Editor’s Note: There are at minimum 99 Things about life at Camp Alleghany for Girls that are NOT changing this summer! That’s why we started our 99 THINGS Blog Series with: Part 1: Activities, Part 2: Downtime!, Part 3: Food.
As you already know, camp is home away from home for generations of girls, young women, and adults. We live all year round so that we can come to camp in the summer
“I remember” last summer, a.k.a. “the summer that wasn’t” due to COVID, being at camp with my family and a skeleton crew of staff so that we could work on camp (in a safe way of course) and so that we could host our modified Family Retreats Program.
Well, it was obviously a quieter summer and that gave me more time for reflection on the role of camp in my life. I always treasure my early mornings at camp because in typical summers as Director, if I don’t squeeze out some personal time in the wee twinkling of dawn, I might not get any!
But without the big concerns of a normal camp year to edge in on my thoughts during my morning walks, I had a bit more time for self-reflection. And that was a wonderful process of discovery. Because of that, I wrote a blog about just how deeply I needed camp last summer, and just how much I realized camp is essential to my health, well-being, and my own life story as someone who was essentially raised at camp.
So when I think of you getting ready for camp this summer, I think about just how special are the “in-between times,” like the mornings and evenings. Some of it is hustle and bustle. Some of it is quiet reflection. All of it is essential to the feeling of camp life being our home away from home.
So as we continue our 99 THINGS Series I offer you 11 more things at two distinct times of day that WON’T be changing because of COVID. That’s why you can get more and more excited for that Opening Day just a couple of months from now or so when our return to camp will be in full swing.
Join me in looking forward to our mornings and evenings!
Mornings and Evenings!
1. Thank the morning dew that we can sleep in until Bonnie’s musical snooze alarm!
2. Pretend your lips are a bugle and play Reveille until you can’t stop giggling!
3. Enjoy milk and cookies, and then get ready to flush, brush, and rush!
4. Tune in to DJ Bonnie bringing you the morning weather report.
5. It wouldn’t be camp if you didn’t clean your tent for Inspection.
6. In the twilight hours you’ll roast s’mores with your tentmates.
7. Stargaze on the tennis courts with your tentmates.
8. Wind down the day with the resonant Chimes after Taps.
9. Fall asleep under a blanket of stars to the melody of cricket songs.
10. Some nights you’ll get away from it all even more with an overnight adventure to Brunswick with your tentmates.
11. And we can’t forget yelling“Barnyard!” after Taps.
I’m looking forward to sharing all of this and more with all of you. What are you looking forward to?
— Warmly,
Elizabeth Shreckhise, Director, Camp Alleghany for Girls
*If you want to learn more about the merits of sleepaway summer camp, download my FREE e-book, 3 Reasons to Begin Your Child’s Sleepaway Summer Camp Experience Early. It’s a great resource to share with friends, or if you are a first-time camp family and you wonder what sleepaway camp would be like for your child. We’re open this summer — so come join us!
