Hey, Camp Fans!

It’s the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! We’re in full swing for this year, announcing our lucky winners and sharing their stories right here on the Blog. Today, I’m announcing the last of our $50 gift certificate winners! Today, the winner is…. 

Madelyn I.!

Congratulations, Madelyn! You win a $50 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Madelyn enjoyed her first summer stay at Pine Cove Camp. Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

This was my first summer at Pine Cove. I have never been away from home for an entire week and I had no idea what to expect. I had an amazing time but my favorite thing was going to the camp store with my friend, Kendal.

In the morning we would get up, eat breakfast and do morning activities. Then we ate lunch and had quiet time. Kendal and I could not wait until quiet time was over and we could run to the camp store so we could be the first in line.

My favorite thing from the camp store was a donut shaped pillow that smells like a real donut. I sleep with it every night and it reminds me of camp! I also bought a journal to write all of the fun things we did at camp. Before we left the store, we usually got a snack like a Diet Dr Pepper and a kit kat.

I made so many friends and had an amazing time. I am already signed up for next summer and I cannot wait.

Awesome, Madelyn! The Pine Cove sounds like a wonderful place, especially with such a cool-sounding camp store! I’m glad you and Kendal and all your other friends enjoyed your time at Pine Cove Camp. Here’s to many years to come of camp fun! To anybody else interested in Pine Cove Camp, you can check it out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

The ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest is in full swing for this year. We’ve been announcing our lucky winners and sharing their stories right here on the Blog throughout September. And today, I’m announcing our next $50 gift certificate winner! Today’s winner is….

Carol H.!

Greetings from Carol H., proud grandmother of two Camp Seneca Lake campers! Abby P. (age 10) just returned from her second summer at CSL. Sam P. (age 12) is back home after his third summer there.

In 2020, when camp was not in session, our family spent an amazing weekend at CSL family camp. I enjoyed my time there...after all, I hadn't been at camp since the 1960's! (I wrote about this experience in my submission last year.) Abby and Sam had fun during family weekend but missed the independence of being at camp without parents and grandparents.

In 2021 camp was back to normal...well sort of. There were four short sessions (two weeks, two weeks, two weeks, and one week) rather than two longer sessions of three and a half weeks each. There were no buses to ride to and from camp. No off campus trips either. And there was a COVID coordinator who kept everyone safe. Did you have one of those on your camp staff before this summer? Abby and Sam relished every moment of the four sessions they attended. They participated in sports, music and art, waterfront activities, camp-wide competitive programs like Color War, and Shabbat services. What they treasured most of all, however, was being with friends—real, live, in-person friends. This social interaction is what they missed during the pandemic. They seem to have bonded more closely than ever before with their bunkmates. They are already planning reunions and visits and they Face Time regularly.

Every morning I looked forward to seeing their smiling faces in pictures on the camp website. Their smiles made me cry. The camp photographer was amazing. Few pictures were posed. Most were candid action shots which captured how much fun everyone was having. Abby said she never even noticed the photographer!

I'm thrilled to be able to write an entry in this "share your camp story" forum. Everything Summer Camp has become our family go-to online store. Abby has created personalized name labels and laundry bags. Sam loves the bedding and even uses it at home. Camp trunks and other large items have been perfect holiday gifts. Purchases are always excellent quality, reasonably priced, and arrive quickly. Thank you, ESC!

The pleasure is all ours, Carol! Thank you so much for your continued interest in shopping our camp gear selection and participating in our 'Share Your Camp Story' Contest! We're thrilled to hear how much you and your grandkids have enjoyed our store throughout the years. That's so cool that you got to catch a glimpse of the fun that was had thanks to the stealthy work of the photographer they have--sounds like a pro! Glad this year was another summer of fun after the dud of 2020. If Seneca Lake sounds like the right camp experience for you, give it a closer look by clicking here. Tune in tomorrow when I reveal our next winner! And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

The end of summer’s always bittersweet, but year-after-year, we’re excited here at Everything Summer Camp to keep with our traditional ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! We saw an excellent response with your submissions since we’ve upped the ante this year, making the grand prize $300. 

Today we have our fourth $50 winner. And that winner is….

Desmond T.!

Congratulations, Desmond! You’re our fourth $50 prize winner! Desmond had a great summer stay at Pine Island Camp for the first time this year! Read all about it in his entry right now:

My Camp Story

This summer, I went to Pine Island Camp in Belgrade Lakes, Maine.

It was my first year at P.I.C. and I was about half-and-half happy and scared, but since my Uncle came here I wasn’t feeling that scared. One day signed up on the activities list for Archery in the morning and Swimming in the afternoon. Nothing really unusual happened in Archery but Swimming was really fun and interesting. To start, I was still trying to get my intermediate so all I had to do was demonstrate a proper dive. There were four other kids in swimming Max, Ryker, Ben, and Tanner. Ben and Tanner were from Expeditions Camp so they were way older. Ryker also had to finish his intermediate badge. The X-Campers had to do a challenge to hold a brick above their head while treading water for a minute but Ryker wanted to do something with the brick. Also, Max L. is training for his master rank and all he needs is find a sunken object and get the instructor’s approval, so Ryker Really wanted to do something with the brick and he is obsessed with saying “YEET” so he picked up the brick and threw it. Apparently he forgot they sink! So Max dived down, and I dived too and got my intermediate during that dive and Max got his master Rank.

Hilarious! Thanks for this great submission, Desmond! That was pretty clever of Max and ridiculous of Ryker—YEET! But I guess it worked out for everybody: Max got his master rank, you got your intermediate, and Ryker got to throw a brick. That’s a win-win-win situation right there. Sounds like your summer stay at Pine Island Camp was a success!

If you’re interested in checking out the Pine Island Camp for yourself, do it now by clicking here. Be sure to come back on Monday when we’ll continue announcing our winners and publishing your camp stories right here on the Blog! As always, thanks for reading (and writing), Boys and Girls!

 - John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We’re announcing the winners to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest right here on the Blog. Come back each weekday to see who else won; it might just be you. This year, we have more prizes, more laughs, and more fun! And, now for our third $50 winner—congratulations to….

Gigi S.!

Camp was amazing! The first day me, and my bunk mates won a trophy. We had a lot of contests to win the trophy. The first contest was a thing where you have to come up with a word that starts with the letter they give you before the other team does. Next contest you take 1 person from each team, blindfold them, and give them a pool noodle. You have to work with your team to get 3 clothespins on the person blind folded with a pool noodle on the other team. If they hit you with a pool noodle you have to go to the back. I was up first, and I could not believe my first try I got one on. Contest 3 was all about telephone the game they whispered to each team a word at the end it still has to be that word there was 3 rounds of it. Then all the teams aka cabins met up in a big circle to decide who competes in the final contest you get in by winning those 3 rounds. Me and my team were in the final round! It was me, and my team aka girls cabin woohoo vs. another team aka boys cabin. The 4 contest! The last contest was one player from each team gets shaving cream put all over their face. On my team that was me! The rest of the team tries to throw Cheetos on the shaving cream. At the end they count the Cheetos the team with the most Cheetos on the shaving cream person's face wins. Of course my team won woohoo go girls cabin! The one other thing I for sure had fun at is the blob! Me and my friend named the blob bob. We bowed, and said all hail king bob the blob. At first I was excited, and scared at the same time, but when I went on the blob I knew it was meant to be. The water was perfect that week. It was the best first sleepaway camp ever! I am going to go there every year!

Thanks for this great submission, Gigi—woohoo! It’s wonderful to hear that you had SO MUCH FUN this summer! Camp Highlander sounds like an awesome place filled with awesome people. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself so much—especially during your time on king bob! I wonder how many Cheetos you had on your face! Haha! Sounds like you had a blast.

If any of our readers want to take a closer look at Highlander, check it out by clicking right here. Come back tomorrow to find out who our fourth $50 winner of this year’s ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest is! Who knows?! It might be you! If your entry is announced a winner, you’ll receive an email with the gift certificate code once all other winners have been disclosed. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

As the summer season makes its subtle shift into fall, it’s nice to look back and reflect on the fun that you had. That’s why, when the camp season is over, we’re always excited here at Everything Summer Camp to keep with our traditional ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest.

We decided to up the ante this year! We have ten winners for prizes of $50, $100, and the grand prize of $300! Today we're announcing the first of our six $50 winners.

Today’s winner is JW! Congratulations, JW! You’re our first $50 prize winner! JW spent some fun summer days at Camp Hayo-Went-Ha this year for camp! Read all about it in his kind of hilarious letters home...

Thanks again for your submission, JW! We’re so glad to hear how much you loved your time at camp after the first day. Way to stick with it in the beginning. Isn't it amazing how quickly things can turn around at summer camp?! Good thing you brought some comforting friends along like Green and MI Dog!

For anyone else interested in Hayo-Went-Ha, you can check it out right here. Tune in the rest of this month as we continue to announce our prize winners. Tomorrow we'll have our second $50 winner. Once our winners have been announced they’ll receive an email with the gift certificate code. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Folks!

- John