document.write('<ol class="tumblr_posts">\x0a    \x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_text_post">\x0a                \x0a                    <div class="tumblr_title">SURFING!</div>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                <div class="tumblr_body">\x0a                    <p><img height="370" width="550" alt="Surfin!" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/sonofdaeladus/chop%20point/_CVA0113.jpg"/></p>\x0a<p>pictures speak louder than words&#8230; correct?</p>\x0a<p>so i&#8217;m sure you can see that we at chop point are having a blast, especially with the recent addition of 5 surfboards, a beach pass, and truck full of eager-to-surf campers.</p>\x0a<p>That&#8217;s correct: we now have a surfing activity. Every few days we take a group of campers to one of the local beaches to get their feet wet (<i>figuratively of course&#8230; how could they possibly get wet while surfing?</i>) and try their hand at shredding some pipelines.</p>\x0a<p>Whether they&#8217;ve been hangin&#8217; ten for years, or have only ever watched Johnny Tsunami (<i>or Point Break in the case of some of our staff</i>) we have a blast hanging out in the atlantic.</p>\x0a<p>Our first trip was a great success, with four complete beginners to the sport givin&#8217; it a go on some 3-4 foot breaks. Everyone got to paddle out on some waves and we even got a couple kids upright (<i>even if just for a matter of seconds</i>)</p>\x0a<p>For some more smiling faces and photos of the first of many beach-side surfing expeditions <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/choppoint/SurfTrip#" title="Surfing Photos" target="_blank">click here</a></p>\x0a<p>There&#8217;s still plenty of time left in the session, and an overflowing list of campers ready to join the fun, so expect to hear more!</p>\x0a                </div>\x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_text_post">\x0a                \x0a                    <div class="tumblr_title">Second Session</div>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                <div class="tumblr_body">\x0a                    <p>second session kicked off just a few days ago, and already we&#8217;ve packed in enough fun for a whole summer.</p>\x0a\x0a<p><i>*not to insinuate that our proverbial well of fun has dried up by any means - as i&#8217;m inclined to think that it may in fact be infinite.</i></p>\x0a\x0a<p>We kicked the first couple days off in classic chop point fashion, opening with a series of get-to-know-you games,<i> to do exactly what the name implies</i>, followed by wacky olympics and the ever-entertaining counselor skits. We&#8217;ve had great weather for activities, and the waterfront has been the place to be - with a steady stream of sailors, windsurfers, kayakers, canoes, and cannonballs.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>We had an incredible water night, with relays, water balloons, a water slide of near-mythic proportions, and as you may have guessed&#8230; lots of water.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>we filled the days with even more activities, from tennis, field sports, arts and crafts, photography, ultimate frisbee, and the aforementioned waterfront madness.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>the other night we had cabin theme night, where each cabin transforms their cabin into a specific theme, from a haunted house, to a christmas celebration; upon completion the campers were given a tour through each of the cabins to enjoy the fruits of their labor.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>the kids have been busy today prepping for tonights Lip Sync, where each cabin will be choreographing a near-broadway caliber performance to a randomly assigned song.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>i can&#8217;t wait.</p>\x0a                </div>\x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_text_post">\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                <div class="tumblr_body">\x0a                    <p>So we finished up First Session with a proverbial bang; starting with a gloriously sunny day out at the beach. Kids played in the sand, out in the water, enjoyed a classic maine BBQ, and even tried out a little surfing.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>We followed that up with a camp favorite of  late-nigh rollerskating. Everyone throws on a pair of skates and showcases their gnarliest dance moves out under the disco ball&#8230; <i>or at least try their hardest to stay on their feet.</i></p>\x0a\x0a<p>Then we all slept in, woke up to a nice brunch, and went for a day out on the town in Maines outlet shopping mecca: Freeport. And as a result of their new outlet opening, I&#8217;m pretty sure almost every boy in camp came back with a new pair of Nikes.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>We returned to camp for a banquet, final campfire, and the premier of the camp video (which due to 20 hour render time, nearly didn&#8217;t happen) The campers said their goodbyes, and eventually we reluctantly let them go&#8230;</p>\x0a\x0a<p>It was a fantastic session, and as sad as we all are to part with it, there is a new session on our front door, new campers, new trips and activities, new weather patterns at long last&#8230;</p>\x0a\x0a<p>same great Chop Point.</p>\x0a                </div>\x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_text_post">\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                <div class="tumblr_body">\x0a                    <p>It&#8217;s been a busy week here at the point, the sun finally decided to come out (and stay) and we&#8217;ve been making the most of every last ray.</p>\x0a<p>We had a phenomenal sailing trip, right in the middle of a thunderstorm with 35-40k winds at full sail. The crew was exceptional, and it made for one of the most exciting sailing trips we&#8217;ve had.</p>\x0a<p>We enjoyed the vivacious local nightlife on the 5th with a night out at the Bath Heritage Days carnival, cotton candy, fresh cut fries, high velocity spinning rides, gastrointestinal havoc, games and carnies; all punctuated by some stellar fireworks&#8230;</p>\x0a\x0a<p>the only thing that could have made it better was celebrating it a day earlier.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>We also put together a <i>killer</i> haunted house, carved watermelons (because seriously: pumpkins aren&#8217;t in season, and eating the insides of watermelons is much more fun.) and enjoyed some homemade caramel corn for a very seasonal Halloween.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>i just realized that in the opening paragraph of this entry i may have lied. When i said the sun chose to stay, i seem to have forgotten that it did not, in fact, stay, and it did rain one last time.  Although this is relatively easy to forget in light of the awesome time we had in spite of the looming weather. We started off the morning with a short session of all camp board games, quickly followed by a trip out to an ice skating rink, with greasy food, loud music, and a disco ball:  perfect.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>Ever since we threatened the summer with our return to winter activities, the sun got its act together and decided to stick around. In fact, the rain is so intimidated by our determination that if in fact it does come to the camp, it sneaks in at night after we go to sleep, and leaves before we wake up.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>We&#8217;ve had some great activities since, from all camp cabin skit night where the comedic talents of campers were showcased, to a Luau - complete with a roasted pig. Then came one of the most epic nights of dodgeball in recent memory, the gym was filled with smoke and strobe lights, blaring music, and at one point everyone was so busy breakdancing that we failed to note that the game had finished.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>Last night was the camp Talent Show, where we were treated to the campers and counselors&#8230; <i>talents</i>.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>*i was trying to think of a good synonym for talent, so as not to repeat myself in the same sentence; only to realize upon reading that it may have looked like i was implying something about the aforementioned talent of both campers and counselors. As if to say &#8220;<i>there was no talent</i>&#8221; when in fact there was;</p>\x0a\x0a<p><i>it was spectacular really.</i></p>\x0a\x0a<p>From comedic routines, charming musical numbers, exceptional basketball skills, even a song written and performed by a camper.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>that brings us to today: most of the camp is out white water rafting, in what should be some extraordinary rapids due to the mild precipitation we&#8217;ve received this summer. As for the rest of us: the sun is shining, the sky is blue and there is a slight breeze, so i expect some classic summer camp action.</p>\x0a\x0a<p>if you haven&#8217;t yet, go check out some of the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/choppoint" target="_blank">summers photos</a> to see what we&#8217;re up to!</p>\x0a                </div>\x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post">\x0a                <img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/uwRjixeOOplgavf0RiOX0JjCo1_400.jpg" alt="" class="tumblr_photo"/>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post">\x0a                <img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/uwRjixeOOplg9vj5t8RloXHGo1_400.jpg" alt="" class="tumblr_photo"/>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post">\x0a                <img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/uwRjixeOOplg8vlrQdEru0cuo1_400.jpg" alt="" class="tumblr_photo"/>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_text_post">\x0a                \x0a                    <div class="tumblr_title">Catching Up!</div>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                <div class="tumblr_body">\x0a                    <p>Admittedly, some time has passed since our last post; you might notice a change in location (<i>well, you are probably sitting in the same place and i am currently typing from the same place; but the blog itself has moved</i>) We&#8217;re changing things up a bit to keep you even more in the loop of our summer tomfoolery.</p>\x0a<p>So, we last left off with counselor skits, and good news: they were funny. And not like &#8220;oh&#8230; thats<i> funny</i>&#8221; or &#8220;that smells <i>funny</i>&#8221; or &#8220;you look kinda <i>funny</i>&#8221; or &#8220;this tastes <i>funny</i>&#8221; but more like audible laughter funny.</p>\x0a<p>***come to think of it though, there were some fried worms consumed, so the &#8220;<i>tastes funny</i>&#8221; might in fact apply.</p>\x0a<p>Moving onward, we&#8217;ve had some great activities going on since then. We started off with a Cabin Night, where each cabin had bonding time while doing their own special activity. Some cabins went out to eat, others stayed close to camp for a camp fire and s&#8217;mores, others took a boat to a nearby island for s&#8217;mores as well&#8230; which is a good place to note that s&#8217;mores are made exponentially more difficult to prepare when you pack graham cracker <i>*crumbs*</i> and not graham <i>crackers</i>. Then with nearly half the camp out on trips (Quebec City, mountain biking&#8230;) We were able to do some really unique activities, including a trip out to the Willards Farmhouse for a camp-wide game of Sardines (much like hide and go seek, but only one person hides, when someone finds the hider, they join until, <i>like the name suggests</i>, everyone is packed in to the hiding spot like sardines.)  Following the game, we took the whole camp out for ice cream.</p>\x0a<p><i>i personally enjoyed a waffle cone of soft serve with rainbow sprinkles. </i></p>\x0a<p>Now, this would be a good time to mention the weather. You may have thought that activities like sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, tenis etc. can all be relatively difficult when it seems as though the Kennebec river is not only flowing horizontally, but vertically as well.</p>\x0a<p>well, i am very glad to inform you that you are correct. So in light of the East Coasts mild precipitation, we have been <strike>enjoying</strike> <i>having a blast </i>with some new camp-wide activities, like a crazy game of crab soccer, as well as all-camp knockout, human bingo, and we even transformed the dining hall into a drive-in movie theatre (so long as <i>&#8220;drive-in&#8221;</i> means&#8230; &#8220;<i>walk-in</i>&#8221;)</p>\x0a<p>Ultimately, the weather can be a challenge, but one we have met, and bested with creativity, stellar attitudes, and enough energy to power a small city.</p>\x0a<p><i>did i mention we&#8217;re having tons of fun?</i></p>\x0a<p><b>we&#8217;re having tons of fun.</b></p>\x0a<p>oh, totally forgot to mention: last night we had a thunderstorm like i&#8217;ve never seen in my life. It was as though there was a giant uncoordinated disco in the heavens. It really seemed as though there was a strobe light outside my window; the entire camp was illuminated by the lightning, i was woken up a few times, not due to the booming thunder or flashes of light, but the rattling of my bunk as the thunder shook my cabin.</p>\x0a<p><i>amaz-za-zing.</i></p>\x0a<p>That brings us to this morning.</p>\x0a<p>We all headed out to a forested area of camp (<i>which few of us have ever been to</i>) And in six teams competed in building a raft which we would chart a small course in the river on. It was really quite entertaining seeing the amount of creativity and determination being focused on their vessels. Each raft had to carry <i>(or sink)</i> 2 campers, who would row <i>(or paddle&#8230; or splash around)</i> out and back around a boat anchored in the river.</p>\x0a<p>It was a great success, and ended on a high note as the sun finally peeked through the clouds, even if just for a few minutes.</p>\x0a<p>We&#8217;ll get some more pictures online soon, trips are getting back soon - and some big activities are on the schedule: 4th of july parade tomorrow, glowtimate frisbee, carnival etc&#8230;</p>\x0a<p><i>stay tuned.</i></p>\x0a                </div>\x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_video_post">\x0a                <div class="tumblr_video">\x0a                    <object width="400" height="336"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tvPFcx87N0g&amp;rel=0&amp;egm=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tvPFcx87N0g&amp;rel=0&amp;egm=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="336" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed></object>\x0a                </div>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            <li class="tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post">\x0a                <img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/uwRjixeOOpgpv7f5STlHdDwOo1_400.jpg" alt="" class="tumblr_photo"/>\x0a                \x0a                \x0a            </li>\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a</ol>');