Hug a Chicken

The arrival of cabin day is exciting for everyone because it means switching up our schedule for the afternoon and doing something special with our cabin groups. It can also mean an entire age group (Juniors, Middlers, or Seniors) playing a game together, or taking a trip together.

The Seniors gathered on the landsports field for a crazy event of relays and games they called “Splash.” Each cabin group played a series of mini-games like a spoon-and-egg (though with ping-pong balls) relay, a challenge to draw a counselor, a wacky “acting” walk relay, and a wild costume relay. You can see in the photos that the costumes were over the top, especially when one person from each group had to put on all of the costumes at once for a final fashion show. Good silly fun! The last event was a challenge to protect a water balloon from breaking by building a protective case of some sort. They were given simple materials like a piece of cardboard, a strip of tape, and a few rubber bands or string, and then told to “design something that will keep your water balloon from breaking.” Working together, the groups came up with very creative solutions.

Three cabins of Juniors took a trip down the road to visit a local flower and berry farm. For these kids, the fun began right away. Just riding on the bus, singing the songs along the way, is enough to get excited. When they arrived at the farm and saw the beautifully tended rows of flowers, they were thrilled to romp about exploring. The farm also has resident bunnies and chickens that the girls could pet and hug. You might think hugging a chicken would be unpleasant, or petting a bunny somehow worrisome, but these girls loved it. They also picked flowers and brought back beautiful bouquets to decorate their dining hall tables. The outing also included a detour over to Dolly’s Dairy Bar, everyone’s favorite ice cream stand. It’s great fun to step up to the window and order your favorite flavor in a cup or cone. Dolly’s has unique flavors named after many of the local area summer camps. A popular choice with the campers is the bright blue “Chosatonga Cheer,” but also the very rich “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion.”

The Senior girls had another surprise for them after dinner— an evening trip to Sliding Rock! With all six buses and vans loaded, we arrived at the famous spot in the Pisgah National forest where Looking Glass Creek flows over a smooth rock dome. For decades, it’s been a thrill to sit down in the creek at the top and slide down for a “refreshing” dunk at the bottom. Rockbrook has been taking campers there for easily 50 years.

Tonight we arrived with our crew of lifeguards, and almost 90 people who were ready to slide. It can be a little shocking when you first sit down in the water, but the sound of loud rushing water mixed with the cheers of the other girls makes it all too exciting. Soon the water is pushing you down the rock accelerating to the splash pool below. We allow the campers to slide 2 at a time making it even more of a scream-inducing blast.

Then it was a stop at Dolly’s for the Seniors too! Since this ice cream stand is located at the entrance to the Forest, it’s just natural to stop on the way back to camp. So we plan for it! It’s also a nice way to warm up, in a way, after the chill of Sliding Rock. The ice cream acts like a recharge, soon inspiring everyone to sing camp songs… as loud as possible. It’s enthusiastic camp pride, mixed with a little zing from the sugary, creamy goodness of the ice cream. Altogether, it’s a perfect combination to end a wonderful night.