Party

Well, party finally arrived. After a week of hard work, missing some classes, staying up late, painting murals, teaching skits and dances, the Wataugas hard work finally paid off. The theme was OPPOSITES ATTRACT, so the theme allowed endless possibilities.

Since this was my first time as a senior staff and first time at a party since 1994, it gave me a whole new appreciation for what it was like being in their shoes. It's hard work, creativity and practice. But everything comes together in the end. Each person on the team is allowed to shine in more than one aspect. Campers learn, dance and act during parties where they may never do it during the school year. I was one of those campers. Parties at camp were my only acting and dancing times. And so many things remained the same: costumes, the hour aide bell to allow time for picture taking and socializing, dinner, party songs, murals, Hemlock dance, officers skits, skits about the staff, short little snippets, and of course finale. Then comes the clean up!

Party time brings the realization that camp is nearing the end, friends will be leaving camp and heading back home to school, and that this part of one's youth will never be forgotten. The memories of Monterey live on in campers who cherish her name.

Star Campfire

Monterey here's our promise to be loyal and true
For we shall never forget, all we have found through you.
Nights that we spent by the campfire, watching the embers fade away,
Then we'll recall days we loved best of all, when we were at Monterey.

The camp assembled around the flagpole and proceeded to walk down the path to the campfire site near the old JC camp/old archery range. Nolichuckies on the right and Wataugas on the left. Team songs! Introduction to the campfire theme: stars. Skits performed by the older campers about astrology. Then onto the good housekeeping awards, progress awards, unit spirit and finally Maid of Monterey. Wednesdays at Camp Monterey are still something to look forward to!

What were your favorite memories?

Canoeing First

My little one tagged along with me all morning while I taught tennis. Lunch and rest hour came and went. But free canoeing was offered in the afternoon. I remember as a youth spending all my time down at the dock trying to pass my star. I passed my star in the Sunshine Gang, so I never had to pass my bow or stern from that point on. Canoeing became such a skill that it carried over into my love for the water growing up. To this day, I believe I can maneuver through difficult situations and survive because of the skills learned at Camp Monterey.

To my complete joy, I was able to take a little time in the afternoon and take my toddler for her first canoe ride. I brought her life jacket from home, got it snug on her, picked out the shortest paddle, gave her a little instruction, then we were off. The enthusiasm and excitement in her voice made my heart melt. It's very special to instruct a child in canoeing and watch them blossom, but when they are related....extra special. 

The lake was ideally calm with a slight breeze. Campers were out doing Indian paddle, landings and tip outs. The lake was at its best. And we were a part of it. What a great day and a dream come true.

Rainy Days

Tennessee has been in a drought this summer, so for the unfortunate campers of second month, it's been raining steadily since their arrival 48 hours ago. However, from a former campers view, rainy days are welcoming! It means sleeping in later, alternative activities, music, and skits! What a great opportunity to use the costume room! Do you have a costume room or trunk at home? Do you have old costumes or wacky clothing that would be better off in Monterey than at Goodwill? Mail them here during camp (2636 Muddy Pond Rd., Monterey, TN 38574).

What do you remember about rainy days at camp? Do you remember how the lake looked with all the rain drops falling at a steady pace? Do you remember the sound of the rain on the tin roof? Remember trying to duck into the cabin without all the wet branches getting you wetter or the rain from the roof saturating your hair and back? There was protection in the woods but you were a target on the Fun Field if you didn't have a raincoat. Rain at Camp Monterey is like no other. It's inviting, clean, refreshing and fun to play in. Just remember when you wear flip flops on a rainy day, the leaves flip right up onto the backs of your legs and your toes can get muddy. But that also means that life is good and you're making life long memories.

The memories of Monterey will never be broken. It lives on in campers who cherish her name. So keep all your memories of camp days at Monterey, for they will bring you joy and cheer through all the years.

First Morning (picking teams & signing up for classes)

I think in one of my last posts, I talked about how great it was arriving in precamp because it meant setting up the cabin how you wanted it and getting the best mattress and bed location. And the last arrivals always got the leftovers. Well, this was my first time arriving at camp AFTER everyone. But I soon realized that all spots were good in a cabin when you've got your childhood friends (from the last 30 years) rooming with you!

I'm so grateful and honored to be in a cabin with three dear friends, moms and little Lucy. She's loved this entire adventure and EVERYONE has been so nice and friendly toward her. Today I'm including a picture of Lucy after her bed in Dogwood was set up. She was so proud!

If you walked into cabin Dogwood, it would look like the counselor's porch times two. Yes, we all had bunks that were broken down, a plywood board to support our older backs and some sort of extra cushion to help our bodies rest in peace! But everything else was the same (trunks, lights, fans, extension cords, flashlights, bug spray, books, and odds and ends). Not much has changed in the way of packing for camp unless you want a more comfy bedding. Life is good in Monterey.

Because Camp is broken up into 4 two week sessions, the scheduling is the same except for certain times. For instance, the first full day of camp after breakfast, campers had to qualify in riding and swimming. Teams were chosen in craft park after rest hour, and team meetings followed. Now teams were chosen after breakfast in the dining hall. A joint meeting was held afterwards. Then the campers signed up for classes before lunch. With the extra bit of time before lunch, everyone rotated to their classes so that they could meet the instructors and find the location. Great idea! Even if you'd not been at camp in more than a decade, your conditioning to the bell schedule and days activities would not leave you lost. Even the departments are in the same place (except crafts is in the cabin between Huckleberry and the senior wash house).

Whoa! Packing Last Minute

Today all the campers arrive for the start of second month (or session "C" now that camp is broken up into 4 two week sessions). Originally I was asked back for the last two weeks to work in the kitchen. I was so honored and excited to be coming back! And with a 3.5 year old, I didn't expect to have her there. I immediately made plans to stick my child with my parents during the week and my husband on the weekends (like last year). I was ready to go (mentally)!

As you know, with Camp, you go with the flow, do whatever is needed (because you just love the place so darn much and will sell your soul just soul just to get back into the woods). I started to pack a month before I was actually going to attend. I rounded up all sorts of things that I would have taken as a camper back in the 80s to make my camp experience comfortable. I was on a roll and packed in less than 24 hours. Then the call came to see if I could come another week (of course I'd like to come another week). An additional week in the kitchen would be great (since I did it last summer). Yes! Now I'd plan to bring my electric knife sharpener and some extra kitchen goodies to make it even better. Okay, not much more to add to the already packed trunk, duffle bag, and now extra storage container. Ready to go (again). Calendar clear. All systems go! Then another call came in with a need to teach tennis! Wow! Yes!

If you know my camp history, I was an avid canoer and always taught on the canoe dock. I was the youngest camper to ever pass my star (Sunshine Gang) and passed every year through older JC year. I played tennis from elementary school through high school, college, and 20 years in competitive leagues in Florida. For the last 5 years I've played weekly with others locally, so to be asked to teach tennis & work in the kitchen was not only challenging but exciting. It's kept me up at night with ideas on how to maximize the time the campers have and working efficiently. I'm up for the task. I love it.

So the duel challenge of heading up the tennis program and working in the kitchen had me reassessing my previously packed items. The bonus of coming a month is that my toddler will be attending the first and last week! I will be paired with other ladies from my youth, so I know Lucy will be in capable hands and is very teachable. In fact, my dream is to make her the best of all of us and get the camp spirit in her blood so that she can be the best leader, encourager and example to all those present and coming up in the ranks.

The summer of 2012 is going to be life changing! Camp Monterey, 68 years in operation, here I come!

Classes, Picking Teams, First Team Meeting

The first full morning of camp meant that after breakfast, everyone had a place to be to qualify for swimming, riding, and whatever else was offered. It was a great time to explore camp, learning where the classes were, and getting to know your cabin mates. And don't forget going straight to the Freds to sweep, clean the toilets, pick up trash inside & out, clean the showers, stock toilet paper, etc. 

Lunch in the dining hall brought fun and games, cabin songs, camp songs, and picking your peanut pal! Remember the Peanut Party? Remember Mrs. Bernhart and Nursie Jan pinching the peanuts and putting them on their ears for earrings?

After rest hour, everyone gathered in Craft Park to choose for teams: Nolichuckies & Wataugas. If you had a mother or sister who attended, you were able to be on the same team or be drawn to be on the opposite. For cousins & friends, having your name drawn depended on how even your age group is. Many fingers were crossed in hopes of being on the team that was built up prior to attending. Once teams were selected, they parted and made their way to the first team meetings where officers were elected, cheers were taught, and a briefing about the cup and what counts toward winning it!

Let the camp activities begin! Signing up for classes followed team meetings. The smallest children went first. Campers spent time looking for the familiar classes, familiar faces of staff or friends, and the staff watched the eager faces come in pairs many times so that best friends could take all their activities together. Then it was rush back to the cabin, see who signed up for the same classes, and pin them up to your wall next to your bunk.

All these were such happy memories. These events still take place. Someone who hasn't stepped on the property in 20 years could find their way around and blend right in no matter what time of day. Even the weekly schedule is the same, including tonight's first campfire. I'll leave you with that memory, the dark open sky with the stars closer than being in civilization, the sounds of the embers and the logs falling from the tee pee set up, the teams sitting in a semicircle, and really sharing what Camp Monterey is all about. May your day be as glorious as days like this.

First Day of Camp!

Here it is, Tuesday morning, June 12. The wake up bell, aide bell and flag bell have rung. This is the day that all the campers arrive! Since Friday, the staff have been working in their departments getting things set up, moving all the cabin bunks and mattresses from the center of the cabin into some nice formation on the inside perimeter,  attending staff meetings to bring everyone up to speed about the summer expectations, and of course having the campers and available staff hovering around the office porch to help the arriving campers get to their cabins and set up.

Remember the excitement seeing the returning friends come, new faces arrive in uncertainty, and all the parents and family members who came from civilization wearing nice clothes, make up and their hair done? Cars would begin to line the Fun Field. Trunks, sleeping bags, duffel bags, and odds and ends bringing up the rear would make their way from the car to the cabin. Be sure and look on the cabin list to make sure you're heading to the right cabin.

By lunch, about a third of the camp was in place. After rest hour, the cattle truck started rolling in with each new load of campers. Everyone was laughing, screaming with joy, and you knew camp had arrived. It wasn't until flag line at night that camp was here! The first day of school was always good, but there's nothing like the first day of camp.

Enjoy these memories! Remember what an impact Camp Monterey had on you. And find some way to get back for a visit, on staff, to send your girl, to host Camp movies, or to tell someone else about Camp Monterey. I couldn't imagine NOT having it!

This morning the weather is cloudy, about 60 degrees in town (50s at Camp), damp, slightly breezy, and rain is expected. Remember to wear your blues & whites today. Grab a rain poncho and some rain boots or your duck shoes.

Precamp Aprroaching

Schools are over here in Tennessee and Camp is two weeks away. I remember what an exciting time that was as a child living life for the summer in middle Tennessee. Precamp meant getting to camp before the other campers, having first choice of the bunks, finding the best mattress, cleaning up the cabin after 10 months of hibernation, and waiting to see fellow campers & staff return. It was trilling.

Part of the fun being a camper and getting to camp before everyone else was setting up the bunk area. Finding the best bottom bunk with adequate shelving (or discovering the right board and hay rope to make a shelf), on the driest part of the cabin, and the best nooks and crannies was tops. And if you could secure enough extension cords, you were in business. That mean you could set up a lamp or even a small radio. The top bunks were equally important. Finding the bunk in the middle of the cabin mean you had the largest shelving capacity & could use the area as wall space for tacking posters, cards, and put nails up there to display whatever you wanted. Plus you wouldn't split your head open on the rafter; these bunks were usually left for the late comers.

Somehow back in the 70s and 80s, our family was able to get to Camp in two trips in the small car with trunks, duffle bags and extras. While many out of state campers sent their trunks ahead via UPS, some folks came in Suburbans, station wagons, and a U-Haul (Marie Bristow, my favorite). For living the simple life in the middle of the woods for 1-2 months, it sure is nice to have the little extras that somehow were omitted from Miss Dollie's packing list like fans, lights, candy, teen magazines, cocoa, popcorn, electric blanket, etc. What were your favorite things NOT on the packing list?

After 10 months of not seeing my friends regularly or walking the familiar paths at Camp Monterey, it was a cinch picking up like a day wasn't missed. My Camp friendships were the deepest, non-superficial friendships I'd ever made. Even 25+ years after my older year, growing up, changes physically, religiously and politically, I'd rather be at a Camp Monterey reunion than any other place on earth! All the walls are down and we're all on an equal playing field. It's glorious!

Remember the times we've had here. Remember when you're away. Remember the  friends you've made here, and don't forget to come back some day. Remember the blazing campfires, the swims in our lake too. For you girls belong to Monterey, and Monterey belongs to you.