It’s hard to believe this was our second-to-last week of Summer 2024 at MKN, but it was full of fun, exploration and excitement.
This week, our older campers all headed out into the Great Wide Open with overnight trips. Algonquins continued their Cali week, living that Hollywood life.
The Senecas left for a road trip and college tours in Vermont, Montreal, Syracuse and Ithaca.
Cheyennes were soon to follow with an overnight to Boston, and Cherokees with a trip to Maine.
The Navajos went to Lake George & Six Flags – Great Escape, and the Mohicans to Cooperstown, NY and The Baseball Hall of Fame. Everyone had unforgettable journeys filled with outdoor adventures, sightseeing, and brotherly bonding!
With all of the big boys gone, TJC wasted no time living their best lives on campus. TJC had a social – in the form of a pool party (with waterslides!) with our sister camp, Danbee. They also played every moment of Tramp Ball their little hearts desired, with no big kids around to squeeze them out. They participated in our annual “F1 Derby Day,” where they were divided into real Formula 1 teams like Aston Martin, Red Bull, Alfa Romeo and more, and used their creativity to build and paint cars out of cardboard boxes. They took turns “racing” their cars around a track until there was one grand prize winner! Unfortunately their trip to Lake Compounce got rained out, but as we do best at camp, we pivoted to a new plan. TJC Campers spent the day out seeing the new “Inside Out 2”, complete with a trip to an indoor arcade and trampoline park…of course snacks were included in the day. We did not let the rain dampen our spirits and instead had the best day ever!
By Friday, everyone had returned from traveling, and the band was back together again. The campers enjoyed a regular day filled with tennis and archery and tubing and basketball and swimming and the like. We had our last Friday night huddle (sniffle), where the theme was leadership. We’re so proud of our campers who all strive to be good, thoughtful leaders!
And then came Saturday. After a normal camp morning and part of the afternoon, we gathered everyone at the amphitheater for a special afternoon snack. We told them it was time to celebrate “national Philly soft pretzel day,” and brought in 400 soft pretzels straight from the City of Brotherly Love (and Rachel and Jamie’s hometown). Toward the end of the snack, mysterious music began to play, and slowly “Team O” converged upon the amphitheater dressed in all black, carrying briefcases. Mission Impossible Style! Team O’s presence stirred the crowd a little and campers quickly realized what was happening.
The campers were ushered to the Field House where they were greeted by Olympic Coaches (three counselors per team), “masked” Seneca Decathletes, and Camper Captain. All the campers were split into different zones of the field house, and the Camper Captains had to complete challenges in order to “collect” their fellow teammates from the different zones. This was how each camper learned what team they were on.
Once a team had been assembled, the Camper Captains selected their “masked” Seneca decathlete and their coaches. And then, we officially “let the games begin”! The first event of the Olympics took place immediately with our traditional “Tug of War”. They all fought hard for their teams! After a grueling competition, everyone went back to their bunks to rest for the momentous days ahead.
The Countries represented in this summer’s Olympics are Brazil, Mexico, Solomon Islands, Namibia, Madagascar, Sweden, Finland, and Croatia. The theme “Redemption” is represented as all of these countries in past MKN Olympic Games have placed SECOND only by a few points.
That’s it for week six. Be sure to check out Instagram and MKN Today for updates!