A Packing Day Party and a Peaceful Pinegrove on the Second to Last Day!

Howdy hey, everybody! I have an exciting new co-reporter to introduce you all to… Cara B. Ner! Cara is super stoked to be joining the team, and I’m really happy to have her here. Take it away, Cara!

Hello, gang! Cara here with my very first news update of the summer! I can’t wait to report all the fun that is still to come in the next month.

Last night after a yummy dinner of chicken patties, roasted veggies and ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies, we gathered in the backyard for the Fair Day Dance. There was swinging on the swings, tether ball, lots of laughter, and dancing, of course! We ended the night with a big dance to “Don’t Stop Believin’,” a camp classic.

After sleeping in a bit, (score!) and a breakfast of delicious cinnamon rolls, (double score!) we met in the front yard for a big morning meeting. We thanked all of our wonderful pro-staff who will be leaving us after this session, as well as our amazing AWACs for all of their hard work. We had our last Thought Du Jour from the Taj girls, our last Joke of the Day from Gimme Shelter, and of course our last Spirit Animal from Forbidden Planet. We discussed luggage labeling, distributing art projects, and a HUGE post-packing cabin clean.

We went back to our cabins and got right to work! And boy, did we have quite a task in front of us. There was packing up clothes and bedding, cleaning out cubbies and wiping down mattresses, and a whole lot of sweeping. After we passed inspection from our toughest inspectors yet, (the PDs and Peter and Meg!) we headed off to lunch.

After a much needed bite to eat, each cabin headed out for a special final cabin activity. It was so much fun! Here’s what each cabin got up to this afternoon:

The Burrow had an egg hunt around camp

Down Under made memory jars

Wombles read Harry Potter by the fire

Loons did an egg drop

LCH made comics

Avalon decorated all-star t-shirts

French 1/4 had a waffle party

Paquatahnee did Tipi Zipline

Gimme Shelter wrote “warm n’ fuzzies” and practiced for pine grove

Wabanaki finished decorating their cabin t-shirts and wrote “warm n’ fuzzies”

Bermuda Triangle made shrinky dinks and played games

Valhala wrote “warm n’ fuzzies” and had a group reflection on the session

Fiddler’s Green had a dance party

Chateau Fiasco also had a dance party

Shangri-la wrote “warm n’ fuzzies”

Haley’s Comet rode their horses on the Brumby Trail

Camelot wrote “warm n’ fuzzies”

Forbidden Planet decorated t-shirts

Deer Meadows searched for a secret car hidden in the HVC woods

(“Warm n’ fuzzies” are little notes written anonymously for each member of the cabin to be read on the way home, making everyone feel warm n’ fuzzy!)

Whew! After we were done, we gathered in the front yard for a big transportation meeting. Peter called out where everyone was going and how they were getting there to make sure we were all sorted for tomorrow. We then moved our luggage from all around camp using our BIG muscles (with the help of some camp vehicles,) into the front yard. We made sure to sort it all by method of transportation and destination so that every suitcase and duffle will find their way home!

Right now, we are having some much needed chill time in the backyard. In a little bit, we’ll have our last evening meeting, including a final useless fact from our Deer Meadows Gurus. After meeting, we will head into the dining hall for the long awaited Lobster Banquet, complete with salad, dinner rolls, potatoes, muscles, and a choice of lobster, chicken parm, or spanakopita – yum! Dessert will be assorted pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, of course, handed out by Meg herself. We will then thank our kitchen staff for all of their hard work and delicious cooking this summer. Without them, we would never have the energy to do all of our awesome activities!

After dinner and a generous application of bug spray, we will head up Tipi Hill one last time for Closing Pine Grove. Pine Grove is a super special camp spot. We go up twice a session to open and close camp in a wooded, technology-free zone. We will go up in cabin groups around a big fire to sing songs, tell stories, and just be together as a camp for our last night. We will then have our Candle Lighting Ceremony, where every camper, counselor, and staff member will have a chance to say goodbye to each other. It is a bittersweet evening – it is sad to have to say goodbye to our friends, but so joyful to remember the amazing time we had together.

Tomorrow, we will wake up SUPER early to load buses and vans and begin heading home. Stay tuned for travel updates and departure day activities to come. Although this session is coming to an end, I’m SO excited for all that next session has to offer.

Climbing away!

Cara B.