Friday Five: Summer Camp

From the RevGalBlogPals author of the Friday Five:
We're settling into our new new apartment, and after a lifetime at Montessori Katie is having a fantastic summer at YMCA day camp. Meanwhile, Nicholas is packing up for a week at Camp Julian, shared by the Episcopal dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego. His lists of supplies and rules--except for the ropes course available to the teenagers and the ban on IPODs and cell phones--bring back memories of my own happy times weeks at Y camp Ta Ta Pochon, funded by selling countless cases of butter toffee peanuts. So, in celebration of summer, please share your own memories and preferences about camp.

1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
I went to church camp (Luther Crest Bible Camp) two summers during junior high, and loved it. The only downsides were some of the other girls, who were really into the catty, snobby jr high girl stuff. The counselors were great, the camp was beautiful, and I LOVED the music.

2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
We went camping and canoeing every summer during my childhood, and I loved it. We stayed at a lovely state park, and floated down a river with our extended family. The icky part was the old fashioned outhouses - full of flies, spiders, mosquitos, and smells that absolutely defy description. I would take a deep breath, and run inside, praying that I could get my business done before I needed to take another breath! I still enjoy going camping as an adult, an actually just got back from a nice camping experience in Medora ND this week!

3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
As a teenager, I helped our camp counselors do day camp for the little kids in our church. As a pastor, I have been a chaperone at one of our synod's bible camp many times, and have run many, many confirmation retreats at one of our nearby bible camps before moving to a new call. My previous synod's bible camps are incredible, I am so impressed and proud of the staff, and the congregations who support them!

4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
Oh, I have to choose?!?! I went to a Girl Scout camp, and we went canoeing. I had three other people in my canoe, two of whom had never been in any kind of boat before. We headed out, with me in the front, and the other girl with canoe experience in the back. It took a little time for us to get the swing of it, which freaked out the girls in the middle. We were doing fine after a few minutes, but they stayed scared the whole trip.

There were some big rocks coming up, so I called out to the girl in the back to warn her, so she'd steer us clear of them. The girls in the middle panicked and started screeching and wailing. As we safely went past one of the large rocks, one of these girls reached out and grabbed it, and held on. But of course the canoe kept moving with the force of the current. So we had a girl barely in the boat, screeching loudly, as we desperately tried to keep the canoe by the rock. The other girl in the middle kept trying to stand up to help her friend, and we kept yelling at her to sit down. I'm not sure how long this went on, but it felt like a long time. Finally, a canoe with some leaders came along, they rescued the screeching girl, they yelled at us for getting her into that predicament, and took both of the scared girls into their canoe to save them from us since we obviously couldn't be trusted with the welfare of others.

Come to think of it, I quite Girl Scouts after that year.

5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
It Only Takes a Spark
Make New Friends
I Can Sing a Rainbow
Love The Lord Your God