Friday, August 17

Sorry for the delay folks - Camp Jabberwocky has been busy galumphing around the island!!

Friday was a late wake up because some of us went clubbing Thursday night. Chad and State Radio put on a great show at Outlanders accompanied by our own Jabberwockian backup dancers!




Most of the day was spent getting excited and preparing for our upcoming play. Sonja, Eric, and Cooper have really outdone themselves! Here is a sneak preview:



The fireworks in Oak BLuffs were a perfect end to our summer fun. It's been a great summer, hope to see you all next year!

Now, here's Thursday's real post

This morning started with breakfast on the beach with Rick. We thought it might be too cold to go swimming, but it was beautiful.

First, a little sunscreen.

Then, we get food.

Michael doesn't look thrilled with Dave's choice for him. Dave looks happy.

Croissants, omelets and potatoes. And a beach. The water was clear and calm. I think you are figuring out that this was a perfect Vineyard morning.

After quick showers, and more food, we hurried off to the Agricultural Fair. There were animals, rides, food, and games. We did everything, and no one got sick. A few of us were dizzy after the rides, but the campers just wanted more.

Athena and Lidia decide to taste a "little" bit of fried dough.

Got a couple of winners here.

Zach and Jeremy decide if they're too sick to try another ride. ( I was going to say something about seeing eye to eye, but even I have my limits.- but then again, I did say it. Sorry)

This ride is called "The Counselor Crusher" because when it spins around,.. well, you get the idea.

Kirk and Jake rode the bullet. They are very brave. Or crazy. Or both.

Do we love the fair, oh, yes we do!

We arrived home from the fair to find a delicious dinner made by Steve and Cathleen. They made chowder and shrimp and served up crabcakes from the Net Result. Yum.

Well, folks, it's time for me to head on home to Colorado tomorrow. Rachel will be finishing out the session, so she'll keep you updated on the play and whatever other mischief we get into the next few days. I've enjoyed writing this blog, a first for me, and hope you were entertained keeping up with us this summer. Now when your camper comes home and says they had fun, you know it's true. If you go to the July blog, Arthur has put up a link and information on how to get copies of the photos in case you're interested.
Happy trails to you.

Here are the photos from the trip to the Boston Red Sox game. We got up at 6:30, (what, no hot breakfast?) and headed out for Wood's Hole.

Then we boarded a bus and headed for Boston. It wasn't red, but it had air conditioning and a bathroom.

And here we are!

Carl Beane, the Red Sox's announcer, came out for a photo op with us.

The group photo on the field. How sweet it is.

Jack and Rachel pose with the folks who got us the tickets. Thanks for a great time.

Jeremy patrolling left field like Manny

Posing with the Green Monster.

Dori running into the center field wall like Coco Crisp.

Camp Jabberwocky cheers on a Sox comeback

Gracie joins in a rousing rendition of "Sweet Caroline".

Gary proudly sneaks into expensive seats

Kara met us at the game.

You've heard the expression, "All work and no play.........". Well, not to worry, we are all about the play now, so there's nothing dull about us!

Sonja inspired us today with her musical skills and ability to add creative hand motions our songs.

The percussion section added a little extra to the music.

Athena and Bekah practice their duet.

And here are some spacemen showing us their space ears.

I spied this lion wandering around.


The craft activity was wand making. Hmmmmm. What show would have wands, a lion, and spacemen? I guess you'll have to come on Saturday night to see. I can guarantee that it will be nothing like any show you've seen before.

Kirk spent the entire morning working with Eliza on a huge pot. He will really miss pottery; it was his favorite activity.

A big Jabberwocky hip hip hooray for Kayla, Sophie and Eliza who provided pottery and craft classes for the campers. Thanks for all your help. See you next summer.


We let the campers out of the studio and spent a great afternoon on the beach. It was a beautiful day.

Bobby keeps an eye on things.

Happy hour the Jabberwocky way.

Katie and Andrew count their fingers. They are trying to experience how life was before calculators.

Kirk started snoring. Zach helped Kirk to stop snoring with the old "pour the water on the sleeping person" trick. Not to worry, Kirk went right back to sleep. Zach got a lecture from his mother and promises to NEVER do that again.

Kevin makes a smooth landing in his chair.

Taking it eazzzzzzzzy on the beach.

Tomorrow, most of the camp will be heading up to Boston for a Red Sox game. They won't be back until very late, so photos and stories won't be available until Thurs. Stay tuned. I'm sure there will be stories to tell.

The morning was spent in pottery, making masks , and spending time with the visiting dental students.

Here are the dental students who came. They gave demonstrations on brushing and flossing, and gave us free stuff. We love free stuff. We may even use this free stuff, which I guess is their point.

Kirk and Dave practice opening their mouths, which is a good skill to have.

Michael kept a safe distance from the dinosaur while ensuring that he had sparkling teeth. When the dentists told the camp they were omnivores and explained what that meant, Michael replied that he didn't eat grass, and lemons hurt his teeth. So now we know.

Sarah and Sammy lead the camp in a thank you song to the dentists. "Cape Cod Girls"

Since the play is Saturday night, most of the afternoon was spent at practice. Word is, it will be fabulous! Since it was cloudy, we left late afternoon for a picnic and sunset at South Beach.

Lidia took these photos at the beach. Some of them look like Glamour Shots.
Enjoy.

Our lunch crew looks very professional in their hairnets. Boy, do they know how to boil hot dogs. You could smell them all over camp. Yum.

The Martha's Vineyard Rod and Gun Club invited us over for the annual fishing derby. We stuffed ourselves with dogs, chips and soda, caught some fish, and got nifty t-shirts. Thanks for a fun afternoon.







Tori caught 10 fish. Luckily, we didn't have to eat them.



Our guest chefs, Dave and his daughter Emma made us dinner. It was wonderful. Thanks.




This evening we strolled down to Owen Park in Vineyard Haven to listen to the band concert. It was very restful. Sometimes it's nice to just relax and hang out.

Jack's got the best seat in the house.

The morning's activities included baseball, pottery, and chalking up the camp.

"And, it's one, two, three strikes you're out". (And you thought they were chanting "We're number 3")

Ben attempts to terrorize Bekah with a paint gun. She's not scared. And she'll get revenge. Watch your back, Ben.

Jeremy enthusiastically participates in the morning classes.

Afterwards, the campus looked like a scene from a bad murder/mystery movie. (Body shapes all along the paths, some looking quite festive with grass skirts and other details added.)

Visitors are "always" welcome at Bandersnatch.

Becky and Kyle relax after a morning of exhausting activities.

This evening's activity was yet another exciting, sweaty time in a local school's gym.

And it's good!

Michael and Andy practice teamwork.

Look out, here comes Kevin racing down the court.

Athena looks fierce; no one's getting this ball.

If you think this looks chaotic and wild, you should see it in person.

Every team needs cheerleaders. We have Brie and Bobby.

Bill and Kyle get a little competitive.

And then the counselors take the court. Wait, how many people are on a team?

Are you sure there's a basketball under there?

Here's the whole crew for this week. And they are amazing.

Friday, August 10

Today was filled with rain and more rain, so we decided to stay at camp, entertain ourselves and avoid all the traffic on the island.

Everyone seemed to have a ball at sports this morning.

From the sidelines---a few cheerleaders...

A number of people helped make thank you cards for all of the people who have helped us this summer.

Dori, with her drawing of her childhood hero, Ariel.

And pottery class happened, as usual.

Our lovely Sarah can make the grittiest of jobs look graceful...and refreshing!

During our afternoon of free time, Cabin Monopoly beats the monotony.

Others decided to "just hang out"

We all got together in the studio to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Looks like it really held our attention, huh?

Greased Lightning. A Camp Jabberwocky first.

Nautical theme for Mimsey, 100% Yellow Submarine. With Musical accomp.

Tory cheers for her peers as Kirsten coaches with the mostest.

Danielle added a little sunshine to our otherwise rainy day.

Spicing it up as the Spice Girls...

iJohn.

They're Here!!! They're Here!!!! We hardly have time to wallow in our sad goodbyes, because when we turned our backs a ton of new campers came out of nowhere, O changeover days, how we love you.

And here is one of our favorite activities, waiting to be fed. We do it 3 times a day, and we'd do it even more, but Jack says no.

Nothing like a good old fashioned arm wrestle. Wait a minute, Zach was fighting two people? He thought Kristen had just been hitting the gym a lot lately.

After lunch we went to a very wavy and rough beach, we had a few tumbles but no tears, after a delicious dinner we headed out to Mink Meadows golf course and had an amazing time. This is what you call a team effort.

The girls decide to make their own mini golf course on the putting green.

Come on now, you are so close!!!!


Susie and Bekah spend some quiet time catching up.

Time for bumper golf carts!

The golf carts were a huge hit; everyone was waiting in line and screaming for joy during the rides.

Michael and Michael strike a professional pose.

"Score! Goal! Yay!" Leslie cheers for Andrew.

And finally the girls finish their golf course, I bet it was fun, but there are some of us still waiting in line to try and polish our game.

Whoa, what a reward for climbing the hill in a golf cart, aaaaaaaaa the ocean, how I love you. Well as far as stressful changeover days, this was one of the better ones, all counselors really stepped up to the plate. I, for one, am going to sleep well tonight.

Thanks to guest blogger, Zach.

DAY FOURTEEN

This morning, we had a special treat. We were invited out to to the Art Cliff Diner for breakfast.It was great. We packed the place and stuffed ourselves. We then waddled out to the bus to return to camp and decide what to do with the rest of the rainy morning.

Table one waits patiently for their order.

The counselors enjoyed being waited on.

Here's our fabulous wait staff. Wait, they look just like our counselors! Thanks for your hard work, ladies and gents.

Other people saw that the diner was opened, and tried to join us. Mac was the bouncer, and broke the sad news to them. (I wonder if anyone tried to bribe him.)

When we were finished we sang for our breakfast.(Apparently, according to Jack, it's a tradition in some country to do this. Sounds better than paying) So, we sang Yellow Submarine , gave a Hip Hip Hooray, and presented the owners with camp t-shirts.

Sloan bonds with Mac's grandson, Tom.

As we headed back to camp, we decided to put on the carnival, even though the skies didn't look too friendly.

Paul and Livy wait while the counselors race around to set things up.

Micky blindfolds..um..err.. a camper so he can play Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate game.

Kristen runs the tattoo parlor.These are temporary, right?

A target too tempting to miss.

Justin prepares to flip the pirate onto his head. (Hey, it sounded like a good idea at the time.)

Paul bashed the pinata and candy went everywhere. He laughed so hard you could hear him all over the hardtop.

This game is called, "Throw the Egg at the Alligator". (Pretty clever, huh?)

Peter and I danced between the raindrops. Of course it rained on us, but we just ignored it.

Go Danielle, careful of the teeth!

Jeremy pinched rubber ducks with tongs. Sounds pirate-like.

Zach waits for the candy to drop.


It was a quiet afternoon here. Some went to the beach, some watched a movie here, some napped. The Vineyard Sound came to sing for us before supper, but they didn't get any. (Guess they were double booked tonight.) Thanks guys, we had fun watching your antics and singing along as if we knew the words. After dinner, we rode the flying horses again. Paul got the brass ring this time, a good way to end his stay.
Counselors frantically washed clothes and packed for tomorrow, another change over day. Many campers and counselors leave tomorrow. We waited all year for camp to start, and the time just flew by. Seems like we just got here. Bye friends, new and old.

DAY THIRTEEN

This morning, a group went horseback riding.

The rest of the camp played baseball . A good time was had. By all.

Kathryn prepares to duck.

Kristen coaches Nathan, in a loving manner, of course.

It worked!

Chris and Jack discuss strategery.

Don't these things come with instructions?

Gary races to first.

Jeremy knocks it out of the park!

And the base is loaded.


After dinner, we held a buccaneers' ball. We raided the costume cabin and found some pretty spiffy outfits. Add a few hats and eye patches, and you have a pretty scary bunch.

Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate's life for me.

Sloan and Jake float around the dance floor.

Michael expresses his joy.














Wait, pirates knew "YMCA"?

DAY TWELVE

This morning we painted stuff for the games at the pirate carnival which will be tomorrow morning. Arrrgh!!!


Michael provided some inspiration.




Don't these pinatas look exactly like pirates' heads?

Katie and Andrew show off their little man/person/Gumby thing.

Caitlin and Eamon tidied up the place. There's always something to do here.

We needed a mermaid to keep the pirates happy. (And to keep the campers painting.)

Instead of a rest period, Jack suggested that we clean all the cabins and bleach some more and pick up the clothes that somehow wound up on the floor. His idea was greeted with great joy. Then he offered a fabulous prize, like a candy bar or soda to the winning cabin. That inspired everyone. Or, at least it inspired Tulgy Wood, who resorted to massive cleaning, welcome signs, and bribery. Some of the other cabin residents decided they were clean enough, and could buy their own candy bars. They napped instead.

Here are the judges, and they were tough!

Tulgy Wood counselors recruited extra help.


They aimed for the "most improved" award, and they got it!

The announcement I remember said we had a rest period.

Jack also decided that some of the campers needed sprucing up, so he offered free shaves to all. (Faces only)

Our cookout got rained upon, so the boys grilled on the hardtop, and we had drumming in the studio instead of the beach.

Bye Dr Tom and family, we'll miss you.

Sunday is a quiet day at camp. We sleep in, have a late breakfast, then some go to church and the others take it easy. We went to the beach after lunch as usual, but the blog stopped uploading photos for some reason, so you only get 2 tonight. Hopefully, it will fix itself by tomorrow.

John Lamb and Skipper discuss the good old days.

Peter does some reading on the beach. Wait, did I say reading? In the summer? Wow, that warms this retired teacher's heart.

After supper, we attended the band concert in Oak Bluffs. Mac plays in the band, and was the only one with a fan club as far as we could tell. Go Mac!

This is not a sit down and fall asleep kind of concert. It's a skip around the gazebo kind of concert. We do like to get joyful.

Dominic gets some dancing done.

And when it's dark and they have played the national anthem, we head for the bus and vans, and try to remember to take all the campers and belongings with us. (Big day in lost and found tomorrow.)

After an inspirational music hour, we started the morning activities. We created pinatas to use at our pirate carnival on Tues. We made a great mess and only popped a few balloons. We're not sure how pinatas are linked to pirates, but we like them so they got included. We also had some wild and crazy baseball games on the hard top. The third activity was watercolor painting. The results were amazing.

Brie and Caitlin were very brave to run this activity. Thanks.

Gloves help.

Swing, batter, swing!


Happy birthday Andrew! (He's a teenager today.)

Ash makes it to third.

Amanda guards third base. She doesn't want anyone to steal it.

Caitlin inspires her buddies, Eamon and Josh.

Kirk creates another masterpiece. Danielle supervises.

Gary is all concentration. Painting is his specialty.

Here are the photos from the Biscuit Burner concert. We enjoyed ourselves and made a scene. That's what it's all about.

We got in early so we could get the best seats.

Here they are!

Mac's family came to visit. Toby (the dog) barked every time we clapped.
He either really loves or really hates applause. But at least he participated in the fun.







We don't need no stinking wheelchairs, we gotta dance!

The morning activities were beading, yoga, and pottery. Everyone participated with enthusiasm, and Michael was so happy with yoga that he stayed there all morning. He was very relaxed. He may have even been snoring.

Beach time!

Mac and Jeremy discuss bus maintenance.

Josh creates his own shade.

Paul gets a lecture about speeding.

Counselors and campers kept themselves busy rearranging the beach.

Craig got in the water for the first time this summer. Next time he'll go in up to his shins.

After the beach, we rushed through our showers and headed off to Oak Bluffs. Some of us went to fly kites and walk around, and the rest went for a fishing expedition on the Skipper.

Katie caught a monster!

Ash and Darren made a good team. Darren helped us remove all those wiggly guys so we could let them go for next year.

Gracie caught some vegetables for us.

Paul fished for hours without a bite. Then he started calling, "Here, fishy, fishy". It worked!

DAY EIGHT

Here are the photos from yesterday's horseback riding lesson. (And you thought I'd forget)

Hannah inspects one of the plastic cones. She has an eye for detail.

Paul gets a boost up, and looks mighty fine in the saddle.

Taylor and the gang go for a stroll.

Since it was changeover day, there were only a few campers and counselors left at camp to clean cabins, change beds, and play the "Move to a New Cabin Without Losing Any Belongings" game. Hardly anyone wins this game. It takes great skill and practice. The blogger spent the day in the laundry folding and such, and wondering why anyone would pay to go to a sauna.

The campers had music, pottery, and a rip-snorting game of Bingo. We know how to have a good time.

"Judy, I got a lousy card. It doesn't have any of the numbers!" Justin complained.

After lunch, we hurried to the beach. It was too hot to dawdle, so we rushed to unpack the new campers and hung out in the water all afternoon.

Gary tries out his new goggles. (Very smart)

Michael takes his daily dip.

After dinner, it was off for another sunset at West Chop. It's beautiful and relaxing and free.

DAY SEVEN , END OF WEEK ONE

This morning we went to the Dobbies (Flying Horses) instead of having activities. Campers and counselors grabbed the rings as we sped along on our trusty steeds. Another group went horseback riding on the real things.

Cy got the brass ring. He was very excited.

Thank you for the treat. We'll be back.

Later that day, (after another glorious afternoon at the beach), we decorated the main cabin and frosted cupcakes. Then we donned those beautiful hats we made in crafts class.

It was a Swedish meatball frenzy in the kitchen.

Eric presented Carina (who was celebrating her birthday today) a Swedish tradition, a mashed potato porcupine with hot dog quills. She was thrilled.

After dinner and candle-blowing, we went off to the gym for our annual basketball playoffs.

Michael wanted to sing the national anthem before the game. We almost knew all the words.

That red team looks very professional.

Here's the yellow team, or the red team, or, it doesn't matter.

Justin's ready for action.

Jeremy thinks the yellow team can't be beat. Well, since we don't keep score, that's true.

Some friendly taunting before the jump ball.

Here are our mamas' boys, Drew and Zach. They know who to please. (Their arms say,"I heart Mom")

Michael makes a basket with a little help from his friends.

And the crowd goes wild.

The campers and counselors race around and try to play some basketball too.

And now we begin a "friendly" counselor game.

Here's the group of counselors from week one. They are an amazing bunch. Some will leave soon, and we are very sad. Hope they come back, and they bring their friends. Hats off to you guys; we had a fabulous week.