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July 23, 2022 – TLC Times

By July 24, 2022 TLC Times
Tripp Lake Camp Theater

This morning started with the traditional staff snake dance for long trips. After bunk cleanup, the staff all linked up and snaked their way through campus, while the girls sat on their bunk steps eagerly guessing who their trip leaders and staff chaperones would be. This is always a big deal because none of the girls or staff know who will be on what trip until the day before. We haven’t been able to go on long trips since 2019 so this felt like another important passage back into the pre-covid camp days. It was an exciting way to start the day off, even for those girls not going on long trips! Eventually the staff broke off and found their way to their respective trip group where they were met with cheering and hugs all around. It’s going to be an adventurous week for our older campers traveling off-site, and an equally fun one for those remaining in the Tripp Lake Utopia.

Tripp Lake Camp SwimIn-between parent phone calls, we decided to cycle the girls through a rotation of activities today. There is no equal replacement to what would have been visiting day, but we did our best to help the girls focus on the sense of community and sisterhood that Tripp provides each and everyday. Although we are sad not to be able to share in the Tripp Lake experience with all of you in person, we are also incredibly grateful for the support of this community as we’ve navigated these difficult decisions over the past couple of years. We hope you’ll find solace in knowing that your girls are getting the most out of their summer here at Tripp Lake, and that things are as “normal” as they can possibly be due to your trust in our leadership. From our end of things, there seemed to be a shift in energy for this call in comparison to the first. The homesickness has subsided and the campers feel settled in their life here. Beyond that, they are having SO much fun everyday. What more could you ask for.

Tripp Lake ArtsWe made sure to once again have the girls rotate through waterfront activities and swim in order to stay as cool as possible throughout this continuous heat wave. We had a number of campers advance to new cap levels today which is something we celebrate as an entire camp. At morning assembly we shared all the campers advancing and you would have loved to have seen the loud cheers and support they received from every age group. 

Tripp Lake Camp VideoWe’re lucky to have such a wonderful variety of air conditioned art shops as well, which really provides our girls with a nice break in their never ending active day. All the art shops were occupied today as the campers continued to work on projects from previous weeks. We saw campers finally painting and glazing their garden gnomes in pottery, while others were finishing bracelets and necklaces across a few different shops. The campers over at videography and photography are getting more comfortable with the skills they’ve acquired and are working towards what will be their final projects within those shops. After some peaceful artistic expression in the shops, many campers went down to tennis to participate in the final day of our two-week tennis academy. We’re so grateful to Aaron for coming up to our bubble and adding his talent and positive energy to an already incredible tennis staff. We know the girls had a blast and we look forward to exploring more skill development and academies like this in the future. We’d also like to share that the Subs were engaged in rehearsals for a good part of the day as they prepare for their production of “Seussical”! We’re so excited for this one.

Tripp Lake Hunt the CounselorThe day ended with another camper/counselor favorite evening activity, Hunt the Counselor. With Big Team points on the line, the campers were once again partnered up with other girls on their team. Dressed in team clothes, they ran all over camp looking to catch counselors in plain sight and in hiding. Each counselor participating wears a hat worth a certain number of points, however the trick is that the girls don’t know the point value of the counselors they’re chasing after. At the end, all the counselor points are revealed and then added up to determine a winner. Many of our returning and well-known counselors were worth negative points which made this event really a toss up amongst all the teams. Our Inter Is and Seniors depart for their long trips in the morning which will make for a quieter campus. We are so excited for them to experience more of the beautiful surroundings that Maine has to offer! It will be a great way for them to bond even more as an age group, and come away with experiences they’ll remember forever. We have plenty of fun activities planned for the campers not going on long trips as well and we’ll share more on those throughout the week ahead!

 

Kind Regards,

Leslie and Katie