Sundays are awesome at camp because they have the perfect balance of slow and restful while also being wildly energetic. Sunday programming is meant to give our campers and staff time to recoup after a busy week of activities, off-camp trips and fun EPs, yet still have unforgettable fun that leaves lasting memories. The slower pace of the day offers less activity but more time for rest and building friendships.
Our morning consists of a late wake-up, breakfast, chapel, camp clean up and free time games. At chapel this morning, we read the book What Do You Do With a Chance?, by Kobi Yamada. It’s a great book about taking chances, trying new things and not letting your fear dictate your decisions because you might miss out on something really great. Facing fears and overcoming obstacles is what we do every day at camp, and this offers a great lesson to our campers about the value of a camp experience. We encouraged everyone at camp to take a chance by trying an activity that scared them, tasting a food they’ve never tried before or even just speaking up to get to know someone new. When you take a chance, you just might fall in love with the exact activity you’ve been afraid of, or discover new taste buds you didn’t know you had or meet your best friend!
After lunch, we had a long rest hour to catch up on some much needed sleep. When the bell rang for snack, the campers and staff were so excited to find that the Pelican’s shaved ice truck was parked at the quarter deck for a wonderful Sunday surprise! After we enjoyed our delicious shaved ice, it was time for our Session A Sunday Funday tradition: Director’s Cup. This is an all-camp competition between boys camp and girls camp for the Golden Cup. Girls camp was the defending champions and won in the first challenge of freeze dance. The next event was a two out of three win for bombardment, and boys camp swept in all 3 events - junior, intermediate and senior. So the challenge was tied and in a finale, Mac and I competed in the skittle shuffle…and boys camp came in victorious as the 2023 champions!
All of boys camp went wild when the winner was announced, and the girls immediately came running to me with hugs and support. “It’s OK Melissa, we will win next year!” “We’re so proud of you Melissa.” “Girls camp is still the best.” I was so proud of the girls for their amazing sportsmanship and for their sweet and tender hearts.
After dinner every Sunday, we have a campfire to reflect on the week we just had and get excited for the week ahead. Tonight, we recognized our honor campers and honor cabins for the week. These are the highest honors an individual or a cabin unit can receive at camp for their teamwork, cooperation, selflessness, generosity, joyful attitude, camp spirit and love shown to others.
This Week’s Honor Camper and Cabins
- Jr. Girls - Ginnie E. (Cabin 15) & Jr. Boys - Reid W. (Cabin 23)
- Int. Girls - Ava M. (Cabin 11) & Int. Boys - Wyatt R. (Cabin 28)
- Sr. Girls - Campbell H. (Cabin 1) & Sr. Boys - Chanceton F. (Cabin 30)
- Honor Cabins - Cabin 2 & Cabin 33
Favorite Details of the Day
- Weather: We awoke to warm sunshine and blue skies. Just as the last shaved ice was served, the rain moved in on Old Forge. We all raced to the gym for our Sunday Funday, and by the time the Director’s Cup was over, the rain had stopped for the day!
- Meals: For breakfast we had blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon and a fruit bar. For lunch we had walking tacos (taco meat, cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes in a frito bag), guacamole, salsa, chips and a salad bar. For dinner we had fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, warm biscuits and a salad bar.
- EP: Tonight’s evening program was Campfire. We had a special guest singing at campfire tonight, Greg Galloway. Greg is a Camp Highlander alumni who is a fantastic musician. He wrote our alma mater, Going Home, one summer at a bus stop waiting to be picked up to go work at Highlander. Greg wrote the song about Going Home to Highlander, a place he had grown to love and known as home. It was such a treat to hear him sing it tonight! After campfire, we all went up to the dining hall to enjoy some warm chocolate chip cookies and milk before heading up to bed. It was truly a wonderful day!
About Melissa Fitzgerald
