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Summer Living

August 5, 2010

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Breakfast this morning made everyone happy. Rick served us his signature french toast, bacon, syrup, and cut fruit (cantaloupe, blueberries and blackberries). Like all the food he prepares for us at camp, this wasn’t something pre-made and frozen in a factory. He hand dipped each piece of bread, and grilled them all with a little sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon. No wonder everyone was so stuffed during morning assembly! But then after the first period of activities was done, there were plenty of girls interested in the chocolate chip muffins Liz baked for us. Not too surprising!

The rest of the morning was packed with our regular camp activities. With their new schedules, the girls were eager to climb the alpine tower, meet and ride a new horse, and learn the proper techniques of archery. Crafts are just about everywhere at camp, as well. Walk around and you are sure to spot all manner of media in the mix—fibers, string, clay, dyes, papers, paint, leather, fabrics, thread, yarns, markers, and all kinds of natural products. There’s creativity percolating in just about every corner.

Girl Summer Camp Horseback riding girl summer camp ropes course climber girl summer camp archery teaching

girl summer camp free timeWhile camp is definitely action packed, we also make sure to provide plenty of time when the girls can do what they want— time before lunch, right before dinner and right after dinner —freedom for swimming, hanging out in their cabin with friends, playing games on the hill, exploring the creek by “Curosty,” chatting with their counselor, preparing a skit for evening program, or just reading a book. It’s long been part of Rockbrook’s philosophy to make camp a welcome relief from the overly scheduled routine of life back at home and school. We believe kids need a special place, a haven, where they can set their own pace, follow their own interests and thereby allow their own sense of fun to flourish. It’s really what summer vacation was meant to be.

Lunch was an impromptu picnic on the hill with hot dogs, all the fixins’, chips, and watermelon. It was a wonderfully sunny afternoon, with a light breeze now and then. We sat in our crazy creek chairs, listened to music and just soaked up the scene on the grassy hill.

girl summer camp swimming at waterfallgirls summer camp lunch picnicJeff took the Hi-Ups on a really cool waterfall hike in Dupont Forest after lunch. They went straight to High Falls so they could enjoy a little swimming in the pool at the bottom of the huge waterfall. There’s even a short sloping section of the falls that can be a “sliding rock” of sorts. We did spot a couple of northern watersnakes hiding amid the rocks, and while quick to get out the way, still got our hearts pumping a bit! One was very small, a baby snake, and did get at least one comment about being “cute.”

Dinner tonight was also a special event: Harry Pottery Restaurant Night! The girls were encouraged to dress up like their favorite Harry Potter character, adopt a European accent of some sort, or just come prepared to “add to the magic.” Ellen became Professor Trelawney, the divination professor. Several campers became students at Hogwarts, complete with capes and brooms, and even Sarah dressed up as Narcissa Malfoy. After dinner, keeping the theme, we had a wand making workshop for the girls. With ribbons, glitter, and colorful tape, they decorated wooden sticks to make really cool looking magic wands.

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girl summer camp dressed as wizard

Hiking, Climbing, Rafting and Yoga!

August 2, 2010

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Almost everyday, various special activities are offered in addition to the regular activities. Several campers climbed up and enjoyed the view from the top of Castle Rock, the big rock looking down from the east side of camp. Then, others stretched, toned, and relaxed in a yoga class, which finished with head massages.

Brevard is known as the “Land of Waterfalls” for a reason! Several campers opted to go waterfall exploring in Dupont State Forest, which boasts over a dozen.

If that wasn’t enough, an overnight rafting trip went out as well. Girls went to our Nantahala Outpost, ate s’mores and enjoyed time by the fire. Then, they’ll raft first thing in the morning!

Girls enjoying yoga class at camp Triple waterfalls at Dupont State Forest North carolina Camp Whitewater Nantahala Rafting Trip

To Hike, Ride and Dress Like a Granny

July 30, 2010

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camps hiking children's trip

The weather was just perfect this morning, and around here that’s reason enough to find some altitude because we know the views will be spectacular. Clyde, our Adventure Director, and Catherine decided to take advantage of all this and signed up a group of Junior campers to go hiking along a section of the Art Loeb trail as it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a wondrous place with beautiful weathered rock exposed along the grassy trail. The trail begins winding through a dense grove of balsam fir trees, but then breaks into the open where you can see for miles in several directions. The elevation is more than 6000 feet up, making these mountains some of the highest east of the Mississippi river! The group made it all the way to the top of Black Balsam Knob (6214 ft). Along the way, surprisingly, they ran into a team of folks filming a music video up there, though we didn’t catch the name of the band.

equestrian camps children's lessonsWe had one of those classic camp lunches today that everyone loves— grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup. The super stocked salad bar helped us add a little green to our plates, and to make the whole lunch just excellent. After lunch the big excitement for everyone is checking their mailbox for new mail. Finding something in your box is always a treat, so keep sending those cards and letters!

Horseback riding continues to be one of the most popular activities this session. Cara and her staff are really doing great stuff with the girls, strengthening their enthusiasm for riding (despite the bugs!) and seeing them make good progress. This is Cara’s 5th year as the Equestrian Director at Rockbrook, so it’s not too surprising she runs a top-notch program. When you see all the action down at the barn, though, it’s pretty impressive.

children's granny dress up camp gameTonight’s evening program was a giant all-camp game of bingo, but not just sitting around calling out numbers. Oh no, at Rockbrook that’s a perfect opportunity to dress up! Like a granny! That’s right: it was Granny Bingo night. All manner of grannies and grandpas came out to play— gray hair, glasses, nightgowns, hats, pillows stuffed strategically in clothes, walking sticks, and wrinkles drawn with eyeliner. The counselors get into it just as much, calling the numbers in their best scratchy voice, hunched over the table. Exciting RBC prizes for the winners, snacks for everyone to enjoy while playing the game, it was a grand, silly time.

Did you know it’s a long Rockbrook tradition for the girls to have a snack of milk and cookies before going off to bed?  Everyday the kitchen makes a batch of homemade cookies for this, and like with our “muffin break,” it’s great fun to be surprised by what kind of cookie we have each night. Afterwards, teeth brushing, ready pajamas, and each cabin sharing their “pows and wows” (highs and lows from the day) settle everyone down for the night. Such a nice way to finish up another fun-filled day of camp.

A Full Day of Camp Activities

July 26, 2010

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teen camp girls knittingcamp teen girls tower climber

It’s the Hi-Ups who started the first full day of camp today by ringing the rising bell at 8am sharp. This gives all the campers 30 minutes to get dressed, clean their cabin a bit, and make it to the dining hall for breakfast, which today was oatmeal with all the fixings (e.g., toppings of brown sugar, walnuts, blueberries, and dried cranberries), sliced South Carolina peaches, and orange juice, along with our usual fruit, yogurt and cereal bar. After a few brief announcements and a quick stop at the Infirmary if they take daily morning medicine or vitamins, the girls were off and running to their first period activities. This is quite a sight with small groups of girls heading out in different directions, some dressed for horseback riding in long pants and boots, others in bathing suits ready to work on kayaking at the lake, and others with water bottles preparing to go on a hike out to Rockbrook Falls. There was a group of Middlers meeting at Hiker’s Rock to go rock climbing on Castle Rock with Katherine and Tara, a group of Seniors learning how to knit, and a group of Juniors headed down to riflery for their first experience shooting a real gun.

Between first and second period we have our “muffin break,” a time when everyone (literally at times!) runs to the dining hall porch to have one of Liz’s freshly baked muffins. It’s the talk of the camp to find out what flavor muffin Liz (the camp baker) has made that day. Today’s? Sugar Spice, and they were awesome! We all look forward to the surprise of muffin break each day.

Teen campers jump on overlook rock at campAlso this morning, the CA girls and their counselors went hiking with Jeff to John Rock in the Pisgah Forest. In addition to reaching the summit of the rock, there was a second goal to achieve— picking the secret theme for this session’s banquet, the big party the CA girls plan for the whole camp. It’s a big deal to pick the theme because it affects the food served, the music, decorations, costumes, skits, and dance numbers that might be included. The CAs work all session preparing for the banquet, so having everyone excited and invested in the theme is crucial. When we reached the top of the rock, and were enjoying the amazing view of Looking Glass Rock from up there, the theme was set. You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out what it is! 😉

Dancing class at teen camp funThe weather helped this afternoon by providing a nice cooling rain shower just at the start of rest hour. Rest hour is just that, an hour after lunch when everyone heads back to their cabins to rest. This might mean just reading in your bunk, or writing letters home, but for a surprising number of campers (and counselors!) it’s a chance to take a real nap. It’s really wonderful, and you might think that there would be complaining about having to take this time out, but the girls really do look forward to it… maybe because we stay so active at camp.

More dancing, swimming and making things (really cool pottery vases, for example) completed the afternoon camp activities, and cabin skits got everyone laughing down each Line’s evening program. It really was a full day at camp today. Be sure to check the photo gallery. We’ve got new stuff up there everyday.

Adventure Sports and Storytelling

July 1, 2010

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Camp girl archer shooting archery

Things are really in full gear at camp these days. Everyone has learned most of the songs, making the dining hall a deafening place at times… there’s something about that “Austrian Went Yodeling” song that really gets the girls going. We’ve begun everyone’s second set of activities, so there’s new crafts being made (pottery bowls, sewn pillows, knitted hats, and tie dye t-shirts), new bullseyes in archery and riflery, and new tricks on the alpine tower. Up in the Junior lodge, the drama activity is spending time practicing for this session’s musical Annie. It’s so nice to wander by and hear the girls singing a song from the play. I’m sure it will be a wonderful performance. Down on the tennis courts, a class of seniors were having fun playing a game of rotating doubles (after each point, the winning pair stays to challenge a new pair, and so forth). At the lake, there were canoers out and 2 girls in whitewater kayaks learning how to roll. Lots of action!

Camp girls going backpacking and campingIn addition, there were several outdoor adventure trips out of camp. Clyde and Kelsey packed a lunch and took a group of girls kayaking on the lower Green River. Junior Line Head, and seasoned paddler Christine went along as well to help Tor our videographer capture some footage of the trip. We’re updating our camp DVD this summer, so you can look forward to seeing that footage. Heading off in another direction was Tara, Edith and Jackie leading eight other girls on a backpacking and camping trip in the Pisgah National Forest. With their tents, food, water and cooking equipment, they were loaded down, but with 11 people going, it was easy to distribute the weight. Jeff took the Hi-Ups out for a short waterfall hike, and Mallory ran several girls up to Castle Rock for a day of rock climbing too. Plenty of adventure to go around.

storytelling camp singing with GaryFor tonight’s evening program we had a special guest come to camp, Gary Greene a local Brevard storyteller and musician. All the girls gathered in the Senior Lodge to enjoy several stories, songs and skits Gary brought to perform. He’s a very talented guy and is great at pulling in the audience to participate. He had the girls hooting with laughter and at other times perfectly silent as they listened. That’s not easy to do with more than 200 people! The counselors performed a few skits too with plenty of camper involvement. The whole evening was very nice, and while not as goofy or silly as other things at camp, the girls enjoyed it immensely.

girl camper on her camp bunk bedBedtime at camp is probably a lot like at home but with a few bits of added excitement. For example, each night the girls have milk and cookies (another fantastic treat from baker Liz!) before bed. This is one of those long Rockbrook traditions started before anyone can remember and continued today. It’s a nice social time among all the girls and counselors of each line. After dressing in pajamas and visiting the “Deducky” (RBC lingo for bathroom. Why? Again, nobody is quite sure, even some of the older alumnae we know!) to brush their teeth, the girls usually take a few minutes to talk about their day in the cabin. The counselors lead the group as everyone mentions their “Pows and Wows,” a high point and low point of what happened that day. It’s another way for the girls to get to know their cabin mates, learn from each other, and feel good about the day. A little bit of quiet time in their bunks and then it’s lights out for everyone. You might think it would be hard to sleep in a cabin with 9 or so other people, but when we stay this busy at camp all day long, sleeping comes easily. Next thing you know, you’re hearing the wake up bell and it’s time to hop up for more camp fun!

So Much Fun at Camp

June 17, 2010

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playing a game of tennis at summer campWhen writing these blog posts, and mentioning special events for the most part, it’s easy to forget all of the “regular” activities that are going on at camp.  Everyone selects four different activities for their daily schedule, so throughout the day you can find all kinds of arts and crafts, horseback riding, sports, and outdoor adventure going on.  Kathleen our main photographer spends part of her day wandering around camp taking pictures of these activities, but it’s impossible for her to capture it all.  She might spend time at the tennis courts, for example, but she’ll be missing the action at the Alpine Tower and the riding down at the barn.

Teen camp girls at waterfallJeff took the Hi-Ups, our oldest campers (10th graders), on a fun outing Thursday afternoon. Dressed in bathing suits and with towels in hand, we made our way to High Falls in the Dupont State Forest. It was one of those perfect summer days. The unstable, moist air of the last few days had cleared to leave wonderful blue skies, sunshine and a few white clouds. High Falls is a spectacular waterfall formed as the Little River drops about 150 feet over exposed granite. Depending on the water level, there are different sections varying in strength from a gentle sloping flow to a raging drop. We found it just right today to swim in the pool at the bottom of one section. There’s also a part forming a “sliding rock” of sorts. It was a little bumpy going down, but very fun nonetheless. On the way home, there was just enough time to swing by Dolly’s. Yum.

Camp counselor dressed as draco malfoyFor dinner, we held another special meal, Restaurant Night, but to mix things up a bit, we turned it into “Harry Potter and the Night of the Restaurant.”  A group of the counselors decorated the dining hall like the great hall of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels, and everyone was invited to dress up as a character from the books or in simply “magical” attire.  The tables were rearranged and the counselors served the campers… roast beef, peas, potatoes and toffee bars for desert. We saw Draco Malfoy, several Harry Potters (complete with lightning bolt scar) and even Sarah dressed up as Bellatrix Lestrange to do the announcements after the meal. Music, food, costumes and skits: all just a regular part of the fun at camp.

Granny Bingo

June 11, 2010

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Grits, sausage, eggs and fruit for breakfast… homemade broccoli-chicken casserole, salad and butternut squash soup for lunch… cheese tortellini, focaccia bread, with roasted summer squash and peppers for dinner.  It’s hard not to talk about the food at camp with this kind of variety and good healthy fare coming from Rick’s kitchen.  Oh, I forgot to mention the chocolate chip muffins we had for muffin break and the chocolate pudding served for desert at dinner.  The campers love when we have chocolate pudding because, beyond it being a sweet treat, it means the counselors have to clear their cabin’s table (instead of a couple of campers).  It’s a long, funny tradition at Rockbrook that even has a short song to go with it.

After breakfast Clyde took a bunch of Juniors on a day hike to Moore Cove in the forest. (By the way, have you read Clyde’s Bio?)  They looked great all geared up with their backpacks, water bottles and cameras.  It’s a short bus ride to the trail head, and from there, a wonderful easy hike through the woods to a cool 40 ft waterfall.  What’s neat is that you can walk under the falls and see from the “inside out.”  The falls are narrow and delicate, and in the morning in direct sunlight.  It’s truly beautiful.

Summer camper dressed as a granny Camp counselors dressed as old ladies Campers acting like old ladies at summer camp

Tonight the Juniors and Middlers played bingo in the dining hall, but not just ordinary bingo— Granny Bingo! At Rockbrook, everything is more fun when you can dress up and become a funny character. So tonight the girls pulled out wigs, glasses, robes and head scarves. They stuffed pillows inside their clothes (for an added effect!), and found a cane, or just walked around with a bent posture and talked with a scratchy voice. Very funny stuff. Of course, there were loads of prizes to win each round: stickers, card games, key chains, RBC sunglasses, etc. The counselors led the whole event by also dressing up and by calling the numbers “in character.” “N29… oh dear, I remember when I was 29… such a good year!” There are more photos in gallery, so be sure to check those out.

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A Full Camp Day

June 10, 2010

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cartoon dress up day at camp

It was another full, busy day at Rockbrook Camp today with campers signed up for trips, special activities available, and a fun day-long theme to add even more silliness to the mix. Everyone was excited to learn about the surprise theme— Cartoon Character Day. This is when campers and counselors dress up as their favorite cartoon character. It’s certainly optional, but it was fun to see Minnie Mouse, the Tasmanian Devil, several princesses, and even spider woman running around camp. There are some very creative girls here who are always looking for a reason to dress up.

Oldest campers hiking in Dupont State Forest After our excellent breakfast of bacon, home fries, fresh cut fruit, yogurt and cereal, several outdoor adventure trips packed up to leave camp. Clyde and Kelsey took a small group of senior girls for a day of whitewater kayaking on the lower section of the Green River. Also, the oldest campers, our “Hi-Ups” who have finished the 10th grade, went hiking in Dupont State Forest. They hiked to Hooker Falls and climbed down to the pool of water below to wade in a bit (and take photos of course!). After the early morning fog burned off, the skies were a wonderful sunny blue, making this a beautiful trip.

Camp Yoga Class for Girls

Every few days or so, Jessi leads a morning Yoga class for anyone interested. Everyone gathers in the stone “Hillside Lodge,” spreads out across the wood floor with their mats, and moves through a series of beginner Hatha Yoga poses. With calm music playing, and good friends all around, it’s a very relaxing time, and it feels so good! It’s surprising how much enthusiasm there is for these yoga classes, even from girls who have never tried it before. Jessi’s teaching is a big part of that, I suspect.

For our evening activity today, we had a very special campfire with our friend Gary Greene who is a talented story teller and musician. All the campers and counselors gathered at the Spirit Fire area to enjoy Gary’s stories (“Peanut Butter,” for example) and to sing several songs (e.g., “Little Cabin in the Woods” and “The Frog Song”). Michelle helped by staging a few jokes, and leading several RBC songs as well. One highlight was his reading of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky while a few campers and counselors acted out different parts. Everyone was really engaged and entertained all evening. We loved it!

The smell of wood smoke outdoors, the sounds of crickets and frogs from the lake, being together like this in such a beautiful setting, signing and laughing … that’s real camp.