Hey, Camp Fans!

Thanks for giving us our best turnout for the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest yet! Your camp stories were great! I had a great time reading through them all and now I’m excited to share them with all our readers online and post each submission right here on the Blog!

I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes and moved on now to the rest of your submissions. The following post is from Alanna G. who wrote in to tell us about her camp experience. This is her submission:

'From the outside looking in, you can't understand. But from the inside looking out, you can't explain"

There is no better quote to describe camp then the one above. For the past eight summers, I turn onto Highway J, see The Elegant Farmer and proceed down the hill and as I'm greeted with smiles in every direction I turn. I spend the next month or two, arms distance from my best friends, making memories, living every day to the fullest. Fast forward to the end of camp, the last night, singing camp songs and reminiscing on the amazing summer, a line strikes me, "Take it home, and share it with a friend." The next morning I wake up with tears streaming from my eyes as I squeeze my friends one last time. Arriving home soon becomes the worst feeling of all; it sinks in that camp is actually over. Post camp depression is something that always hurts. This year, I arrived home, actually excited to see my friends, I was excited to talk about my summer. I could spend days talking about how impactful my summer was, the kids I met and the activities I tried. Camp has provided me with countless life lessons and to imagine never going to camp makes me wonder where I would actually be today since camp has changed me for the better!

Camp is certainly a tough goodbye, Alanna! Glad you have had such a great experience from all your time there! Love the quote! If anybody else is interested in Beber Camp, you can give it a closer look by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We’re celebrating our best year yet for the ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp. Your camp stories were great! It was such fun reading through them all. Now I’m eager to share them with our online community and post each submission right here on the Blog!

I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes and now I’m sharing the rest of your submissions. The following post is from Mary H.C. who wrote in to tell us about her camp experience. Here’s her submission:

My Time at Camp DeSoto

Have you ever been to camp before? Well, I just went to Camp DeSoto for a month. Can you believe it was a month? I was shocked I even survived a month at camp with no friends or family.

I’d like to share my story about it with you. At Camp DeSoto we got to do super cool and fun activities I don’t get to do at home like archery, canoeing, rock climbing and much more. But I guess that’s what any old camp would do, so I’m going to tell you why Camp DeSoto is very special. At camp we get to do fun night activities like Christmas in July and Olympics. Some activities are horseback riding, huckleberry, swimming, and canoeing.

One of the best two days at camp were Palooza day and Christmas. During Palooza day the whole day was backwards and in the morning we got dinner which was pizza and soda. We also did all our activities backwards. At Christmas in July, we got to decorate the whole gym and put Christmas decorations everywhere. We also had a secret Santa and made gifts for them. It was a blast to see everyone so happy.

The most memorable thing about camp was the memories that I made with my friends and that I got to experience the same camp tradition my mom did. I hope I can go back to camp next year!

Thank you so much for this great entry, Mary! Palooza Day sounds like it was !GNIZAMA and—you’re right—Christmas in July makes Camp DeSoto sound like a pretty special place! Glad you had such a great time! If anybody else is interested in Camp DeSoto, you can give it a closer look by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

We had our best year yet with our camper response to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything summer Camp. And, as usual, your camp stories were fantastic! I’m eager to share them with our online community and post each submission right here on the Blog!

Now that I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes, I’m sharing the rest of your submissions. All entrants win a $15 gift certificate to our online store simply for participating. The following post is from Ann B. who wrote in to tell us about her daughter’s first camp experience. Here’s her submission:

Arrival Day

It was the crunch of the grass, the soothing sounds of the lake and the wonderful feeling that she had finally arrived when she placed her trunk in the tent that made my daughter Julia A.’s summer. Camp was everything she had imagined it to be and then even more. Julia‘s excitement started months earlier the moment she got to pick which session at Hive she wanted to attend, which trunk she needed, and what she wanted to put in that little blue slice of home she would take there. Julia made many new friends, rode the zipline, and ate s’mores by the camp fire. She wrote me letters of exciting adventures, hikes, crafts, and even about a sailboat that had capsized in a storm (very exciting!). Her tent family bonded in their headlamps over with late night card games played on a trunk and on overnight trips where she got to canoe for the 1^st time. I received letters from her counselor about how she was growing and learning to articulate her feelings but it was the letters and postcards Julia wrote to her brother at home that made me realize how much she really loved it there. When Julia came home, she was a little taller, wiser, independent and more sure of herself. It might have been her first year at summer camp in Vermont but it certainly won’t be her last!

Thank you so much for this great entry, Ann! It’s great to hear that the Hive experience was such a positive one for Julia’s first year at sleepaway camp! Hive Camp sounds like a pretty special place and if anyone else would like to check it out closer by clicking here. And as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Thank you so much for this heartfelt entry, Carol! What a joy to hear that summer camp has been such a positive rite of passage for Sam as well as your children and yourself as well! Seneca Lake sounds like a pretty special place and if anyone else would like to check it out closer by clicking here. And as always, thanks for reading!

- John