The Sari Diaries- Sunday 8/7/16

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

It was a beautiful day in the Northwoods! We legit had perfect weather for our final Sunday at #TheRanch2016. We maximized our time here today and squeezed in lots of fun and excitement. I am eager to give you all the details, so here it goes…

We had a full day of regular activities- we had first and second B Day activities followed by third, fourth and fifth A Day activities. I had the privilege to drive a wave runner during fourth and fifth period sailing. I was impressed with the sailors and instructors…the campers were finding wind and enjoying their time on the lake. It was fun for me to be out there and I think the campers and staff were entertained to see me on the water :). While out there, I got to see a lot of Boots and Cactus campers hanging out on the stand up paddle boards. They were playing games and loving being together!

After lunch we headed to the Center Fire Circle for a special campfire. Sadly, some of our campers and staff are leaving tomorrow for high school related commitments (Fall sports and the start of school). Some of those Chippies are in Lakeview and as part of their final year as campers, it is tradition that they speak at the final campfire of the summer. Because they won’t be here on Wednesday night, they had an opportunity to prepare something to read today. They spoke beautifully about their experiences as campers and what camp has meant to them. They were articulate and thoughtful in their descriptions, thank-yous and advice to current campers. They were quite emotional and to be honest, I was too. These campers have been at camp for what feels like forever and it is hard to believe that their time as campers is coming to an end. More on that later though…for now, there is plenty of camping left :).

The big event of the day was Chippy Awards. Lakeview has been working incredibly hard to put on the awards show of the century! The theme was “C-R-See The World.” It was very well done and they thought of every single detail. The decorations were amazing, the food was delicious and the awards were very cute. Izzy S let me know in the midst of the awards that the night was “unreal” and I couldn’t agree with her more! Campers and staff dressed up with their cabins and age groups in a variety of costumes. Trailriders dressed as nerds, the male staff dressed up as characters from “The Simpsons,” Bowed Legs were Hippies and the second year JCs dressed as lost Songfest themes. The entire theater was packed with excited Chippies who were pleasantly surprised with the amazingness of the night.

And now we are continuing to savor every moment between now and Thursday morning. Tomorrow will be another fun-filled day and night. We know the time will fly but for now we will just appreciate our time together on Dam Lake with the very best people around! Thanks for reading- have a good night!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari