, Courage, Honesty, Communication. Then, after our mid-day meal we have Musicale – our version on ‘open-mike ‘. Campers and staff perform for the whole camp and the audience is truly appreciative of their efforts.
Since their arrival on Wednesday campers have been through orientation, had a day of regular activities and enjoyed their first overnight. This first overnight is always significant. Camp crafts are taught, and everyone learns the importance of checking packs for necessities, checking food crates for supplies and checking stoves for fuel! The weather has been remarkably cooperative for many weeks and this one was no exception. Tarp shelters were constructed on the overnights but most everyone slept out under the stars. The Wayfarers kayaked to Spirit Cove on San Juan Island, the Islanders hiked into the Helsell property on Orcas, the Mountainers paddles canoes to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island and the Troubadors paddled our 8-person Hunt canoes to Satellite Island. Everyone else spent the evening on Johns Island.
One of the things units do on their first overnight is work on their Code of Conduct. This document guides the unit through their time together; identifying the behavior everyone feels is essential to unit health. When I receive copies from all the units I will post excerpts.
Upcoming events this week include:
Older Unit Specials on Monday – campers from the 6 oldest units will get to select an evening activity not typically taught at camp.
Island Fair Day – a carnival type day filled with festivities. Units will: create boats from milk-cartons and race them (with or without wind); make 2-3 pies of their own creation; and host a carnival booth. The morning is spent in preparation and the fun begins in earnest in the afternoon. A Fun Run around the island will kick things off just after lunch. After dinner the younger units will spend an evening of story telling with Bill and Marty Holm while the older units get together to watch the camp movie.
In between those events everyone will participate in their second overnight (Wednesday).
The weather seems to be changing slightly; cool, foggy mornings turning into warm, partially cloudy days. The schizophrenia of outdoor living is very apparent: jackets and hoodies at breakfast, t-shirts and shorts at lunch and back into jackets (if we can find them) at dinner.
I’ll touch base next Sunday and get you caught up with life on Johns.