coed sleepaway camp Archives - Page 6 of 9

The View from Hughie Hall

Posted on July 23, 2015 by PineForest

If you go on the upper right corner of our website, under the weather it says “details.” Click on that and you get the weather report from our very own station! There’s a camera that gives real time views from the roof of Hughie Hall. The time lapse is amazing! See the sun rise “up where the sky begins.”

Here’s the link:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/weather-safety/online-weather-center/OnlineWeatherCenter.aspx?aid=4693

The good news is that it’s looking beautiful for Saturday’s Visiting Day! So visitors, wear your sunscreen and hats!

Around camp today it was also a beautiful day. Gordon Hill, British soccer legend, former Manchester United star, and top flight coach, conducted a series of clinics with every camper included. Dribbling, shooting, defense, and more, all drills were fun and lively. Tomorrow he will work with those competitive campers who want to gain an extra edge on their soccer game.

And what could be better than a barbeque lunch in the picnic grove in this glorious Pocono weather?! Two words: Grove Day! It’s the best! Also today, there was a 9 and under basketball game against our brother camp, Lake Owego and baseball at home.

The excitement grows for our 85^th Visiting Day! We’re sprucing up for a day of fun and family. It’s less than 2 days away (but who’s counting?)!!

Spontaneous Dance Party!

Posted on July 22, 2015 by PineForest

At about 9:00pm last night, if you were walking down Junior Alley, you could hear a beat coming from the only bunk with all of its lights on: Elm. The closer you came to the bunk, the louder the beat got. Looking in the windows, you could see heads bopping and hear hands clapping. Open the door and it was bedlam; break dancing, bed jumping, high fives, and a lot of laughter. It was a full on, all Junior boys, spontaneous, dance off! Who was the coolest, the silliest, the wackiest? Check out those moves! Counselors too. The joint was jumpin’! Finally, Division Leader Matt told them they had to go to bed. And so they stopped dancing…until they COULDN’T and the next dance-off broke out! Stay tuned!

And in the meantime, “everybody form a line”!

This just in! Our weather camera was featured on our local NBC affiliate’s weather report this morning! Awesome!

To Greeley…and Beyond!

Posted on July 21, 2015 by PineForest

Although College Day 2015 has come to a close, the action continues at PFC and even outside of camp! Our Juniors spent the day at Costa’s Family Fun Park, which is a place they look forward to visiting every summer (not just because of the soft serve!). They got to ride go karts, water slides, and bumper boats, play mini golf and arcade games, and hit the batting cages. Not bad for a Tuesday! Many of our older campers had the opportunity to go waterskiing on beautiful Lake Wallenpaupack, while our dancers competed in a dance competition!

Up next? Gordon Hill’s soccer clinic, our first play of 2015, the rest of the division trips to Costa’s, and a hiking trip at the Delaware Water Gap! Oh to be a camper again…

College Day: 2 Camps, 4 Teams, 1 Dream

Posted on July 20, 2015 by PineForest

BOYS CAMP

Four teams, one dream… to be College Day champions. Maryland, Oregon, Wisconsin and Kentucky arrived at Pine Forest Camp for 24 hours of heated competition. The weather was hot, but the competition was hotter. Starting last night with the opening ceremonies and continuing today with track and field and swim meets, the entirety of Boys Camp banded together in these four teams to duke it out.

During the opening ceremonies, we got to experience each division competing in tug-of-war, we saw the madness of an egg on the spoon race and a watermelon eating contest, campers participated in cheer offs, and we determined just who was the loudest, proudest and most outgoing. After a dominant performance on night one, Maryland emerged as the leader and favorite going into day two.

During day two, the campers were up bright and early to march to Mitchell Field and Dan’s Diamond to compete in the annual track meet. Events included relay races, shuttle runs, obstacle courses, broad jumps and more. And of course, how could anyone forget the famous Jr. Skeeter Swift. By the end of the track meet, the Terps of Maryland had a small advantage but Wisconsin was right on their toes. Finally, we had a swim meet at the Boy’s Pool and at the lake to determine the champion of College Day. After many intense events, including the first ever water basketball competition, the Wisconsin Badgers emerged as the champions of College Day 2015 for Boys Camp!

GIRLS CAMP

College Day 2015, four schools with the dream of being named Champions of the Colleges. This year, the universities of Oregon, Kentucky, Maryland and Wisconsin arrived at the place where the sky begins to battle on the fields, in the pools, and on the courts to determine which school is best. Starting with the opening ceremonies last night and heading into the swim meet, track meet and field events of today, all the campers did a great job of battling it out and showing their pride and effort.

Last night, all four teams gave their all during opening ceremonies and campers and team coaches got to participate in far flung events such as a watermelon eating contest, egg on a spoon races, tug-of-war, and cheer offs. Team Maryland dominated the tug-of-war allowing them to gain an early lead.

On day two, the campers were up early and headed up to Lauri Field for competition in camp classics ranging from an obstacle course, the human pyramid, the Lauri field relay, and the Jr. Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest. All participants battled each other with good sportsmanship and amazing dance moves. However, by the end of the track meet, the Ducks of Oregon had established a firm lead.

Finally, Girls Camp headed to Girls Pool and the lake to participate in the annual College Day Swim Meet and Lake Regatta. Campers showed off their aquatic abilities and their team spirit, leaving counselors and key staff saying this was one of the best College Days ever! By the end of the water competitions, the Maryland Terrapins emerged victorious as College Day Champions 2015!

Explorers Depart, College Day Begins

Posted on July 19, 2015 by PineForest

A storm blew through last night and we had some heavy rain for about 15 minutes, but the skies cleared in time for a beautiful sunset and the first 2015 Explorers campfire. These future campers in 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grade experienced as much of Pine Forest Camp that could fit into a 24 hour period: lake, arts and crafts, ropes course, sports, and even a few s’mores! We look forward to seeing them back next summer as real, full-fledged campers!

It was a warm, sunny day today at camp with temperatures climbing – a perfect opportunity for an extra period of swim in the lake and the pool. Afterwards, the College Day teams were announced! This year, it’s Wisconsin, Kentucky, Maryland, and Oregon. Badgers vs. Wildcats vs. Terps vs. Ducks! We will have opening ceremonies tonight and kick things off with counselor wacky relays. We’ll get started with the camper track and field and swim meet competitions tomorrow morning! Stay tuned!

Last Night’s Campfire

Posted on July 18, 2015 by PineForest

There are some parts of camp that are eternal, timeless. A good campfire is one of them. It could have been PFC’s year one, 1931, last night when girls gathered at the campfire site. The stars were brilliant and so was the spirit. The oldest campers, our Counselor Assistants (CAs) led the singing with cheers and songs that they brought back from their travels to Costa Rica. Mickey played a song on the guitar and by popular demand led a rousing version of the 3 part round, “One Bottle of Pop…”

Finally, before the traditional “Taps and Friends,” the girls sang a beautiful rendition of the Pine Forest alma mater, “When Lights are Low.” Coincidentally, its author, Elaine Charny (Netsy Wolowitz Black’s sister), was visiting camp yesterday! She wrote the words in 1953 for Color War when the themes were Circus Gold against Showboat Blue. Its melody is the big band tune, “For All We Know” and its words ring true today as much as they did then, when it was sung for the first time, “…the friendships we made, we always will treasure…”

The campfire ended with s’mores until we were all full! As the fire died down and the embers lifted into the starry night, our hearts were too.

To Blueberry Island and Back

Posted on July 15, 2015 by PineForest

For Huckleberry Finn, it was the Mississippi River. For Marty McFly, it was a time travel in the DeLorean, and to Luke Skywalker it was a Galaxy “far, far away”. But to Senior boys today, it was a canoe trip to the mysterious, enchanted Blueberry Island in the middle of Lake Greeley. Off they went, into the murky waters of the lake. They paddled past other campers on sailboats, kayaks, and water bikes until they vanished into the distance. Onward they paddled. The rocky coast soon loomed large. You could hear the bullfrogs as the lake waters lapped up against the rocky shores of the deserted island. You could smell the pine needles of the trees that bent low over the water’s edge. And then they saw them, in the brushes along the coast, the wild blueberry bushes that they sought. They reached into them, plucked a few, put them in a cup, and brought them back. Their cheers rang out “Blueberries for breakfast! We’ll put them in our pancakes!”

They returned to shore, tired but happy, blueberries in hand.

Take Me Out to the Field

Posted on July 14, 2015 by PineForest

Happy Tuesday! Though the theme of the night is baseball, our campers participated in a several exciting activities today in addition to their regular schedules. Our Inter girls went waterskiing, our boys had a canoe trip on the Delaware River, and our Superstar Golfers were off to Woodloch! We also competed in an 11 and under boys basketball game. Oh, and we had sushi at lunch. No big deal.

Tonight, bunk Iris is on their overnight and the rest of the girls are playing the classic game, “Name That Tune” in Lee’s Rink! Boys camp played Home Run Derby on Mitchell Field complete with Philadelphia soft pretzels. Can’t beat that! Campers cheered for their favorite counselors as they watched them try to hit baseballs as far as they could. The ultimate goal was to hit the balls over the fence. Our big winner was Caleb from bunk Cedar. Congrats, Cedar! Those who wanted to watch the MLB All-Star Game got to do so in the new Greeley Theater!

There is so much to look forward to tomorrow, starting with the USTA tournament which is hosted by PFC this year! We’re also hosting 15 and under girls basketball against Camp Timber Tops. Our international campers and many of our international counselors will be taking an all day trip to NYC! We’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Until then, lights out!

Just Another Magic Monday

Posted on July 14, 2015 by PineForest

Stop what you’re doing and check out our week in review! What was Mickey’s first job was at camp? The answer may surprise you.

https://vimeo.com/133274493

Now that you’re caught up, our Hi-Senior 9s are going to see The Goonies at Bethel Woods tonight! Yes, right where Woodstock took place. Not a bad way to watch a classic. Our 10s are excited for their bowling night tonight and lower camp will be celebrating their 11 and under boys 4-0 soccer win and 2^nd place in the Hughie Black tournament. Not too shabby, boys!

On an administrative note, we really appreciate the positive feedback that our bunk newsletters have been getting. We’re having a lot of fun with them, too! If you can’t get enough of your kids (who can, anyway?!), don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram! We will keep the updates coming.

Conquering Rick’s Rock!

Posted on July 8, 2015 by PineForest

Nafis, our intrepid outdoor adventure and trip leader took campers out to scale one of the most famous rock climbing areas on the east coast. “Rick’s Rock” is near the Delaware Water Gap on the eastern facing cliff of Catfish Mountain. Belay on! Our campers made it to the summit and were back in time for dinner!

Back at camp, Ari in arts and crafts showed campers how to make a hand-made doll called a Muneca Quitapenas, originally from Guatemala. You are supposed to put them under your pillow so they can ensure that you have peaceful slumber.

Also today, the new “Greeley Theater” was unveiled with real theater seats and a small performance area! Great for bunk skits, evening activities, and classic movies.

Senior boys flipped around in gymnastics and our wood burning pizza oven was cranking out delicious hand-crafted pizza. Bunk Hemlock headed out on their overnight tonight with a football and extra dessert in tow.

And if you were listening, Mickey was interviewed live on NPR radio’s national show, “On Point” about the joys of classic camping! Awesome!

Tag: coed sleepaway camp