Thursday, July 17, 2008

Summer Camp

I went to summer camp once as a kid. I was only 15 miles from home, but it felt like 150. We slept in un-airconditioned cabins in the woods, swam in the lake, made cheesy crafts, went snipe hunting, short-sheeted our counselor's bed, and snuck junk food into our bunks at night. It was a blast.

Eventually I'd like to send Maddy to something like that. She's been tent camping, but being away from the parents, running amok in the woods, and doing pranks like hiding all of your bunkmates' left shoes, is an experience I think every kid should have.

In the meantime, I tried to get her involved in some day camps this summer. Apparently, the poor child has bad camp karma.

The first camp I signed her up for was a fun-filled week packed with horseback riding, visiting the Arch, and a picnic at Pere Marquette. She was stoked about the Arch and horses (we've camped at Pere Marquette). Alas, the camp was cancelled due to lack of reservations. So, I told her we'd go visit the Arch this summer. As for the horses, I don't ride, but I'd see if I couldn't figure out something. She was bummed, but got over it. I'm sure there was a Webkinz involved in her recovery.

The next camp was an Olympic-themed day camp, complete with a torch relay and mock games. Maddy was the only one to sign up for it, so it was cancelled. However, she now has a $60 credit at Turn 2 for the batting cages. She told me after it was cancelled that she wasn't really looking forward to it. Well, thanks for telling me that before I spent the money!

Finally, I signed her up for a softball skill camp that was supposed to be held next week. The camp coordinator called me today and said it was being cancelled due to....poor turnout. I told her that this would probably give Maddy a complex.

So, I've scheduled a day off work at the end of the month and we're going to the Arch and the City Museum. We'll make our own camp!

6 comments:

KBO said...

I wonder if, due to the economy, people just aren't doing the camp thing this summer.

Anonymous said...

Man that really sucks. My step son has been doing camps through the YMCA...they have been AWESOME w/ 843 billion kids..they swim for a couple hours, rock climbing, trip to the zoo etc..he loves it.

Ladybug said...

Sorry about Maddy's misfortune with the summer camp stuff.

It's not camp, but my congregation's Vacation Bible School starts this Sunday(7/20) and runs through Thursday(7/24) from 6:30pm to 8:45pm at Vaughn Hill Church of Christ in Wood River, IL(just south of the airport on Route 111). We've got classes for everyone & the last night is a carnival w/ hotdogs, sodas, etc. We'd love to have you guys join us! Feel free to email me if you need/want more information ruth(dot)waggener(at)gmail(dot)com.

Anonymous said...

That's too weird. The camp gods are against her!!!
Maybe the universe is aligning to give her a BETTER experience than she would've had at those day camps. She just doesn't know it yet.... (?)

Jeannette E. Spaghetti said...

I don't have any cool camping stories from my childhood, but when James was about 12 he went to space camp in Huntsville, AL.

minniemama68 said...

Poor Maddy!!! But I'm 40 and I must say, WebKinz rock. My kids love them, and a local toy store here has a lot of them for 1/2 price.