I’m starting to write tonight toward the end of gutter sundaes…7 tubs of ice cream, a case of Hershey syrup, several cases of whipped cream, a box of sprinkles and about 12o feet of vinyl gutter. That’s right…the stuff that catches rain from your roof. Only this gutter has taken a trip through the Hobart. Did I mention, it’s all a “surprise”? Well, really the girls know, but they always wonder. The year of the Swine Flu scare, we did cancel, but most of us decided in hindsight that we’d rather risk it (for ourselves, not your girls 🙂 So, there’s always a little bit of doubt there.
Today was amazing. I love the last week of camp. I actually left this morning before anyone was up, did a candy run (you wouldn’t believe the Snickers, Kit Kats, Twix, and Skittles we go through and then made the beautiful journey over to the Nantahala River (means Land of the Noonday Sun in Cherokee). Our Trips Kayakers were on day two of their 3 day event, and I made it in time to run the shuttle and get Ben, our head, back up to the put-in. The Nanty is such a great river for a number of reasons. There is a culture of river runners who hang out at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, who are really great folks. Many of them have been fixtures since the seventies. Summer camps are integral to that fabric. In fact, the folks running the show over there all are former campers and learned their craft first in a camp boat. My mission was to see the girls in action and then to find some strategic spots along the river that I could film them. I also snapped some stills along the way, but video was the mission and I got some great footage.
As it turns out, our 8th graders were also on the Nanty today, albeit in rafts guided by capable NOC guides. If you are ever interested in extending your drop-off or pick-up and looking for adventure, the NOC is a great start (noc.com) as well as  visitwaterfalls.com, a great website for things to do around here. Anyway, this group enjoyed a trip down the river after a picnic lunch, and it was one of the prettiest days I can remember to be out in the “Kingdom.” After I saw the rafters off, I high-tailed it back to camp in time to catch the last activity period, and then a terrific dinner of pasta (two kinds) with red or white sauce, sauteed farmer’s market veggies, homemade pesto on the encore table, salad, breadsticks, and dirt cake for dessert. Usually reserved for final banquet, dirt cake is a concoction of chocolate pudding, oreo crumbles, gummy worms, served in a flower pot! It’s pretty popular.
Tonight, we were entertained first by our gymnasts, who wowed us with their aerial displays, and then by the cast of Sleeping Beauty, who delivered a terrific performance on stage. After our traditional goodnight arm-in-arm and the pine tree song, the girls headed up the hill to discover the gutters, lovingly prepared by the riding and non-cabin staffs. What a way to end the day. As I arrived home to finish writing tonight, I heard a tentative knock on the front door. I went around to answer it, and it was our CITs, who we had promised a movie on the big screen and cookie baking if they’d “clean up their act” (or at least their cabin)…which they did. I’m gonna check on them (and maybe score a cookie).