June 11th

Upon our arrival at camp we unloaded our luggage and settled into our cabins. Jayden was located in DeRoy Village, in girls cabin 1, while I was nearby in boys cabin 1. This is a different village than where we stayed when Tyler and Samantha camped here several years ago, but they still fail to measure up to any sort of luxurious standards. Like before they included a restroom, but this time there are no showers. There is only one large sleeping room, but there is an area with two bunks that is half-walled off from the main sleeping room. Two boys, a fellow chaperone, and I settled into the smaller room, while the remaining boys stayed in the main room. Jay's cabin had virtually the same setup, except she slept in the smaller room with some of her friends.

I forgot to take a picture of the outside of either of our cabins (not sure how I missed that...) but I did take a few photos of the views from the outside of my cabin...

DeRoy Village
	Looking to the north from the boys cabin that Rodney slept in...
	...and the view to the east, complete with campfire area behind the cabin...
	...as well as a look to the south.
	All of the boys at camp.

Just like it was when both Tyler and Samantha camped here, the first activity that Jayden's class participated in was the "Instincts for Survival" game. The kids are divided up into three groups: Carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores. The game is played like tag, only you must go down the food chain. That means carnivores can tag omnivores and herbivores, but omnivores can only tag herbivores. The poor herbivore? All they can do is run. When a tag it made, the kids must pass along one of their life beads. In addition to trying not to get tagged, each of the players must try to gather a certain amount of water and food beads from various location as well. During the first round Jay was designated a herbivore, but for round two she got to be an omnivore, which meant that she could at least tag other players. Otherwise it is just run, run, run!

Instincts for Survival
	Marissa and Jayden listening to the "Instincts for Survival" game instructions.
	All of the fifth graders listening to directions from the camp counselors.
	Jay running during her time as a herbivore.
	Jay turning over her beads after being tagged by another player higher up the food chain.
	Jay got to be an omnivore in the second round of action.
	Jay taking a bead from another player.
	Jay getting another bead.
	Jay posing for a picture while chasing down other omnivores and herbivores.
	Jay getting another bead as an omnivore.

After the survival game it was off to the dining hall for lunch. After the kids got their instructions on how to get their food and drink as well as the cleanup procedure, we were treated to a 5-star meal. OK, maybe not. Today we were blessed with tacos, just like we had when I camped with both Tyler and Samantha. Jay did OK with this meal, although she basically had just meat and a shell, as there is not dairy with meat at a Jewish meal. I added some tomatoes and hot sauce and downed my taco, but it tasted pretty much the same as I remembered (which is to say not very good).

Lunch at the Dining Hall
	Jayden and Marissa posing for a picture outside of the dining hall.
	Lunch - a cold taco shell and meat, with a side of rice and corn. The tomatoes and hot sauce were added at the table, and lettuce was an option. Their was also the option of eating at the salad or fruit bar, of which I passed on both.

Our entire afternoon was spent in the bright sun at the Rock Climbing walls. While most of the boys talked big about climbing the two hardest walls, when it came time to start most of them headed to the easy ones first. There are six climbing sections representing six increasing degrees of difficulty. Jayden started off at the second easiest level and had absolutely no trouble making it to the top. She would work her way around to the second hardest wall, and after a couple of trouble spots she was able to make it to the top. Although this wall angled out slightly, Jay found plenty of hand-holds to grab onto.

Rock Wall Climb
	Jayden and her classmates listening to directions before being given a chance to climb.
	Jay getting her harness on...
	...and checked...
	...before being allowed to climb.
	Jay halfway up the second wall...
	...and nearing the top...
	...before making it all the way...
	...and then rappelling down.
	Jayden back on the ground after her first successful climb.
	Jay went around the corner to a completely flat climbing wall...
	...and made it up...
	...but struggled to find footholds near the top...
	...before deciding to head down.
	Jayden on the fifth hardest wall...
	...making her way towards the top.
Please click here for page two of the photos

DeRoy Village

Looking to the north from the boys cabin that Rodney slept in...

...and the view to the east, complete with campfire area behind the cabin...

...as well as a look to the south.

All of the boys at camp.

Instincts for Survival

Marissa and Jayden listening to the "Instincts for Survival" game instructions.

All of the fifth graders listening to directions from the camp counselors.

Jay running during her time as a herbivore.

Jay turning over her beads after being tagged by another player higher up the food chain.

Jay got to be an omnivore in the second round of action.

Jay taking a bead from another player.

Jay getting another bead.

Jay posing for a picture while chasing down other omnivores and herbivores.

Jay getting another bead as an omnivore.

Lunch at the Dining Hall

Jayden and Marissa posing for a picture outside of the dining hall.

Lunch - a cold taco shell and meat, with a side of rice and corn. The tomatoes and hot sauce were added at the table, and lettuce was an option. Their was also the option of eating at the salad or fruit bar, of which I passed on both.

Rock Wall Climb

Jayden and her classmates listening to directions before being given a chance to climb.

Jay getting her harness on...

...and checked...

...before being allowed to climb.

Jay halfway up the second wall...

...and nearing the top...

...before making it all the way...

...and then rappelling down.

Jayden back on the ground after her first successful climb.

Jay went around the corner to a completely flat climbing wall...

...and made it up...

...but struggled to find footholds near the top...

...before deciding to head down.

Jayden on the fifth hardest wall...

...making her way towards the top.