Second Session is off and running! The first day of a session is like Christmas to a camp director and today did not disappoint.  All morning long we got the chance to greet old friends and meet new friends as we ramped up for a fantastic two weeks. 

After checking in and meeting their cabin and counselors, the guys headed to the lake for a quick dip as they completed their swim check. Everybody did great as they swam along, but there were more than a few excited glances at the blob, rope swing and high jump elements they will get to enjoy during the free swims this session. 

Next we headed up to our tribal initiation. We have two tribes here at camp, the powerful Golden Eagles and the Mighty Black bears. We often describe our tribes as a family within a family. Initiation is a ceremony where we celebrate bringing all of our first year campers into their tribe families. In these families the boys will form bonds that last a lifetime, learn to win with humility and lose with grace and above all, to respect one another. 

Our new Black Bears are:

Harrison B, Zade B, Samuel C, Fletcher C, Hays D, Leo G, Benicio G, Jack H, Jack L, Marco L, Levi M, John N, Patrick N, Mateo PP, Max R, Oliver R, Brody R, John U, Jayden V

Our new Golden Eagles are:

Hudson C, Riggs C, Davin G, Levi G, Jackson H, Wyatt H, Eli J, Liam L, Lewis M, Brady M, Bram O, Nixon Q, Haran R, Alex S, Owen T, Michael T, Jackson W

After initiation we enjoyed a delicious dinner of country fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. Many campers also enjoyed the salad bar and the noodle bar. Camp Timberlake is famous for its food and tonight’s dinner certainly didn’t disappoint. We also celebrated several birthdays today as Davin G and Luke H were serenaded with a raucous chorus of Happy Birthday and then chowed down on a delicious oreo dream dessert. 

After combining three of my favorite things (fires, safety, and drills) and running our fire safety drill, we then got down to the business of playing our first tribal game of the summer: Sock War. If you’ve never played sock war, picture a large scale capture the flag style game where you throw a balled up sock at your opponent to tag them out. If you’re familiar with sock war, be sure to ask your camper about the brand new arena we debuted this summer. We had a bit of rain delay but that didn’t dampen our spirits as we fought for the victory. It was a tightly contested game, with Charlie V scoring the flag for the Golden Eagles in the final round. The first two rounds came down to points, however, so we’ll have to wait and see who won in the morning. 

As the sun sets here at Timberlake, camp is buzzing with the sounds of cabins winding down, hanging out and getting ready for bed. We packed a lot of action and fun into this first day and there’s sure to be even more packed into tomorrow. Be sure to check back here each night for an update on all that’s going on at Timberlake, and thanks so much for sharing your sons with us this summer. 

John Menendez

Director, Camp Timberlake

Proud Golden Eagle