Saturday Games

The pottery studios are really hopping this session. When the girls are signing up for their activity schedules, pottery is so popular in fact, it tends to fill up the fastest, though archery, riflery and the Alpine Tower are right in there too. I think that’s because the girls are making really cool stuff in there: cups, bowls, sculptures, whistles, tiles, dishes, etc. It’s particularly exciting to see their faces when they throw their first pot on the wheel. It’s a little tricky to learn throwing on the wheel, and it can be frustrating at first, but with some tips from the instructors and practice, most girls figure it out. We finished firing a kiln full of pieces the other day, and everything looks awesome! Don’t be surprised to see some wonderfully colored, handmade pottery coming home with your camper.

After our morning of regular camp activities, and a classic lunch of hot dogs, baked beans and all the fixings, (oh, and let’s not forget rest hour!) the whole camp played a giant game of “Minute to Win It.” We took aspects of the popular TV game show and “campified” them to create a series of silly physical challenges. Each cabin group then competed in their lodges with the big finale in the gym. The games included, juggling balloons, stacking candy bars on your partner’s forehead, eating an oreo placed on your forehead (no hands!), and rolling an egg without touching it by fanning it with a piece of cardboard. You can imagine how funny these games are to watch, and how much fun they are to play with your friends.

There’s a long tradition at Rockbrook of something called the “Biltmore Train.” Year’s ago, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville ran a commercial dairy farm and sold dairy products to the local communities. This included a special ice cream truck that would make house calls, and in our case “camp calls.” Once a session, it would pull into camp and serve the girls almost unlimited (!) ice cream cones. Since the truck was decorated like a train, perhaps a reference to George Vanderbilt’s family business, our campers called it the “Biltmore Train.” Now that the Biltmore dairy has been closed (and replaced with a winery), we have our own ice cream cone extravaganza… buckets of ice cream, stacks of cones, and the girls going back for more, sometimes two, three or four times!  It’s a little decadent, but for all these girls, a once-a-year special treat.