Friday Evening
When You Arrive
There is a large gravel parking lot which has no lighting, so have your personal light source available if you arrive after 6 p.m. From the parking lot, you will see the main lodge building (the biggest building) where we gather. You can find a cabin as soon as you arrive, or you can check-in at the lodge first. Cabin spots are first-come-first-served, but we only use about half the capacity of the camp so there’s plenty of room. Note that some cabins are designated for those who snore, and some for the light sleepers. Get set up in your cabin before our 7pm start so you can find your way back in the dark. There will be lots of snacks available in the main lodge.
Check-In
When you come into the lodge, please say hello to anybody there. If this is your first time, let us know so we can match you up with a buddy or two who can help orient you to the location and facilitate getting to know others. Some of the men will have known each other from previous years and may be seeing each other for the first time in a year (or longer). We’re always happy to welcome somebody new into the group – don’t hesitate to ask anyone for help.
Opening Gathering
At about 7:00 p.m., we will all come together into a large circle of chairs for a chance to get to know one another and set the tone for the weekend. After a brief welcome, including a bit about expectations for the weekend, we will have a short opening ceremony, and then ask every man to briefly introduce themselves. A microphone will be passed so everybody can hear (some men have hearing challenges).
For these brief (about a minute) introductions, we’ll ask you to say what you’re hoping to get out of the weekend, and we’ll ask everyone to listen (no cross-talk).
During the evening you’ll also get a chance to anonymously submit ideas, questions, themes, or topics you want to inform sessions we’ll have throughout the weekend.
The structured part of the evening should only take a couple hours. After that we get to informally hang out and get (re)connected.
Saturday
We all gather in the main lodge for mealtimes: 8:30am Breakfast; 12:30pm Lunch; 5:30pm Dinner. Bathrooms with showers are in the main lodge building.
Morning sessions will start at 9:30am and 11am; afternoon sessions will start at 2pm and 3:30pm. For sessions we typically break out into smaller groups to interact on themes that guys have interest in. We keep this loose and fluid, and attendance at anything is always optional. Feel free to walk the woods, swim the lake, play cards, read a book, nap, whatever suits your soul.
After dinner is group time, where we entertain ourselves – literally. You are invited to share whatever talents you have that may delight others (many guys bring musical instruments). This is always surprising and inspiring. Get your act together!
Often this “show” morphs into musical jamming while others drift off to the fireplace on the porch or the fire pit by the lake for casual socializing.
Sunday
The routine is the same as on Saturday, until about 11:00 a.m., when we’ll all gather for an informal ceremony, usually down by the beach if it’s sunny.
After lunch, some of the men begin to leave. The rest of us can continue to connect until about 3:00 p.m. Then it’s the “leave it better than we found it” clean up until 4:00 p.m., when it’s time to go.