Mother-Daughter Weekend 2008

On a beautiful September weekend, 25 future campers arrived at camp with aunts, moms, and grandmothers in tow, ready to be introduced to Nakanawa. After settling into cabins in Sr. Camp and a great dinner, the group headed to Council Ring for mother-daughter challenges, songs around the campfire, and s'mores. Saturday morning was filled with horseback riding, arts & crafts, canoeing, and nature. In addition to snakes and turtles, the recent hurricane had orphaned scores of wildlife, and 20 baby squirrels and two baby flying squirrels were housed in the Nature Hut for the weekend-- to the delight of the little girls (and many of the grown ones!) Three times a day a group gathered to feed the tiny babies with eye-droppers.

After lunch the big attraction was the climbing wall and zipline. Zippers (who make the speedy trip across the lake to end at Valkyrie Point) ranged in age from 6 to 60! Next was a Free Day trip via hayride (Thanks, Pepe) to Junior Camp that allowed the girls to see the cabins and facilities they will be enjoying as future campers. A cookout at the lake was followed by DOUBLE TROUBLE, with young and old paired up in matching costumes (from the Operetta trunks in Jr. Camp) and playing a wild game of running while holding hands with your DOUBLE TROUBLE partner.

Sunday began with Church by the lake, thanks to Donya Boylston Rose, and ended with a giant mother-daughter egg toss and a rollicking game of Uncle Sam. No one wanted to pack up and leave! The great news is that every single youngster is nowdetermined to return as a camper, and we know they will all make great Amazons and Valkyries.

They already know how to sing “Happy Am I,” they learned the tradition of singing “Weeeeeeeeeeeee're AT Nakanawa” as you enter the camp gates, they have ridden a horse, held a snake, canoed across the lake, sat on the Crow's Nest to watch a sunset, attended Flag Raising, sung a blessing, taken part in a Council Ring challenge, slept in a bunk listening to the frog chorus from the lake, used EGYPT, and eaten Frozen Fruit Salad. They are ready to roll. And, honestly, the moms, grandmoms, andaunts had even more fun than the younger generation! Special thanks go to the nearly 20 Nakanawa counselors and a great group of current campers who journeyed to camp for the weekend… just for the fun of being there one extra weekend and for the fun of introducing the camp we all hold dear to some dear little girls.

If there is a little girl in your life (suggested ages 4-12) who might wantto be a Nakanawa camper, mark your calendar NOW. The dates for the 2009 Mother Daughter Weekend are September 18-20. Registration will open in early 2009, so check the Nakanawa TIES web site often.

Margaret Matens

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