Five Things Every Counselor Knows

Hello All!

Long time no see!  Our summer season is officially over, but we've been delightfully busy with school groups, weddings, and our G3 environmental program.  It was very sad to see our summer staff go but we are excited to get started with promoting our upcoming programs!

In honor of our excellent summer staff, I thought I would write down five things that every counselor knows by the end of the summer.

1) Camp food is your friend - and boy does your body let you know if you miss a meal!  Counselors have to keep their energy up to take on those waterfront stairs and trails every day.  After camp your belly knows the meal schedule down the the minute, and complains very loudly if you don't feed it on time.

2) They know what goes bump in the night - and it's usually just acorns and frogs.  Having a flashlight handy is always a good idea, but by the end of the summer counselors can navigate all the way back to their unit in the dark - and sometimes with no moon.  What was that sound?  Oh, probably just Bambi hanging out in the woods.  No big deal.

3) They know at least five "waiting games" to play during camp outs and between times.  Whether it's mafia, chi-master, slaps or ninja, they've always got something in their back pocket for those times when the fire needs their co's undivided attention or when everyone's waiting for the next activity.

4) Parents can get just as homesick for their kids as kids do for their parents.  Some kids may be away from home for the first time, and a week can be a long time for a parent not to see their child.  Counselors know that the best way to combat that empty-nest syndrome is to be as up-front and friendly as possible on check-in day to assure the parent that their child is in good hands for the week.

5) Very few people outside of camp understand just how awesome and crazy it is.  So many counselors I've talked to say their friends "just don't get" the weird hours, the song singing, or the crazy desire to go tromping through the woods ("what if there's poison ivy?  Or a raccoon!?") and set up camp in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of campers.  But once you've gone through it, it's easy to see why we all come back again the next summer - the hours may be long, and the weather may not cooperate all the time, but man is it a good feeling to know that what you do makes an impact on someone else in the world.

Happy Camping!

TIMBERRRRRR...

Hello All!

Trees, trees everywhere!  We are a camp so this would make sense I suppose, but this week we are splitting lots of downed logs and getting rid of a few dead trees which makes it look like a storm has come through.  Actually I can hear the chainsaw as I type this.  It smells wonderful though - freshly cut wood, rain, leaves and soil.  So refreshing!

Tracy Lunquist is here lending her expertise on a brand new butterfly garden between the lodge and Cabin 1.   Here's a before photo and I will post the finished product next week!

The shovel in the foreground is for scale I guess.

 

Happy Camping!

Wedding bells and short swords

Hello All!

What a gorgeous weekend at Camp Newaygo!  Friday was a bit chilly, but Saturday was perfect for our first outdoor wedding of the season.  And this one had a theme!  The wedding party was dressed in medieval formalwear.  They looked amazing.  I even got into the spirit...

The sleeves were a bit unruly.

 

One of the decorations

 

My favorite part was when they were able to skype the groom's family in England for the cake cutting.  And the orchestra dressed as hobbits.  And the fairy lights.  Okay so all of it was my favorite.

 

The dock is going in this Friday, and then it's Memorial Day Weekend.  May has gone by so fast!

 

Happy Camping!

Cicadas...tasty, tasty cicadas

Hello All!

As I was reading the news this morning, I came across a very interesting article - warning, it isn't for the faint of stomach.

Cicadas are set to swarm certain areas of the U.S. this summer, and so some chefs are coming up with creative recipes for cicada appetizers.  According to the article, "cicadas are apparently a surprisingly good source of protein, according to nutritionists - if you are brave enough to eat them."

Female cicadas are meatier than the males, and should be grabbed early in the day when the temperature is cooler.  You can saute them in lemon and butter for a crispy outside and juicy inside.  Make sure the remove the legs and wings, which can be sharp, and you shouldn't eat them if you are allergic to shellfish (they are both in the arthropod family).

...delicious?

 

Happy Camping!

Prom!

Hello All!

Quite a bit has been going on around camp the past two weeks.  Jalisa rocked out the Speak Up! programs for White Cloud, Newaygo, Fremont, Grant and Pine River.  We had some VASTLY different weather for the ropes course those days - thirty degrees and snowing to a balmy sixty-five.  Everyone did a spectacular job despite the crazy weather.

White Cloud High School hosted their senior prom at Camp last weekend.  Gary Strong, our new head of Ridge Specialties Catering, created a fantastic dessert to go along with their Hollywood theme.  You can check it out on our facebook page.

Hopefully no one spilled chocolate on their dress.

 

 

Happy Camping!

 

 

Buckeye!

Quick (and very belated) update on BLW 2013:

It was amazing!  We had so much fun.  The people there were friendly and we made lots of friends.  It was great to hang out with Maggie and Jacke, two of our summer counselors!

 

Song Circle! ....and I just noticed the bear on the wall.

 

Jalisa in her bubble costume for "Go Fish" night - adorable!

 

 

We ended the trip with dinner at Cracker Barrel with our new friends from Canada - they were so nice!  Jalisa is going to visit their camp next month.

 

I guess no one told Michigan that winter is over - there was STILL a pile of snow in our parking lot on Monday.  Dad and Me was a great time last weekend despite the cold though.  And it is now warming up just in time for our concert Saturday and all of our May events!

 

Happy Camping!

Oh, Hi, Oh!

Congrats to Jalisa for an awesome job teambuilding with 150 students at Coopersville last week - it was AMAZING!

Tomorrow we will be leaving for the Buckeye Leadership Workshop in Ohio, and Jalisa and I are SO EXCITED!  There are quite a few of us attending this year, inluding some new and returning counselors.  I can't wait to see them again - it's been too long since last summer.

Say Cheese!

I'm looking forward to the themed events, because I have some great costumes planned:
Go Go Gadget- I found an old trench coat in my parent's coat closet.
Go Fish- Ariel Wig and a big purple starfish barrette.
Go Back in Time-  Recycling my Back to the Future Halloween costume.
Go Team-  I'm going Harry Potter for this one.  Go Gryffindor!

We're going to learn a lot, see old friends, make new ones, sing songs...I feel like a camper!

Happy Camping,