Hey, Adventurers!

Here at Everything Summer Camp, we really like to talk up our customer service because it’s truly something to write home about! One of the major factors of our incredible customer service is our Call Center Supervisor, Diane. She takes your calls and chats online as well as everyday office tasks like returns and the occasional ‘problem order’. She’s wonderful at helping customers along no matter what part of the process they’re at with their order.

You can always count on Diane for a friendly smile and a quick laugh to keep things light around the office. With a friendly attitude and an open ear, she’s always good to talk with (which is so clearly why she is now our Call Center Supervisor—we want all of you to get to talk to her as well)! Always striving to be a positive influence, Diane is also the founder of our Commit to be Fit Program around the workplace which encourages healthy living.

If given the opportunity to go to summer camp now in her adulthood, Diane said she would be most eager to go horseback riding.  

Ride Horse of Course
If you know Diane, you could have guessed that horseback riding would be at the top of her to-do list at a summer camp. Diane loves the freedom she feels on horseback and she loves being outdoors as well. She talked about it back in a post I wrote that featured her trip to Roatán which can be read when you click here.

Dolly and Diane
It’s no surprise that Diane is so in love with horses. She doesn’t get the opportunity all that often these days, but back when she was growing up on her family farm where she had her own horse, Dolly. She’d even ride Dolly bareback from time to time—no saddle.

Born in the Saddle
Life for kids growing up on a farm is a very different kind from those who grow up in the city. Diane mentioned that she wasn’t sure of her age the first time she was on a horse. “Six months old, probably,” she told me. Turns out she wasn’t sure because she had essentially always rode horseback.  

It’s cool to see Diane’s eyes light up as she talks about riding horses—especially her old pal, Dolly—and great that her love of horses, instilled at birth, has stayed with her all her life. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

Clothing and fabric is a part of everyday living and while, we may consider the fashion and style of the clothes we wear, we don’t spend much time considering the details and structure of the construction. Last year, I wrote about the ancient practice and summer camp activity of weaving. Check out that Blog post by clicking here. At first glance, weaving and knitting may seem like one and the same. But they’re actually very different in process as well as application.

Nice Threads
Knitting uses needles to create loops of thread that interlock row by row creating threading that runs parallel whereas weaving doesn’t require any needles (it traditionally requires a loom, however) and the threading runs perpendicular with an under-over style. Unlike weaving, you don’t need a loom to knit which makes it much more portable—ready to be carried out on the go.

Knot Foolin’
The name of a knit fabric is derived from the word ‘knot’. This locking part of the knitting process makes knitted fabric far superior to woven garments in terms of retaining warmth. That’s why you’ll typically find socks, sweaters, scarves, hats, and dresses are knitted. The stitching pattern gives a garment thermal properties. Woven clothes are much lighter to wear in warm temperatures.

Elastic Tactic
Another thing that sets knitted fabrics apart from woven fabrics is the elasticity. How stretchy is it? The craft of knitting makes for fabric that can stretch in all directions. Something woven, however, isn’t very stretchy at all. This typically makes for a more comfortable and luxurious piece to wear.

While the craft of weaving goes WAY back, knitting was only invented about 3000 years ago—a fraction of the history weaving has. Enjoy learning about and perfecting your own knitting abilities (maybe at your next summer camp stay). As always, thanks for reading, Folks!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

There’s such an abundance of phrases and old sayings that are so woven into our everyday speech that, often enough, we won’t even realize it when we’re using them. Old familiar sayings that are really entrenched in our are more specifically referred to as idioms or adages. And today we’re featuring the saying ‘Put a Sock in it’. When we tell someone to put a sock in it, what we mean to say at a certain level of volume and respect is “Be quiet.”

This time of year in the winter season, we’re all indoors at home a lot more often

than we are in other seasons and much more susceptible to being driven nuts by an annoying little brother or sister (or a big brother or sister…or, if you’re really unfortunate as I was, both). It’s important to keep a sense of civility with your siblings, but even the best of us have been known to break and shout out—

PUT A SOCK IN IT!!!

An interesting way to phrase a request that somebody shut up, ‘Put a Sock in it’ got its start in the early 1900s. Two theories have formed about the origin of this phrase:

The Gramophone Theory
The gramophone (the first record-playing device) was invented just a little over a decade before the turn of the century (1887 to be exact). It was supposed that people would stuff a sock into the horn to decrease the volume as there was no volume control dial provided on these early record players.

Just Soldier Talk
The origin of ‘Put a Sock in it’ is much more likely to come from the trenches of World War I around 1915, when soldiers would alert one another to stop talking. Along with socks, soldiers would also suggest each other put a cork in it as well as a bung (an old device for sealing containers).

I myself like the gramophone theory better, but the records seem to point to the soldiers of World War I being the true origin. In any case, use this phrase sparingly as it’s not the nicest thing to say. Socks are meant for feet and not for stuffing (unless it’s Christmas Eve). Check out our selection of snug socks when you click right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Folks!

As you’ve probably already gathered—at least from our name if not a million other things—we’re all about summer camp here at Everything Summer Camp, your one-stop shop for kid’s camping gear and a wonderful assortment of other summer camp supplies! Summer camp is kind of our thing. That’s why more than 300 camps across the country work with us directly. And we love shining our camp spotlight on those camps!

We’re fixing our spotlight westward to the mountains of Prescott, Arizona. Here we find Camp Friendly Pines, situated between Groom Creek and Ponderosa Park, a family-owned and operated, private, and independent residential summer camp. It was Ms. Bebe May who founded this fantastic camp 80 years ago in 1941.

Recently having passed away in the spring of last year, our hearts here at Everything Summer Camp go out to the Brown family as well as Friendly Pines camp community. Let her memory live on among the pines.

An interesting thing about Bebe is that she her grandmother and grandfather were passengers on the famous voyage of the Mayflower in 1620! When they came to America, these pioneers helped found the town called Pine and they kept a cattle ranch. Bebe’s mother then, grew up on this ranch where she learned to rope and ride and shoot with the best of them. She passed her love of cowboy fun on to her daughter Bebe and Bebe passed it on to countless campers!

It’s a very sweet story.

There’s lots of fun stuff you can do at Friendly Pines like Archery, BB Guns, Basketball, Canoeing & Kayaking, Campcraft, Challenge, Dance, Drama, Drawing and Painting, Earth Lore, English Riding, Fencing, Fun in the Forest, Free Swim, Guitar, Handcrafts, Hiking, Improv, Jr. Adventure, Jr. Facilitators, Land Sports, Pet Care, Photography and Journalism, Podcasting, Pony Carts, Ranch Hands, Riflery, Singing, Sewing, Soccer, Tennis, Tomahawks, Ultimate Frisbee, Vaulting, Videography, Volleyball, and, of course, Western Riding!

Check out all the fun you could be having in the next camp season if you choose Camp Friendly Pines for your summer camp stay. You can get a closer look when you check out their website by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Lovers!

Among a zillion other things, one thing you can always count on from Everything Summer Camp are our fresh, fun, and very cool designs getting introduced frequently to dress our Designer Trunks, Pillow Cases, Floor Mats, and more. Thanks to Amy, our talented graphic artist along with a product planning crew that’s determined to keep our lineup full of fresh new looks, we never run out of ideas!

These Floor Mats are made of a Microfiber Polyester Face that feels great on your toes and the flip-side is a Non-Skid SBR Rubber Bottom so stays put where you put it. The Mats measure in at 18” x 27” and really make your bunk area look your own!

Well, we’ve done it again, dropping some great new designs and patterns for our Floor Mats as well as our trunks and pillowcases. These Floor Mats make every day a great one as soon as you step out of bed, keeping your camp bunk clean and looking cool.

Just to go through a few of my favorite of our new designs, check out these great Floor Mats and catch the video after this post:

Today will be Awesome
Starting your days off with a positive and bright attitude is a giant part of what makes a day so awesome! Keep on the sunny side at camp!

Bumble Bee
This new Floor Mat design is all the buzz right in a summery print of these incredible and invaluable insects. Put this mat down at your bunk for your comb away from home.

Keep it Wild
Sure enough, summer camp is bound to be a wild ride. This Floor Mat is a nice reminder to tread that narrow path and embrace the wild side of life. It’s good to be a little wild.

Quantum
This cluster of seemingly conscious and colorful lights shine in unison to show a thinking mind at work. Artificial intelligence is real.

Check out the video below to see all our new design Bunk Floor Mats. Browse our ever-growing selection by clicking right here. Have a gander at the new designs available on our Designer Trunks and Pillowcases as well and, as always thanks for reading!

- John