Hey, Camp Fans!

We loved seeing all the submissions we received for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest here at Everything Summer Camp; we got more than 30 entries! So we’re super-excited to share the entries right here on the Blog! After seven lucky winners, everyone else who submitted received a $15 gift certificate to our website! Today’s post comes from the mother of Josephine P., who thought to share the following letters from camp written to her grandmother during her stay at YMCA Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha.

“Dear Grandma:                      July 17th

It’s the second day of camp and everything is great. My cabin is Bows (the same one as last year) but I’m with different girls. Melina and Catie are in my cabin, they are my friends from my first year. The other girls are great and we are all good friends already. In total we have 7 campers (including me) and two counselors. We had waffles for breakfast and chicken pot pie for dinner. We learned how to portage today. One person holds the canoe while another leads them. After lunch we went on our ‘shake down’ (practice night for our trip). We canoed across Arbutus Lake and spent the night at a campsite. I have a new sleeping bag and it worked really well. We had dehydrated food for dinner and then s’mores. We spent the night then paddled back to camp in time for breakfast. We had our last shower today (July 18^th) and we are getting corn rows in our hair later today. That’s all I have to write about now, but I’ll write when I get back to camp from the trip (we leave Thursday).

I hope everything is going well and you are feeling better.

Lots of love, Josephine

Hi Grandma:                                       August 3^rd

I’m on the bus driving home now. The trip was amazing! We paddled in a huge circle around the park. We also had to portage a lot when we were going into a different lake. In the beginning of the trip we could only portage for 2-3 minutes at a time, but now we can go for 15 minutes. We only had two days of rain. The first storm was the worst. It caught us on the water and everything got wet. The second rain wasn’t bad at all, we were prepared this time. We usually woke up at 6:00am and paddled/portaged for a few hours. We always got to the campsite before lunch. Then we would just hang out and swim until dinner and going to sleep. There were so many wild blueberries, we would eat them almost every day. Melina (my friend) and I made a pie with the blueberries and oatmeal one day. It tasted great. We also made quesadillas. We had a layover day halfway through the trip. On our layover day we went on a day hike up to Topaz Lake. Topaz is a tiny lake up in the hills. It has a rock bottom and a beautiful blue green color. We spent the day there swimming and cliff jumping. (The cliffs were 15-20 feet tall!). Another day we stayed at Lake Nellie, the clearest Lake in the park, it was beautiful. I can’t even describe it. We swam all day and wrote “AHWH” with a heart at the end on the bottom with rocks. (You can see all the way to the bottom it’s so clear). One of my favorite memories is when Melina, Catie and I went fishing. We made the hook out of a safety pin, the line out of dental floss, the pole out of a stick and the bobbin out of a piece of foam. We used slugs as gait. I taught Melina and Catie how to put the slug on the hook the way you showed me. We caught three fish!!! They were small so we threw them back, but it was so cool that we got them. Another day we stopped mid-portage to hike to the top of a mountain called Silver Peak. The view was amazing. We could see for miles, all the lakes and trees sprawled out below us. On Day Nine of the trip we got to go to a store. We have $25.00 to spend on the trip. I bought a KitKat, Oh Henry Bar and a portage sign for $10.00. Last night we stayed at Widgawa with all the other cabins. (There are 4 cabins in total, 26 campers, and 8 counselors). There was another store at Widgawa so I spent another $5.00 on an Oh Henry Bar, doritos, and a coke. The counselors surprised us with a pizza! It was great to have real food again. We stopped at McDonalds for lunch. I got so much food. Melina and I put our last $10.00 together and feasted. Now I feel sick but it was worth it. We are almost at camp now, the bus ride was about 8 hours but it was really fun. I’ll write again and tell you what I do at camp.

Love you!

Josephine

PS – I had some extra string so I made a key chain thing. You don’t need to keep it, I just wanted to send it to you.

Dear Grandma,                       August 9-11

Camp has been so much fun. Since we have gotten back we have paddled to a park on the Lake Arbutus and made a blueberry pie on one of the grills there. It was so good we took it back to camp and shared it with everyone on staff. On Monday we did laundry. With our left over money we got food at CVS. I ate a whole pint of ice-cream and chips with salsa. For Super Saturday we had a food fight. It was a lot of fun. I was covered in pie and ice-cream. We jumped in the lake to rinse off. On Sunday the Explorers (me and the other girls that went to Killarney) lead chapel. We used the four core values of YMCA camps, Honest, Caring, Respect, and Responsibility. Last night my cabin and I slept outside in our hammocks, the moon was full so it was the perfect night. We have also done all the classic activities like high ropes, climbing wall, paddle boarding, splash mat and outdoor cooking. Tonight was casino night. We all dressed up in crazy clothes and danced all night. We had challenges and games to earn money. We used the money to bet on activities to do as a cabin. My cabin won ‘Gaga with Add Staff’. Gaga was so much fun, it was muddy but everyone got so into it. Second-to-last night at camp is Leader’s Follies. The counselors and staff put on little plays and skits. They were all very funny. Today is the last full day at camp. We are packing and had our last showers. I’m going to miss outdoor showers. Later today we have paper plate awards. Our counselors make a paper plate with silly awards for us and inside jokes. The campers make plates for our counselors too. Tonight we have Final Banquet. I’ll probably cry. Our counselors sing a song about our trip to us, they are always really cute.

Love,
Josephine”

So happy you decided to share these letters with us! They certainly are treasures. These letters are so sweet, Josephine. And we’re elated to hear what a great time at Camp Hayo-Went-Ha! You can check out Hayo-Went-Ha to see if it might be a good match for you by clicking here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We were elated to receive over 30 entries for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest here at Everything Summer Camp. We’re super eager to share with all our readers by publishing each one of the submissions right here on the Blog! There were seven lucky winners to our contest and everyone else who submitted received a $15 gift certificate to our website!

Today’s post is from the mother of James W., who wrote in to tell us about her son’s second camp stay for a couple weeks at Camp Yawgoog.

“This was only the second year for my Scout to go to summer camp and his first year at sleep-a-way camp. I was a complete wreck! The one thing I did not have to worry about was how I was going to pack him up. I LOVED the trunk and am so glad I went all the way; getting all the accessories. Everything had its own place and since I had James pack it I was assured that not only would he know what he had but where he had put it. After seeing other boys with everything thrown together in one big mass of a cheap plastic tote I knew we had made the right decision. It was so easy to get everything from the car to camp and set up was a breeze. I will without a doubt be buying this all again for my youngest son when it's his turn to go. The biggest surprise of all was how my son thrived. James had a fantastic time and even had the honor of being knighted. He was one of three Webelo Scouts from his camp week that earned the title “Knight of Akela”. James was eager to volunteer for waiter duty in the mess hall and even had the privilege of carrying his camp flag in the dress parade. I don’t mind saying that this proud Momma had tears in her eyes seeing the new confidence my son earned in just one week.”

Glad to hear Sir James had so much fun and the Knight of Akela honor at Camp Yawgoog! Camp certainly is a fantastic time and congratulations to the proud Momma! Check out Camp Yawgoog to see if it might be a good match for you. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We were elated to receive more than 30 entries for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest here at Everything Summer Camp. We’re super-eager to share all the entries right here on the Blog! There were seven lucky winners to our contest and everyone else who submitted received a $15 gift certificate to our website! Today’s post is from Ella C., who wrote in to tell us about her first two-week camp stay at Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp.

“One of my plans for the summer was to go to sleep away camp for the first half. It was my first time, so I had no clue what it was going to be like. Fun, boring, exciting, all of the above? I got onto a bus with nobody I knew. The bus drive was long and boring. It was about 2 ½ hours long.

When we arrived, all the returning campers wanted to give their counselors from last year hugs. When everybody got off the bus, I went to find my counselors. We played a couple of games to help us memorize our bunk mates and counselors’ names.

After lunch we went to our bunks to get our beds assigned and unpack. It took me two full days to finish unpacking. I had the most stuff.

The next day we started our regular schedule. We could do things like swimming, gardening, basketball, and animal care. We also got to choose hobbies. I chose drama and got to perform in The Little Mermaid.

At camp, I had an amazing time and got to do so many things I have never done before and meet so many new people and friends. I can’t wait to go back next year and see my friends again. I’m sure that next year, I will be one of those kids looking for my favorite counselors.”

Glad to hear you had such a good time at Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp, Ella! Camp certainly is a great time full of fun and exciting activities, new experiences, and wonderful people! Check out Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp to see if it might be a good match for you. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We were delighted to see such a great response to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest here at Everything Summer Camp and now we’re eager to publish each one right here on the Blog! After our seven lucky winners, everyone else who submitted received a $15 gift certificate to our online store! Today’s post is from Brianna B., who wrote in to tell us about her time away at Pinecove Camp and the fun summer stay she had…

MY CAMP STORY!!

“Hi. My name is Brianna B. and I have been going to Pinecove camp in Palestine, TX for two years now! I love Pinecove because it allows me to learn about GOD and how he made each one of us different. I think Pinecove is the best because there is a week of fun activities, but they are all related back to GOD and that is what Pinecove is all about! I was so organized at camp all thanks to my trunk from EVERYTHING SUMMER CAMP, I also a had an awesome organizer (FROM EVERYTHING SUMMER CAMP) at the top of my trunk in which I could have my Bible in, my note pad and pens, and much more, and all my bunk mates said next year they wanted one too! I learned at camp that we should be focused on GOD more than anything else, and that GOD made you the way he wanted you to be. One of my favorite activities was the ZIPLINE, at first, I was really scared to do it because it was super high, but all my bunk mates cheered me on and I had the courage to do it. The thrill of the zipline was amazing, you could feel the wind in your hair and the scenery was beautiful! It felt like a once in a lifetime experience, and was a remarkable adventure in the sky! In the morning, we would always have 20-30 minutes where the whole camp had to be quiet and everyone would take out their bible and focus on GOD only (FUN FACT-THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME THE CAMP WAS EVER QUIET, THE REST OF THE DAY SOUNDED LIKE CHAOS!!) At the end of every day we would go to Worship at the “C.L.U.B”, where we would sing for 30 minutes and then pray after. Then we would do our Bible study and talk about what our pastor was saying that night. Then we would go outside get a bedtime snack and head back to our cabins for a shower and then bed. My favorite thing at camp was the camp store, there was so much stuff. I bought 4 shirts, a wrist band, and many more things!! I think the overall thing I enjoyed most was meeting new friends and knowing GOD wanted me to meet them!!”

Thanks for the shout-out, Brianna! Glad we could make you so happy with your C&N Camp Trunk and other camp accessories. And, more importantly, we’re glad to hear that you got so much out of your camp experience! It feels great to expand your network of friendships as well as your own spirituality! If you’re interested in this kind of a camping experience, check out Pinecove Camp for yourself by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We were elated with all the great submissions we got about the experience our camp families underwent this last summer! We saw more than 30 submissions for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest that we had at Everything Summer Camp and we’re still posting each of your entries on the Blog! After our seven lucky winners who got larger prizes, all other entrants received a $15 gift certificate to our online store! And today’s post is from Andrea C., who wrote in to tell us about her son’s rookie year at Falling Creek Camp.

“My son went to camp for the first time this summer. As a new nine-year-old (his birthday was the first day of camp), he was ready for his new adventure. He had a few friends from home at camp with him but was really looking forward to meeting new friends.

On Day One, he literally threw his bag onto his bunk, shouted “Bye Mom!” and was running off with boys to play games. There were no tearful goodbyes, no send off with positive words, no reminding him of the videos and shows he had watched about camp, and no goodbye kiss to Mom (I did make him come back and accomplish that!). He seemed ready. His father and I looked at each other and shrugged. We proceeded to walk back to the car to head out. First impressions? Camp was going to be a good fit.

As the week went on, I anxiously read the daily blog and looked for him in the photos. I missed him, of course, but knew that he was having fun. Before I knew it, it was time to pick him up. Had he been homesick? Will he want to go back? Was I more excited about his camp experience than he was?

There was no need for me to worry. Pickup day was pouring down rain. I had planned to have him show me around, take some photos, and hear all about his week. Instead, we waded through mud and water and loaded the van with a trunk full of wet, stinky, gear. He didn’t even notice the rain or the mud. I had an umbrella but he was just walking in the rain, not noticing it. It seemed that after spending a week in the rain, playing, camping, and having a good time, he realized that it is just part of nature. He seemed to have a sense of confidence that it was just a little water. He talked non-stop about his week, his friends, who was homesick, and who was the best at whatever activity. Whew…..

Camp was great for my son. He is looking forward to going to a longer session next summer. He is already starting to think about activities and trips he wants to do. The confidence and independence he gained in such a short period was notable. Boys get very few opportunities in today’s society to be independent and make their own decisions. Camp is such a place. I cannot wait to see how he comes home next summer. I guess I am now a CAMP MOM!”

Congratulations, Andrea (a.k.a. Camp Mom)! We’re so happy that your son’s first year was so easy yet influential! Summer camp certainly is a powerful experience for those who attend it. We hope to hear back from you on how Year Number Two goes! For the rest of you, check out Falling Creek Camp for Boys to see if it might be a good match for your son. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John