Dear Moosilauke Families:

It is our pleasure to write our final letter from Camp Moosilauke for the last week of the Second Session 2018, August 3rd through 8th. By the time you receive this your boy(s) should be home with you. We hope they have regaled you with great stories about friends, trying new things, and the special spirit of Moose.

And now for the final weekly recap:

Friday, we celebrated another camper birthday for a total of 10 (including counselors) during the last week. As is tradition, the birthday camper/counselor selects a group of people to come up and serenade them in the center of the dining hall while a cake is brought out in their honor. Friday started warm and not too wet so activities and trips were buzzing. The Inter As (twelve-year-olds) enjoyed an afternoon at Baker Cliffs, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. The Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) left after breakfast, along with the CITs and Junior Counselors, to Manchester for a “fluff” trip that included a day at a waterpark and a scheduled evening at the minor league ballpark cheering on the Manchester Fisher Cats. Rain caused the game to be cancelled so a night of bowling was scheduled instead. The Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) departed Friday on an overnight white water rafting adventure to the Rapid River in Maine. The boys spent their first day setting up their campsite by the Androscoggin River and swimming and tubing in the rapids. The next day they were taken by van and pontoon boat to the top of the Rapid River in right below the Richardson Dam. The boys had the ride of their life as professional guides rafted them down the 3.5 miles of crashing whitewater that included some Class IV rapids. Another group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) were scheduled for an overnight at the Pioneer Camp but with the onset of rain, the expedition was postponed and they were diverted to an outing at Moose Scoops. And the surprise hit of the day was a new biking-fishing combo trip to Orford Beach. Friday’s meals included pancakes and sausage for breakfast, Philly cheesesteaks and french fries for lunch, and the traditional weekly Kenny cookout of sausages and chicken for dinner.

Saturday started out as a rainy morning, but evolved into a beautiful, sunny afternoon. The boys had extended time in their cabins to work on their posters for Carnival and then they had choice activities both indoors and outdoors. Also on Saturday, our CITs departed for their own special trip which was a canoe overnight at Cliff Island. Saturday afternoon was the annual Moose Carnival! Each cabin was assigned the task of designing and running a booth for other campers (and counselors) to enjoy. Some of the games included: mini-golf, soccer crossbar kick, dizzy bat, “Captain Hook’s Revenge,” tennis ball toss, balloon shaving, donut on a string, Pepsi-Coke taste-off, ring toss, corn hole toss, rugby throw, wiffle ball speed throwing, and a rubber chicken batting contest. Prizes were soda and candy. After Carnival, most of the Camp went for a cooling swim. In the evening, we had our traditional movie night, along with open activity areas, including tubing and fishing. Meals on Saturday included fried eggs and potatoes for breakfast, assorted cold cuts and cheeses, salads, and breads for lunch, and homemade pizza for dinner.

Sunday was our traditional one day full-camp Olympics competition. It was the “Crazy Moose” versus the “Teapots.” The boys competed in various team sports, such as Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, archery, and baseball, and special events like Moose relays, a canoe regatta, and a track meet. The day culminated in individual age group rope pulls and a team fire building competition. The boys, as always, demonstrated great sportsmanship throughout the day. Meals on Sunday were French toast and bacon for breakfast, chicken patties and seasoned fries for lunch, and beef tacos with all of the fixings for dinner.

Monday, the boys enjoyed a lazy “Monday” (versus the traditional “Lazy Sunday”) with a buffet breakfast of made-to-order omelets, scrambled eggs, cinnamon buns, sausage, bacon, yogurt/granola/fruit bar. In the morning, the campers enjoyed some rest and relaxation – playing cards and reading at the beach, playing ping pong, chess, checkers, corn hole, and Can Jam on the fields and, in the afternoon, the boys were able to enjoy one more “TMD” (typical Moosilauke Day) with their choice of activity areas. Lunch was pork loin with gravy, rice, and coleslaw. At lunch, Todd shared one of his “Tricks of the Day.” This time it was the “Party Balloon” trick. A random word was chosen from a book and that same word appeared on slip of paper (in Chinese!) in a balloon floating on the ceiling of the dining hall. It is indeed a mystery how Todd does these tricks! Dinner was cabin cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, steak fries, and S’mores for dessert. In the evening, we had our “Moose Sensations” talent show and acts included musical performances (instrumental and singing), magic tricks, lip syncing, poetry slam reading, joke telling, speed “Moose” drawing, and comedy performances.

On Tuesday morning, the Moose Bears celebrated their last morning swim with hot chocolate and donuts, as is tradition. Following a morning of packing on Tuesday, the boys were able to participate in some of their favorite activity areas one last time. In the afternoon, Port shared his final tall-tale of the season in the rec hall (due to some late afternoon rain showers). Breakfast was fried egg, sausage, and cheese sandwiches and an assortment of sugar cereals, as is tradition for the second to last morning. Lunch was stuffed shells, green beans, and garlic bread. And dinner was our end-of-session banquet dinner that included carnitas nachos as an appetizer, shrimp cocktail, flank steak, twice baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and our famous Whoopie Pies for dessert. Following dinner we showed a slideshow with some highlights from the summer, along with a video entitled “A Second A Day – Second Session.” Look for it on our Facebook page. The whole camp then headed down to the beach for our final community gathering for the season, where campers and counselors shared favorite moments from the summer. Todd then shared his final “trick of the day” called 1 in 52. With the help of another counselor, he tried to randomly guess a card from a new deck. Failure ensued resulting in the burning of the chosen card. In the end, the card was found intact in an unopened can of chocolate pudding. You should have heard the gasps! At the meeting campers were also recognized with t-shirts for success and hard work in achievement areas, longevity at Camp (three, five, six year campers and those who brought a friend to Camp), and participation in Moose Bears. The evening ended with a beautiful torchlight ceremony led by our oldest campers (the Senior A1s) and a massive bonfire.

That’s all for now. Thank you for sharing your terrific boys with us, we so enjoy their enthusiasm and smiles.

Happy Summer!

Bill, Sabina, Port, Heide, Ken, and Ingrid