Not So Hot!

Usually in the South, when it’s hot…it’s thick. Yucky, sweaty thick. Humidity…or as the big tackle for the short-lived Memphis Showboats of the USFL said back in 1984 after a particularly hot and hard practice, “this humility’s killing me.” 🙂 As I predicted,the weather folks fell far short of the the predicted 97 degrees. It may have hit 90, but I think it was more like 88 with low humidity. In the shade, it was downright comfortable. When I left Heigh Ho at the farm, it was back in the mid 70’s and cooling fast. I LOVE living in the mountains with a nod to those of you in the concrete jungle. I understand that it hit 107 in Nashville and other big cities across the Southeast! Now, that’s hot. The great news is that we had another absolutely gorgeous day, cloudless and blue skies. Bill came in early and whipped up his terrific pancake batter that he has been perfecting over the past 10 years in camp’s kitchen. I am at that stage where I really “weigh” (no pun intended) most everything that finds my mouth to make sure it’s worth it. I could not pass on the pancakes. They’re that good. Laurie insists on link sausages whenever there are pancakes, and I did have willpower there, but most didn’t (I don’t blame them). There were also plenty of fresh strawberries cut to top them off.

I left early this morning to pick up the Pineview girls at the farm. Again, the accolades were overwhelming. The campers (and staff) love it out there. We do still have Kuykendall reserved for the summer, and I felt a little sad that it was left unused, especially since it usually fills reservation slots a full year before the requested date. I was happy that a couple of cabins on Hillbrook decided to take their Cabin Adventure night out there and hike, cook out and enjoy the area all to themselves. Heigh Ho is happily ensconced at the farm. I left them a little while ago well into enjoying s’mores and after a great dinner of grilled burgers and dogs and all the fixings. Our carpentry crew finished a new dock on the larger of the spring fed swimming ponds, and girls were enjoying a chance to beat the afternoon heat in the cool mountain water with counselors…and under the watchful eyes of the designated lifeguards.

Every day first thing in the morning (so today after we brought the Pineview girls back from the farm), our leadership team meets. We start with a discussion of any campers we need to bring up. Reasons could range from a bout of homesickness (don’t think there is any left), anyone in the Wishing Well with the nurses, great girls who just make us happy (most). We talk about how we can support staff, and then logistics for the many moving parts that make up each camp day. On Wednesdays, our Heads of Hills join us, and on Mondays, the non-cabin staff do.  Not much slips by. It’s nice to start the day on the same page.

Our son Turner got home today from his three-week session as a Counselor Assistant (Junior Counselor) at an area camp. He had a great time in a cabin with a group of thirteen year-olds, and paddling and backpacking as an activity. It’s nice to see both of our own kids in the family “mission” this summer. Gardner, our daughter is on staff at Illahee this summer. She had a cabin during three-week, and is taking a lot of the pictures we post as well as leading activities.

Tonight, the rest of the cabins on Hillbrook had other adventures. Cabins 1 and 4 headed to the campfire area and made s’mores and roasted bananas (with chocolate and marshmallows of course) in the campfire. They had a big time. A cabin made ice cream. Several made tie dyed t-shirts. Pineview did a reverse scavenger hunt and judging from their enthusiasm, had a big time. Teams had tasks like going off the Tarzan rope, drawing a picture of Laurie in chalk on the driveway, making oreo cookie sculptures, catch a tadpole, write a thank-you note to Gretchen, dress someone up like their counselor (without using her clothes), make an inspirational speech…they were all judged on quality. 🙂

Tomorrow, we slide into our first weekend…Saturdays in our camp world are much like other days…pretty perfect. It is hard to believe that we have finished a week. Everyone is happy and healthy and loving being in the Heavenly!