Hi Everyone,
All is well here in the "North Pole"...brrrrrr, I think it got down to about 10 degrees last night. Camp is deep in snow and quite cold (outside), but we have incredible weather, and we're all doing fine. The cabins are heated and bathrooms aren't far away.
Yesterday's drive was a bit of a haul due to a chain requirement 6 miles from camp -- this meant the entire mountain road up until that point was moving at a snail's pace -- to the tune of 3 hours to complete our final 12 miles! But we made it (a little late...OK, a lot late), had a late lunch and a late dinner (just after our Shabbat service). The lodge has lots of fun games to occupy us in-between programs -- there is foosball, pool, ping pong, and carems and a HUGE warm fireplace with comfy couches nearby. We also have tea and hot cocoa for a little tasty inner-warmth. We lit the Chanukiah and said our prayers over the sixth Chanukah light.
Today we awoke to beautiful blue skies and bright glare off the snow. Breakfast was our usual Saturday fare of bagels and cream cheese, and sliced tomato and onion, but I threw in my own personal Chanukah gift for everyone -- yummy LOX.
Our Saturday morning Shabbat service focused on our understanding of how we fit into the natural world and Judaic world that surrounds us, topping it off with the true story of religious persecution that became the Chanukah Holiday and a "fruit salad & shake" explanation (ask your camper) of why many ancient civilizations have perished over the years due to assimilation , but the Jews have persevered (the story of Chanukah figures in there prominently).
The kids then had a huge snowball fight and quickly found the fireplace to warm up and dry off. We had a camp tour -- as much as is possible with 5 feet of snow covering EVERYTHING except the doorways to our cabins and lodge.
Tonight we'll have a Chanukah celebration with lots of dreidles, gelt, chocolate, lights, singing, and games.
I'm not sure I'll be able to get photos online before we get home (internet access is slow and I can't plug my own computer in to the system to upload the images), but I'll get them online as soon as we get home early next week.
The food has been delicious -- excellent baked chicken last night, tasty MacNcheese today for lunch, we just had a warm snack of fresh tall churros, and we'll be piling on the goodies with vegetarian tostadas this evening.
We've got lots planned for the next few days, and as we all get our "snow legs" and "altitude lungs", we'll be having gobs of fun and oodles of bonding.
The kids all send their best home (well, honestly, none has mentioned home, but I'm SURE it's not personal ;-) ).
We're still planning on arriving at Temple Akiba on Tuesday at ~1:30pm -- feel free to give me a call (and then pass the word) after noon on Tuesday and I'll give you an accurate ETA.
Thanks for sharing your kids with all the others and with me (this IS personal) -- I appreciate the time we have together.
Enjoy the rest of your "break", and remember, "keep the faith!"
Sincerely,