Camp
My wife and I drove to North Carolina last week to pick up our ten-year-old from camp. I spent a few years at Camp Sea Gull in the late 1970s and it was fantastic. I even was invited to come back as a counselor and for some boneheaded reason did not. Big mistake. Unfortunately, Camp Sea Gull is just too far away for us to send our boys there, so we have found various camps for them—and my daughter—in the North Carolina mountains.
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| Camp Sea Gull 1977 |
Alex, our ten-year-old, went for two weeks this year to Camp Rockmont just outside of Asheville. This was his longest time away from us but thankfully none of our children are prone to homesickness or separation anxiety. If ever there was a prototypical camper, Alex is it. We joked with him that he would love camp because he could go two weeks without brushing his teeth, taking a shower, or even changing his t-shirt. We were kidding of course, but knew that if he could get away with this horrible hygiene trifecta, he would.
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| Your shirt is looking a little crusty, buddy. |
Alex has a fascination with weapons. He has fashioned homemade slingshots, bows and arrows, and spears. With his ingenuity, I have no doubt that he would have survived the Alamo. He can turn any stick into a gun and can recite from memory all of the various guns that are available for use in "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare." It's a little frightening actually, but we figured that he could indulge himself in riflery and archery at camp and satisfy this curiosity of his.
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| Ready, Fire, Aim. |
During his time at camp we got just two barely legible postcards from him. Clearly, Alex was not missing us too badly. By the penmanship, it appeared as though they were written while Alex was was in the middle of a bull riding lesson. From what we were able to decipher it seemed as though he and camp were getting along just fine. He made reference both times to his love of something called "the blob, a camp phenomenon that did not exist in my day. When I was a camper the Blob was a schlock horror film that we watched on Movie Night.
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| The Blob then. |
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| The Blob now. |
When we arrived at camp to pick him up, I got bitten by the camp bug. Hard. Seriously, is there anything as fun as camp? If you are a kid, what's not to love? Pancakes with a whole bottle of syrup every morning? Why not? Twenty pieces of bacon? Pass 'em over. Swimming, camping, ziplining, blobbing, sailing, hiking? Yes please. Going to bed with filthy feet? Who cares? For parents, camp now is something of a throwback, a window into our own more adventurous, less electronic, childhoods. Summer camp undoubtedly is one of childhood's best rites of passage.
As I looked around, certain that I would see some parents I knew, I noticed that we all had that same wistful look that to me said, "Boy, I'd love to take a few weeks off from this adult life and go back to camp. I hope these kids understand how great this is." I think this nostalgic undercurrent has fueled the popularity of parent-child camps that are en vogue these days. Why not? I, for one, am dying to try out the Blob.
Camp is pretty cool and brings back good memories. I went to Rockbrook in Brevard. But, the price tag on these camps is like everything else...expensive. It's just too bad more kids can't have this wonderful experience away from the television and other electronics. Nature has almost become a luxury ... I thought about this as my family enjoyed a week in Roaring Gap. It was gorgeous .... simple .... elegant .... with scenes out of a picture book. Thank goodness for volunteer programs like the Park Place Child Life Center that takes low income kids to the beach and on occasional hikes during the summer. I was surprised to know that many of these children had never seen the ocean and they live 20 minutes away from it. Something to think about.
ReplyDeleteI was not asked back to either of my camps...Camp Merriewood (cabin mushroom 9 years old) or back to Camp Seafare(sp) Cabin 5, 10 years old)...I didn't realize the schedule they gave me was something I was to follow...I just did my own thing..when I wanted to go to archery, I went. When I wanted to go horseback riding, I went. When I was hot, I went swimming....at Seafare, I skipped out on sailing because of the jelly fish, and instead went hunting for shark teeth miles down the shore...I did manage to cram study the last three days and received my "Flipper Skipper". I loved it! Except, at Merriwood, I slept in the infirmary with a stomach-ache every night....not realizing I was homesick and not to mention the skunks who lived under my cabin..and I was afraid to go to the bathroom in the dark...so, a sip of Peptobismal...and comfortable sheets with AC...I was good!
ReplyDeleteOur son, Grey, arrived home from Camp Incarnation in Ivoryton, CT -- yes, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church, but it's just summer camp. He loved it (as Seward says, "What's not to love?"). Instead of quickly asking Grey how it was and him saying "Fine", I had him sit down this morning and tell me about it, real details. Who was in his cabin? What did they have for meals? What were the tent and unit jobs? What could you choose for Activities 1-4 during the day? Most importantly, how was the dance at the end of his two weeks with the Highland Girls Camp?
ReplyDeleteI went to a couple of typical summer camps, but my highlight as a kid was going to basketball camp at Wake Forest. How could you not love that -- basketball sessions 3 times a day, morning, afternoon and evening. Nights were highlight reels of the pros and college players. In between, enough food and snacks to choke a horse but we were probably burning 3000 calories a day, so who cares what or how much you ate.
My true highlight related loosely to "camp" was working 4 years at Kanuga Conference Center as a young adult (rising high school junior until college sophomore summer). We worked approx 7 hours during the day at various jobs (lifeguard, maintenance staff, kitchen (my specialty) and the rest of the time was ours free and clear. We played softball, ultimate, went swimming, boating, hiking or slept. Nights were the true highlight -- we could not drink anywhere near the conference center so we had to hike (with coolers) about a mile or so away, and we then partied as long as people could last. We then had to hike/walk/stumble back to our cabins without the use of a flashlight (not cool). Hangover was never an excuse for missing work, but then how hard is it to wake up, go wash some dishes, and then head back to bed until lunch?? Whenever I think of Kanuga, I remember these times with fondness -- I'd like to go back there, too.
Geoff Allen
How could we have missed this? While you and Shannon were picking up Alex, Tammy was further up hill fetching Thompson from his 5th and final year as a camper at Rockmont. You guys could have connected for lunch and a CheerWine. I guess that is the sort of situation that Twitter, or any of those other mobile apps I've yet to adopt, is supposed to make happen. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteThompson is interested in being a CIT & then a counselor at Rockmont. I'll pass along your regrets about not taking that route. Would be cool if he could be Alex's counselor one day.
Thanks for the reminder and the memories. I had a blast at Camp Summit near Brevard, NC circa 1973-75. Every time that I visit Rockmont, or Cameron's camp (http://www.skylandcamp.com/) I leave thinking "What's not to like?"
SB
Its amazing I found this. I am in the Camp Seagull photo! Second row on the very left. What a great time in my life. Thanks for this.
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