Hey, Camp Fans!
We got lots and lots of submissions for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest here at Everything Summer Camp—over 30, in fact! We’ve been enjoying weekly posts in which we publish the entries here on the Blog! Once we got through our initial, seven lucky winners, all of our other entrants received a $15 gift certificate to our website! Today’s post comes from Merrill T., who thought to share the experience of her second year Camp Huckins! Thanks for this post, Merrill!
“As my second year at sleep away camp began, I thought I was prepared for the experience that was about to commence, as I entered the white gates I began my second two weeks at Camp Huckins. The weeks flew
by while I was water skiing, crafting, dressing up, singing on the tables, and staying up to memorize my lines for the camp play. One of the last nights, instead of sleeping in the cabin like we usually do, we got to sleep at the Indian Camp Fire. I slept with my friends Danielle and Daphne, but we talked into the night while laughing and having so much fun I almost forgot we only two days of camp left. By the time camp was over, I could hardly believe how much I had done in two weeks. Now I’m even more excited for next year.”
Sounds like camp was a blast the second time around, Merrill! Time certainly does seem to fly right by when we’re having the level of fun that we have at summer camp. But at least our memories last forever! If any readers believe Camp Huckins just might be a good match for you, check it out for yourself by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!
- John
her own home. I also learned the importance of staying healthy. While I was there, I took upon many interactive activities like ropes course, archery, and so forth, which is surprising considering I’m more of an artsy, indoor person and never really went outside much before then. I did this in addition to developing new skills and making more friends. Additionally, I learned the importance of making the most of the time I had there. Those 6 years went by very rapidly, but I took in as much as I could while I learned new skills there, made as many amazing friends as I possibly could, and enjoyed the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains we lived upon every single summer. I also documented a lot of the time that I spent there with my video camera. Anyways, aside from what I learned this summer, I also met some amazing people. I met my best friend Teegan my first year and we’ve been inseparable ever since. For our first year it had just been me and her generally, however we had branched out and since then have developed a greater group of friends who I love and cherish very much. Another outstanding thing that happened while I was there was the scenery of the camp. It hailed sometimes while I was there, which is a rare event that ever occurs where I actually live. The mountains there were also absolutely outstanding. The open, vast land opened up to taller parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains which were absolutely breathtaking and heavenly. In addition to the mountains, we also had beautiful lakes, ponds, and tall trees throughout the camp. Many dandelions grew amongst the land which was another rarity that I viewed while I was there. We also had fun events as a camp, considering that we weren’t a large group of people so it was easy to work all together. We did scavenger hunts, campfires, camping, ‘guess that song’, karaoke, plays, and so on. As you can see, Camp Blue Ridge was a very important part of my life and I always love to look back at and cherish the moments I spent there every summer with the people I love most.”
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.
“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.”
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.