On Tuesday morning, a helicopter made an emergency landing on our girls' side field because of difficulty with its hydraulic system. While a repairman made his way to Tawonga (from Red Bluff - near Mt. Shasta!), the pilot and other officials were welcomed and given plenty of ice water to cool off on the almost 100 degree day. At rest hour, the campers were thrilled to be able to check out the helicopter, sit in the pilot's seat, and hear about all the various buttons and controls! It was exciting for the kids, and Tawonga was glad to help out.

But the excitement of the helicopter certainly didn't slow down any normal camp acivities. The Olympics came to Camp Tawonga! Different bunks represented different countries as they participated in events like swimming, indoor hockey, and of course, sack races!








We also took a moment to sit down and talk with our eldest campers about the events happening in Israel. Although camp's beautiful location can sometimes make it feel cut-off from the events of the outside world, the situation in Israel is very important to our community. We have so many well informed staff members and Israelis at camp that it is an excellent venue in which to learn about and discuss such events. Ken Kramarz, Camp Tawonga's immediate past Executive Director led the discussion with unit heads and Schlichim. He commented afterwards that it was extremely gratifying to see just how many campers actively participated in a conversation about such a serious topic.