The Sari Diaries- Sunday 7/17/22

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Wowzas! This was a whirlwind of a weekend in the best way possible! Since I last wrote to all of you, we had our final day of first session, hosted a fantastic Visiting Weekend and second session has officially begun. Needless to say, things have been busy, but a wonderful kind of busy! And here are the details of our day today…

As the buses were pulling out of Northbrook Court to head to #TheRanch2022, eight week campers began returning to camp. Their counselors were excitedly waiting for them at the top of the hill to welcome them back for the best second session ever! Once back at camp, campers had an afternoon of slip n sliding, trampball and other games around camp! And then as the buses pulled into camp, the big crowd who was already here reported to the top of the hill to sing “We Welcome You To Chippewa” to all those campers getting off the bus for second session. The energy was crazy and the hugs were heartwarming…campers were elated to be back at camp and reunited with their second session friends. New campers who poured off the buses were greeted with smiling faces and hugs even from those they didn’t know- they dove right in! We then headed to the Center Fire Circle to announce cabins!

For the remainder of the afternoon, cabins traveled in packs around camp touring camp, playing games and unpacking. By dinner, everybody was settled and excited for our traditional first night spaghetti dinner! The Adler Lodge was full of happy, smiling and loud cheering Chippies. Lakeview stopped at each table to help them sing their cabin songs and the cheering concluded with a huge rendition of “A Chippewa Girl.” And then we tried something new- something that I think will be an annual second session tradition. We had a huge ice cream sundae bar for dessert…it was outstanding!

On par with everything else today, tonight’s Second Session Friendship Fire was also full of energy. After singing “Walking,” we had a talking contest in which Julia N, Talia S and Lucy O all tied as this summer’s champions. I could not believe how long they could carry on a conversation…with themselves! It was hysterical and the entire fire circle was laughing. The CR-Singers sang “Cats in The Cradle,” and while there were many participants, I was most impressed with Maya M who is a brand new camper as of today, and got up to sing with the Chippy Choir- it was awesome! We also made rain, heard “A Life That’s Good” by The Ladies, and threw in Keylogs representing all cities present at CRC this session. The opening campfire was spectacular and it definitely got this session off on the right foot!

Now everybody is back in their cabins, happy to be establishing a new night time routine with their second session families. As I walked through the cabins tonight, there was lots of excitement about showing off their newly set-up areas and campers really seem to be transitioning into (or back into) camp life well. The general vibe on Dam Lake right now is very positive…campers and staff alike are happy to be here, and to be with each other.

Right along with all of these young Chippies, I am looking forward to another fantastic session. We know we have something special going this summer, and I am so excited for the campers who arrived today to jump into it all, and feel the happiness of spending their summer at CRC. They are in for a real treat and they got a taste of that today!

That’s all for tonight but be sure to check out the photos on Waldo (album code crc22). Thanks for reading- have a nice night!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari