Hey, Camp Fans!

In the middle of July, I asked you guys to share your camp stories. We got a great response with nearly 30 entries so we’re happily publishing each and every submission right here on the Blog! Everyone who submitted got $15 gift certificates and seven lucky winners got larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. Today I’m announcing our Grand Prize Winner! Drumroll, please……….

Alanna G.! Congratulations! You’re our first place winner! Alanna spent her summer at Beber Camp where she made great friends and got in touch with herself, leaving her phone, tablet, and other electronics behind. Check out what she had to say about camp in this honest entry from Alanna:

“‘The journey of 1000 smiles starts with 72 steps.’ I have attended B’nai B’rith Beber Camp for 5 years. There is no place I’d rather be. You make so many friends, new and old! The friends you make aren’t just with campers. You develop bonds with the staff. They come from near and far with so many different and unique talents.

Phones are a HUGE part of teenagers’ lives today. However, at Beber, there is a ‘no screen’ policy. So, there are no phones. From personal experience, it is so amazing to be without my phone and learn to appreciate the people that I don’t get to see every day. It also helps me define who I am as a person. I have learned so many new things about myself and others.

The traditions at camp are so amazing and special. No matter if we are all at flagpole chanting ‘Tucked Away’, or if we are singing our hearts out at a Friday night song session it is always fun and memorable!

Lastly, my favorite time at camp is havdalah. The whole camp gathers together in the amphitheater and every cabin shares something special about their week and then we conclude with havdalah, the lighting of the candle and the end of the Sabbath.

But… there is more than just that. It’s the community coming together! Everyone cares for each other at camp and it is really special to say that I go to Beber Camp!

In conclusion, there is no place better than B’nai B’rith Beber Camp. People work so hard to make sure we are having fun, and they do an AMAZING job!!

LO~HE~HA
(love, health, and happiness)”

Thanks again for your submission, Alanna. We’re happy to hear that your summer was such a success! For anyone else interested in Camp Beber, you can check it out right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

A while back in mid-July, I asked you guys to share your camp stories. Ask and we DID receive! We got a great response with nearly 30 entries so we’re happily publishing each and every submission right here on the Blog! Everyone who submitted got $15 gift certificates and seven lucky winners got larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. Today I’m announcing the second $50 winner. Are you ready? The winner is….

Koda N.! Congrats! You’re the second $50 prize winner! Koda spent his summer at Camp Leelanau where he played an epic game of Leelanau’s version of Capture-the-Flag. Check it out in this exciting entry from Koda:“We were on our way to the flag trip. I was so excited!! It was my first time ever going on the flag trip! But There were only 3 words in my head, “tackle with care”. Although this was a tackling game we were going to tackle with love, not hatred. When we got there we ate lunch and changed into our camo clothes. A few counselors told us the rules of the game and how it worked. There were two flags in the woods, one for each team. The flag was on a rope and the rope was connected to two trees. There was also a jail. The jail was made out of three trees in the shape of a triangle. There was a rope around those three trees to make a triangular prism. There were two parts to each team, offense and defense. The defense watched over the flag and the offense tried to get the flag of the opposing team. The people playing offense ran over to the other team’s base and tried to get past the defense (which was trying to tackle you). If you got tackled you went to jail but if you didn’t get tackled you ran to the other teams flag and grabbed it. Then you yelled, “flag, flag, flag”. If you yelled only two “flags” and then got tackled to the ground you had to go to their jail. But if you yell all three flags without getting tackled you get a point and a free walk back your team’s base. You get out of jail by climbing over the rope and running back to your team’s base. Each base was on a hill and there was a gap in between each hill. That place is a safe zone, so you can’t get tackled and you can’t tackle.

I started off as an offensive player, I ran to a part of their hill where they weren’t looking. I just laid there thinking of a plan to get to their flag. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into an hour, tons of mosquitoes buzzed in my ear. But I didn’t budge at all. All of a sudden I heard somebody yell “I see Koda!” and then I got up and ran to their flag. I ran past their defense and grabbed the flag, “flag,flag,flag.” I had gotten a flag!!!!! I went back to our base and told my team the good news. We had won the game!!!!!!!!!!”

Thanks again for your submission, Koda. We’re happy to hear about your good times! For anyone else interested in Camp Leelanau, you can check it out right here. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

A while back in mid-July, I asked you guys to share your camp stories. Ask and we shall receive! We got a great response with nearly 30 entries so we’re happily publishing each and every submission right here on the Blog! Everyone who submitted got $15 gift certificates and seven lucky winners got larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. I’m announcing the first $50 winner right here and right now! Today’s winner is….

Hadley M.! Congratulations! You’re our first $50 prize winner! Hadley spent her summer at Camp Hayo-Went-Ha and brought home an unexpected guest! Read all about it in this excellent entry from Hadley’s mother, Debbie:

The Unwanted Visitor

“Hadley enjoyed a full month at YMCA Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha for girls this summer. She was in the Biker group that took an 8-day 140-mile bicycling trek through the upper peninsula of Michigan. These girls were tough, sometimes riding 30 to 40 miles in a day. They even got to take the ferry over to Mackinac Island and spend a day on their bikes exploring. When not on the biking adventure, the girls were able to take part in Life-size Board game super Saturday, Ropes Courses, Sailing, Paddle Boarding, Nature Walks, and the list could continue as there are so many options of things to do at Hayo-Went-Ha.

I guess one of the many lessons learned for Hadley was that of how to care for your belongings at camp. Hadley had decided that it was easier to just leave her trunk open to have quick access to her belongings. Because really it MUST be too much trouble to close that trunk each time you want to change clothes or grab something—right?!

On the final day of camp, we made the 4 hour drive to camp to pick up Hadley. We loaded up her trunk and spent the next 4 hours peppering her with questions about her month of adventure. By the time we made it home, everyone wanted to just relax. So we put off unpacking her trunk until the next day. We had left the trunk on the back porch because as anyone who has had a child go to camp—those things do not smell the best after a month at camp. The next day, Hadley was responsible for unpacking all of her items from the trunk and putting them into the laundry so that everything could be washed. At the bottom of her trunk Hadley found a Momma Mouse and the 5 babies that she had given birth to in the trunk!!!! Needless to say this was a lesson learned (we HOPE). Always close your trunk after getting your things out of it. You never know what might sneak into that trunk!”

Thanks again for your submission, Debbie. We hope Hadley learned her lesson! For anyone else interested in Camp Hayo-Went-Ha, you can check it out right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

In mid-July, I asked you guys to share your camp stories. We got a great response with nearly 30 entries so we’re happily publishing each and every submission right here on the Blog! Everyone who submitted got $15 gift certificates and seven lucky winners got larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. I’m announcing the fourth $25 winner right now! And it is….

Arden H.! You’re our fourth $25 prize winner! Thanks for your Camp Story!

Arden tells us about her summer at“This summer I attended sleep away camp for the first time at a camp called Brown Ledge. When I left for camp, I thought I was fully aware of what my experience would be like. Maybe I would make a few good friends and try a couple activities. I’m usually not a huge fan of water activities so I thought maybe I’d visit waterfront every once in a while. Even I, who was so sure I’d have a great experience at camp was not prepared for the amount of sheer joy, friendship and knowledge that I would come home with after those glorious 4 weeks.

When I first arrived at camp, I expected to make friends in a day or two. Boy, was I wrong. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted and befriended by three girls. I still think that was truly amazing. I have NEVER made friends that fast in my entire life.

That night, I hung out with my bunkies and fell asleep thinking about just how lucky I was to be in a place so welcoming, friendly and beautiful. Later, I found that my bunkies and I would be essentially joined at the hip and would go from activity to activity together. I am sure that the friends that I made this summer at Brown Ledge are some of the most genuine people I have ever met and I will always cherish our friendship.

Then there were my counselors, my counselor was probably the brightest, kindest person I could have asked for. She always made the best of every situation we put in front of her and we could talk about literally anything with her. My Junior Counselor was the sweetest person I have ever met. Every day, I looked forward to rest hour because that’s when she would come to visit my cabin. She did the best french braids and was the stealthiest card player. Whether we were playing some card game, MASH, talking or just laying there doing nothing, I felt like I was the happiest I’d ever been. My JC always looked out for me no matter what and that’s why I call her the big sister I never had.

At the end of the summer, I received a Brown Ledge ring. This ring means the world to me because it symbolizes every memory (great and small!) of my summer. It stands for the bonds I formed with all of my friends, the countless hours I spent in the barn working with horses, the refreshing coolness of Mallet’s Bay, the sound of the dining hall at dinner when it erupted in song, all the activities that I improved in and the happiness that still burns within me. So, I guess you could say that I love Brown Ledge more than I could ever put into words and I can’t wait to go back next summer.”

Thanks again for your submission, Arden. You can check out Brown Ledge right here to see if you might like it as much as Arden did. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

In mid-July, I asked Blog readers to share their camp stories. We got nearly 30 entries so we’re posting them on the Blog now! Everyone who submitted got $15 gift certificates and seven lucky winners got larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. I’m announcing the third $25 winner right now!

*A-a-a-hem*

Aaaaand… Molly Y.! You’re our third $25 prize winner. Your Camp Story was great!

Molly tells us about her summer at Camp Ton-A-Wandah

“My name is Molly Young and I am writing about my camp, Ton A Wandah.

Chapel is where you wear green and white. You sit on benches.Then our camp owners say a prayer. After the prayer someone speaks, after that there are singing teams that sing for our camp. Before chapel we go to breakfast in our green and whites or our pajamas. For breakfast, doughnuts and bagels.

On the last chapel two girls on Hilltop made a song and sang it. It was called Sisters.

The lake is very big. You can go on a water slide or do the blob with a water trampoline and a floating dock or a high dive and diving board. Also paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing and if you like Weezie’s 20 laps is going on a paddleboard, canoe, or kayak around the lake 20 times before breakfast.

Archery is behind tennis. There are a lot of bows and arrows. I shot and almost got a bullseye. Archery is the best sport in the world.

The barn is where the horses and ponies stay with two donkeys. 28 all together. You can do daily riding, ride, or horsemanship, and the horse show. I did daily riding and was in class two with my friends. The riding instructors are Kendall, Ashley, Shonna and a B.I.T. Bella (and more).

I wood burned a lot of wood. I once wood burned a puppy in a yard for my sister, more stuff for me and some for my mom and dad.

On Wacky Wednesday, you eat wacky food and dress up wacky. In daily riding you teach your teachers. Wacky Wednesday is very wacky! It is the best day at camp.

Camp TAW has been open for eighty-three years now. Before Camp TAW was old it gave Camp Merry Times (cancer kids) to come and stay for watching and doing. Ms Judy and Captain Billy’s family have been the owners of Camp TAW for eighty-three years now. An Indian village used to live there. Their chief’s daughter was named Tonawandah.

Tennis is very fun. Tennis is a sport on tribe day. Racquets and balls go together like peanut butter and jelly. There are two kinds of courts: a single court or a double court.

In Secret Agent, we once had to go from the hilltop showers to the gym. I got caught, but my friend Eleanor did not. My sister was in my class too. Once a girl from woodburning got out of class to make sure we got to the gym.

In paddle boarding one time we played charades on paddle boards. We did jumping in the water competitions. My teacher was one of Emily’s counselors. I wanted to get in the water so much. I so so so loved paddle boarding.

One day in Crazy Cardio we danced to Bumpy Ride. Now I love Bumpy Ride. Once we went one a hike. It was so much fun. We ran some times and mostly stretched.”

Thanks again for your submission, Molly. Everyone else, you can check out Camp Ton-a-Wandah right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John