Hey, Camp Fans!
The end of the summer season means lots of changes, but it’s still good to look back and reflect on the fun that was had. We’re happy to proceed with our third year of the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest. We’re very excited to post the stories we received right here on the Blog. All participants receive a $15 gift certificate and seven lucky winners will receive larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100.
Tune in tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday to see our other $25 winners. The following week, we continue on Monday and Tuesday for our two $50 winners and then on Wednesday, we’ll announce our top prize, $100 winner. Once our winners have been announced they’ll receive an email with the gift certificate code. We’re announcing the first four winners of the $25 gift certificates this week—starting right…now!
Today’s winner is….
Ella D.! Congratulations, Ella! You’re our first $25 prize winner! Ella spent some fun summer days at Gold Arrow Camp this year pushing her limits and facing some fears. Read all about it in this excellent entry:
“When I woke up that morning I was ready for what I thought would be just another perfect day at Gold Arrow Camp. I threw on a shirt and jeans, ready to face the day. Little did I know, I was in for a crazy ride.
lChattering mindlessly with my fellow campers of Cabin Zero, we made our way to the dining hall. A couple of my friends ran to the activity board eager to know what fun we were going to have that day. Would we be pontooning? Kayaking? Personally I hoped we were going to have Knee/Ski/Wake.
“Yes!!” Zoey exclaimed. She ran back over to me, grinning from ear to ear. “We have High Ropes!” She squealed. Immediately my heart sank. It was a well known fact to my cabin that I was TERRIFIED of heights. High Ropes was torture for me.
lFor the rest of the day I worried. Through Arts and Crafts, through Mini Motor Boats, and all through lunch. By the time we left for High Ropes, I’d worked up quite a sweat. I dragged my feet all the way to the ropes course, thinking of ways to get out of doing it. When we arrived I craned my neck to look up at the course. There I saw a very flimsy wire, seemingly miles up. I gulped. There was no way I would make it out alive. I walked up to the rope ladder and started climbing.
l“Agghhh!” I made the mistake of looking down. I had successfully gotten to the top platform, with only one more obstacle to go. The problem was, this was the worst of them all. The Wire. I had to walk across a half inch wire, with nothing to hold on to. The wire would shake and spin, so I had to somehow keep my balance, while walking to the other end. In other words, it was impossible.
lI had no choice though, The Wire was the only way out. I tentatively placed my right foot on The Wire. It wiggled. I put my other foot on. It shook. I placed one foot in front of the other until I was halfway across. Then I slipped. “AHHHHHHH!!!!!” I squealed sounding like a dying pig. I kicked my legs franticly trying to get back on The Wire. Then I heard them.
l“You got this, girl!” Zoey screamed. “Go Ella!” Vivi chimed in. All around me, my 11 cabin mates urged me on, giving me the strength to keep going. I swung back onto the wall, and made the rest of the journey across. Once I was on solid ground, I felt so accomplished.
lLooking back, I am in no hurry to do it again, but it seems a little less daunting now. I’m glad I did it. I learned a lot and made great friends because of The Wire. Camp made me a stronger, better person.”
Thanks again for your submission, Ella. We’re so glad to hear how much you loved camp. But you make yourself a better person! Camp only helps. For anyone else interested in Gold Arrow Camp, you can check it out right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!
- John