The Best of Times & The Worst of Times

Firewitch · Post by **Firewitch** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:53 am

No that hasn't happened to me ... but it would've made a good story wouldn't it?

Here's the place to talk about summer camp (not necessarily the woodsy kind). What camps have you been to? Any good stories to share?

I've been to: Worldview Academy, Student Leadership University, New England Frontier Camp, and some land on a small river with a cabin that my grandparents own in rural West Virginia.

Here's a story:
My Dad and I were going up to NEFC for a compition weekend and we thought it would be cool to have green eggs and ham for breakfast one mourning (you had to prepare your own meals). So before we went I did an experiment to make sure that was actually possible.

My idea was that since yolks are yellow all I needed to do was add a little bit of blue food coloring and scramble them to get green eggs.

The eggs ended up being a brilliant shade of blue. Of course we couldn't waste perfectly edible eggs.

So Mom made me eat florescent blue scrambled eggs and I did choking on every bite until I figured out that if you close your eyes you can't tell what color your food is (it was still hard because I knew what color it was even if I couldn't see it).

*~Firewitch~*

Laura Ingalls · Post by **Laura Ingalls** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 12:34 pm

The "camp" I've been to was a home school conference. The parents were in workshops all day, and the kids did activitys and games. We always called it "going to camp" though.

One time when I was in the 6-7 age range, I fell asleep during the nap time. (Can you believe I actually NAPPED - no one else ever did, I don't know why they called it that!) My group left the room without checking for everyone and left me snoozing away.

Well, I woke up and panicked! Fortunately, another group had come in, and their leader brought me to where I was supposed to be. Whew!

Another time we were out on the playground, and the boys took over the slide. All the girls were trying to get on, but the boys wouldn't let them. Well, I was watching all this, rather taken aback, as I didn't know kids acted like this. (They really were being mean.) I finally found Watson, as his group was also there. We went off, made an obstacle course and had a lot of fun all by ourselves!

In fact, that was the probably the most enjoyable time of all the years I went to camp!

poWerbOy · Post by **poWerbOy** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 6:54 pm

Firewitch-you went to Worldview Academy? me too!! where/when did you go? I am going this summer for the 3rd time!

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 9:30 pm

With my new church, I went to a YMCA camp in MN. Simply put, I had a blast.

Other than that, the only camp I've really been too (besides a three day trip with my fourth grade class, at another YMCA camp) was Birch Haven with my old church. Every summer in late July we'd take 5-7 days and simply enjoy spending time with each other. Late night games, bat hunting, sports, capture the flag, swimming, boating, campfires...Ah, what precious memories they are.

-Jonathan

Elf of Rivendell · Post by **Elf of Rivendell** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:03 am

I was at a snowboarding camp once. There were more guys than girls, and we girls resented it... so one night we wrote a note that ran somewhere along the lines of "you stink! hahahaha! ~the girls" We slipped it under their door. After a while, they did the same- and the hate-mailing went on. After a couple of 'rounds', I filled an empty bottle with water and waited for one of the guys to come drop their note off. When he did, I opened the door and doused him with water. The next time he came around, he had a bottle too, and we both got slightly wet. The third time I heard someone at our door, I simply opened the door and threw the water out without even looking.

It turned out to be the counselor, who had just taken a shower.

Just for clarification, I was QUITE young at the time.

Jessicado · Post by **Jessicado** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:44 am

I was in 4-H when I was younger and went to an annual camp and then on a bunch of camping trips.

The most embarrassing experience of my life happened on one of those trips.....

Firewitch · Post by **Firewitch** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:17 pm

poWerbOy wrote:Firewitch-you went to Worldview Academy? me too!! where/when did you go? I am going this summer for the 3rd time!

I went to the one in Pennsylvania last year (aka 2004). I am also going again this year (second time). I'll be at the new one in New Hampshire (new, New Hampshire

).

*~Firewitch~*

chexfan2000 · Post by **chexfan2000** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 3:43 pm

Oh, I'm going to a worldview camp this year. I'd better be on my toes!

Anyway, once our family went camping with some other families... yes, real camping, not this stay-in-a-dorm, attend-lectures crud. Anyway, we went to a state park that had a lake in the middle of it, as several state parks do. The shores of this lake were absolutley covered with strange rocks that had some kind of worthless crystal in them. Being young at the time, some friends and I dubbed them "Diamonds" and began to "mine" for them. That would have been enough fun for any camp, but it was just the beginning.

On one of our many trips back from the beach, I noticed a strange note pinned to a tree with a large thorn that was impaling a flower. The note read:

"If you look in the Clubhouse Tree,
You will find the Secret Key
-Thorny Flower"

Now it just so happens that we had discovered a tree near the campgrounds that, once you got through the branches, made a sort of tent, which we used as a clubhouse. We thought it was a secret, but obviously not. So, we went to the CT. There was another note from Thorny, telling us to proceed to another area of the campsite. Well, eventually, we came upon a note promising us eternal happiness if we turned over the diamonds. Aha! So that was it. This "Thorny Flower" was no benevolent, kind eccentric! He was a theif! So, we set a trap. We took some rocks that contained no "diamonds" and set them on a picnic table, then concealed ourselves in some bushes. Sure enough, along came "Thorny..." only this wasn't one person... it was all the older siblings of us miners and their friends!! They weren't happy to find they had been duped. It would have been all in good fun, and I would remember the experience fondly, except for what happened next.

The Big Kids, as we called them, snuck into our clubhouse and stole all the diamonds we had so scrupulously gathered. Not only that, they ripped some of the branches off the tree and threw trash on the floor. We kids were traumatized. The Big Kids, like usual, had won.

A few months ago I visited a Big Kid. He was showing off his computer, and all that, when on one of his shelves, I noticed a "diamond." Kinda brought back bad memories...

Anyway, that's my super-long story. At least I learned to make sure, if what I'm going to do might upset someone, that it's much more important than a worthless rock.

*reads over story* That would make a good Odyssey episode1

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:39 pm

Firewitch wrote: My Dad and I were going up to NEFC for a compition weekend and we thought it would be cool to have green eggs and ham for breakfast one mourning (you had to prepare your own meals). So before we went I did an experiment to make sure that was actually possible. My idea was that since yolks are yellow all I needed to do was add a little bit of blue food coloring and scramble them to get green eggs.
The eggs ended up being a brilliant shade of blue. Of course we couldn't waste perfectly edible eggs. So Mom made me eat florescent blue scrambled eggs and I did choking on every bite until I figured out that if you close your eyes you can't tell what color your food is (it was still hard because I knew what color it was even if I couldn't see it).

That reminds me of the time my grandma and I made green cornbread.

It was really hard to eat it even though I knew it was only green because of a little bit of food coloring.

jessicado wrote:The most embarrassing experience of my life happened on one of those trips.....

We're all on the edge of our seats.

Want me to start a new thread devoted to it?

Firewitch · Post by **Firewitch** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 9:20 pm

jessicado wrote:The most embarrassing experience of my life happened on one of those trips.....

That's what the horror part is all about.

C'mon. We're your friends

. You can tell us about it. Then we can comfort you.

Maybe by sharing some embarrassing stories of our own.

Unfortunately I can think of any that happened at a camp right now.... I'll get back to you all if I do

. Maybe I'll change the name of the topic....

*~Firewitch~*

Firewitch · Post by **Firewitch** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 8:13 pm

A Firewitch embarassing story:

I was about ten (I think) and our church had a christmas party thing some Sunday night around christmas time.

Yeah, I know, big surprise.

Anyway at the door they were handing out little bags of candy as you left. The door wasn't to the outside. It simply communicated with the main part of the church. I went through the door, someone handed me a bag of candy. Nothing big so far, right? Then, OH HORRORS!! I didn't LEAVE!
I didn't think it was a big deal. I knew I was only supposed to get one. So I wasn't going to take another. But...this girl from my sundayschool class found me and and started scolding me.

The general theme was, "You're not supposed to take one till you leave." I was very embarassed.

-----------------------------------
It's so stupid and inane now but I remember being mortified. Even though I knew I hadn't really done anything wrong.

*~Firewitch~*

Ever notice how most embarassing stories from a male involve a female in some way shape or form?
(FYI I don't think I "liked" the girl in my story.)

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 8:22 pm

Funny how we remember little stories like that. Those ones that really caused our faces to turn red.

It's funny too how we can feel guilty when someone accuses us of something we didn't do. For example, one time a girl got a group of kids together and confronted me. To this day I have no idea what set her off. I was 10 and she was like 13... She then proceeded to accuse me of a whole string of things I was innocent of. One of them included calling a girl an name that I can't repeat here at summer camp. My defense was pretty air tight. (1) I didn't know the girl, (2) I hadn't heard that word before, and (3) I had never been to summer camp.

Anyway, that is a pretty bad memory for me... and I never did figure out what caused it.