The only thing I have time to share with you about today is that I am speechless after just one full day. Of course, I have been fearful for days about the weather report of potential rain all day long. You would think I was new at the director stuff – rule # 2 is never look at or stress about the forecast. We woke up this morning to sunny skies and temperatures that didn’t stop rising all day.

This off-season I made a decision to have less campers yet more counselors this summer. The lifting of Covid restrictions allowed us to attract a great International specialty staff. We enrolled fewer middle age campers than we did last summer. We also only took a certain number of new campers in every group, which allowed us to have almost 1.5 to 1 staff to camper ratio. We did all of this while beefing up our hard-court sports and lifeguard totals. You can feel the difference instantly here today. The energy brought by all these extra faces is immeasurable. As we said at our administration meeting today – it feels like day eight here, not day one. The place is running like clock work – for now. Rule #1 from the camp director handbook is to never say out loud or even think about how great things are going.

I have never really followed rules or norms, especially up here at CRH. This staff is different in every way. They are all so enthusiastic and have embraced our mission here at camp. The extra sets of hands and eyes have allowed us to give all the campers the attention and love needed to succeed here. I am so proud of our former campers who have led this staff as always with endless enthusiasm and love for all things Camp Robin Hood.

Sweet dreams from the Realm ….

Once again for the 96th consecutive summer here at CRH, children from around the world have assembled in Freedom NH to enjoy all that we have to offer. They ran out of their vehicles with enthusiasm and gratitude to return to our shared summer home. I loved watching the new campers look around and see the returning campers and staff embrace. Everyone settled in with their groups as we met for our first meal together tonight at dinner. The place was rocking with laughter and happiness. Each group enjoyed the traditional opening night meal of spaghetti and meatballs.
After introducing the administration, I asked everyone to enjoy every second of this summer. They promised to be friendly to each other.  I asked them to always say please and thank you. I asked them to celebrate everyone’s right to be themselves. I reminded them that coming to camp is a privilege and not an entitlement. We will try our best to spend this summer respecting each other while growing together to be a safe and happy community.
I am so honored to be leading this camp and cannot thank you all enough for your trust.

On Friday we celebrated Founder’s Day here at camp – otherwise known as Andy’s birthday. We started the evening with a banquet dinner in the dining hall. Everyone was dressed in Robin Hood shirts and we had a lovely dinner complete with a favorite summertime treat – corn on the cob. The best part however was dessert. Yensi and his crew made each group their own chocolate chip cookie cake in order to toast and celebrate Andy’s birthday. The crowd went wild as a parade of 25 birthday cakes came out of the kitchen in a giant birthday parade.

Color war is over. We had a very successful “Lazy Day” starting with Dunkin Donuts in the morning and loading the day with “Comedy Cookout” for the losing team and steaks for dinner for the winning team!
Then in came the rain with some real thunder.

Today is all back to normal. Green and white shirts are getting put away until next year and the schedule is going full steam ahead. We have reached a point in the summer where, for some groups, it might be the last time that they are scheduled for HR diamond, waterskiing or riflery or making a friendship bracelet. Sad when you think about it, but it is closing things down and putting summer 2022 in the record books. What a SUPER SUMMER it has been.
As stated, all activities are going strong today. The rain towards the end might happen, but if it happens later, we will play through it.

Today at lunch, Scott announced the wrap up for the pickle ball tournament, so courts are full of playoffs. At breakfast the Squires and Jesters challenged each other to an inspection contest. Today at lunch, Woody announced that they both get Candy Canteen. It was well deserved as Wendy and Chuck confirmed that the job was well done.

Tonight, we are going to have a celebration for the Founding of Our Camp yearly event. Usually scheduled on or around Andy’s Birthday.
Campers receive awards for number of years at Robin Hood. 1-5-10-15 and so on. This year Diane Morath is our winner. She is the Horseback Riding Director and served the Realm for a total of 30 years and many more to come, we hope. Her name will go on a plaque which will go up in the dining hall along other long-term campers and staff.
That will mark the end of today with 3 more days to go. We will not waste a moment and will finish strong!

The last week feels like a dream come true up here in every way possible. The GW break went off without a hitch. With incredible enthusiasm we welcomed 38 out of town judges to our shared summer home. We picked teams and jelly beans before dinner and moved right into our 95th consecutive color war.

The 6 day war was a blur to me in so many ways. Highlights were the honoring of Chuck Illig on night 3 for his 57 summers of service to the Realm.  Seven of his fellow staff members and campers from the 60’s and 70’s surprised Chuck to make the night one he will never forget.

Watching our new staff members dive into color war with no experience but an incredible amount of passion was amazing. When they arrived at camp 9 weeks ago I told them that this place will become a part of who they are. I pleaded with them to give CRH a chance and trust our vision. Watching them lead and perform every task asked was a source of pure pride for me.

Our staff captains, with over 70 summers of CRH experience, lead their teams with everything in their hearts and souls. I have watched each of these amazing young adults grow up here at the Realm. I beamed with pride and awe at their ability to stay focused and organized during the competition. What a fabulous experience this Green and White was for campers, staff and judges alike.

Sweet dreams from the Realm.