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Camping at Carysbrook

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Hey, Camp Folks!

Spring is directly around the corner which means that it’s a great time to start thinking about what camp you’re going to in the upcoming summer season! Get a glimpse of a great Virginia camp, featured right here, right now! Today, we’re shining our summer camp spotlight over to the east coast where we find Camp Carysbrook.

Carysbrook sits on 200 acres of rural Virginia woodland, nestled in the New River Valley and prides itself as the oldest overnight camp for girls. It was founded in 1923 by one Miss Sarah Caperton Preston who ran the camp for the remainder of her life until the very year she passed in 1965.Camp Carysbrook shows girls a great time every season!

Carysbrook campers get their choice of activities and they’re encouraged to try out new activities and set goals for themselves based on their own interests. Girls at Carysbrook are offered instructions in five skill levels from ‘beginner’ to ‘advanced’ in the following activities: Horseback Riding, Archery, Rock Climbing, Canoeing, and Swimming. The daily structure at Carysbrook allows for spontaneous adventures like going blackberry picking, enjoying a hike, or tubing down the Little River.

The folks at Camp Carysbrook are proud to have carefully preserved their facilities since they were first created in a successful attempt to maintain a rustic appearance that complement the natural beauty of the surrounding campgrounds.

Carysbrook’s cabins blend into the natural environment nicely as well. They’re set up with electricity and four bunkbeds in each. A tradition among campers at Carysbrook encourages campers to join the names written on the inside of cabins from previous camp stays to rediscover upon future visits!

Join the generations of campers that have come before you at Carysbrook and become a camper there yourself so you can enjoy the learning environment, tight bonds, and flat-out fun at this extraordinary summer camp. If this camp sounds like a good fit for you, look into it more by checking out their website sometime and, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- John

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Liza S. Says Yes To Summer Camp Fun!

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Hey, Camp Fans!

We saw such a great response to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp in 2018 that we’re still going strong publishing each submission right here on the Blog in the New Year. Your stories were fantastic and it’s such a fun time reading through them!

Today’s post comes from Liza S. who wrote in to tell us about her really fun camp stay at Camp Merrie-Woode. Get a look at today’s submission about her stay: Read Liza S.' camp story about her stay at Camp Merrie-Woode.

I love camp, and every year I'm super excited to go and sad to leave! All of the activities are tons of fun but my favorite would have to be horseback riding as I love riding. Some of the other activities I took this year were tennis, sailing, canoeing, knitting, archery, jewelry, and land sports. In knitting, I made a pillow, and in archery, I made several bulls eyes. This was my fifth year going, and every year I challenge myself to pass levels, etc. For example, this year I passed the first level in canoeing and went on a difficult two day hike on the Appalachian Trail with two of my friends at camp. Everyone is very witty and kind at camp and you can make friends easily. Also, every year my cabins have been with awesome people and amazing counselors. In addition, every night we have a different evening program that is so exciting and a good way to end the night.

I adore the camaraderie at camp as well as the independence to explore and try new activities. It's fantastic that camp is by the lake to take advantage of water sports like sailing, canoeing, kayaking and swimming but also to have amazing horseback riding. My favorite horse is named Picard who is a thoroughbred. He's a retired off track race horse and has the smoothest canter and loves high jumps.

Our camp is also free of electronics so we all have a chance to really get to know one another, play cards and games, and write letters to family and friends. I live in Florida so to be able to go to the mountains every summer and have a blast at camp is very special. I can't wait until camp next summer to spend time with many great friends I have met, continue passing levels and challenging myself in various activities, and feeling such joy!

Wow! This summer sounds like it was a blast at Merrie-Woode, Liza! Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you have a special relationship with Picard and riding altogether! I’m glad you made such a strong bond with your fellow campers and your counselors. Isn’t camp great for reminding us what life is like without the interruption of buzzing and dinging electronics?! For anybody else interested in checking out Camp Merrie-Woode, be sure to check them out for yourself and, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- John


Cornelius Crane Chase

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Hey, Chevy Chums!

Pretty much everybody fell in love with this heartthrob from the 70’s. And it’s true that Hollywood legend, Clark Griswold himself, *ahem* I mean—Chevy Chase—was a summer camper back in the day! I posted about this funnyman a number of years ago when this Blog was still in its starting stage. Since I posted about this guy years ago, I thought we could revisit Chevy to get to know him a little bit better.

In the previous post, I discussed how he attended Camp Tamakwa and then Learn some interesting points about Chevy Chase.covered a series of moments in his life throughout his acting career. Today, however, I want to go real deep so we can attempt to really get to understand who Mr. Chevy Chase is at his most core level, not as a celebrity, but as a human being:

Don’t Have a Cow, Man

Believe it or not, Chevy has always created a reputation for himself of being a jokester employing an offbeat sense of humor. In the early 60s, Chase was enrolled at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. For a long time, Chevy claimed to have been kicked out because he kept a cow in his dorm room. Just ten years ago, his old roommate from Haverford cleared the air that the real reason Chevy left was because of a poor grades.

Replaced by Bill

One of the show’s original cast members—not to mention the very first to ever say, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”—Chevy holds a number of Saturday Night Live records. Despite being one of the founding SNL fathers, Chevy was also the first person to leave the show. He did so after just the first season. Chevy has since expressed his regrets of his early departure and being replaced by Bill Murray.

No-Buster

Another regret Chevy has is not starring in the 80s Blockbuster hit, Ghostbusters, though the role was offered to him. Why’d he give up such an awesome opportunity? Chevy wasn’t convinced the role would be so great. After all, the original script that had first interested Chevy had undergone some wild changes from the script that Chevy was initially shown.

Despite his missed opportunities, Chevy has made us all laugh over the years in all the classic roles he’s brought to life. If you have interest in checking out Chevy’s stomping grounds at Camp Tamakwa, give them a closer look some time. And, as always, thanks for reading.

 

- John

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Ryan S. Says Kingswood's the Best!

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Hey, Camp Lovers!

What a great response we saw to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp in 2018—we’re still going strong publishing each submission right here on the Blog in the New Year! Your stories were fantastic and it’s such a fun time reading through them. Get the full experience at Kingswood Camp for your next summer camp stay!

Today’s post comes from Ryan S. who wrote in to tell us about his really fun camp stay at Kingswood Camp. Get a look at today’s submission about his stay:

This was my first year at sleepaway camp and I loved it. I went to camp Kingswood on Lake Tarleton in New Hampshire for 4 weeks. My favorite thing to do was anything and everything on the water, like sailing, fishing, waterskiing, tubing, wakeboarding, paddleboarding, and swimming. One day, I went canoeing on Squam Lake, also in New Hampshire, with a couple of campers and three counselors. We paddled to an island and camped there overnight. It was so fun setting up camp and fishing on the island. The counselors made us a delicious dinner of tortillas and rice on the fire. We had rap battles and other competitions to pick our oatmeal flavors for breakfast.

Another favorite camp memory was the egg drop contest one day but is not like a normal egg drop. The counselors set up bunch of sharp objects pointing up. We had to build a contraption then conceal the egg in. Then the counselors would throw our contraption out a window on the sharp things. Then they would try to smash them with various things. That was one of my favorite times I had at camp. I met so many new people and made new friends. It was a great experience being away from home and making my own life at camp. I think that Kingswood is the best camp because of these things and many, many more things. This summer was so much fun and I had a blast.

Your Happy Camper footlocker trunk was super helpful. At camp, we basically live out of our trunks. I wish my mom would let me do that at home.

Great submission, Ryan! Your canoe trip across Squam Lake and overnighter on the island sounds like it was a really special time. Sounds like nonstop fun between fun on the waterfront and other fun activities like the egg drop contest! Glad you had such fun and happy to hear your Happy Camper worked so out so well! For anybody else interested in Kingswood Camp, give this place a closer look some time and, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- John


Give it Up for the Girl Scouts!

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Hey, Scout Fans!

Today is National Girl Scouts Day! This organization’s popularity has skyrocketed since its small beginnings a little over a century ago and has become an essential part of summer to many little girls all across the country. To learn more about the past of this famous institution, click here to check out a previous post.

Here are some interesting tidbits about the Scouts: Let's hear it for the Girl Scouts, huh?! We salute you here at Everything Summer Camp.

Cookie Inconsistency

The classic bakery treats for which the Girl Scouts are notorious don’t actually remain consistent throughout the United States. In fact, the cookies you order can differ greatly from one place to another. Denver and Seattle Thin Mints are given a generous coating of chocolate, whereas, if you order Thin Mints in Boston or Kansas City, you get a crunchier and heavier mint flavor. Samoas cookies are different throughout the country, called by the name of Caramel deLites in other places.

What to Wear?

Most folks would probably figure that the sash full of badges is and always has been the official Girl Scouts uniform. The original Girl Scouts, however, never wore sashes. And unlike the Scout image that we’re all familiar with today, they used to wear wide-brimmed hats as their counterparts in Britain wore. It wasn’t until the 30’s that the iconic berets and Brownie beanies became a thing. A couple other changes have been implemented along the way as well.

Somethin’ Fun!

It’s more than just overnight hikes and s’mores at a campfire! The Girl Scouts provide their members with awesome activities ranging from arts and theater to horseback riding as well as technology. For Scouts who are looking for an experience that’s more physically intense, they offer rock-climbing, forest tree-climbing, and high-adventure courses!

From all of us here at Everything Summer Camp, we send a proud salute to all of you Scouts out there—current and former—today on National Girl Scouts Day! Keep leading by the best of examples and, as always, thanks for reading! 

 

- John