The past two days have been really good examples of why Crystal Lake Camps is the greatest place on earth. World Cup Soccer Day was unlike any other. The face paint brought out our brightest colors – but definitely not as bright as our smiles. The day started out normal with lots of encouragement, cheers (at one point to cheer for both Greece and Spain at the same time, the only cheer to be heard throughout camp was the word, “Grain!” resounding across the game field).
It was during the final game though that all happiness broke loose. It had been a long and fun day of soccer, and everyone was at a happy level of encouragement towards the two teams. The sky was a gorgeous cotton candy pink with flecks of orange at the tips of the clouds as it washed over the field. It wasn’t until the final ten minutes or so that suddenly the clouds opened up and suddenly it was pouring.
Pouring.
It was so unexpected and out of nowhere that it was almost comical as we all looked around for anywhere to hide, only to realize that we were literally so far from any cover and standing on a soccer field far away from the rest of camp. Without any warning of rain, none of us had brought any sort of rain gear and so we all just seemed to agree that we were going to get absolutely soaked and rushed to the edge of the field to cheer on the remaining two teams.
And as if that wasn’t enough to get us all hyped up, a double rainbow then appeared to the right side of the field. A double. Rainbow. It was beautiful and had everyone going nuts as people slid around on the wet grass to make a makeshift slip n’ slide and at one point people slid across the field to give the players a well deserved couple seconds of break.
The most comical thing of it all though as we started to huddle for warmth together, was the fact that directly to the left of the field right over boys’ camp, it was completely dry. The cloud was the most gorgeous shade of blue as the little puffs of pink passed across the sky and it was so comical that while we were all soaking wet to the bone, everywhere else was completely and totally dry.
But it didn’t even matter, which was the best part. Rain or shine, we were all having the absolute best time. Sure the face paint had been washed away with the rain but regardless our smiles remained and the love and encouragement towards others was still the most prominent.
And then tonight was Talent Show. If Session 1 talent show wasn’t any of an indicator of how amazing these nights are, then man there are no words to describe it. We had so many hilarious acts that literally had me and others laughing on the floor – I kid you not. I wish I could display just how amazing and well thought out every skit was, but half of it didn’t even make sense and it was still the funniest thing. Dunwoody did their best impression of the most insane Starbucks order you could ever come up with, the Trailblazers reenacted the little figures they’d had on their maps at the campsite they’d stayed at on their overnight. At one point there was a beat boxing competition and suddenly all of Atira had turned into preteen YouTube singing sensation boys in sweatpants and snapbacks. We had an appearance from water benders, a stellar performance of Build Me Up Buttercup (the act that took us to the floor in laughter) and then to top it all off we were all quite literally Rick Rolled when told we were going to be presented with a very serious song.
Gosh I love camp. It’s nights and days like these past couple days that just remind me and everyone else of how special of a place CLC is. This is a place you can express yourself however you’d like. You can do whatever skit you desire or imagine in a dream or during a quick moment with your cabin and friends. And everything is just so gosh darn beautiful. Today I was up in the trees with the Trailblazers as they tackled the ropes course, and looking out over the tops of the trees as we swung around the elements, I could hear the laughter of the campers echoing across the branches as the sky was bright and shining. These Trailblazers powered through the high ropes course and were cheering each other on every step of the way as they made their way through the elements and to the zip line.
Though the session is coming to an end and tomorrow is the last full class day, there’s never a moment where we feel we haven’t gotten absolutely everything we can from camp. Every day and moment is filled with a lesson, smile and a memory that we will remember and talk about for years to come. My stomach will still ache from laughter when my friends and I recall moments from our LT and CIT summers, or moments we’ve had as campers that we look back on and realize how lucky we were to be in that moment with the people we were with. This session has given us so many of those moments, and I’m so excited to see what other memories we can provide these next couple days.
As I write this, the banquet planning group is sitting in the back of the lodge preparing for our Finding Nemo banquet. It’s hilarious listening to them recall past games they played during banquets, what fun activities they loved as campers and want to play with the campers this session, and what amazing decorations they can make so that the waterfront really looks like the bottom of the sea. It’s so great to work in a place where the people who are here are here because they want to be and because this camp is a part of them and their childhood. And the best part is we get to share that love for camp with the campers here so that when they hopefully become staff one day, they can do the exact same.
So tomorrow is the last full day of classes, and it’s going to be a great one for sure. How could you not when you’re at camp?!
All the Love,
Zoë
Social Media Director/Camp Photographer
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