Hey, Summer Campers!

I told you we were through with camper submissions. I told you the last had finally been published.

I was wrong.

Enjoy reading this final camp submission from Lauren E. who wrote in to tell us about her second camp stay at Camp Tapawingo in New York. Check it out:

“My name is Lauren, and this was my second summer going to camp at Tapawingo! Tapawingo means ‘Place of Joy’ and it is so cool, because it is on an island in the middle of Lake Pleasant in the Adirondacks mountains of New York.
lMy very favorite thing to do at camp is Banana Boating! That is when six campers sit on a big inflatable banana shaped float and it is towed by a really fast boat! We get whipped back and forth until everyone goes flying off!
lThe other activities I really enjoy are crafts, sailing, hiking, and drama. There are lots of different activities for us to choose from!
What I love most about going to camp are the friendships I make. I have great friends from all over the WORLD that I have met there. They become like sisters to me and I will love them forever.
lWhen I go to camp, I pack all my stuff in a large soft pop-up trunk. I love it, because it fits everything I need, and it is easy for me to move around.”

We love hearing how much you love camp, Lauren! Thanks for the shout-out to the Pop-Up Soft Trunk too—glad it can see you through your camp experience! Tapawingo sounds like a pretty magical place and Banana Boating sounds like an absolute blast! We hope Camp Tapawingo provides you with awesome summers to come!

If anybody else thinks Tapawingo sounds like a good fit for them, check out their website to get a better sense of how you'd like to stay there and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Footlocker Fans!

Revolutionizing the footlocker trunk, Designer Trunks from Everything Summer Camp portray an amazing print that covers the whole camp trunk to create an impression spectacle the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Choose a trunk design that speaks to you from Mermaids and Unicorns to Aquariums and Llamas—whatever you like best. We have over a hundred options and we’re adding to our collection all the time!

Constructed the same as our traditional trunks with tough birch plywood, Designer Trunks set themselves apart with a high-definition image that we UV-cured onto its DuraShell exterior. We offer a wide selection of eye-popping designs and we’re adding new ones all the time! Get a feel for a few of our latest creations:

Let’s Be Mermaids
These beautiful sirens of the sea feature the body of a human from the torso up and a fish’s tail below.

Sparkle like a Unicorn
Magical beyond words, welcome the sparkly realm of the Unicorn—featured here on your Camp Trunk so you can enjoy it in your own realm.

Aquarium
Stare in aquatic wonder at the marine biology featured on this aquarium imitating Designer Trunk from Everything Summer Camp.

Llamas
Close cousin to the alpaca, llamas are large, wooly wonders of the South American region. Follow the herd and get your llama Designer Trunk today.

Still busting over our invention of the Designer Trunk, we’re always excited to add more installments of new looks for our Camp Trunks. We just released twelve more Designer Trunk prints along with these four featured trunks. Take a good look at our new prints as well as all our other trunks from our always-growing selection. There’s sure to be a Designer Trunk with your name written all over it. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Bark-Bark, Camp Folks!

We celebrate the things we appreciate and today we celebrate National Puppy Day! If you’re like me, then you already appreciate puppies quite a bit. You might need to raise your level of puppy appreciation. I like to do this by highlighting the ways puppies are different from people like you and me. Here are four different ways that you, as a person, are different from our four-pawed friends.

Physiological Development
Aside from an endless list of other things, canine length of pregnancy lasts just two months—less than a third of human gestation. And in less than three months of being born, most have gotten the hang of walking and they’re beginning to work on the finer points of their motor skills such as tail-wagging and eye coordination. It takes people three times as long before we’re even able to sit without being supported or begin crawling around.

Sleep Receptors
Ever notice how dogs might start twitching or otherwise ‘acting funny’ in their sleep? It’s because of certain receptors in their brains not turning off as effectively as they do in a human brain during sleep states. However, some human brains have what we call a sleep disorder in which the receptors are turned off even less effectively than they are in dogs. This is what we know as sleepwalking.

Scent Receptors
Did you know that puppies are deaf and blind until two weeks after birth? It’s okay, though. They’re able to perceive and navigate this world just by their noses. The olfactory or scent-center of a dog’s brain is 40 times the size of your own. Canine noses can literally perceive the world 100 million times better than yours. They simply have that many more scent receptors than human noses. Dogs continue to rely most heavily on their sense of smell even after their eyes and ears fully develop so much that deafness and blindness impairs a dog much less than it does a person.

Noseprints
Speaking of the canine nose, the actual and physical outside of a dog’s nose is the equivalent of a human fingerprint in that each puppy nose bears a pattern of ridges and creases that are unique to that puppy! Like a snowflake, no two puppy noses are identical.

It would seem that Nature could have done us a few more favors, but at least we can boast a frontal lobe unrivaled in size by any other creature. Anyway, I hope you found these differences as interesting as I did, but for now, I’m done barking facts at you. Happy National Puppy Day! Go cuddle a puppy if you’re friends with one and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Competitive Campers!

Summer camp activities range from artistic to adventurous and some challenge you in a thoughtful, contemplative manner while others bring test your abilities in a way that’s a little more hands-on. With Wrestling, you get the best of both worlds as any good wrestler must always be thinking ahead to their next step, but also physically execute a takedown of your opponent in order to claim victory.

Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat. It entails at least (and typically) two competitors or sparring partners who use grappling styles such as clinch fighting, throws, joint locks, holds, takedowns, and pins. Styles vary greatly with influence from both historic as well as modern styles. It’s at the core of a plethora of other manners of fighting such as martial arts or hand-to-hand military combat.

To achieve success, wrestlers need to build a slew of beneficial skills that include but are far from limited to their physical fitness. Here’s a breakdown of some of the things that are sharpened in the world of a wrestler:

Basic Athletic Skills—First and foremost, of course, wrestlers must be athletically equipped. Most sports feature your coordination with your arms and your legs, but Wrestling commands the taxing control of places like your neck and your back and the whole body in general.

Personal Responsibility—Wrestlers accept and assume responsible for their training, their weight, their clear-mindedness, their commitment, their score. They recognize that it’s on them to keep themselves in check on the disciplined lifestyle they need to lead.

Mental Fortitude—Wrestlers need to have the mental perseverance in order to push their body far past a state of comfort. Wrestling doesn’t feel pleasant, but a Wrestler’s mind can’t be afraid to endure the pain.

Nutritional Dieting—Good Wrestlers turn down cake and savor their fresh fruits and vegetables instead. Forget the soda pop and go for some water. Wrestlers know that the better their diet, the higher their energy. And the higher their energy, the better their performance.

Camaraderie—Bonds form quickly over the daily challenges a wrestler must face and, being a sport based in diversity itself, it unites sparring partners and competitors alike who come from all around the world.

Focus—Wrestlers have a wide array of techniques at their disposal, but learning them all isn’t necessarily the smartest route. The best wrestlers dedicate their focus to a few different moves that they master and attempt with unfailing determination in matches.

Fun—That’s it. It just is. That’s why young kids roughhouse and baby animals fight each other in play. Wrestlers increase the fun they have in their world simply by doing what makes them happy.

A beneficial sport indeed for kids to get involved with, find a summer camp that offers a wrestling program if you’re passionate about playin’ around with a developed strategy. Enjoy the journey of mastering your wrestling moves and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

The Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ drawing saw an excellent response with about 30 entries! That’s why we’ve published each and every one right here on the Blog! We received a handful that weren’t long enough to qualify for our contest, but we thought we’d at least share them on the Blog. Check out these three accounts from excited campers!

First is this entry from Jacob T. who attended Camp Caraway:

“This was my first overnight camp. I LOVED it! I participated in archery, go cart racing, air rifle, ziplining, paddleboard, and hiking. The facility was really nice! Our cabins were clean and air conditioned. The food was delicious! I like the billiard. The canteen had good snacks. My favorite part was being away from home. There were lots of things to do and lots of friends to play with me! I would like to go back to Camp Caraway next year!”

Next up is a submission about Liam F. and his time at Camp Onas:

“I was a bit nervous going to camp this year for 4 weeks. I asked my mom to print out a photo of my dog Romeo. This is my first year with your “soft” trunk and it made finding my clothes easy. There is a pocket in the top to put my dogs picture – so it didn’t get wet.

It really rained a lot – we enjoyed the mud on the boys side.”

And, lastly, we have a camp submission from Linnea P. who went to Camp Lake Hubert:

“My husband attended Camp Lincoln as a child. We were in the area a few years ago and took a tour. Ever since then, my husband wanted to go to Family Camp at Camp Lake Hubert. I was reluctant to go, but I finally said yes this year.

I am so glad that I did. Everyone in our family had a great time! I found out that two of my kids are really good at archery, and the other one is really good at kayaking. The activities were fun. The food was good, and the staff was top notch! We would love to go again!”

And thus concludes our entries to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest from the 2017 camp season. A huge thanks to everyone who submitted and shared your camp memories with us! It’s been great to hear from all of you. Look into these camps for yourselves if you’re interested and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John