What a Big day here at the Realm. We spend all winter planning and hoping for perfect weather . This 3^rd week of camp is always the busiest for a reason- kids are getting a little more self-motivated to try new things and are very eager to get out of camp.

Last night at dinner we put together an optional Mount Washington trip for 16 senior campers; they left this morning with smiles and under the cover of perfect skies. This trip, which used to be reserved for our most senior campers, has been opened to the rest of senior camp due to the great displays of athleticism and enthusiasm to conquer their next big challenge.

Inter-camp activities were a huge theme today as we had 3 separate trips competing in 4 separate sports disciplines.

This morning at 7:15, DC took a high level of 14 young ladies to battle on the tennis courts at Forrest Acres. Dressed in their whites, they were eager to be victorious in their battles on the clay.

Simultaneously, two teams traveled to Winaukee to compete in basketball in the U-11 category and tennis in the U-14 category.

Last but not least, Soccer Josh brought our undefeated Boys U15 soccer team to Wigwam to defend their soccer title from the previous year.

In closing, during the off season, the Brass discusses ways in which we can make our Saxon and Scribe summers be ones to remember for a life time. We decided that our oldest boys group would enjoy a day at world famous Fenway Park cheering on the Boston Red Rox. We believe that what is fair is fair, so tonight our oldest girls group is currently on their way to bean town to go see multi-platinum recording artist Gwen Stefani on her This is what the Truth Feels like Tour.   Anyone who knows me knows I love me some Gwen Stafani, so I am envious of these girls. I am hoping they will be bringing me back a shirt.

Beach day is right around the corner, and we have already started preparing for visiting day where we complete the circle of our Robin Hood family.

I can’t wait to meet you personally and have you experience the Robin Hood way of life side by side with your child.

As always, sweet dreams from The Realm.

And then the sun came out! After two days of rain and very little sun, she is shining over the Realm today. Dick’s “Think Blue” worked… just delayed a bit. We did need the rain in spite of a damp weekend, and at least we got senior camp to the Mainers game yesterday!

At breakfast, a girls mixed age group left for a swim meet at Camp Robindel. They were gone all day and returned at dinner with quite a few ribbons. Late afternoon today, 16 and under boys went over to Indian Acres for some hoops and volleyball. What a great evening for our 16 year old Saxon group!

The Lancer group went on a mountain trip, climbing Mt. Chocorua… up the Kancamagus Highway to the Chapney Falls Trail. The climb is a moderate grade, all the way, with a lot of it on old logging trails. The falls should have a good level of water after a weekend of rain. The elevation is 3,500 feet high, and should take about  4 hours. We can see Chocorua from our lake– it is bare at the top and offers excellent views.

Bunk inspections this morning after a weekend of wet always makes for tough cleaning. The Archers got the best group in the boys camp and Jesters for girls camp.

Looking towards the Arts Shack, we see clothes lines stretched and tie dyes hanging from them. These have overtaken the friendship bracelets as the craft of choice! Such beautiful bright colors!

The Squires took a canoe trip to Danforth ponds with our D.J. Woody who is in town for the week. He ran the canoe program for several years and will help us on Beach Day this week. If we are lucky, he may even organize a dance for Senior Camp. He does some big gigs and our campers just love him!

Bows are at the outpost, after a day of mock Green and White. They’re sleeping in tents, singing some songs around the camp fire and of course capping the evening with s’mores.

Rumor has it that the Brass will be holding their first of many meetings about Green & White this evening! I think the break has been worked out, the date set, and further details to come!

Robin Hood’s So You Think You Can Dance performances went off without a hitch yesterday evening in the Chuck Illig Playhouse. The acts were varied in music selection, but not in quality! It was an outstanding show and all of the effort each group had put in was evident when they were on that stage! The Tumblers danced to a mash up number of several jungle themed songs. The Friars tapped into Woody’s roots and channeled Frankie Valli. The Bows went for more of a musical theater performance with a number from High School Musical. It was an exceptional night and everyone had a blast!

Our fields have been fortunately graced with some rainfall, and our campers with some much needed relaxation time this Sunday. After a seemingly unending bout of heat last week, our campers have finally been able to take a couple periods to decompress and relax with their groups. Some groups played board games, others danced zumba, and there was plenty of friendship bracelet making going on. Many groups opted for a period out and about in the rain and played games of soccer, football, gaga, and newcomb.

We have a busy week ahead with mountain trips going out, outpost stays being prepared, plenty of intercamp competitions, and beach day almost underway! Stay tuned for some highlights.

Sweet dreams from The Realm,

Emily

I came to Robin Hood in 1982 when the camp had 125 boys enrolled. Much has changed in the last thirty four years. When I first worked at riflery we had a small program with a few worn rifles. The campers would lie down on old mattresses and fire at paper targets. There were no bipods, red dot sights or colorful swinging targets.

In the past seven years I have worked to improve the riflery program and to make it more camper friendly.  The old mattresses have been replaced with modern foam mats.  We have over a dozen rifles sized for our Jr. Campers, including four pink laminate rifles with the latest red dot aiming sights.  We also have a dozen traditional target rifles for our more diligent shooters.  The rifle range now offers a variety of targets including two inch and three inch self-sealing swinging targets.  Our paper targets are equipped with stickers that change color when hit, making it possible to see the tiny .22 caliber holes from the shooting line.  Removable bipods help the younger shooters learn the basics of marksmanship without struggling to hold the target rifle steady.  Our traditional bolt action .22 rifles are augmented with some classic lever action and pump action guns.

We began an air pistol program six years ago as a way to keep the range open on rainy days.  The air pistols proved very popular with our Sr. Campers.,
so popular that we now offer air pistol shooting as part of the daily riflery program. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of my summer are the periods of riflery intensive. These special activity periods allow those campers most interested in riflery to have five days of dedicated hands-on training.  The intensive schedule permits me to offer shooting disciplines not available during the regular camp day.  “Intensive” is my favorite time in the first half of camp.
Rilfery is never busier than on Parents Visiting Day when the range is open to campers and visitors.  In the past few years I have seen many parents and grandparents make the short trip past the tennis courts to riflery to challenge their young campers to the spirited contest of “hit the swinging targets”.   Parents please note: your child likely has spent every rest hour in the past four weeks shooting at nickel-sized bullseyes.  He/she may be just a Jr. Campers, but our Jr. Campers are exceptionally good at riflery.

Overall, it has been and continues to be an absolute joy to run Camp Robin Hood’s riflery range.

Sweet dreams from The Realm,

Steve

Tomorrow is our two week anniversary here at The Realm. It has been amazing watching all the kids grow together and form a common bond with each other and CRH.  What started as 16 different groups is now 16 families. Your children have all tried new adventures and accomplished many things, all while reaching heights they never thought possible.  That to me is the best part of the “sauce” here – we like to call it our “secret sauce”….

A few highlights of today and last night –

This morning I announced an optional Junior Camp mountain trip at breakfast.  Twenty-six kids ran up to the head table with giant smiles. All our campers from Yeoman and Quill down have now climbed a mountain and so we were finally able to offer an optional hike. Our Saxons and Scribes have climbed three mountains, totaling 11,000 feet to qualify for the Mt. Katahdin trip next week. To me, that is what camp should be about – taking advantage of our surroundings. Back to the Junior Camp trip – when the vans pulled back in after 6 hours the doors flew open and the kids burst out and ran to join their groups – they needed to get right back to work Robin Hood style!

Last night DC and I took the junior campers to the Sanford Mainers Game at the stadium in which Babe Ruth played his last professional game. The kids met and asked the players questions before the game. Listening to the chatter in the seats was so much fun for me. They were sharing stories of home and talking like brothers and sisters. When we reached the camp sign every van and bus broke out singing the camp alma mater. It was so sweet to hear and watch.

All day the theater was rocking with groups practicing dance rountines for the big show Saturday night. Boys and girls put everything they had into  the routines, working as one unit towards a common goal.  Boys who have never seen a dance are now producing them — I promise that you all can see them on PVD weekend!

Whether climbing a mountain or dancing in front of 450 people, our campers accomplish feats most kids aren’t able to do at home.

This place is magical, as it has been since 1927. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your children with us.

Sweet dreams from The Realm,

Woody