Hey, Camp Fans!

I’m thrilled to say that we had our best turnout yet for our annual Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! Your camp stories were great! I had such a fun time reading through them all and now I’m excited to share them with all our readers online! We’re posting each submission right here on the Blog!

Since I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes, I’ve moved on to the rest of your submissions. The following post is from Merrill T. who wrote in to tell us about her summer days at Barry Conservation Camp. Here it is:

“The first time pulling up to camp was different than what I was expecting. Once we turned on to the winding forest lined road I was excited about what I would see. I knew there was a trout hatchery right next door to camp but I wasn’t expecting to see about ten hatchery tents lining the road to get there. Once finding out I was in Bobcat lair we pulled into the parking lot, got all my things out from our car, walked past a few cabins, and walked up the stairs to my cabin. Once everyone was there we met our counselors, cabin mates and had dinner. It was a much smaller camp then I had been to in the past but I still liked it very much. It was only a week long camp so the first few days flew by.

By midweek we decided if we wanted to go on the overnight hike, or canoe trip. A day went by and near the end we started packing for our trips. I chose the hike because everyone who had been there in the past said it was a very good experience. The next day we had breakfast then were on our way to our trips.

We hiked a trail called Unknown Pond trail. It was a 3.3 mile hike, but it was steep, rocky, and muddy, which made things slippery. About three hours later we got to Unknown Pond to have lunch. Once lunch was over we took an hour to filter water for people’s water bottles, then we dropped our bags near where we had lunch, and went on another hike up to the horn, which is the top of a mountain. We stayed up there for a little while, came back down, grabbed our bags and hiked to our campsite. Our campsite was right near a ledge where we got to watch the sunset. It was foggy, cold, and raining a little, but totally worth it. Later we had hot dogs over the fire, and s'mores, then went to bed.

The next morning we were up bright and early to hike down. It was the same trail as going up but even more slippery as the day before. We got down in a short two hours, took a break by the entrance of the trail, then walked the two miles back to camp. The bus drove us to our starting point the day before, so we didn’t know how far it really was.

Though in those 48 hours we hiked over 12 miles, this camp was an amazing experience that I will never forget and I hope to come back for years to come.”

What a great summer stay, Merrill! I’m pleased to hear that you had such a positive experience—right up my alley (I love to hike!). If anybody else is interested in Barry Conservation Camp, you can give it a closer look by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Sandwi-vores!

If your diet is anything like mine from my younger days, then you understand keeping a strictly sandwich diet—nothing but sandwiches, day after day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner…okay, maybe I wasn’t quite that bad. But, believe me, I ate a lot of sandwiches. Who can avoid the call of sweet, salty, or fresh ingredients between two pieces of bread?

So who invented this functional favorite that we all know and love so much today? The answer is up for a bit of debate. But let me break it down for you.

Earl of Sandwich

There’s the more commonly-known origin story of the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu. It is said that this English nobleman of the 1700s is the inventor of the sandwich—an idea that came to him due to his obsession with the gaming table.

Montagu took his card games so seriously that he refused to get up from the table, even just to eat! He took it to such an extreme that he, one day, in 1762, ordered his valet to bring him some roast beef tucked between a couple pieces of bread, giving himself a handheld meal!

As he continued to order this intriguing meal, word spread and people from all over were ordering ingredients to go between bread, “Like in Sandwich,” they’d say. But despite the wide popularization and even naming of this staple meal, Montagu was only reinventing something that had existed for roughly 1700 years.

One Hillel of a Sandwich

Back in the ancient world of the First Century, we find our first record of a meal that describes ingredients placed between two matzohs (an unleavened flatbread part of Jewish cuisine).

Recorded by the famous rabbi, Hillel the Elder, he turned it into an essential part the observation of Passover. He wrote of a concoction of chopped up apples, nuts, spices, and a drizzle of wine that was ‘sandwiched’ between the traditional flatbread. It’s made of some pretty unorthodox ingredients, however, this definitely qualifies as a sandwich. 

Sandwiches of Old

Going back even longer, and shrouded in more mystery, the sandwich seems to have even lesser known origins from street vendors in 200 BC China. It seems these tasty, on-the-go food items called Rou Jia Mo (which loosely translates to English as “Meat Between Bread”) and consists of pork and few select vegetables to complement the taste.  

 We may never know just how long people have been slapping some chunky ingredients between a couple bread slices, but I think we can all agree that we’re glad SOMEBODY invented this wonder of wheat-contained nourishment. Take care of your sandwich cravings today and enjoy whatever kind of sandwich you cook up! As always, thanks for eating errrr—reading!

- John

Hey, Halloween Lovers!

The time of year has come again to celebrate Halloween. It’s a time to dress up like creatures we know only from Hollywood and scary dreams and to gorge ourselves on hard-earned candy! I’ve gone over lots of useful Halloween facts in past Blog posts for this holiday including origins of Halloween traditions and tips on decorating for the season.

Don’t let me scare you today with a few freaky facts about this holiday that you likely didn’t already know…

The Many Colors of Halloween

Pumpkins are typically the first thing to come to mind when I think of Halloween. What else says Halloween in one fell, silent swoop? When we speak of pumpkins, most folks will think of the traditional orange squash, however, pumpkins can be green, white, yellow, red, and gray! Not only do they grow in a variety of colors, they range greatly in size as well from mini pumpkins to the largest in the world which grew to be 1,872 pounds (almost a metric ton).

Spirit Guardian Spiders

Spiders play a big role in the theme of Halloween. For long time I figured Halloween was simply trying to play up on people’s arachnophobia (fear of spiders) until one day when I heard that if you encounter a spider on Halloween, it's actually the spirit of a loved one watching over you. Most spiders have eight eyes; spirits are using spider eyes for a little check-up.  

Once in a Great Moon

Of all the things you have to worry about on Halloween night, at least a Full Moon is a rare event to be wary of. Though often used to set the picturesque scene on our All Hallow’s Eve, Full Moons almost never happen on this night. Despite its extremely rare occasion, it is predicted to happen on Halloween night two years from now in the year 2020. Be on look out then for sure!

From everybody here at Everything Summer Camp, Happy Halloween, Summer Camp Families! Set out your pumpkins of all colors, enjoy an incomplete moon for the night, and be nice to any spiders you see! As always, Camp Fans, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Pumpkin People!

The Halloween celebration is heavy in the air—the sensation thickens as the days draw nearer and it’s right around the corner now. There are lots of things to do to be prepared for the fast-approaching holiday. By this time I hope most of your households have been decorated with spooky characters and creatures. I expect you all have your costumes ready as well—conceptually, at the very least.

And what else?

Ah, yes! You’d better have your place populated with pumpkins! And, in case you haven’t done so yet, today is National Pumpkin Carving Day. So gather your gourds around and pick out your best carving knife (safety fist, remember), and pop that top off your pumpkin so you can clear it out and carve him up!

Pumpkins are certainly an essential part of the holiday and, even more so than pumpkins, we need Jack-o-Lanterns when it comes to Halloween. During this time of year, pretty much everybody tries their hand at carving. Halloween is just days away. If you haven’t carved your pumpkins yet, I suggest you get to it today before All Hallows Eve is upon us.

It makes a little more sense to carve your pumpkins a week or so in advance and give your neighbors a chance to see your carving handiwork; your pumpkins won’t go bad in just a week’s time. But for anybody who’s a little late to the game, today is a great reminder. Or, if you enjoy pumpkin carving as much as I do, go out and find yourself one more pumpkin to carve just for today!

If you have enough pumpkins, it can be a lot of fun to make a night of it. Enjoy some apple cider while you sit with friends or family and carve away! The more the merrier for an activity like this. You can exchange ideas for faces and help each other with stencils. Also, don’t forget to save your pumpkin seeds for a delicious and healthy roasted snack!

- John

Hey, Lockers!

At Everything Summer Camp we pride ourselves in the quality of the summer camp gear we offer. And because of that fact, we love shining our spotlight on the wonderful suppliers who manufacture the products we offer on our site.

One solid brand name among our selection is Safe Skies™. The makers of Luggage Locks, these guys are essential to our selection of trunk accessories. Perfect for long distance travelers who are flying to camp, get a good look at our Safe Skies™ products by clicking here.

Travel Security Agents at the airport are equipped with tools for unlocking and re-locking certain accepted brand name locks so yours doesn’t need to meet its doom by getting clipped as it goes through security.  

Safe Skies LLC™ is the exclusive manufacturer of Luggage Locks that baggage screeners can open without clipping. If you have a Safe Skies™ Lock on your luggage, TSA will not need to destroy it! The distinct Safe Skies™ logo of a burning torch indicates that screeners can open these locks for luggage inspection when necessary and then re-lock afterwards.

Your Safe Skies™ TSA Luggage Lock will not be clipped—Safe Skies™ all but guarantees it. TSA screeners have been extensively trained on how to open Safe Skies™ luggage locks without clipping them. Yet, in the highly unlikely scenario that your Safe Skies™ TSA lock does get clipped, Safe Skies™ is ready to replace your lock free of charge.

Always looking to carry the best of the best, we here at Everything Summer Camp know this is brand to be of great standards as they display the commitment to their quality and their coordination with the TSA program to offer the absolute convenience for their customers through their product. We appreciate you, Safe Skies™. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John