Hey, Comfort Lovers!

Who doesn’t love resting their head on the soft loft of a nice puffy pillow? It’s a pleasure known to most in the world today, but did you know that pillows weren’t always soft? Let’s take an in-depth look at the pillowy part of our past and find out how they came to be the cushy, decorative, and squeezable part of our lives that we know so well. Pillows go way back—as far back as 9000 years—but they weren’t soft until about 200 years ago.

That’s right! Pillows weren’t soft to begin with. And they certainly weren’t commonplace. It wasn’t just anybody who had a pillow. It was the kings and pharaohs who had such frills.

But even the upper class had it rough. What exactly were pillows made out of if they weren’t soft? People originally crafted and carved cradles for their heads out of stone or wood. This kept the neck in place and off the ground. But it certainly wasn’t the cushy night of sleep that we’re so well-accustomed to nowadays. The idea behind the pillow was based much more in head protection rather than comfort. Comfort was only an option.   

Things stayed much the same all throughout the Dark Ages. Kings enjoyed hard pillows with little cushion while the majority of the world rested their heads simply on gathered piles of straw, leaves, twigs that was maybe covered with a woven fabric.

But that all changed with the swing of the Industrial Revolution when fabrics became much more affordable for store purchase gave just about everybody the ability to make their own pillow. Most folks filled their fabrics with hay or maybe chicken feathers. Hunters were fortunate if they could fill their pillows with soft goose down.

By the 1960s, polyester filling was invented and led to the new standard of synthetic stuffing for pillows along with the introduction of advanced synthetics. Pillows are still changing with today’s further advancements with Styrofoam pellets and memory foam, but pillows seem to have gone through their major transformation by this point.

That doesn’t mean they can’t still be more creative, and cozier, and crazier! Check out some of our latest pillows from brands like iScream and Top Trenz, available here at Everything Summer Camp. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Sports Fans!

This time of year, people are typically deep in the basketball frenzy of March Madness, but this year is different as we all know sporting events are all canceled indefinitely. With basketball currently missing from everyone’s lives right now, I thought we could celebrate one of the all-time greats and true record setter of Basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Throughout the performance of his entire career, Kareem had accumulated more points scored than any other NBA player. It’s a big number—ready?!! Kareem has 38, 387 points all to his name! That’s almost 1500 more points than Karl Malone who holds the second most points scored. And near 5000 more than LeBron James who comes in third highest.

Kareem won a league-record of six MVP awards as well as a couple of Finals MVP awards. He also earned six championship rings and won a record of 19 NBA All-Star call-ups. He was honored 15 times on NBA first or second teams. For each game he averaged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 defensive blocks. Those are fantastic averages.

Truly a legendary presence in the world of professional basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shadows the amazing achievements of plenty of other basketball players such as Bill Russel, Wilt Chamberlain, or Michael Jordan who has already had two posts written about him here on the Blog—check one out by clicking here and another one by clicking right here.

While he certainly didn’t invent the game of basketball (you can read all about who did with the recent post about Dr. James Naismith out of Springfield, Massachusetts), Kareem will likely remain the leading basketball all-star athlete of the NBA for many years and decades to come. Learn more about this great record-setting athlete from our past on your own and, as always, thanks for reading, Everybody.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Things have changed fast with nationwide closures of stores, restaurants, sporting events, schools, and more. It means that we all have a little more time at home with our family. It also means boredom and sloth could be setting in for kids who would typically be in school. In response to this situation, we here at Everything Summer Camp thought we’d switch things up to give kids something to do. And maybe even win some cash! 

Our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp has been an annual contest we’ve held for the past five years and it’s always seen great success! We tend to announce it around the end of July when summer camp sessions come to an end. But we figure, with all this time off at home, why not start right now?!

Right now is a great time to get your minds off the current affairs and put some positive thoughts down on paper. Tell us about your favorite story from last year, your best friend you met at camp, what your favorite activity was, or how much you loved your camp! Maybe you’re feeling super optimistic about this upcoming camp season and want to share what you’re most excited about. We’re all ears!

All Entries are Winners!

For this contest, we’ll pick a $100 winner and a $25 winner of Everything Summer Camp Gift Cards. Everyone else who submits will get 1000 S’more Bucks (the campy equivalent to reward points). You have until Thursday, April 30 to submit. Submissions must be 150 words to qualify, but we’d prefer that they be closer to 250. Submit your written entry by clicking here. And visit our Official Rules page by clicking here if you have further questions.

There is no entry fee. If you're under the age of 18, you'll need permission from your parent or guardian to participate in this Contest. And speaking of parents—we certainly love hearing from you as well; so don’t hesitate to enter your own submission if you’d like to share your own thoughts! So get writing, folks! We’re looking forward to getting word from you. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fanatics!

Today’s Blog post shines its spotlight on another brand that’s a new addition to our camping gear collection here at Everything Summer Camp. We’re thrilled to now be able to say we offer Marmot. A great brand to give you the comfort you want for a night under the stars, learn a good deal on the story behind the brand name right here.

Students of the University of California Santa Cruz, Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley, were on a school Glaciology project when Marmot Club was first suggested. Marmots are highly social ground squirrels that live in the mountainous regions of the world and they adopted this name with the rule that in order to become a Marmot one had to climb a glaciated peak with another Marmot.

That summer and for the next two years, Eric and Dave started making prototypes of down products in their dorm room. These two original Marmots joined forces after an ascensions of the Grand Teton with one Tomb Boyce of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Together, the three opened a rental and retail shop under the name of Marmot Mountain Works. The company was launched into high demand when 20th Century Fox requested 108 puffy jackets for a Clint Eastwood flick.

After their Hollywood premiere, Marmot saw further fortune with a ground floor introduction to the new concept of Gore-Tex. Always growing, but never outgrowing their quality, become a Marmot yourself with the latest from this trailblazing brand.

Escape, connect, and recharge with our awesome collection from Marmot. Get a look at everything we offer of this brand when you click right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

This week we’re fixing our summer camp spotlight westerly over to the coast in the heart of California where we find a very special place, just a short trip south of Yosemite National Park. Showing campers fantastic summer fun for the past 75 years since 1945, we’re excited to share the highlights of this summer camp that’s developed a great relationship with us here at Everything Summer Camp.

Skylake Yosemite Camp is located in the middle of the Sierra National Forest among hundreds of acres of woodsy trails and beautiful surrounding nature! Skylake shows its campers a dream location in the mountains, on the gorgeous Bass Lake, with the majesty of Yosemite for a backyard! A private dock and the lake offer Canoeing, Kayaking, Paddleboarding, Swimming, and more! On land, activities include Horse Riding, Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball, Ropes Course, and Climbing Wall, and miles of Mountain Biking trails to explore. Arts & Crafts, Drama, Music, Ceramics, Outdoor Cooking and lodge activities are also available for those looking to mix up their routine or for a slower paced activity.

The 6500 square foot main lodge at Skylake provides a large dining room, the rec. room, trading post, ceramics shop, and video room. Also, the lakeside porch runs along the length of the lodge for a fantastic view across Bass Lake to the surrounding mountains. The Skylake campus also provides its campers with facilities like the climbing wall, tennis courts, basketball court, sand volleyball courts, tetherball, ropes course, riding ring, ball field, Private Waterfront, Shower Houses, Health Center, and more.

There are 32 small cabins at Skylake. Each cabin has four sets of bunk beds for seven campers and one staff member to get a good night of sleep. The girl’s cabins are named after trees like Cedar, Lupine, Oak, and Ponderosa while the boy’s cabins are named for Native American tribes such as Mojave, Miwok, Pomo, and Maidus.

If Skylake Yosemite Camp sounds like it could be the special place you’re looking for to spend a summer in a new environment, take a closer look at this camp on their website by clicking right here. Enjoy finding the right fitting summer camp for you and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John