Yesterday we were in full activities with the sun shining all around us. Samantha Himel had the BIGGEST smile on her face when I saw her after she had gotten up on the boom yesterday for the very first time. She told me she couldn’t wait for Friday to come so she could try and ski on the long rope. I haven’t heard if she was successful or not but I’m sure I’ll see her at flagpole tonight. 

Last night our evening program was the “Miss Ugly” PA Pageant. Each cabin was responsible for dressing up their PA in costume, making them as unique as possible, giving them a name, creating  a fun fact and a special talent.  The campers gathered in Happy Camper Hall for the Pageant.  The PA’s had fun strutting their stuff down the cat walk and then each contestant was interviewed and shared their name and fun fact.  The judges met and narrowed it down to the 5 final contestants.  At this point the 5 finalist performed their talent, and I use that term loosely, and the judges took note.  The judges then took it down to the final 3 PA’s and they had to perform a solo lip sync.  Sydney Salit, Alana Bercu and Julia Rudman were the last 3 “Ugly PA’s” standing.  After Sydney wowed us with her talent of talking to ghosts she danced her heart out.  Julia, who let us know that she was in love with Shrek, used her clogging talent to have a solid lip sync performance and Alana, otherwise known as Stacy, took her love of q-tips to the next level!  The PA’s were all amazing and such great sports through the whole evening.  In the end, the crowd favorite was Alana Bercu and she was crowned Miss Ugly PA 2012.

Outside my office window I see camper Jane Lovett swimming like a fish in Blue Lake.  Harley Cohen, Carly Siegel, Jessica Schlossberg and Ava Silverglade are bouncing up and down on the water tramp. The fishing pontoon boat is pulling away from the dock equipped with worms, fishing poles and eager campers.  Ski boats are buzzing the lake pulling single and double skiers. The smell of camp fire is in the air as outdoor cooking must be preparing something delicious. Our sailing class is braving the rough waters of Blue Lake today and all sail boats are upright and moving quickly across the water. We are a very active camp always moving in many directions.

Tonight the PA’s will pack up the white van, load the tents, camp chairs and their water bottles and head to Lakeland Union High School to walk the night away for Relay For Life. Every year our oldest age group participates in Relay for Life.  Not only is it a unique bonding experience for all of them it is an opportunity for them to give in a meaningful and productive way.  Every summer they return back to camp after this event feeling good about what they accomplished.  I feel they are excited to be a part of this touching event.  Without a doubt they will return to camp knowing more about one another than they did before they departed camp.

Some of my former campers who were also former staff members came by for a visit today. It was so good to see their smiling faces. They told me they miss camp life more than they could ever express. They stalk the web site everyday and read the Blog post religiously. They tell me they wish they could stay forever.  I secretly wish everyone could stay here forever. I wish I never had to say goodbye to anyone.  I can tell, like most of us, camp is their happy place. Camp is a place where they can be who they are….a place where they discovered their true self.
This evening we will play Jeopardy by cabin groups. Individual cabins will answer trivia questions for Agawak Dollars. The money each cabin collects will then be used to purchase cake toppings and frostings for their cabins cake. It should be a fun but messy evening program.
 

Stay tuned for more Agawak fun.
Mary & Staff