Halloween Weekend #1--Gotta love Buddy the Elf

For a better view, click on a photo.

Many great costumes at both the kid's contest and the multi-age groups. Congrats to the site deco winners, with 322 winning 1st, 64W 2nd and 421A taking 3rd. A few pumpkin contest photos as well.

Congrats to Championship Weekend Winners

Numerous medals and trophies were earned on Championship Weekend. The Greased Pole Climb kicked things off on Friday, and one of the twins took first (sorry Mary and Erin, I can't remember who won--although the other twin won "Simon Says"). Just a few swimmers ventured in for the races, as the water temp has dropped a little. AJ S. won the Disc Golf Trophy with a 22, and the Washer Toss was won by Ryan and Matt V. The Egg Toss (see photo) was won by Art and his daughter, while Art ended up being the only double trophy winner, as he teamed with Jen N to win horseshoes on Sunday. Rob & Gene were 2nd, so it appears lucky for Rob that Moms are not entered in the Father's Day Tourney, as Jen would have bumped him out of the top 3 and a trophy back in June. Looks like a nice forecast for the upcoming Bingo Bonanza, with each weekend rez receiving a complimentary ticket for the big $2500 raffle on Sunday (an additional $1000 in prizes as well). Tickets are $10 each and may be purchased in the office or at Bingo until about 11:30AM Sunday, as the drawing will be at noon. Sunday will also be the progressive jackpot--$1100 prize.

Labor Day Mud Wrestling Photos

Quite a few interesting matches, but am always amazed at how many people don't read the permission form or activity schedule where it reads in big letters (and often highlighted or even italics) that your best chance for a match is to list you, a partner and 2 opponents. When there are 17 groups that do that, the other 50 random individuals etc have little chance of filling in spots. Hope you enjoy the photos--thanks to Jen D on the Rec Staff for taking the shots. You can click an image to make it larger for more detail. Hope we have enough players for our annual "Staff vs Seasonal Softball Challenge" today.

Photos of Hurricane Earl's Impact

At its peak, maximum sustained winds were reported to be 4 MPH, with gusts in excess of 11 MPH, making Hurricane Earl just below devastating levels on the Saiffir-Simpson Scale. Locally, 4 sites were reported to be without power during the storm, but it was later discovered that those were the tent sites with no hook-ups. The storm surge was slightly less than anticipated, and combined with the astronomical high tide and rain that fell at a rate of almost 0.25 inches an hour for a period of 10 minutes, there were some puddles that the Army National Guard deemed unsafe to cross with standard Matchbox or Hot Wheel type vehicles (passing was possible with tanks, as shown). In addition, there appeared to be 2 leaves that fell from the tree near the playground, one of which is pictured. If you look closely at the full tree, you may be able to tell from where it fell. Hopefully, this will have minimal impact on the fall foliage.

Great week of weather

Just in time for many kids to return to school, the weather is perfect. Long term forecast looks pretty good, with maybe a chance of showers late in the weekend and a slight chance of hurricane Friday morning. Special thanks to those campers who stopped by to enjoy some picnic fare and donate on Sunday. Still events and activities this week, just a slightly modified schedule.

Back to School Sale Weekend is here

Could not ask for better weather than is forecast for the next 7 days or so, including sunshine and warm temps all weekend. Still a few sites open, as some schools started last week, most in this area start next Mon/Tue, while a few still hold out for after Labor Day. Next week will still feature daily events and activities, but please note that at the discounted rate, the office will close 8:30pm Sun-Thurs. Do want to take a moment to thank many local businesses for donating items for the fund-raiser picnic on Sunday (see prior blog), noting US Foods, Frito Lay, Coca Cola and Lopresti Farms. We really have no idea if there will be 10 people or 200. Happy to see that Danielle is heading out to see. Brock will be excited to hear about Fiona, as he is a big Shrek fan. It is the storm in between that will cause some worry (Earl), as the early tracking does not take it quite as far east as Danielle. The guesses have begun as to when we will get the first call from a Labor Day Weekend reservation stating "We can't come--haven't you heard there's going to be a hurricane?". Don't worry...if that were ever to be the case, we would encourage waiting to the last minute to see the track, and if an actual hurricane warning, hurricane watch or tropical storm warning were to be issued for our area (or your hometown), we would allow a cancel with a future camping credit issued. Since Johnny Damon declined the invite to Boston, I believe that a trio of former Sox will pull a "Lebron" and attempt to form their own team (joined by waiver wire Manny and pseudo-retired Pedro), basing their squad in the the tropics and going by "The Island of Misfit Toys". Maybe a few of the other former self-proclaimed idiots would join them. Almost torn as to rooting for or against Sox as they play the Rays this weekend. With all the theories regarding Tiger's success after the divorce was finalized, I think he intentionally bagged these last few months to appear human. He could have won, but then everyone would have thought he had no feelings. Just a thought. And remember, this weekend features our "Back to School Sale" at the store and grill--get 10% off when you mention "Back to School Sale" before presenting your payment.

Benefit Picnic August 29

David & Jen (Site 198) will be hosting a fundraiser benefit picnic on August 29 for David's sister Lisa, whose house in Milford CT was destroyed by a fire on June 22. Although there were no injuries, the house was a total loss, and a pair of dogs were unable to escape. Lisa and Jen shared the house with the house owners, so while the eventual rebuild will be covered by the homeowner's insurance, a lack of renter's insurance means that all items such as clothing were not covered. They have since found a place to stay not too far from the original house, but have been trying to furnish the home, as well as rebuilding a wardrobe. The WFSB Channel 3 newslink is attached here. http://www.wfsb.com/news24005297/detail.html . We will be hosting a picnic on Sunday, August 29 at our site during the afternoon hours. Jen is in charge of the details, but I think the plan is to suggest a donation of $10 for a classic burger. I will try to get more info posted soon. Thanks to those who have already made a donation, as they will not be present for the picnic, which will run from 3pm-6pm. Looks like great weather for the long-term forecast!!