The Sari Diaries- Wednesday 7/25/18

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Post Realm life at Chippewa seems to be going well, and while campers and staff are pretty tired, we are still riding the Realm excitement wave. A highlight for me this morning was a conversation I had with Ava L who told me about her experience sleeping outside last night. She explained that the sky was beautiful and that she got to see the Little Dipper. She then excitedly described her house’s plans to procure two green balls…those are quite valuable in the game of Realm! The conversation only lasted two or three minutes but her enthusiasm for every piece of this big event, and frankly everything Chippewa, was a good reminder (not that I needed it) of just how impactful everything that we do here actually is. Now, onto the details of our day…

The end of Realm was full of planning, action and fun. The biggest battle of the game happened this afternoon when the Tans attacked the White’s castle. There are a number of different elements to a castle attack that get every single team member involved. The catapult team, who has been training for quite some time, was working to hit the catapult targets. Ellie W did an incredible job- her aim was impeccable and she hit both targets within the first minute of the attack. The Tan longbowers were trying to hit the archery targets and they were pretty impressive with their accuracy as well. The Braves, Hunters and Warriors from the Tan team were using tennis balls to try to get the six smaller targets on the front of the castle. While all of this was happening, the White Team was working to protect their castle. The Chiefs were using dodgeballs to try to get their attackers out. And the Warriors, Hunters and Braves were fiercely shielding the six smaller targets while trying to dodge balls being thrown at them. It was intricate, and each piece of the puzzle helped to form an amazing and intense battle…there was even music to add to the scene. In the end, the castle was not completely taken down…the Tans worked hard to get eight of the ten total targets but the Whites managed to stop them from taking out the final two.

The game ended shortly after the castle attack and because Realm is about more than just taking out houses, it was unclear who the winner was. Twills (the Realm currency) had to be collected from each Tan and White and house money was turned in as well. Certain industries really added value to their team’s total points. After all of the points were counted, the Neutrals read an awesome poem to let us all know that the Whites came out victorious. A huge congratulations to both teams. Every single member of this camp should be proud of themselves- the physical and emotional energy that was put into this event was impressive. Win or lose, I am confident that much was gained from this year’s Realm experience :).

After a bit of clean-up, both of camp and ourselves, we welcomed the boys from Camp Ojibwa to CRC for a social. The weather wasn’t very cooperative so we had an indoor luau where leis were made, fruit kabobs were eaten and the dancing was plentiful. It was very sweet to see many siblings reuniting and friends excited to see each other. A special shout-out to Grace F for giving her brother a full rundown of Realm. He was mesmerized by her description and was eager to share the details with his cabin.

And that sums up our day at #TheRanch2018. It was a good one- that’s for sure! Thanks for reading tonight…check back tomorrow for a post from Soph-Aloaf.

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari