10s:
Our Hi-Senior 10s had the adventure of a lifetime to upstate New York. Starting on day one, our campers got to spend all day at Six Flags Darien Lake, where they braved some intense roller coasters, indulged in some excellent theme park classics like funnel cake, and won great carnival prizes – including a life-size dog stuffed animal! After an action-packed day, they headed back to their hotel in Niagara Falls, NY.
On Day 2, the 10s got to experience one of North America’s natural wonders by riding the Maid of the Mist and going into the heart of Niagara Falls! Campers looked on in awe in their ponchos as the mist poured down on us. After that, they headed to Church Street for a nice lunch and some Niagara souvenirs. In the evening, campers got to explore Walden Galleria and got to have a nice dinner with friends (with some shopping thrown in as well)!
Day 3 was a wet one – while the Rochester Redwings game got rained out, we pivoted to a movie, and then headed off to Ithaca Commons. We rounded out the trip with a nice dinner with friends, reminiscing on the memories we made the past three days and looking forward to the rest of what awaits us back in Greeley!
9s:
We started out swinging with an awesome tour of Fenway Baseball stadium in Boston. The campers were bewildered by all of the history of the ballpark and stoked to get to sit in the seats in left field on top of the Green Monster. Next up we explored downtown Boston by doing some shopping on Newbury St and stuffing our faces at the shops in Quincy Market. It was a short ride to our hotel where campers got to live it up in the lap of luxury.
Day 2 started off with a beach trip to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Campers braved the cold water, body surfed, and then shopped and had a great lunch. A quick trip back to the hotel to shower up and head to the Old Port section of Portland, Maine for shopping and dinner. Seafood was devoured at restaurants like J’s Oyster and the Portland Lobster Company. With exhaustion setting in and an early morning departure, it was back to the hotel for some much needed r and r.
With rain in the forecast for Day 3 we made the best of Lake Compounce being closed and headed to Spare Time in Bristol, CT. Campers ate delicious pizza, played laser tag and tried their best at scoring a 300 in bowling. After quick ride west on Rt 84 we arrived at Danbury Fair mall for some end of trip shopping and dining. It was Chipotle, Cava, and Chick Fil A for most of the campers.
All in all it was an incredible time had by all in New England!
8s:
Rain, rain, and more rain haha. But the kids did a great job of making the best of it. Persevered and swam in the lake as well as hiked to the waterfall without complaining despite the weather. Bonded over some touch football and a great breakfast at Monroe CC. We had the waterpark to ourselves so the kids enjoyed all the slides as many times as they wanted. The waterpark served us delicious burgers and chips. The Seneca Zoo was amazing with an impressive variety of animals including Giraffes, Lions, and a wolf. Walked around Ithaca Commons and found some great restaurants and local merch.
The seniors had a blast (even in the rain) while riding the water slides at Rose Land Water Park. There were not many people so they were able ride all the water slides! They LOVED stopping for dinner and shopping which included Five Below and Chick Fil A among other places. They hiked to waterfalls and had fun eating dinner and walking around Ithaca Commons. They returned to camp with matching Ithaca is Gorges t shirts.
7s:
Despite the rain the 7’s trip was a great success! After years of watching upper campers head out on trips it was finally their turn. No amount of rain was going to stop this group from enjoying their first PFC trip.
36 campers (15 girls and 21 boys), 7 counselors, and 3 trip leaders pulled out of camp Tuesday morning and headed for our first stop on the Adirondacks trip, The Zume Flume Waterpark in New Durham NY. The weather held off and the kids and counselors enjoyed a line and rain free morning on the slides.
At about 2:00 the slides closed due to lightning in the area so we hopped back on the bus and headed for SUNY Albany. We quickly unloaded our things into the dorms and by 5:00 we were back on the bus for our next stop, Lake George. At Lake George, between the rain drops, we shopped and had dinner and walked around the lake. Then we headed back to the SUNY Albany dorms for the night.
On Wednesday we grabbed breakfast at the dining hall, and then made our way to Howe Caverns for a subterranean tour and boat ride through the water carved limestone caverns. Very cool! The final stop on our trip at the Baseball Hall of Fame included the museum, dinner and shopping in Cooperstown NY.
Time on the bus was spent watching movies, singing songs, playing two truths and a lie over the intercom, and enjoying each other’s company. Although it was a lot of driving, the campers were never bored and laughed their way through the rain soaked mountains of NY. We returned to camp at 9:30 pm on Wednesday night, with giant smiles, deeper bonds and a greater appreciation for our “home away from home” here in Greeley PA.
