Technology moves a heck of a lot faster than we do, but it is fun to utilize some of it to give you all a glimpse of all the fun we are having. With that in mind, here are a couple of items of interest: we will try to upload pictures in almost real time throughout the day so you do not have to wait until our night ends to see your girls. Refresh often, especially after evening program as pictures may be added while you browse. This area of our site is password protected with your own unique user combination. If you need help logging in, email Kris or Carol in our camp office.
We are going to start to play with Twitter a little bit for some real time pictures, short videos and up-to-the minute goings-on at camp. You can follow us @campillahee. Go to twitter.com and sign up for a free account and then follow is! We’ll see how that plays out!
What a super high-energy day! We continued our dry streak, but it was not nearly as hot…a very pleasant mid-eighties day with a great breeze all day long. Each of a camper’s ten activities meets every other day; M-W-F are “pine day” schedules with five activities and the other five “tree day” activities meet T-Th-Sat. There was quite a bit of schedule shuffling right out of the gate, mostly as girls met great counselors and found out what activities they were teaching. Remember, it’s about relationships first and foremost! It was really fun to walk around camp and see everyone starting fresh. One of the reasons we sign up for activities before camp is not to waste any time getting out of the gates. We also counsel our activity staff to avoid spending undue time on “too much information too soon.” Of course, safety is always a priority and some activities have progressions to make sure everything is super safe. But, some things can wait, and no one wants to sit around and listen to chit chat when there’s BIG FUN to be had.
I’ll have to be honest with you. Today is probably my least favorite day in the Illahee “food world.” When I was bragging about our leadership team last night, I neglected to mention the collective wisdom in the kitchen. Laurie oversees this most important facet of camp. Gone are the days of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and beanie weenies. Like ours, your family has a little more sophisticated palate. But some days, she throws caution to the wind, and comes up with a theme menu that is pretty kid friendly…not so much for a guy trying to defy gravity with his middle-aged waistline. I guess today is one of those days. It was the County Fair tonight. So…hot wings, salad (thank goodness), french fries, and funnel cakes. That fryer was busy tonight. I know I sound like a curmudgeon when I say thank goodness for the “Encore Table.” Turkey sandwiches, hummus, fruit, pasta salad. I’m confident she’ll “detox” us tomorrow. Laurie does the menus and offers sage advice, but we have three different managers from 3 different schools, a caterer and a chef on staff this summer. All have been with us for multiple years and know how to please “sophisticated” palates. When we do camp movies in the fall, I never have to hold my breath when someone asks how the food is, hoping for a positive answer. I know we’ll get positive reviews.
County Fair is a traditional evening program that got a revamp this winter in our planning. The addition of a dunk booth with Dave, Laurie and a number of counselors taking the plunge, a snow cone machine, pony rides and the traditional activities replete with face painting, a Moonwalk, and lots of games provided the evening’s entertainment. Energy was high, and a great time was had by all. Tomorrow, we’ll be hitting our groove and settling in to another fun day.
Once again thanks for the wonderful blogs and photos. Schuyler’s big smile on EVERY photo tells me that all is right in the Heavenly World and with my little/big girl! You all are the absolute BEST. Big thanks! Libby
Kudos to everyone – my heart was warmed once again as we drove into camp and Abigail was jumping out of the car before we even came to a complete stop! She has been counting down the hours with a HUGE smile on her face encouraging her family with notes on our bedroom doors that say “Don’t miss me too much – I love you bunches!” As always your photos speak volumes and I cannot thank you enough for your passion and devotion to these girls. Thanks a million!! Angie