Director Jud's Blog

Can you believe that it is already time for this session to go white water raftering? Tomorrow SMA hits the class III rapids of the Youghiogheny River for a seven mile white water rollercoaster ride! If Hershey Park wasn’t enough excitement, this trip has the campers psyched for an entire day adventure that they will never forget. Teamwork, determination, and positive attitudes make nicely for a successful fun rafting team. SMA is early to rise tomorrow to hit the road early for our big adventure.

Today we all headed out to Raystown Lake for the big weekly camp barbeque. Relaxing and just sitting outside all day tossing a frisbee or kicking around a soccer ball is all in good fun. And of course swimming is always on the list to keep cool! Tonight the kids have their last small group session of candle meetings before the final candle ceremony that includes the entire camp. It always sparks laughter reminiscing on the week’s events.

There are plenty of high’s to share from Week Two. Last night was the Stone Mountain Adventure Dance! Everyone got their boogie on and dressed accordingly to the theme: Rainbow. Streamers, disco lights and other festive decorations topped the night off as the kids really showed off their best dance moves. All the counselors and I got a small preview to the camper’s dance moves at Disco Bowling earlier in the week. The camp all dressed in bunk junk set out to knock down some pins. Everybody had a great time and the night was full of laughter and intense singalongs. They needed to warm up their vocals for karaoke night! All the karaoke groups performed marvelous renditions of some classic rock and new jams. The dance choreography was flawless, a few high notes were hit and plenty of nerves were conquered. It was a blast!

Week Two was jam packed with more fun-filled activities. Windsurf sail, tennis, rock climbing, biking, art n’craft, horseback riding and other activities closed out the week’s agenda. Berry picking, another very popular activity this session, was also offered for the whole camp’s enjoyment. The camper’s pick the berries and hand them off to our fabulous cook Diane who then makes her famous homemade berry cobbler. All in a good days work! Two more overnights headed out this past week and great stories were shared on their return. The mountain biking overnight was a huge success; even for some who had some minor slips and falls on the trail. All the bikers showed their true colors and finished in good spirit! The waterski overnight was also huge victory for some campers who stood up for the first time on the wakeboard. What a great feeling and what a great achievement!

Even though week two has seem to blown past us here at the farm, we still have one amazing week left, and it will not go to waste. The SMA dating game and talent show are in the near future, and I already hear whispers among the campers of big plans for both shows. I expect great talents to be shown in the upcoming days because these kids really are something else. Check back for one last update for SMA Session 1 2010!

Warm hugs from the Stone Mountain Adventure Family