I know I say this every month, but really… the END of September? Already? SEPTEMBER! How does that happen? It feels like I spent forever waiting for the summer to arrive and then in the blink of an eye it’s over. Mental.
Let me backtrack a little bit though, and fill you in on my last month in the USA. In my last post, we were about a week or so into our Fall season, working with school groups and college freshmen, and doing some odd jobs around camp. This continued into September when, over Labor Day weekend, we had our awesome Family Camp, which involved running activities and different programs for all the families who came to stay for the weekend. And even though it was absolutely FREEZING cold, it was a super fun weekend – I especially love when some of the kids who were at camp during the summer come back with their families and we can show them what camp is really like!
After Family camp there was a hectic day of clean up and then we had 3 glorious days off, or what I like to call ‘Fall Camp Holiday’! Some people headed to Boston or off on their own trips, and I made my way (with 4 others) to my friend’s house in Long Beach. We spent our days on the (very windy) beach, in the sea, eating good food, visiting a classic American diner, playing card games, and we even squeezed in a day at the bowling lanes when it starting pouring with rain. It was so lovely to just kick back and relax, spend time with my friends, and see a new place I’d never been before.
When we got back to camp there was still a lot of work to be done. We had our last program of the season that weekend, with a huge number of people (almost 500!) from a Manhattan school coming to camp overnight. So we had a fair but of set up to do, making sure everything was ready to go and we all knew the schedule for the weekend. It all went by pretty smoothly and before we knew it, we were into the last 2 days of the Fall season. These 2 days are always some of my favourite, as it involves taking down the tents and storing everything away for the winter. That might sound a little strange… who enjoys putting things away? But I’ve always loved being one of the last people on camp, and knowing that how we leave it is how we’ll find it in the Spring. There’s something satisfying about seeing something like this right through to the end.
On the last night of our Fall season, we have a tradition… ‘Curry night’. I don’t know when it started, but it’s been a thing since I started working Fall. Basically we all get together at the Camp Director’s house for a curry and a great night of celebration. Celebration of the summer, celebration of the fall, celebration that we did it, that we made it from start to finish.
And then camp was over. For everyone else, anyway. After everyone headed home or off on their travels, I stayed on at camp as planned for a little bit to spend some time finishing off my video and photo projects from the summer, as well as to set up our social media calendar and some marketing tools for the rest of the year. Being at camp with just the year-round staff is definitely an experience. This was the latest I’ve ever stayed at camp and it was so awesome to really see the seasons change… by the time I left, the ground was covered in crispy, golden leaves. It was very quiet and very beautiful, very strange and very wonderful.
When my time at camp came to end, it was hard to say goodbye, but it was on to the next adventure! I headed to NYC and met up with my friend JC. We stayed in the city for the night and then early the next morning we flew to Denver, Colorado to begin our week-long road trip!
And what a fantastic week it was. We did a Denver to Denver loop, driving 726 miles over 8 days, through some of the most beautiful places I think I’ve ever seen, camping in spots I couldn’t even have dreamed of. There were endless mountains, rivers, lakes, national parks and forests, viewpoints, hikes, waterfalls, hot springs, highways, deer and even a moose! Every night, as we set up our little tent and cooked our dinner on our stove, I was just in awe of what we were doing, of where we were and what was around us. We’d be driving along some mountain road, winding up to 10… 11…12 thousand feet and I would just be looking around, wide-eyed at what I could see, constantly exclaiming ‘what is the world?!‘ I can only describe it as… well… magical. The whole thing was just magical.*
So that was September. And this is my last post for CCUSA for Summer 2017. But wow, what a summer it’s been. And a huge thank you to CCUSA for making it all happen!
*I’ve written about our Colorado trip in more detail over on my travel blog, Roo Around The World, so go check it out if you’re interested in the details of the trip and the specific places we visited. This is also where I’ll be documenting the next few months of my life as I do a bit more world exploring in Central America, so you can head over there to follow along!
**I returned to camp this summer with CCUSA who have the lowest returner fees and have placed 100% of applicants in the last 2 years. Get in touch with them via their website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, by phoning them on +44 0208 874 6325 or by email at info@ccusa.co.uk.**
Disclaimer: CCUSA are waiving my camp fees in return for this blog series, but please rest assured that all opinions are honest and my own.
Summer Camp Secrets 