Camp Echo Lake – Senior Village Life: Week 3 Recap
What a jam-packed week of lazy, crazy, bonding awesomeness we have had in the Senior Village this past week!!!
Wednesday was the fourth annual Lazy, Crazy, Bond-fire Special Day. It was the Senior Village’s second Special Day of the summer.
The day started out “lazy” as we slept in until 10am, followed by spending the morning in the lodge watching cartoons while eating sugary cereals and Pop Tarts.
When we finished being lazy, it was time for the “crazy” part of the day: crazy lineup, crazy relays, crazy messy madness, slip and slide, chipwiches and a pool party. The day finished with a bond-fire down at the Alawatchakeema Senior Village campfire area with various performances from our awesome music team members and, of course, s’mores! What a truly awesome day!!
On Thursday, the Senior Village took a trip to Great Escape, which is always a “great” day! It was the first time that the boys and girls went on their trip together. Rollercoasters, games, sunshine and food! What more could the Senior Villagers ask for? Needless to say, everyone had a truly amazing day!
Following up two great days, the Lower Village Boys and Girls headed back off camp for a trip to the movies. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed seeing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. After the movie, we headed for a surprise trip to Friendly’s for some ice cream, the perfect ending to an incredible couple of days.
Visiting Day in the Senior Village starts out much differently than it does in Main Camp, as “the running of the parents” is replaced by a calmer flow to the village.
It’s always great to meet the parents and families, and we love having the chance to talk with them. The incredible amount of food and candy that makes its way onto camp on Visiting Day is truly a sight to behold! Even after the post-Visiting Day candy party, there is still plenty of candy, baked goods and soda left over (Northwestern looked like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!).
You may be wondering what becomes of the excess candy. Halloween in July of course! Our Lower Villagers are given the opportunity to step up into leadership roles as they are in charge of setting up and running the event for the main campers to enjoy. We have various Halloween games, photos and our very own “spooky” museum.
Tribal is full of traditions and special events that all campers look forward to throughout the summer. Tribal Torch Lighting and the announcing of the Tribal themes is one of those events. This year’s themes were announced at the Tribal Torch Lighting ceremony. The themes are Marvel Comics (MOHAWK) and DC Comics (IROQUOIS). It looks like we are in store for some memorable Tribal sing songs and plaques this summer.
Tribal Track took place on Sunday night for the Senior Village with a closely fought contest between the teams. Iroquois won by a very narrow margin, 101-99.
Both trips have now departed with the Upper Village Boys & Girls West leaving Monday and the Upper Village Boys & Girls East leaving yesterday. This really is an amazing trip, visiting some of the best sights that Boston and Cape Cod have to offer. The trip itinerary includes: spending the day in Martha’s Vineyard, a walking tour around Salem, a tour of Fenway Park, a trip to the Science Museum and the Aquarium, an afternoon shopping in Quincy Market and a night spent at an improv show called “Sheer Madness.” This is one of the many privileges that the Senior Villagers enjoy. The trip offers excellent preparation for the 4n4 trip next summer.
Project Morry arrived on Monday night and will be staying with us until Thursday. It’s always a special experience having the Project Morry campers and staff here, as they bring a wonderful energy with them. They mix in with the Lower Villagers for electives, swim, “Bringing The Juice” and evening activities. We have flashlight sing with Tony, and a Senior Village campfire on their last night. During the week, campers from the Lower Village and Project Morry campers work together on a music and a mural project.
The Lower Villagers have a trip day to Fun Spot and Bowling this coming Thursday, and then depart for a 4-day/3-night trip to Vermont this coming Monday. The boys and girls travel separately on this trip, and have reverse itineraries.
