I made a resolution this year that I need to tell you about.

This is Byran and I’s 25th summer at Highlander and upon reflection I’ve realized that the thing I value most is time with campers and staff. That time holds my fondest memories over the last 25 years and make up the best part of my day. So this summer, I made a commitment to spend more time with my camp family, which meant I needed to let a few things go.

One of those things I determined would be my weekend blogs. Yesterday was such a specical day that I had to write. But today I will honor my commitment. Sundays give campers and staff the space to pause, reset, and reconnect — with themselves and with each other. So this is a simple post of the Favorite Details of the Day—the facts and highlights that made me smile.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to spend my days with your amazing children. Trading a little writing time for a little more camp time is a trade I’ll gratefully make this summer, and I appreciate your grace and support!

Favorite Details of the Day:

• Sunday Chapel: This morning for chapel we read What do you do with a problem? by Kobi Yamada. On Sundays we do surveys and that can be a day when problems come to the surface, so it felt appropriate to encourage everyone to face their problems head on. We reminded campers and staff we have the choice to see problems as obstacles or opportunities - opportunities to grow, learn and understand ourselves and others around us.
• Weather: We had a beautiful day on Old Forge today. With overcast skies, the temperature was lower today and cooled us down a bit. We had a brief rainshower during rest hour, and the clouds made our afternoon and evening very comfortable.
• Meals: For breakfast we had blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, sausage links, grits, oatmeal and a fresh fruit bar. For lunch we had grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, french fries, a salad bar and a sandwich bar. Dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie salad and cheddar biscuits along with our salad bar and a sandwich bar.
• Sunday Funday: We call it Sunday Funday because it is always such a fun day! We staggered our wake up from rest hour so that our older campers got a little more sleep. Junior camp woke up first and got in line for the Dolly’s Trolley. Dolly’s is the BEST ice cream around, and we even have a flavor named after us - Highlander High Tide. It is coffee ice cream with chocolate fudge and brownie chunks in it - absolutely delicious. For our afternoon activities, we had cabin choice. Lots of cabins chose to watch a movie in the gym, still recovering from our super busy day yesterday. Some cabins chose to play tetherball, bombardmnet, disc golf, ping pong or gaga ball. Some made friendship bracelets, colored with friends or enjoyed an afternoon reading in the library. It was perfect!
• EP: Tonight’s EP was Campfire, followed by Cookies and Milk in the dining hall! We recognized our Honor Campers and Honor Cabins for the week. These campers and cabins have stood out as leaders and positive role models this session. Congratulations to our Honor Campers and Honor Cabins!

Honor Camper & Honor Cabins for Session B 2026

• Lower Girls Honor Camper: Emma H. Cabin 17
• Lower Boys Honor Camper: Wes V. Cabin 24
• Intermediate Girls Honor Camper: Sullivan M. Cabin 10
• Intermediate Boys Honor Camper: Thomas T. Cabin 25
• Senior Girls Honor Camper: McCoy M. Cabin 6
• Senior Boys Honor Camper: Rocco D. Cabin 34
• Girls Camp Honor Cabin: Cabin 2
• Boys Camp Honor Cabin: Cabin 26