We awoke this morning to a beautiful blanket of mist rising over the lake, which was soon washed away by the warm sun.
On my way to breakfast I was passed by 2 curve girls portaging canoes. When I asked them where they were going they told me that, as part of their training for a push trip they are working towards, they are carrying canoes everywhere they go today.
In the dining hall I got high fived by a Salamander (11 year old boy) wearing a purple tutu with a matching marker moustache. Inquiring about the occasion, I was told “it’s a beautiful day in Algonquin Park.” During announcements I saw a kid who was horribly bullied out of his school this year sitting between two boys with their arms around his shoulders and a big smile on his face.
After breakfast we welcomed back our first round of Junior overnights, two cabins of 7 and 8 year olds with faces full of smiles, dirt, and marshmallow goo.
It wasn’t even 9am and I had already witnessed the friendship, freedom, adventure, and ambition that only summer camp can give. I wished I could bottle it up and give it to every kid in the world.
We’re grateful to be at that point in the summer where the weather is in the perfect sweet spot of sunny but not oppressive. The horses were happy to get out on the trails, second session campers were exited to try out our new BB gun range, and kids in all sections are enthusiastically working towards their thirds awards so they can earn the personal pride, community celebration, and ice cream that comes along with them.
Evening activities were a blast tonight, with Capture the Canvas (where campers dip their hands in paint and have to make their mark on staff trying to run and hide from them), Counsellor on a Hot Tin Roof (where campers disguise themselves and try to fool their counsellors about who’s who), and an Iron Chef campfire cooking competition.
We can’t wait for all the special moments, big and small, that tomorrow will bring.
