So Sam and Drew and the boys of bunk Oak decided to see if they could bring the smoking embers back to life. Could they rekindle the dormant campfire? Counselor Luke showed them how. Using fire-building techniques passed down through the ages (and the Boy Scouts), they were able to bring the embers back to a full campfire. They told stories and jokes and made up a few cheers and chants. But their time was limited and they had to get back to shore, so they doused the flames and made sure that no live embers were left. Smokey the Bear would have been proud! No chance of a forest fire on our beloved Blueberry Island. Sam, Drew and the boys of bunk Oak saved the day. And at line-up this morning, they were still talking about it.

They could see the smoke coming over the pines as they approached Blueberry Island. Sam in the stern, Drew in the bow followed by a small row of canoes filled with campers from bunk Oak and the Senior Division. Counselor Luke was in charge. He gave everyone the sign to whisper as they got closer. What was the source of the smoke? Was it a campfire? Were there inhabitants on the island? They glided slowing around the perimeter of the fabled, mysterious island, circling a little closer each time. Finally Luke found a place to pull up the canoes. There was a trail. Everyone disembarked cautiously. Luke lead the way, followed by Drew, Sam and the rest of the crew. A short walk into the island they found it, an empty campfire with a few embers still burning. No sign of people. Who could it have been?

TO BE CONTINUED….

From Maui and Paris! Our CA’s arrived this morning from Maui, tired but
happy. They loved the trip and especially doing community service with
deserving children in remote areas of Hawaii. The beaches, zip lining and
kayaking were great too! And by dinner time we also welcomed our second
furthest travelers, three intrepid campers from Paris, France.  Ben, Noam
and Nathaniel arrived to cheers from the boys camp. Their English is a
little rusty but soon they’ll be talking up a storm. Speaking of storms ,
more rain and thunder rolled through the mountains  tonight. But by the
time of this blogging the skies had cleared and there’s a glorious sunset
over the girls pool. From across the globe they come to PFC, one camp, one
family, one magnificent day.

We had a Friday morning filled with exciting intercamp games in Greeley today! Some of our youngest boys and girls had a fun “play day” at the nearby NJY Camps while our U15 girls soccer team and U11 boys baseball team competed there this morning. PFC played host to a girls gymnastics meet and we couldn’t be more proud of our girls! We also hosted part two of the USTA tennis tournament which had over 200 participants. As Uncle Marv always says, “keep playing tennis” and they sure did. The only bummer of the day was that our boys and girls swim meets got rained out, but we’ll take a rain check on those! Our TOP Cooks took a trip to Hill’s Homestead and back on the home front, we kept on dancing with Kelli Moshen! We can’t wait for her to come back in a few weeks.

Tonight we had our Shabbat dinner Thanksgiving style with turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows!) and string bean casserole. Oh, and don’t forget the matzo ball soup and challah. It is Friday, after all. We’re having indoor campfires tonight and by the time sun rises, our CAs will be back from Maui. We can’t wait to hear all about their experiences!

Today was a busy day at PFC! Kelli Moshen and her team continue to dance their way through Center Stage, our Superstar Golfers hit the green and we hosted the much-anticipated USTA tennis tournament again this year! We had tennis teams from many local camps taking over all of our courts this morning. Rain started moving in after lunch time, so part two of the tournament will take place tomorrow. We can also look forward to a gymnastics meet at PFC and a U11 boys baseball game, U15 girls soccer game and U9 boys and girls play days at the NJY Camps tomorrow. Our boys and girls swim teams both have away meets tomorrow, too! What a day!

We also want to highlight a cool trip our TOP Cooks campers went on today. They went to Sculpted Ice Works and learned a lot about how to work with ice! They learned about how food was kept cold before there were refrigerators and they were fascinated. They also learned that the Poconos used to be one of the biggest producers of ice blocks for people’s homes! At one point, there were 6 rooms that each held 200 tons of ice along Lake Wallenpaupack! Who knew?! They then walked through the museum where they got to hold some of the old tools used to check the thickness of the ice, actually cut the ice and then carry it back to the factory. After the museum, they went down to the working factory where ice sculptures are carved and watched the sculptors carve a pair of swans for someone’s birthday party tomorrow. Our campers said that they are now extra thankful for their easy access to ice, especially on humid days like this! They all hope to carve self-portraits one day!

PS: Bunk newsletters are UP! If you are a parent of a Junior or Inter camper, you’ll see the newsletters in the forms section of your CampMinder account. Woohoo! Call the office if you have any trouble finding them.

Hello, happy campers! Today was another beautiful day and we have been taking advantage of this weather at the pools and at the lake. The ladies of girls camp have been making their way through Center Stage where Kelli Moshen and her team are teaching them an awesome dance routine that they’ll be working on all week. Today was also our official picture day! Our TOP Cooks went to a great local restaurant, Peter’s, to take a cooking class with Peter himself and we debuted a new game in camp: Pop A Shot! Check it out in our photo below. Hand-made in our woodshop and enjoyed by all!

Tonight our Hi-Seniors are at the RailRiders game! The RailRiders are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees and they play in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. While our Hi-Seniors enjoy their night out, our Seniors are ruling the camp! Good thing we have late sleep tomorrow! (Just kidding!) Bunk Cherry has their overnight tonight and we can’t wait to hear their stories. We love that our campers have been coming up with very creative games on their overnights this year!

Hey, Junior and Inter parents! We have something that will brighten up your week popping up on the forms section of your CampMinder accounts tomorrow. Stay tuned for bunk newsletters, week 1 edition!

Back to the daily routine after an exciting July 4^th! Our fireworks sure did not disappoint and fortunately the rain held out until the very end of the show. We ended the night with yet another PFC 4^th of July tradition: firecracker popsicles!

Today was action-packed, both inside and outside of camp! Kelli Moshen’s team arrived for a week of dance workshops and routines at Center Stage. This is something a lot of campers look forward to every summer. She had campers running up to her the second she got to the dining hall for lunch!

Outside of camp, our TOP Cooks took a trip to the Culinary Institute of America in New York to take a tour. Between the bruschetta, steak, salmon, macaroons, tiramisu and gelato, it’s safe to say they ate like kings and queens, too! One of the many interesting facts they learned is that chefs traditionally wear checkered pants so that food stains can easily be hidden! Who knew?!

Our Superstar Golf campers hit the green at Woodloch and we sent 3 boats to Lake Wallenpaupack to waterski. In Intercamp Games news, Our U11 boys basketball team, U13 boys soccer team, U13 girls soccer team and U15 girls basketball teams all had games today! We can’t wait to hear how they went!

We’ve been giving you a glimpse into camp life through CampMinder, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, but did you know that you have access to every Greeley sunrise and sunset through our weather camera?! Check it out!

July 4^th is one of the best days at camp, so we woke up to pure excitement today! Our 10s came through each bunk decked out in red, white and blue and they paraded around camp with whistles and bullhorns in their decorated golf carts!

We walked into the dining room to find the entire place decorated with red, white and blue balloons and streamers. Even a few inflatable Uncle Sams joined the party! For breakfast, we had waffles with strawberries (red), whipped cream (white), and blueberries (blue) and fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts – a true PFC tradition!

We did lunch the only way we know how to on the 4^th: a cookout in the grove, complete with foot-long hot dogs!

This afternoon, we had an awesome carnival come to camp! It was complete with an inflatable obstacle course for the pool, massive inflatable waterslides and even a dunk tank! Campers loved dunking their counselors.

The highlight of the day takes place after dinner when we have our all-camp talent show at Netsy Playhouse followed by the best fireworks display in Pike County over Mitchell Field. We always hear from alumni that July 4^th reminds them of their cherished time in Greeley. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy birthday America!

Another beautiful day in Greeley! After late sleep, breakfast was a huge hit. Pink pancakes were a favorite at grove breakfast, while our campers in the dining hall enjoyed bagels, lox, eggs, potatoes, cinnamon buns and fruit salad. Can’t beat that!

Meanwhile, at Lake Greeley, our Inter girls made it to Blueberry Island and our Senior boys were spotted on the paddleboards. Our music room became the new “School of Rock” during a Hobby Hour jam session with Ayden. It was awesome! The Junior girls were also rocking at dodgeball in Hughie Hall. Archery was a popular activity today because our campers got to use piñatas as targets! Sometimes it’s just fun to shake things up!

Everyone is getting ready for tomorrow’s big talent show right now, so stay tuned! Also, there’s a (friendly!) competition to see which bunk can decorate their porch the best for the 4^th of July. As you can imagine, the campers are going all out!

Have we mentioned that tomorrow is July 4^th?! There’s no better place to celebrate than Greeley, PA. Red, white and blue gear, inflatables, a talent show and fireworks. Don’t mind if we do.