Fourth of July
Posted by Jackie , 08 July 2010 11:10 AM
The past few days have been unbearably hot, and the fourth was no exception. The campers had a lazy morning that lasted until 10, while I ran in the Four on the Fourth race. I was up at 6:15 to eat breakfast and arrive at the race by 8. There were some 1,400 runners, I believe, and there were a few characters to make the run go faster. A few high school boys, in particular, dressed for the occasion: one wore a yellow leotard that covered his entire body - including his face - while another sported a superman cape and matching face paint. I ran with one of the other councilors, and we came in at 46:19. My goal was to run the entire four miles and finish under 50 minutes, and on both accounts the race was a success.
Upon returning to camp, I chaperoned a group of campers around in an activity called "First Ladies." The girls were broken into sixteen groups, each with a different first lady to represent (mine was Laura Bush). They went around to a number of stations, including "Creating a Campaign Slogan" - coming up with a cheer, "Political Debate" - sock wars, and "Building a Campaign Office" - building sand castle models relevant to each first lady. After dinner, the girls participated in a Brown v. Blue game of capture the flag. This match was only a practice round, as the real match (that counts for points in the summer-long Brown v. Blue battle) is held on the evening of parents' weekend.
Sadly, we did not see fireworks on the fourth. Instead, we watched them last night with a contingent of Wildwood (boy) campers who came for a social. Since Harrison, the nearest town and on the same lake as Pinecliffe, begins its annual fair on the Wednesday following the fourth, they save their firework show until Wednesday evening. Watching the show over the lake was enjoyable, but my favorite aspect of the evening's events was the boy-girl interaction. The boys' ages ranged from 9-12, and the circles that the campers danced around each other were hysterical to watch. Some girls danced in circles by themselves, and didn't look twice at the visiting boys; some boys played frisbee; some boys were brave enough to ask a girl to dance; many of these girls tried to run away in horror while their friends held them in place. To be 11 and at a social again...Such demonstrations make me extremely glad to be out of junior high.
Sounds like you're finding ways to have fun; aren't you glad you took extra sweaters :-) . . . look foward to seeing you soon!!!