Hi loyal readers!
We’ve entered the final stretch of camp and while we are absolutely bummed to have to leave soon, we aren’t letting that stop us from having an amazing last few days. After Mo & Din, we went back to our regular routine of bunk activities and free choice! On Thursday, the Wolves, Haven 2, MOTs, Pios, and Apes went on their trip to Giffords (our favorite local ice cream shop)! Because of Covid, we took trips to Giffords early in the morning before they were open, to ensure that we were the only ones there. We also all wore masks and we used an ordering form so we didn’t have to interact with the workers. The morning was filled with endless smiles an heaps of ice cream.
On Friday afternoon, instead of Free Choice, we had our Modin Bowl Finals! Modin Bowl is a flag football tournament that had been going on all throughout the summer. There were two final games: one for boys side (Pios versus Male Apprentices) and one for girls side (MOTs versus Female Apprentices). The Apes both took home wins!! Immediately following the games, a song began to play over the loud speaker: “Pickles, Pickles, we love Pickles”. Instantly all of the campers sprinted to the office, knowing exactly what was about to happen— PICKLE DAY!!! On Pickle Day, pickles and candy are handed out to everyone! It’s a silly little Modin tradition that everyone can look forward to and enjoy!
On Friday and Saturday we had our last and final shabbat here at Modin, joining as a community one last time out at our Bima. We had yet another beautiful service led by Sheera, our camp judaic director, and the Apprentices. We were lucky enough to end our 2020 Shabbats with gorgeous weather and the view of the pristine waters of Salmon lake.
On Saturday afternoon, the full camp gathered in the rec center for our camp play! The production this year was entirely written by our theater director Sam Adams and included a number of popular Disney songs (such as You’ve Got a Friend in Me and Hakuna Matata)! This year, because of the shortened summer and because they did not start practices until after all of the testing was completed, we had a cabaret style musical.
After the musical, we had our World Cup Finals! The World Cup is our Camp Modin soccer tournament where all the bunks are given a country that they play for. The World Cup is a long standing tradition here at Modin and has been around for as long as we can remember. While it started out as a soccer game between staff members in the 70s, it eventually grew into the camper tournament we know and love today. This year, for the first time ever, we had two finals (one for the girls and one for the boys). The MOTs played the Female Apprentices and the Pios played the Male Apprentices! Once again, the Apes won both games!! During the games, your very own bloggers (and Modin Spirit Team) drove around on cushmans (the golf carts that the admin team uses to drive quickly around camp) that were transformed into ice cream trucks!! Everyone was given their choice of ice creams to munch on while watching the game under the summer sun!
Saturday night we had our staff talent show where staff members took the stage to show off their skills (or lack thereof). On Sunday we had normal bunk activities all day, however many specialists had to start the process of shutting down camp. On Monday, we held our banquet where each bunk spent the day creating plaques and songs to present for the whole camp. Each specialty gives out awards to the most deserving bunks and campers, along with the Apes who pass out a number of different Modin awards that have been around for ages. Afterwards, the whole camp gathered in the rec center for the banquet social! We sang and danced our way through the night.
Today has been a much sadder day here at camp. We spent the day packing everything up. The bunks now look empty, the aqua park is gone from the lake, the tennis nets have been taken down, and the climbing wall no longer has rocks on it. We are absolutely devastated to have the summer end so soon. We could not have asked for a better summer 2020 and are so incredibly thankful that we were even able to have camp this summer. It’s even harder to leave this year, knowing the world is full of uncertainty, yet we are so thankful for the memories we have made this summer that we will hold onto for the rest of our lives.
Camp is a special place. It’s a place where we can dance in the rain and laugh with our best friends. A place where you can start the day in the lake and end it chasing your friends around after a game of paint twister. It’s a place where you can be yourself and not have to worry about the pressures from the world. A place where you always feel like you’re home. It’s hard knowing that you’re walking into the dining hall for your last meal or walking out of your bunk for the last time, but what makes it all ok is the fact that you’re leaving with friendships that will outlast any camp.
We have absolutely loved being your bloggers for a second year in a row! It has been an absolutely amazing summer and we are so excited to be entering our 100th summer!! Thank you everyone for following along!
Signing off one last time,
Molly Wilson, Sarah Wilner, and Harrison Israel