The Tarzan swing is a favorite attraction on Illahee's waterfront.

Activities are split into “five and five” during the August session…five meet on M-W-F, which we call Pine Day activities, and five meet on T-Th-Sa, and we call them Tree Day activities. Today girls completed their activity schedule with their first Tree day activities. It was a busy day getting started…again, we like to hit the ground running and give only the initial orientation necessary to make sure things are super-safe. As I walked around this morning giving a tour, it was great to see so much interaction between counselors and campers (an Illahee hallmark). I never hesitate to tour anyone around cap unannounced because I know that things will look good. This fellow happened to be with our insurance company, and our walk was during full-on activity. We walked by the zip line as a girl was going off with that dual “shriek and pulley” sound. The swim lake was full of campers practicing strokes. There were swim staff at attention with rescue tubes and then the instructors, most in the water with the girls. We swung by McLeod, and Toya had all the girls perfectly aligned doing some step in unison twenty minutes into their first class. Over to the barn with girls mounted in the indoor arena and learning “posting” with several staff members fully engaged. It really was a Chamber of Commerce moment, and they happen every day.

Today was a veritable cold front compared to the last couple. I think the high was 85 with a mix of white puffy clouds and blue skies. There was a rumbling threat of rain around rest hour which never materialized. It is raining now, a cool steady rain that will make for wonderful sleeping weather underneath the tin roofs of the cabin line. We need it, and it came at the perfect time, right as evening program ended. I can almost hear our flowers cheering as it continues to fall in a steady soft drizzle.

Breakfast today was my favorite, mainly because of the grits. Chewy, cheesy grits, sausage and biscuits. Our Encore table is always full of alternatives. At breakfast, this includes bagels, cream cheese, hard boiled eggs, granola and grapenuts. Lunch today was a camper favorite…cheese quesadillas, with bean and sour cream dip, salsa, and corn and bean salsa. Dinner was also a hit…bow tie pasta with red and white sauce, homemade by Chef Terry with Italian bread sticks, and a Caesar salad that was yummy. Lemon squares, lovingly made by cooking classes were dessert. I will brag on our kitchen as well. It always takes a week or two to hit their stride with quantity especially, but by this session, they aim to please…and they are right on the mark.

We have some really exciting changes coming to camp this year. I often tell people that we hire slowly and keep people a really LONG time. I wrote in early July that we are excited to announce that long time Illahee “girl” Kris Campbell is back to stay. Kris has been with us full time since 2003, married her beau Jeremy (a.k.a Soup) Campbell whom she met at camp, but then left after last summer while Soup pursued his master’s degree. That’s enough good news for the year, but there’s more! Dave Hartsock, our tennis pro (also since 2003), will be joining us full time January 1st as our year round programs director. He and his bride Nicole will move to Brevard from Dayton to join our team. Dave has a real eye for excellence in programming, and a gift of encouragement. We are thrilled to announce these additions. What does it all mean? That every summer will be the BEST SUMMER EVER!

Tonight’s evening program is not complicated on one level, but hard to explain on another. If I were to ask ten campers what their favorite evening program is, nine of them would say Airband! It just has that Illahee “status.” In a nutshell, each cabin and double cabin picks a song and choreographs a dance routine. On the surface it seems pretty simple, but it’s not just a “music video” remix. The more obscure or creative the song, the better. One of the cuter performances tonight was a “mashup” between the Andy Griffith Show theme song and Beyonce’s Single Ladies. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and Elvis’ Hound dog were also popular. It’s a great time for girls to get on stage and also a great time to negotiate the performance with cabin mates. The rain is slowing down. I want to go get in my bed before it stops. That’s one of the simple pleasures of camp I just don’t want to miss. Sleep well. Gordon.