"GOOD MORNING, CAMP SKYLEMAR!" roars one of the nation’s greatest sportscasters through the speaker in every cabin. That’s the voice of the one and only George Simeon, producer and director of “The Morning Show”. It’s sports radio at its finest, second in ratings only to The Rich Eisen Show.
The talent is spectacular and includes any Skylemar camper who wants to wake up extra early and shout out the national sports scores. “Extra early” comes easy to the younger half of camp, while most counselors and older guys prefer to just listen to the show from the comfort of their cozy bed.
At 8:00, the reveille bugle blows letting all know “it’s almost time to wake up”. At 8:15, a second one signals that "it's now time to get moving”. The flag is raised at 8:30, then off to breakfast we go.
Today it was stacks of pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, WOWBUTTER & jelly sandwiches and fruit. There are four buffet lines, so all are fed in record time. The 30+ directors and department heads enjoy doing the serving at every meal, giving each the opportunity to interact with every camper and staff member. Music blasts and the vibe is high energy and lots of fun.
At the tables, the morning paper awaits. It’s called the Daily Schedule, and it’s a complete step-by-step blueprint of how the day will look. The schedule is carefully crafted by Program Director Barney and is so precise with specific staff assignments that it takes him about eight hours to create every day. There are five assigned periods, two more choice ones, plus a big all-camp Evening Activity.
Once breakfast tables are cleared and after Shep’s Morning Announcements, all head back to the bunk for clean-up time. Beds are made and each member of the “household” has a chore, like sweep, dustpan, sink, trash and the never-ever-popular…toilet. Today was just a practice - inspection will start tomorrow. The boys do give a try at cleaning, but for most it’s not exactly their “jam”. Secret is that while they’re at First Period, our adored housekeepers come and re-do the bathrooms. Thank you, Vicky, Mary and Betty!
Bunks 1-12 were at the Waterfront, with swim level evaluations, boat rides, kayaking and splashing about. Meanwhile, others were at Baseball, Football, Basketball, Golf, Volleyball, Tennis, Lacrosse and Challenge Course. In the afternoon there was Archery, Gaga, Soccer, Track & Field, Chilltop (crafts), Ping Pong, Yellowhorn (outdoor science) plus more. In between it all was Rest Hour, when you hang in your bunk but hardly ever actually rest. There’s Power Shower Hour too, and the name says it all.
Tonight’s Evening Activity was a weekly favorite – Campfire at the Ring of Champions. It’s a night that’s upbeat and filled with laughter. Lots of repeat-after-me songs with body actions, like “60’s Party”, “Ar00stasha” (ask your son for a demo) and a hysterical sun dance skit. Cory, with her beautiful voice, played “Wagon Wheel” on the guitar, and we all sang along. Nick explained the meaning of our motto, Cool2Care, and taught us the Skylemar sign of brotherhood: pointer and pinky finger up with other fingers down. It means "I love you" in sign language. Powerful stuff for a bunch of guys.
A campfire just has to have s’mores of course. Adventure Man came to visit too. He taught the whole camp how to make a skivvy roll, and how the best fire starter is Fritos wrapped in a napkin. Who knew?
