The Best Summer of Your Life
This is the magic of camp. Of all the activities, the smells, the tastes…The best part of camp is the friends. Memories that last well beyond the summer. All over the east coast this past weekend, just coincidentally, camp friends gathered together simply because they missed each other. At suburban homes, city street festivals, college campuses…All over! This is why we go to camp.
In somewhat of a list format. In no particular order of importance. An ongoing list…
– Clean socks and maintaining pairs. Mesh sock bag, clothes pins, endless bags of cheap socks. Whatever you gotta do. Socks matter! To me, at least.
– Try something new. Not easy, but worth it. An activity, a food, a friend. It doesn’t matter. Try it. It’s safe to try at camp.
– GaGa is a sport…
– Battery Ball.
– You can be ‘camp good’ at something. You know what I’m talking about.
– To this day, when traveling with a friend, I always assume I can just use someone else’s toothpaste. Not true. If you’re traveling with a friend from camp, you’re likely out of luck…And toothpaste.
– Music. Summer songs for me included: Too Sexy, Under The Bridge, I’ll Be Missing You (Puff Daddy Version), Can’t Touch This, Informer, Summer Girls, Waterfalls, Two Princes, This Is How We Do it, American Pie —— I’m not saying these songs represent my taste in music. I’m just saying that, when I hear them…I know the lyrics. Like, ALL the lyrics.
– If someone has a guitar at a campfire, you can’t NOT sing The Weight.
– Finding the perfect s’mores stick is a talent unto itself. Not to mention the actual s’more.
– No matter how old you get, no matter where life takes you, when you’re with your camp friends it’s as if no time has passed. Those same silly jokes are just as funny. If not, funnier.
I’m seated on the ground, in the navy shirt, holding the sign. Likely in between scratching bugbites. One of my many summers in Bunk Banana over my tenure as a camper at PFC.
For more information contact us at the camp office! 267-639-2488
Mark your calendars!
NOVEMBER
Camp Reunion/Get Together
Sunday, November 9, 2014 11:00AM-1:00PM
Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant
128 S. Federal Hwy
Dania Beach, FL 33004
Open House – Armonk, NY
Sunday, November 16, 2014 5:00PM-7:00PM
Armonk, NY
Call the office for more information!
DECEMBER
Open House
Sunday, December 7, 2014 5:00PM-7:00PM
North Potomac, MD
Call the office for more information!
JANUARY
Bowling in Philadelphia – New and Prospective Camper Party!
Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:00PM-3:00PM
The Playdrome in Devon
300 West Lancaster Ave.
Devon, PA 19333
Chelsea Piers Fun – New and Prospective Camper Party!
Sunday, January 11, 2015 1:30PM-3:30PM
The Field House at Chelsea Piers: Pier 62
New York, NY
FEBRUARY
JUNE
New Camper Weekend at Camp!
Saturday, June 6 – Sunday, June 7, Greeley, PA
Call the office for more information!
#10 – Blanket Basketball. It is what it is.
#9 – Social. Right? Who’s with me!?
#8 – Capture the Flag: Because to this day, I still do not fully understand Capture the Asagi.
#7 – Basketball Leagues. Under the lights. Lace ’em up!
#6 – Stealth Marble Band: Takes place on the nature trail involving marbles and rubber bands, oh my!
#5 – Escape from PFC: Costa’s ice cream? Yes, please.
#4 – Counselor Hunt: They’re not as fast as they look.
#3 – Luau: Always pack a Hawaiian shirt. ALWAYS! (In 2000, my entire bunk, Bunk Fir, wore Hawaiian shirts for our bunk picture. Our parents were less than thrilled).
#2 – GOLD RUSH: A multilayered event with costumes, real gold, fools gold, a general store…To this day, I think my backpack still has gold paint on the inside.
#1 – Campfire. Call me old-fashioned but to me, there’s nothing better than hanging with your buddies around the fire. Not necessarily a ‘kumbaya’ campfire. I’m talking jokes, songs, s’mores, more jokes and DEFINITELY more s’mores. And, if it’s a boys campfire, the fire has gotta be BIG. Right? Men?
Keep the summer alive, all year long!
1) Keep in touch with camp friends! Call, text, email!
2) Login to Mom & Dad’s ‘MY PFC’ account and look at pics from this past summer!
3) Come to the 2014 reunion! Nov. 2, 10a-12p @ The Funplex in Mt. Laurel, NJ.
4) Read the blog and check for PFC events in your area!
5) Watch videos on the PFC Vimeo page! https://vimeo.com/pineforestcamp
6) Wear your PFC gear! 5K, Hughie Black, PFC Official…it all works! Take a pic and tag us!
7) Follow PFC on Instagram – @pineforestcamp – Use #PFC2015
(In no particular order)
– I ate bacon. Real bacon.
– Enjoyed the air conditioning.
– Took a long shower.
– Sat on the couch.
– Got bored.
Take me back to camp.
Like a shooting star. Like a spark at a camp fire. Like the flicker of a candle. Pine Forest Camp’s 84th season is almost over.
It’s a chilly night tonight. And as dusk fell, if you looked up at the tree tops rustling in the breeze, you could see a red or gold leaf fall to the ground, the first signs of Autumn. It’s time to go home.
We gather together one last time until we return for PFC’s 85th summer, sharing the warmth of friendship. This magical place seems so far from the rest of the world, like we’re in some faraway kingdom of goodness and happiness.
Arm in arm, we sing for the last time this year, “Friends, friends, friends we will always be…”
Let it be so.
A big day in sports: LeBron to Cleveland and Corey “The Dribbler” Rich to PFC.
Corey Rich brought his basketball dribbling expertise to Pine Forest, proving that hard work and practice really pays off. Corey has played basketball overseas, toured the country with his skills and has even appeared on the Letterman show! That’s cool!
Corey entertained our campers with interactive games, tips and drills and at one point dribbled six basketballs at once. It took ten campers to steal the ball from him!
Corey taught us that just because he isn’t the tallest, he never gave up on his dream of entertaining people through his love of basketball.
July 4th at Pine Forest. It’s only mid-morning and it feels like a celebration. We awoke to a rain storm and the good news that we had “late sleep”! Awesome! One hour later the skies cleared and we walked into the dining room to find the entire place decorated with red, white and blue balloons! And the food too, red strawberries, blueberries and white whipped cream on our homemade crème brulee “French” (ok, we’ll call it “ American toast”, today!) And of course the traditional Krispy Kreme donuts.
As the boys finished breakfast a little spontaneous joy broke out when, Lucy, one of our kitchen staff started doing the Macarena line dance with Josh, head of the lake. Before we knew it about 100 boys campers, counselors and even Mickey and Barbara joined in the dance and we were all goovin’ to the music in our red white and blue garb.
But the best is yet to come! This afternoon, Circus time brings huge inflatable rides, the pools will be open, and we have an all-camp carnival with booths created by campers. (They’ve been working on them for days) They’ll be prizes, face painting and music.
After dinner it’s the highlight of the day, our all-camp talent show, followed by the best fireworks display in Pike County, Pa.!! All under the watchful eye of our own Greeley Volunteer Fire Company.
This must be what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wanted us to pursue happiness. We are, and we’re grateful to live in a country where we can.
The office moves today. Five vans come down from Greeley today to pick up all of our gear for camp. Computers, files and forms, 10 months of planning to make this the best summer ever. But what really goes up are our hopes and dreams for a wonderful season. And all signs point to an amazing one; more new campers, lots of returning counselors and Interns, new staff who are going to be simply fantastic. All year long the office talks about camp but after today, we live it. So finish your homework, ace your finals, say good bye to humdrum and routine and get ready to join us for the best summer of your life.
By the way parents, after today, the number to call for the office is 570-685-7141. Office hours will be 9-5 pre-camp and 8am -8pm when camp is in session. And there will always be an emergency number to call before or after hours 24/7. Anytime. We are here for you.
We invite you to schedule a one-on-one, interactive family tour of camp, led by one of our awesome camp leaders. You'll meet our owners/directors and learn more about our amazing, 95-year camp history and traditions. Come feel the love and warmth that Pine Forest Camp has to offer! Email hillary@pineforestcamp.com to coordinate!
