Good morning HVC families,

Last night was an unforgettable end to an unforgettable summer.

After a day of packing and finishing their cabin activities, campers had their lobster banquet dinner. It was fun to sea their faces light up as they enjoyed the incredible meal prepared by Mike and the dining hall crew.

Afterwards, they received a visit from two of my closest friends, Ben and Jerry, delivered by some udder-ly special guests.

Following dinner, campers headed to the Rec Hall for Pine Grove. The schvitz called for a change in location, but there was no change in the sincerity of each act and each goodbye.

Each cabin prepared something special to share with the camp, and the acts did not disappoint. We heard everything from inspirational quotes, to favorite camp songs, to original tunes.

To end the night, the traditional candle-lighting ceremony took place back outside and campers and staff alike had the opportunity to say goodbye to each other before heading home.

This morning, campers (and gophers) were awoken by the melodious sounds of the Taj Mahal and Forbidden Planet voices as they wondered through camp early this morning to gather everyone for breakfast.

Though it is sad to watch all the campers leave, this session and summer was a major success and each of them is headed home with countless memories never to be forgotten, and hopefully we will see them all return in the coming years to keep making new ones.

Gotta gopher now. All of the classes I snuck into this summer have inspired me to go back to school and I’ve got to go shopping. I do have a major problem…I don’t know what to study.

However, I’m not too worried. As a gopher well-versed in STEM, I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out just like I figured out how to sneak into the dining hall for Bagel Sunday.

Bread-y for next summer already,

XOXO,

Gopher Girl

What’s up HVC families,

Happy Packing Day!

It was a wildly successful Fair Day yesterday, and after all of the booths were shut down, the dance was the perfect end to the night.

The campers just never stop believin’ that they can convince the DJ to play “one more song.”

Unfortunately, the DJ in question was not me, BUT that’s quite alright because it gave me a chance to Cha Cha slide on the dance floor and then slide into bed early to get ready for a busy day.

This morning, campers got to stay in bed for a little bit of extra sleep as well, and after a slightly later breakfast headed back to their cabins to do their final cabin clean and pack up the majority of their belongings.

With a little bit of music and a lot of great friends, the time flew by.

After lunch, cabins headed back to their cabins for a final cabin activity.

Loons and Gimme Shelter did an egg drop.

Wombles watched a movie.

French Quarter sang karaoke.

Avalon played cards and ate candy.

Paquatahnee baked cookies.

Bermuda Triangle did a yarn web circle and made s’mores.

Valhalla had a costume photoshoot.

Camelot made brownies.

Halley’s Comet watched a movie.

Forbidden Planet went on a log cabin hike.

Fiddler’s Green made a time capsule.

Shangri-la watched a movie.

Taj Mahal played the German Chocolate game.

The Apprentices did a closing circle.

Tonight is the Lobster Banquet and closing Pine Grove ceremony and I’m beyond excited for such a claw-some meal.

Campers will get to enjoy a lovely dinner and a visit from Ben and Jerry for dessert before heading to share a song, reflections, or skits with the camp at the ceremony, followed by an opportunity to say goodbye to everyone on camp.

I can’t wait to hear all of the beautiful voices of campers and staff as they share a final evening program before heading home. It was such a lovely session and we are all so lucky to have endless fond memories to look back on.

Until dinner, I have to look back at some of my notes from Liv Laundry’s “How to be a Superhero” class. Though I’m very familiar with being a celebrity superhero, I’m hoping there are some details in  about how to do laundry, because in all honesty, I’m running out of clean clothes.

Wish me luck (or a clean pair of socks),

XOXO,

Gopher Girl

Good morning HVC families,

Happy Fair Day!

Yesterday, campers enjoyed their final Lazy Day. Younger half cabins enjoyed Gross Day, where they enjoyed making a mess with whipped cream, ketchup, mustard, and chocolate sauce, while older cabins headed to the movies to watch “Holes.”

I was beyond disappointed to hear when they came back that even though the campers loved the movie, it was not indeed a documentary on Gophers. Apparently, instead, it featured an astonishing amount of lizards.

However, I was far from disappointed with the performance of the musical last night by the cast and backstage ninjas! Even though it was about reptiles, the production of “A Year with Frog and Toad” was absolutely phenomenal! It was a blast to watch all of their hard work come together in such a ribbiting performance.

Toaday, Fair Day began with the morning fun run, and campers could choose to go on a quick morning race, or cheer on their friends and cabin-mates.

Later today, each cabin was assigned a booth that they will run for the fair, and while campers are not working at their booth, they will be free to roam with their friends to all of the different activities and stations, including (Hershey)Kiss-o-grams, Fried Dough, Pretzels, the Marriage Booth, and more.

In the afternoon, they will get to see the final projects of all of the video classes and the camp video, showing highlights of moments around camp from this session.

They will end their evening with the Fair Day Dance, hopefully DJ-ed by yours truly, though the gig is not yet confirmed. Apparently, it’s down to the final two candidates, and to be honest, I’m not even sure I’m one of them.

However, what I am sure of is that it’s going to be a lovelier day than even the best bunch of interest groups, because not even SnackBeard’s best Cheez-its can compete with Fair Day food.

XOXO,

Gopher Girl

 

 

How’s it going, HVC families!

Just to give you an idea of how much is ahead of us, last night promos promoted not one, not two, not three but 26(!!!) upcoming events in the final days of the second session! Included were the Brumby show, sharing night, the musical, our last trip/lazy day, fair day, the dance, packing day, packing day jr., packing day jr. jr., pinegrove, the BIG luggage meeting, departure day, and so, so much more. We’ve got some very busy but super fun times ahead of us, even as classes have ended.

We had a spectacular night last night with so many talented sharing night acts! We had performances from modern dance, guitar, mountain biking, how to be a superhero, choreography, improv games, and even the swim team. The night ended with rock band and ukulele both jamming as the sun set! What a perfect final sharing night.

Before sharing night, Brumby shared their skills as well! Horses and their riders joined us for evening meeting and galloped up the hill as the camp watched on. I tried to befriend some of the horses, but they didn’t see me because I am so close to the ground 🙁

Today, our last lazy happened! Older half and Camelot went to go see Holes in Belfast, while younger half and Paquatahnee, Bermuda Triangle, Avalon, and Valhalla participated in gross day, which involved games such as condiment twister, shaving cream hairstyles, and human sundaes. Campers also started packing during rest period for “Packing Day Jr. Jr.” and had some fun in the pool!

Tonight, after a pizza dinner our stage in the rec hall will be graced with a performance of “A Year with Frog and Toad,” the musical! The musical cast and backstage ninjas are so excited to share what they have been working on for the past month. I personally think they should perform my personal twist “A Year with Frog, Toad, AND Gopher,” but alas the directors are totally strict with sticking with the original script.

I can’t wait for all that is ahead for these campers!

XOXO,

Gopher Girl