1st Day of Activities, 1st Sunday of 1st Term
A sunrise at Alpine is a rare and remarkable thing to experience. It’s rare because it occurs around 5:30, long before any campers and even most staff are awake. It’s remarkable both in appearance, and in the ushering in of a new day- a new beginning. This day was particularly significant as it marked the first day of activities for first term. By 7:00am, camp had come alive for a day filled with everything from water slides to horseback riding. As you can imagine, it was a day much anticipated, and its arrival is yet another sign of things returning to form here at Alpine.
I’m Wayne Ingram, and I am from Birmingham, AL. After 8 years as a camper and 3 on staff at camp, I graduated from the University of Alabama, got my CPA, and spent about three years in the world of public accounting. This spring, Glenn gave me a call, and I was given the opportunity to return to Alpine as the Associate Director for Marketing and Admissions. I’ll be chiming in on the blog alongside Glenn this summer to help update everyone on the summer.
After their first morning watch of the term, Campers found their tables and proceeded to fuel up for the day with a breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, and oatmeal with brown sugar. Then, following cabin clean up time, they rotated through their first 3 activities and the fun began. Bows were strung, golf balls were struck, tennis balls were served, PA course harnesses were locked in, and cane poles were dropped in the pond. I love the sound of camp in full swing. Just by walking down the main road, you can hear all forms of laughter, cheers, instruction, and encouragement.
At lunch time, grilled chicken, broccoli with cheese sauce, scalloped potatoes, and rolls greeted the boys and counselors, followed by homemade banana pudding with mini vanilla wafer cookies. At the end of the meal, a much needed rest hour was observed that culminated in store period and two more activity rotations. The bright afternoon sun dried out and warmed up Camp after a week or so of rain and clouds.
The boys hit the showers and proceeded to line up for retreat- a pre-dinner tradition where all of camp lines up in front of the dining hall to say the pledge, listen to announcements, and hear what is on the schedule for night programs. Hunters found out they had the honor of playing Jedi ball: a classic Alpine game similar to dodgeball where each team gets a pool noodle wielding Jedi that can save their teammates who have been hit. Trappers were headed over to the Volleyball courts to play a Nuke ‘Em, which sees players throw a volleyball back and forth of the net, eliminating a player each time the ball is not caught.
Scouts played Extreme 4 Square in teams of 2 on the tennis courts, while Warriors attempted to capture the other side’s flag on the team sports field. Braves and Chiefs took to the gym for the first Slaughterball of the term. Prior to these activities, Mac and Cheese and Ham were served in the dining hall, and the boys also participated in the second night of Glee Club.
Sunday’s at Alpine are always special. The boys arose to the unmistakable aroma of hot pancakes and sausage made by Ms. Gail Collins and our kitchen staff. Confession time: I’m pretty much a huge fan of everything cooked up in the Alpine kitchen. But the made from scratch and freshly griddled pancakes we enjoy on Sundays are unequivocally my favorite. I’ve had more than my fair share of pancakes in my life, and the Sunday morning Alpine pancakes are the best around. Period.
Campers returned for a special “white gloved” inspection of their cabins, and put on their whites in preparation for morning Worship in the gym. Our Camp Minister for the Summer is William Bondurant, the campus minister for RUF at Texas A&M. William preached on Genesis 2 and the Garden of Eden. We shuffled out of the gym to participate in another great Alpine tradition: the all-camp picture at the Council Ring. Each term from each summer takes a picture for the archives, and they are hung up in the lodge, where former campers and staff can visit and see them for years to come.
Sunday lunch at Alpine is Baked Chicken, green beans, rice with gravy, halved pears, and rolls. Our kitchen staff also scoops out our favorite ice cream, Moosetracks, for dessert. The rest of the day consists of an extended rest hour and cabin time (we actually played games as an age group this Sunday afternoon), and the evenings are reserved for laundry (again, being the first Sunday, we substituted a night program in this week) and vespers, which is a night time edition of our morning watch.
Tomorrow we kick off our first full week of activities, so we will need our rest tonight. I’m looking forward to providing more updates as the term rolls along. Thanks for reading!