The Sari Diaries- Sunday 7/21/19

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

We had a truly lovely day here at #TheRanch2019 and as I sit back to reflect on all that happened, I can’t help but smile. It was our first Cabin Day of the session and our last Town Day of the summer (though there are only two total), and I feel confident that the time cabins spent together was both fun and meaningful. And now, I will share the deets…

This morning was our CRC Sunday Morning Breakfast. Ruth’s Special was a s’mores pancake and campers went crazy for it. After enjoying pancakes, omelets and scrambles, campers went back to their cabins to get ready for town day. Excitement was brewing as cabins discussed where they wanted to eat lunch, mapped out a plan of what stores they wanted to visit and what flavor fudge they were going to taste. And then we loaded the buses & vans, and were off!

Per usual, it was fun to infiltrate the streets of Minocqua with Chippies. Be it Kobe Sushi, Ottos or The Thirsty Whale, there were cabins full of happy campers enjoying their meals. And walking between stores, you couldn’t avoid seeing other Chippies (not that you’d want to)- there were groups of giggling campers & counselors loving life outside the trees of CRC. While we all know that Chippewa is our happy place, it’s nice to get out once in a while…once or twice a summer…to remember what the real world, outside our bubble, is like. But after a couple of hours, we were all ready to get back to the place that we adore.

Upon our return back to camp, each cabin had an activity planned. In the cabin of Trailriders, they re-created in an old-school Chippewa program- Secret Pals Day- and they loved it! The cabin of Wagon Ridge enjoyed an afternoon swim in the lake with their counselors. Meanwhile, Circle C created a spa in their cabin that was visited by the campers of C-C. Other cabins practiced for the much anticipated Cabin Lip Sync which is a week from today. Regardless of the activity- each and every cabin had an hour of quality time together!

Before dinner, the Tan Team met in the South Field while the White Team went to the North Field. It was the first official 2019 Songfest Practice. This tends to be one of the most exciting Songfest Practices each summer because the teams learn their themes (which are a surprise to Cliff, Lisa, Sophie, the Neutrals and myself). The Grand & Chief Sachems along with the rest of the CITs from each team have been working towards this day for quite a bit of time and today was the big reveal. While I don’t know the themes, campers left these meetings very excited…so my guess is that they are pretty awesome!

After a pizza dinner, Big & Little Sisters got in costume and did some final prep for the night. Second session Big and Little Sister Night was a hit- from Juice Chug to Egg Toss to an insane Obstacle Course, big and little sisters traveled around camp participating in amazing activities. The finale of the evening took place in the theater where the top performing big and little sisters were brought up on stage for a quiz show. At that point, I was in the theater and observed a couple of things that were quite notable: 1) The CITs managed to make this part of the evening fun for everybody…not just those on the stage. They got the audience involved, put on an excellent show and were extremely energetic the entire time. 2) Cabin mates at this camp love each other a lot. For each pair that called up, I looked into the audience to see the cabin mates of these pairs going wild. The sincere happiness that these girls demonstrated for each other blew me away. A special shout-out to Juj W and Allie C who were soooooo excited for Emma H when she was called on stage- it was pretty cool. Once on stage, the details that these campers knew about their camp siblings was impressive…but after three elimination rounds, there was only one pair left…Samantha R & Julia N, were crowned the 2019 Big and Little Sister Night Champions!

Before signing off, I must also add that we had two very important visitors (three if you include the dog) with us today. My parents made the trek up to spend the day at camp…they loved seeing CRC in action- I believe it was their first Cabin Day experience. And Riley (the dog) basked in all of the attention that the Chippewa community gave her. Each year when my parents visit, I feel a renewed sense of pride in this place and the people who call it home. I say it all the time in these posts but it’s just the truth- there is a certain vibe, a warmth, and a genuine kindness that people feel when they are here. Those who spend their summers here sometimes don’t even realize it, but to a visitor, it is obvious…and it’s nice to have visitors to remind us of this fact :).

And there you have it- the conclusion of week five at CRC was officially a success. While I cannot believe that five weeks have already passed, I am so excited for what’s ahead. The last couple of weeks at camp are full of action that will absolutely, positively not disappoint. So here we go- it will be fast but it will be incredible…here’s to hoping we can take in each moment as it comes and appreciate each and every one of them!

Thanks for reading tonight, have a wonderful evening!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari