It was another great day here at Camp Timberlake. As the sun started to rise and the taps went off this morning, the boys got out of bed and headed down to the Tucker Inn for breakfast. We feasted on waffles with blueberries and strawberries in honor of the 4th. After that we headed to the morning yell, which not only unites are campers, but also helps wake up those not so morning people. From there we headed to chapel to sing great songs led by John, Winston, and Colby. We then heard a true story from director, John Menendez about his time in Nicaragua and learned about how Jesus wipes our sins away.

Now off to everyones favorite time, cabin clean up. It’s time to start our day full of activities. In cooking today, we made everyone’s favorite desert, S’more pockets. Which for those of you who don’t know, is basically all the deliciousness of a S’more but without the mess. Kids love these things more than bears love honey. In soccer today we played a game and practiced on basic skills taught by the great Nick Leonard. Everyone did awesome, Ben S. is one of the many that stood out where he played an amazing game and demonstrated great teamwork. Now time for a break to eat lunch. While eating footlong chili dogs and munching on fries we had a surprise appearance from George Washington, who led us in the great song of Proud to be an American. I’ve never seen so many kids sing that loud in my life. It was amazing.

It’s after lunch now and off to the best time, rest time. Then to get a nice little sugar rush in at the trading post, where sour punch straws and gatorade seem to be fan favorites. We also had a freedom free swim during free time where kids could go on the blob, (which if you haven’t seen you need too) or practice kayaking, canoeing, or strokes we learned in swimming. Now back to our activities. We had a great first day in Tennis, where instructor Zach Taylor taught forehands and backhands and showed us how to play games like Jail and King of the Court to help perfect our skills. It was a beautiful day on Lake Doris where we worked on things like wet exits and T rescues. Jake L. got his roll on his first try which is completely amazing, with the help of great teaching from Harris and Houston. On the other side of the lake we have another favorite, Canoeing. Matthew L and Liam Q learned and demonstrated how to un swamp a canoe. Up on the Mark, we have professional Fencer Matt Chambers teaching. Rumor has it he has 7 gold medals. No records are found. Spencer M. led the safety talk, while working towards a medal. Matt taught how to lunge and advanced retreat moves. Daniel V won a fencing favorite game, called Ultimate Fencing Simon Says. Next door on Spencers Green we head over to team sports led by Carter Boone where Seth W and Will H did a great job running routes in Football. We also had Hunter S and Jake L who showed off some talent on the field today.

As the activities start to end we head to dinner where we got to enjoy honey ham, cheesy potatoes, and broccoli. The kids couldn’t get enough broccoli, we ate so much the kitchen ran out, I’m still in shock. After our stomachs are full once again the evening activity is announced, all of Tucker Inn goes nuts. We’re playing Mission Impossible. This game is even cooler than it sounds. Then off to some post evening cabin activities which include: S’more making, free swim (we love swimming), laser tag, and camp outs, just to name a few.

Tonight was also very special. We had tribal elections from the great Seminole and Iroquois tribes.

Seminole

Chief- John William H.

Med Man- Scott R.

Lookouts- Nathan Y. & Whit C.

Iroquois

Chief- Ford L.

Med Man- Blake C.

Lookouts- Nick G. & Daniel V.

Congratulations to everyone on both tribes.

As the sun goes down and all the fun activities for the day begin to end, we start heading back to our cabins for a night of rest so we can do it all again tomorrow. It’s been a long but very exciting day here and it’s time to say goodnight. We can’t be more excited for what tomorrow has in store, it’s always an adventure here at Camp Timberlake. We couldn’t ask for a better first full day. Happy Birthday America and God Bless.

Luke Upshur

Little Piney Counselor

Proud Iroquois