Summer Camp Blues
Every once in a blue moon, I lament the fact that I never went to summer camp as a kid (Vacation Bible School doesn’t count, but thank you, Jesus.). I did the outdoorsy thing for years with my Bluebird/Camp Fire Girls, but I later grew up to realize that the “big forest” – where we learned to pitch a tent, make fire and turn a coffee can into a stove – was really Bay Area Park in Clear Lake area of Houston. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely, wooded park next to Armand Bayou and I’ve canoed from there as an adult, but it’s not the wilderness. Maybe Hollywood images of summer camp (Friday the 13th aside!) makes me feel like I missed out on some real fun. It’s too late for me now (or is it?), but I want to live it out vicariously through our readers. Maybe I’ll get it out of my system. What is summer camp REALLY like? What kind of summer camps have you experienced? What are some of the top choices in Texas where you might consider sending your own children? I’d love to know.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Woah, don’t knock Bay Area Park or Armand Bayou Nature Center – it’s the only nature some of us grow up with! Camping (especially as a kid) was so traumatic for me that my folks pretty soon realized it was a bad idea. On the bright side, I was still able to traipse through both of the said “wilderness areas” and get my fair share of birds, frogs, butterflies, bugs, snakes, spiders, plants, mammals and other such goodies without having to bathe in a pond, sleep in a tent with a hyper gaggle of insomniacs or otherwise miss out on life. Granted, I’m still trying to catch up on said wilderness time because living in the city too long took its toll (on my sanity), so it’s back roads and bugs for me!
June 1st, 2009 at 2:02 pm
No way would I knock Bay Area Park or Armand Bayou Nature Center. Both are incredible green escapes in the Houston Metroplex. I lived close, so it was what this city kid grew up with, too. Thank God for that green space! I go by there still, when I visit my family in Houston and Taylor Lake. I always look forward to going there – always with a camera in tow. It was the only nature I grew up with, too. All the things you love about it, I love about it, too. I learned a lot about nature there through their programs, Martyn Farm demonstrations, etc. Both still are great gems, and as parks go, they are above and beyond. Still, as I grew up and visited some of the state’s national forests, I realized the “forest” I grew up with wasn’t nearly as big as I thought it was. But, then again … nothing ever is, is it?
June 1st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Speaking of “little big forests,” did you know that the Monahans Sandhills State Park has a forest of miniature Harvard Oak trees that rarely grow more than 3 feet high (even though their roots can be as long as 90 feet). Small as the trees are on the surface, they cover about 40,000 acres, making it one of the largest oak forests in the U.S. Pretty impressive! You can find more information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Web site.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Our kids just got back from their fifth summer at Camp Champions on Lake LBJ, http://www.campchampions.com. They just love it. It’s a beautiful site right on the lake with screen-windowed cabins scattered along the waterfront. No cell phones, no computers, no TV for three weeks. They can relax from the stresses of school and activities and just be kids having lots of fun with other kids…and along the way learn about getting along with others, leadership, compassion, taking reasonable risks, and other great lessons on maturity that are woven into the program.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:39 am
That sounds perfect, Janis! It ought to be required of everyone to take at least a week or so to get back to the basics of real human interaction – minus the technology. What a recharge that would be! Thank you for sharing.