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Monthly Archives: June 2021

Good evening everyone. Wendy Corbin here. I’m the head of girls camp and thrilled to be back at the Realm again this summer.

Well, it was a hot one today! The campers spent most of the day at the Waterfront where a cool breeze was coming off Ossipee Lake. The schedule was packed with kids swimming, sailing, water skiing, paddle boarding and canoeing.  We were all cooling off and having fun.  We also set up our water inflatables. This activity is a perfect remedy to 90+ temperatures. There is a giant slip-n-slide and a corkscrew water slide.  The kids loved it.

Another way to beat the heat is yoga in the shade. So nice to see groups relaxing and meditating.  Over at Arts and Crafts the pottery wheel was spinning. I can’t wait to see some of the projects being created.

We hope you are having as much fun as we are, but I highly doubt it.  Camp Robin Hood is truly a magical place. The groups are bonding and incredible memories are starting to be made.

Sweet dreams from the Realm.

It’s really starting to catch on around here. The kids have been here for almost 100 hours now but it seems like home already. Walking around the Realm and hearing the joy and laughter warms my heart. The 18 groups are becoming separate but equal families. They are acting like brothers and sisters in every way. 

Every year we plan and hope for all the right things. We spend days thinking about all the new things kids need today. This summer has proven again that OUR SECRET SAUCE is all that really matters. Gather kids from around the world and bring them to a safe home led by former campers who are here for the right reason. Our staff is here to continue the legacy of kindness, tradition and friendship that exists so strongly here at the Realm.
We call it “Andy’s Dream” after our founder and first director Andy Friedman. HE was an amazing guy in every way. I was lucky enough to have met him my first summer at CRH back in 1973 as a Juggler. I think about his vision and read old yearbooks constantly to peek into his mindset. Camp Robin Hood like everything in our lives has evolved throughout the years. CRH has made it through the Great Depression, WW2 , Polio outbreaks , H1N1 and now we are fighting our way through covid for the second summer. All with the same principles and goals- provide kids a safe place to be themselves and flourish in the place we all call home surrounded by mountains and laughter …
Thank you again for trusting me with your children …..
Woody

A Wonderful Day In The Realm

Beautiful morning in the realm! At 6:30 am a group of 14 jugglers were at the waterfront with Rick (our program director), fishing poles in hand and worms on hooks! They pulled in a few pan fish off the docks. Great way to be outdoors and start the day at camp. Meanwhile as I sit at my desk I see a few joggers go past with a staff member as they make their way around camp from fields to waterfront, a good in-camp course. We start early here with 8:00 am reveille with breakfast in the tent at 8:30. And what a breakfast it was! Belgian waffles and sausages plus many other items like fruit cups, bagels, hot and cold cereal – it just can’t be beat! Now while reveille blows at 8:00 for general camp our kitchen crew, led by Yensi (our head chef) and Leo (his assistant) are in the kitchen at 7:00 am to put out this wholesome and nutritious breakfast.

 

Well, according to our local weather station today is to be a “scorcher” – New England term for a hot one! It is to hit 90 degrees. Campers reminded at breakfast to drink lots of water and wear sunscreen. Woody at breakfast threw out a challenge – cleanest bunk in boys and girls camp will be first in line for Sunday sundaes – an ice cream feast tonight after dinner. Alright let’s talk about what is in store for the day. All groups will have 1 or 2 team sports and will have coaches at each one be it soccer, softball, basketball or volleyball. A new sport we started last year is pickleball. It was very popular so this year we added a new pickleball court and today Lancers and Archers will get to play on it with Scott (our Athletic Director). Now on top of the above team sports looking at the schedule we also have tennis, riflery, gaga, 9 square, archery and arts and crafts. Let’s get to our waterfront where everyone will want to be today. All groups will be able to cool down and get wet in one of these areas: general swim, kayak, canoe, waterski, tubing, paddle boats and boards and a new fleet of sailboats which range from small ones to our new big cat. All these are looked out over and rigged by our own Captain Will. Now is the above all of our activities? No way but this is what I can see on the schedule today. Took a ride out to the stables where I met Abe, Benny, Archie, Jasper, Dale, Anne, Nico, Fierro, Gypsy and Chip. They are our herd for the summer. Our riding program is run by Diane who has been running riding for over 30 years and during winter runs our office. Most if not all of you have been in contact with her. But during summer she returns to her first love – horses and riding. Some of the action out at the barn includes riding, jumping, trail rides and some grooming. The campers that do the riding program ride twice a week. I also hit arts and crafts this morning. A very popular place for all groups and always offers a place to sit down and be creative with clay or on paper with markers. During the course of the summer we will see come out some great drawings and paintings, friendship bracelets, clay pots and figures, and this year we hope to introduce, for senior campers only, some work in stained glass. This is what I see and hear as I sit in my office looking out and when Briar and I take a cart and cover camp. It is so much fun seeing camp alive, loud, and happy. I start in April and it is just toooo quiet. The campers and staff having fun all over camp 6 periods a day keep me alive and well and make life worth living for me. Thank you all for making it happen by entrusting us with your children. We will show them a great super summer with all Robin Hood has to offer – 94 seasons of it.

 

Thanks – Chuck and Briar.

 

This was written by Chuck Illig, our Co-Head Counselor, in his 56th summer here at Robin Hood.A

Day 2 In The Realm

We had our first full day of activities today and I was so happy to see our campers running around the realm playing, talking, laughing and smiling! Their energy is infectious and it simply warms my heart. I saw the tumblers playing basketball, the TP’s at soccer, the Friars at the senior waterpark, the bows at tennis and the quills waterskiing – and that was all before lunch! 

Everyone has had 24 hours here now and we are all settling into our new routine. All campers have had their swim tests, they have all had a couple of meals here and know our dining tent procedures and have spent their first night in their new cozy beds. Our groups all had bunk meetings last night to go over expectations and to play some bonding “get to know you” type games. Our little group families are budding and it is such a treat for me to watch them grow. Our photographers are working hard to capture the spirit of what is happening here. They managed to launch almost 500 pictures yesterday – we hope you enjoyed them. They will continue snapping away and we hope to see about that many get posted every day. Activities continued all afternoon on every court, field, and on the lake. After a fabulous roasted chicken dinner with carrots and rice tonight I saw some very creative evening activities including a game of gold rush, bombardment, saxon -yeoman Hunger Games (basically like tag) and spud! I am fairly confident that everyone will be exhausted soon and that we will all sleep well. I am happy to report that after being screen-free for a little over 24 hours now everyone is surviving! Snapchat, Instagram, Tik Tok, and video games will have to learn to live without all of us! Hope that you are adjusting to the peace and quiet in your homes as well as we are adjusting to the giggling, laughter, and general chatter that has filled our camp.

 

Sweet dreams from the Realm – 

Michelle

 

Greetings From The Realm

Greetings from the Realm! Today was an extra BIG day here! The campers played all afternoon on the fields and in the lake. Their laughter and smiles warmed my heart. We enjoyed a great dinner together in the dining tent followed by evening activities all over camp. I saw kids running around, playing basketball, playing volleyball, swimming, enjoying s’mores by campfires, and having backwards scavenger hunts to name a few. It was a great opening day. Hope you had a great day too. The realm is alive once again!

 

Sweet dreams from the Realm –

Woody