Goooooood morning, HVC! Hummingbird here, and bird oh bird am I tired!! We’ve been up and at ’em here since the ripe hour of 5:00 this morning, when we were sung awake by the campers of Taj Mahal and Forbidden Planet. Some fabulous singing in my own professional opinion! Why on earth were we up so early? I bet you can guess….. I’ll give you a moment to think….. think hard….. what happens approximately 3.5 weeks after arrival day…… DEPARTURE DAY!! The saddest day of the summer… because it means camp is OVER! 🙁 *quiet sobs* Let’s take a look at what’s been going on here in the Valley since we last spoke…
Yesterday, as Mag-O-Llama reported, was Packing Day! Campers worked hard all morning to scrub their cabins clean, put all their belongings back in their suitcases and duffels where they came from, and leave the buildings spotless! In the afternoon each cabin did its own special closing activity, ranging from sharing favorite memories of the summer to playing much loved games, to even taking a tractor ride around camp! It was the perfect way to close out the summer with our cabin mates! After our cabin activities we came back together as a whole camp to have our Major League Transportation Meeting, where we sorted out travel arrangements and brought aaaaaaaaaaaall our luggage to their designated holding points around the front yard so that they would be ready to go when the busses got here this very morning. And guess what…. THEY WERE!! The rest of the evening was a little faster paced from there. We had our final Evening Meeting and were dismissed to the dining hall for the LOBSTER BANQUET!!!!! We ate lobster and spanakopita and chicken parmesan and corn on the cob and potatoes and salad and ICE CREAM OH MY GOODNESS SO MUCH YUMMY DELICIOUS SWEET SWEET ICE CREAM RIGHT OUT OF THE CARTON IT WAS BEAUTIFUL MADNESS AND SO STICKY!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Then we put on our long pants and long sleeves and sneakers and bug spray and we trudged up Tipi Hill together to Pine Grove. We sang songs, we danced dances, we told stories, and then we had our beautiful candle lighting procession, where every camper got to say goodbye to every other camper with the tap of a candle, or a warm hug! What a beautiful way to end our summer together!
And now, after a solid few hours of sleep, we are hanging around the front yard, backyard, and red barn. Campers left earlier this morning on the New York, Portchester, New Haven, Boston, and Newton busses, and they’re well on their way back to you folks at home! Meanwhile our campers headed out by car are soaking up all the last bits of camp here until their folks arrive! Counselors are hard at work to close down the last remaining areas of camp and get the place ready for– believe it or not– NEXT summer!!
I cannot stress enough what a remarkable summer we’ve had here at camp, and it’s sad to see everyone head off. But it’s comforting to know that each camper and counselor who goes back out into the real world today is bringing a little piece of camp with them, to make the world that much brighter!
Camp is getting a whoooooole lot quieter now but you’ll be hearing from all of us here at camp several times over the fall and winter, so keep checking back to see the exciting things that will happen before the Valley rings out with the sounds of campers’ laughter once more in just 10 short months! But until then, enjoy pictures from the lobster banquet and departure day! I’m off to sneak some leftover Ben and Jerry’s from last night….
Always hungry,
Hummingbird
