Hey, Camp Fans!

It was great reading all the camper submissions we received this year for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp. It’s been a lot of fun going through them all and publishing them right here on the Blog one-by-one to share them with our online! We had ten lucky prize winners to this annual contest that we announced back in September and we’ve been posting all our entries since.

The submission today is a little light so it wasn’t eligible for our contest. A cool poem nonetheless, I thought this submission would be a great way to close out this year’s ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest submission posts. This poetic post features a poem from Karen K. Check it out right here, right now:

7 weeks.
We spend weeks packing them
We fill out forms.
We buy them everything on the list. And then some.
We drive them to camp
We drop them off at the bus.
7 weeks.
We hug them goodbye.
The fun begins for all of us.
7 weeks.
We wait for the first letter.
We look for the smiling picture.
Then we are good. They are great. They are where they have waited to be all year.
We feel their joy.
Friends ask why send them to camp?
Our answer: 7 weeks.
And we who send we know why.
And so do they. 

Thanks for sharing this with us, Karen. Sounds like you know exactly what summer camp is all about! Knowing all that, who wouldn’t send? It’s been another great year for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest, but we’ve never wrapped up our submission posts with a poem! Pretty great way to close out this year’s contest! Thanks again, Karen. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

There are more stories to share from the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! Your camp stories were so great and were such a fun time reading through them all and it’s been exciting to share them with all our readers online! We’re publishing  each submission individually on a post right here on the Blog one by one!

We had ten lucky prize winners and now it’s time to publish the rest of your submissions. The following post is from Caroline C. who wrote in to us about her first time at Camp Hollymont. Check out what she had to say:

This summer I went to sleep away camp for the first time, and I had so much fun! I went to Hollymont with one of my best friends. We live in different states, so it was really fun to be together at camp. My favorite part of camp was being able to try so many skills—like tennis, swimming, crafting, dance, baking and cooking. We were SO busy all day every day. I loved it!

Caroline’s submission is a little light for our contest, but I still wanted to share her submission here on the Blog. How nice that you got to spend your summer camp stay with your best friend that lives out-of-state. What a great way to get to spend some great summer time with her! They really have a lot of fun stuff to do at camp, don’t they?! I’m glad to hear that your first go at summer camp turned out to be such a success with so much fun and the opportunity to do so many new things. Thanks for writing us, Caroline. For everyone else, you can give Camp Hollymont a closer look by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We were happy to get the turnout that we did this year for our annual Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! Your camp stories were great! I had such a fun time reading through them and we’ve been having a blast publishing them here on the Blog to share them with all our readers online! We’re posting each submission with their own individual post right here on the Blog!

Since I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes in September, I’ve moved on to the rest of your submissions. The following post is from Jessica B. who wrote in to tell us about her summer stay at Camp Hillel. Check it out:

I always packed tons and tons of nail polish to go to camp in every color of the rainbow—and this was before it was considered mainstream to have colors other than the regular old pink and red etc.  Somehow, word got out to other bunks and staff that I was good with nail art and one day, out of the blue, one of the camp mothers showed up in my bunk for me to do her hands and feet!

Jessica’s submission is a little light for our contest, but I still thought we could share the submission. It’s pretty cool when your hobby and talent draws a ‘crowd’ at summer camp! How cool that you got so many customers (campers and adults alike) coming to you for your artistic touch in making their nails beautiful. I hope you got to participate in other camp fun and didn’t paint nails your ENTIRE time away at camp! Haha. Thanks for writing us, Jessica. For everyone else, you can give Camp Hillel a closer look by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

The camp stories we received for our ‘Share your Camp Story’ Contest here at Everything Summer Camp were so great! It was a wonderful time reading through them all and now I’m excited to share them with all our followers on the Blog and post each submission right here on its own day!

After our ten lucky prize winners, I’ve moved on to the rest of your submissions. The following post is from Rachelle W. who wrote in to tell us about her daughter’s camp experience at Camp Longhorn Indian Springs. Here’s her submission:

My daughter Leighton attended Camp Longhorn fourth term at Indian Springs. This was her first year. She had the best time and made the most wonderful memories. Thank you for providing her a wonderful trunk and accessories. She actually cried when we picked her up from camp after two weeks. She loved being there so much.

The best thing about camp was horseback riding and the blob. Campfire was also amazing we sang songs and did skits. I learned how to kayak and shot a rifle. The food was so good. We ate a lot, laughed a lot and I made some amazing friends. I can’t wait to return next summer. I had the time of my life. My cabin had 12 girls total. 2 were from California. And everyone else was from Texas. I made friends that will last a lifetime. I can’t wait to write them letters. My brother will be attending CLH in two years. He’s very excited. He can’t wait.

Awesome, Rachelle! Sounds like Leighton had a great summer. Your daughter’s tearful response to Closing Day of camp isn’t uncommon. Many campers are so touched by the experience of summer camp by the end that they begin to cry. We’re glad to hear that our trunk and gear worked well and that Leighton had a fun, well-rounded camp experience full of new people, new places, and new experiences! Here’s to many more fun summers at camp for Leighton and her brother!  

For everyone else, you can give Camp Longhorn a closer look by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Your camp stories for the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest were all so great! I had such a fun time reading through them all and now I’m excited to be sharing them with all our readers here on the Blog! Since I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes, I’ve moved on to the rest of your submissions and we’re posting each submission one by one!

The following post is from Catherine G. who wrote in to tell us about her son’s summer stay at Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha. Here’s what she had to say:

My name is Catherine and I’ve been going to Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha for 3 years. I love camp and it’s one of my favorite places to be. This summer me and my cabin went and backpacked on North Manitou Island in Michigan for 4 days. We hiked through rain and shine. But it was one of the most amazing things I’ve done. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and it was such a rewarding experience. I had never backpacked before this so I didn’t really know what to expect. I was a bit nervous going into it but I was also excited. My two awesome counselors told us that we all were going to rock it even if at times it was challenging. Our first day we hiked 2 miles and it felt like nothing. Even though it was raining we all had the best time. Hiking through the forests and by Lake Manitou was gorgeous. The second day we hiked 7 miles. This day was harder for me. At times I felt like I couldn’t go any further and that I just wanted to stop. But my amazing cabin mates and my counselors pushed me and encouraged us all to keep going and that we could do it. Our third day we hiked 5 miles. This is was a better day, but we were all sore but knew we could do it. Our last day we only hiked 1 mile. At the end of the trip I was sad to leave, but more importantly I was proud of what I had accomplished. I would’ve never been able to do that without the support of counselors and cabin mates! This is one of the many reasons why I love camp so so much.

15 miles in four days is no joke! Way to go on completing this challenge, Catherine! While they can often be fun, adventures are full of challenging moments that stretch our endurance and compel us to give ourselves pep talks. The scenery usually ain’t bad either! I’m glad you got this experience and that it means so much to you, Catherine! Isn’t camp awesome?!

For everyone else, you can give Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha a closer look. Check it out for yourself by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John