Posted by: Logan Landry

What a stellar (second) first day of activities at Birch Rock Camp! We started off the day with the classic: eggs, bacon, and home fries (with of course, a vegetarian option that Josh Garcia agrees is equally as delicious). We then introduced our new campers to the idea of clean-up, a time where the cabin bands together to accomplish something greater than the sum of its parts. The sounds of rustling sheets being carefully folded, and brooms swishing across wooden floorboards could be heard from the top of the hill to the bottom. Items were neatly tucked away under beds, into trucks, and stuffies arranged with the utmost care.

This quickly took a turn at lunch when the gauntlet was thrown down: Noah “TNT” Thompson challenged Jonah “Neptune” Keates for ownership of the activities in between, like Lawngames, Tennis, Mountain Biking, and any other non-claimed activities. The challenge for Lawngames, a game of tetherball to be played at snack. Quickly, a coalition formed. The unclaimed activities, led by Luis Galvez, rose in defiance. They could not simply be thrown around at the whims of the Gods of the Field and Waterfront, and the Coalition of Non-Assigned Activities (CoNAA) formed. Their fate is still in flux as the battle continues across the activities.

At snack, the mood was tense. The food was quickly forgotten as campers gathered around the tetherball court for the showdown. Arms were swung, “ropes” were called, and in the end, TNT was victorious, claiming Lawngames for the field. CoNAA was distraught as their wishes were thrown to the side, overruled by their more powerful counterparts. 

In badge news, Rowen W was the first camper of the second session to earn a badge! Earning his Williams, the Jr. Lacrosse badge! That is super impressive considering he has never played lacrosse before, and Charlie Lansdale, our resident Spoon Slinger, was incredibly impressed. 

Things refused to calm down from there, with an epic game of Tug-O-War taking place between the lower camp cabins during second general. It was Hilton on Hilton, Bees Hive on Hornets Nest, and a surprising upset coming from some of our littlest guys defeating their big kid rivals.

Overall, it was an absolutely epic day on the hill capped-off by an amazing chicken and rice dish coming out of Jon’s smokin’ kitchen. Finally, we brought out the champion, Noah “TNT” Thompson to announce another classic, Capture the Flag! Energy was high, and the post-dinner rush faded by the time the lights out bells were ringing. 

Best Bed: Oracle B.

Best Cabin: Hilton B

Supercamper: Noah O. 

Editor’s Note: The last photo in today’s blog is the Maine Wilderness Adventure (MWA) group starting their three week experience around Maine. The first part of the trip is hiking.