FOOD

FOOD. 4 letters, but has so much to do with the entire camp experience. Food can either make or break someones time at camp, so listen in and hear all the secrets.
Since there are around 200-300 campers at most sleep away camps, the food has to be made quickly, in big servings and efficiently. Being at a summer camp for twelve years, I have seen everything from grilled cheese, pizza, eggs, etc. Sometime the food looks gross, but tastes so good, or sometimes it is as gross as it looks. But, with that being said you cannot let your eyes deceive you!!! To tell if it is something that you will like abide by these rules:

1. Smell it. Do not stick your nose in the tray, take a little on your plate and quickly and casually sniff.
2. Touch it. I know you have probably always been told "Don't play with your food." but this is a time when it is okay. You need to see if it is hard, soft, mushy, etc.
3. Taste it. Take a little bite and then you will know whether to keep chewing, or sneakily spit it into your napkin.

Some food people just do not like. Most camps have a huge salad bar of everything you could think of, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, spinach, lettuce, and much more. If there is a food that you do not like, just head on over to the salad bar, and fill up there.





When I was a camper, PB &J was my go to meal if there was something I did not like. Now, because of all the peanut allergies, it is not that easy to get. Ask your counselor to see if they could get you some, if not PB & J, ask if there is any plain pasta available.



There will always be something available for you to eat whether it is the meal, the salad bar, or whatever the counselor can rummage up in the kitchen.

Activities, Activities, Activities

I know I have talked a lot about the activities that are offered and how they are countless but here is a list of some that are offered at my camp
Swimming

• water aerobics
• water zumba
• free swim
• laps swim
• water polo
• diving

Boating

• canoes
• kayak
• surf bike

Baseball
Softball
Kick Ball
Soccer
Football
Lacrosse
Tennis

Basketball
Arts & Crafts
Drama
Computers
Library
Nature

• fishing
• hiking
• finding animals

Dance
Volleyball
Nukem

GaGa

Running
Archery

Horse Back Riding
Ropes

• High ropes
• Low  ropes

The list goes on and on and on. My brother did not want to go to camp because he is a  basketball player. He is now playing in college and thought going to summer camp would not help him, and he should be at a specialty camp. But, he realized that doing all the other activities like running, swimming and baseball would help him gain strength, endurance and speed while he was playing basketball there.
The specialists that teach these activities are trained specially for the sport. The specialist knows so many things and games that can be played dealing with that sport and is there to make sure you have a fun time playing it.
During the day there are usually 6 periods. For half of those activities, you get to choose what you would like to do, and the other three are activities done with your bunk, and other bunks that are in your age group.

Technology?

My brother has always been the guy that came home from school, went into his room and played NBA 2K(fill in year here) for hours.
I was and still am the kind of girl that is always on my cell phone.
However, at camp these things do not exist.
When my brother first started going to camp he was so mad that he could not bring his xbox, playstation, gameboy, etc. He literally had no idea what he was going to do if he could not bring any of these things to camp. However, the activities offered are countless!!! I know my parents always told my siblings and I to go outside and play. But, when we had these awesome things inside like computers, TVs, playstations, etc. why would we want to go outside???
But at camp, there is no option to stay indoors and play with out fun things. We have to go out in the fresh air and do any activity that comes our way.
Every year when I go and have to leave my cell phone at home, it is like I am losing a piece of me. But, I always feel liberated when I do not have my phone. I am not pressured to be on it all the time and I can actually do fun things rather than sit on a couch and look through Instagram all day. By the time me and my brother get home from camp, we do not want to use our technologies because it feels so weird and different without them. But that does not last too long because we have to catch up on everything we missed out!

I know this may seem so horrible because we live in a world where technology is everything. But it is so nice not to use technology for a couple of weeks. Instead of calling or texting your friends and family, you get letters and packages instead. When you hear your name get called for a package, it is such a great feeling. And when you read a letter, it is so much more than a casually text of "hey what's up?" The letters are pages long explaining so much, and you would never get that if you had a phone with you!

F is for friends who do stuff together

The greatest thing that someone who went to camp will gain are lifelong friendships. I know that it sounds corny and cheesy that you will meet your best friends, but it is so true. Your camp friends are so much more different than home friends. I'm not saying home friends aren't awesome and great too, but its a whole different relationship. With your camp friends, you are sleeping in closed quarters with them, you live together, you do every activity together 24/7. It is like having a slumber party every night, but with your brothers/sisters.
The bond you have with these friends is irreplaceable. My best friends in the world have been my camp friends. We have been through so much together and know everything about each other that it is hard not to be close with them.

This picture is me and my friends when I was eight years old at camp. Ten years later, and these girls are my support system and closet friends. 

Many of my camp friends do not live close to me, so we were always worried that during the year we would lose touch. But that is not the case. You become so close that you just call these people up and talk the night away. Because many camp friends do not live near you, it makes you work harder at your friendship so you do stay in touch. 

Camp friends = best friends

How To Make A Comfy Bed

At any sleep away camp, you are going from the luxury of your home with a nice bed, to a plastic mattress on a bunk bed. I hate to tell you this, but the beds are sooooo uncomfortable if you do not make it correctly. However, I have some great tips to get the back and neck ache away, and a good night sleep every time you climb onto your bed.


TIPS TO MAKE A GREAT BED
1. Start off with a mattress cover/ bug lock. Since camp is all outdoors, little creatures find ways to come in, and they are not welcome in our beds!

2. An egg crate mattress pad. This is a foam pad that makes it so you can sink into the bed which will make it much more comfy.

3. A feather bed. If you do not have a feather bed a duvet cover can be a great replacement.

The top white "thing" is the feather bed

4. The bottom sheet
5. The top sheet
6. Your comforter. Make sure that this is not too heavy because it is summer and SUPER hot out
7. Add a blanket at the end of your bed. Some nights it's too hot to even sleep under your light comforter so the blanket comes in handy.

*****MAKE SURE THAT YOU FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF BEDS THE CAMP HAS. SOME ARE TWIN XL WHILE OTHERS ARE JUST TWIN. ALL THE SUPPLIES LISTED NEED TO FIT THE BED!!!!!*****

Ready... Set... GO!

Mid- way through the summer, most camps have some kind of "Olympics". It could be anything from color war, boys vs. girls, or Olympics. In all of these there are normally two camper representatives and two counselor representatives. The camper representatives are the oldest kids on camp who have been great campers so they get this huge honor. The counselor representatives are also two great counselors.
Color war is when the entire camp is split into 2-4 teams(colors) (amount of teams vary depending on how many kids go to the camp). It is normally three to four days long of all different competitions. The competitions are endless from swim meet to track meet to name that tune. Everyone dresses in the colors, chants for their teams and wants to win the war!

Boys vs. Girls is normally a one day event, where the camp is divided into a boys team and a girls team. The girls normally wear pink and the boys wear blue. The whole day is a competition, however less competitive than color war or Olympics. There are normally some of the same big events like swimming, and track but there are more tiny events like volleyball, and soccer. At the end of the day the girls make a song as well as the boys and sing it to the judges, who then tell the camp who won the events for the day, the song, and then finally the whole day. (At my camp the girls have not won in 11 years :( hopefully that will change soon!

And lastly but most certainly not least, is the Olympics. The camp is normally divided up into four different teams (countries). This is just like color war, but instead there are countries involved. Everyone goes around wearing their countries colors, face paint, flags and so on. The competitions are endless! Swim meet, track meet, tug-o-war, camp wide relay race, and so on. On the last day the representatives teach the team cants and songs that will be sung, there are skits,  kids learn dances too, and then you find out the winner. Hearing your team name is like learning you have won the lottery. The greatest feeling ever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5SHl_Ehkac 

Every competition is the most amazing thing ever at summer camps. Every single person gets so into it, day-camp, campers, counselors, and even the judges. Get ready for the time of your life at any of these events.

Do's and Don'ts of packing

If you are going to a sleep away summer camp there are many Do's and Don'ts to learn. Starting with what to pack. Every year when I go I am so tempted to pack all my dresses, skirts, nice shirts and more. DO NOT DO THIS!!!
Everything you bring to camp will come home moldy, damp and smell like your summer home. Girls, DO bring Soffe shorts                                                           

athletic shorts for boys

Soffe shorts for girls

DO bring Hanes white V-necks. Girls, I know you think this may just be for boys but every girl and guys at camp will be wearing them, It will be the best investment in the world. You can tie-dye them. You do not care if they get wet, muddy or stained because they are just cotton shirts. They are THE best shirts to wear when you are going through a long, hot day. Both boys and girls, bring big t-shirts. You do not want to bring nice t-shirts to run around in all day. The big t-shirts (like PJ shirts) will not cling to you when you are sweaty, and hot.

DO NOT bring any sort of clothing that needs to be hand washed, or cannot be put in a dryer. Most sleep away camps have laundry services do all the laundry. It gets sent out, comes back most of the time ruined or five sizes too small. Bring clothes that you do not mind losing, shrinking or turning pink. There is always that one person that puts a red shirt with all the red clothes and everything turns pink. Be careful when you sort laundry!