My Camp report for Fall 2001


Early Wednesday morning of October 31st, way before the sun was up, Daddy and I left home on our way to Camp. We were starting south by the time the sun was rising. The weather was lovely and our trip went quickly. As usual, at about 11:00AM we arrived. Amy and Cheryl had arrived at Camp the prior weekend; so they beat us there by a long way. Liz, the nice lady at the front desk was quite busy with phone calls so Daddy brought in the toys I brought for the charity collection. We had made one brief stop along the way to Camp and I bought a bunch of candy. Daddy brought it into the lobby and Liz provided some dishes so the candy would be available to anyone who wanted a piece. Somehow, it just seems nice to start Camp with a piece of candy. After a little while Daddy had me checked in and moved all of my things from the car into my room. We took a little walk around Camp and at about 12:30 I went back to my room to become visible.

At about 2:00 I was back at the main lodge saying hello to new arrivals. We played board games and talked through the afternoon and by dinnertime, over a dozen girls had arrived. That is the most that have ever arrived on a Wednesday. That was one of the best things about this Camp. We had a bunch of new girls attend. Some arrived on Thursday and a few on Friday. I tried to keep track for my attendance roll, but I'm afraid I may have missed one or two. Anyway, I was able to write down the names of 28 girls! Someone said they counted over thirty in the dining room, but there were some attending adults too. I was kind of sleepy after dinner so I said my nighty nights and went back to my room at about 9:30.

I was up early on Thursday, but I took my time getting ready and left my room at about 8:15. The sun was gently up and the air was crisp, but not cold. I went for a walk since no one else seemed to be up yet and the morning was very still and nice. Along the way I said Ohayou (Good Morning) to the birdies and squirrels I saw. I paused for a while to watch as one very busy squirrel gathered nuts from the ground under the tree where it lived. The squirrels were lucky because the nuts were plentiful on the ground under the trees. I arrived at the porch of the main lodge at about 9:00 and fixed myself a cup of Hoji Cha (roasted green tea). I had brought some tea bags and the hot water was provided along with coffee on the porch. I sat at a table in the lobby and wrote my vocabulary words for the day. I write five words, at least twenty times each, everyday. That's how I build my Japanese vocabulary. Somehow the day seemed just perfect as I sat there doing my homework.

When I was done, I went off for another walk. Thursday mornings at Camp are very special for me. Things are usually quiet and there aren't any planned activities for the morning. I usually take that time to think about things and listen. There are lots of wonderful sounds at Camp. There were dragonflies buzzing, birdies singing, squirrels chirping, the rustle of fallen leaves in the woods as the deer walk through, and the song of the breeze and it winds through the valley. At such times, by myself, nothing at hand, small sparkles of understanding and warm waves of love come to me.

When I returned to the main lodge I talked and played with the others while new arrivals checked in and became visible. I was particularly happy to see Ms Farida and Taffeta arrive. I ran from the swings to greet them and caught up to them as they were walking up to the steps of the main lodge. They had been unsure if they would attend up until just a couple weeks before Camp. I was sure glad they came. By then, it was about 5:00PM so I went to change for dinner. I love yellow so I decided to wear my yellow cotton dress for dinner. We had a buffet style dinner; so dinner didn't take long. Some of us thought we would watch some Sailor Moon videos after dinner, but the video machine in the lobby wasn't hooked up so we occupied ourselves talking and playing games. By about 10:00 I was ready for some sleepy time so I bid everyone oyasuminasai (Good Night) and went to my room.

Friday morning I was up early again and once I made my way to the main lodge I got a nice cup of tea and sat down to work on my vocabulary words. After a while Spinner came to sit with me and she told me about the new Seesaw that was in the play ground. Kirsten's big brother made a lovely seesaw and brought it to Camp as addition to the playground. What a wonderful thing to do. All the girls were very excited about it. I put aside my homework and went with Spinner to see the new seesaw. I like to seesaw very much. Seesawing is almost as much run as swinging on the swings. When I got off the seesaw someone pointed out the plaque on the side of the seesaw's support. The plaque said the seesaw was dedicated to the original seven girls who went to Camp. I looked and sure enough there was my name along with the others Colleen, Melissa, Jenny, Joy, Taffeta, and Taffy. That made me feel very warm and nice inside.

We returned to the main lodge for breakfast and as we sat down to eat, the girls started returning from Ballet class. Breakfast was served buffet style and everything was yummy as usual. After breakfast those who wanted to participate gathered around the big tree-table next to the main lodge. Then I asked the questions for the first quiz we had at Camp. Julia, one of our first time at Camp big girls, monitored to help me know who raised their hand first to answer a question. Julia also brought a bunch of pretty sticker stars that she gave out when someone got a right answer. While we were having the quiz some of the other girls became invisible and went shopping. After the quiz I went to change my clothes. I returned to the main lodge a little before time for our crafts session. In crafts we made decorations for the Christmas tree that we would decorate on Saturday. When we started crafts my task was to paint yellow hair onto foam balls that would be used to make snow people. All together we made lots of decorations. Besides the snow people there were bead candy canes, felt boots, and decorated paper cut outs. I enjoy doing the crafts a lot 'cause we get to talk together while we work on things and it's fun to make pretty decorations.

After craft time we had a nice party with our dollies. We had soft drinks, cheese, and crackers. My dollie Michelle attended in her new yellow dress that my friend Taffy got for her. Dinnertime was nearing so I went back to my room to change for dinner. I put on my white party dress. My white party dress is the very first dress I ever had and I like it very much; it is very fluffy satin and chiffon with four tiers of chiffon and lace on the skirt and a pink sash with a large pink bow at the back. I returned to the main lodge just in time for dinner. Again we had a buffet style dinner with lots of yummy things to eat. The people at Rainbow Mountain always make sure we have wonderful meals and a lovely stay at their resort.

After dinner there was a pajama (optional) party in the lobby. I went to change into one of my play outfits 'cause I don't have a nice nightgown yet. Actually I'm hoping someday to have a nice full length, white flannel nighty with a ruffled peter pan collar and ruffles on the cuffs of the long sleeves. Anyway, we watched videos and strung popcorn for the Christmas tree. Some girls played games and talked. I tried to stay up later, but by 10:00 I was so sleepy I said my nighty nights and went to my room.

Saturday morning I was very excited because Saturday is a very big day at Camp. There are always lots of special things to do on Saturdays. To start I got into one of my play outfits. I wore my white pop skirt with pink cherry blossoms and a white blouse. After a short walk and swing on the swings, I went in for breakfast. The first big event was right after breakfast. After breakfast we were to make cookies! The chef at the resort had pre-made cookie dough for us. After breakfast, those who want to participate when to the sunroom where tables were being prepared for us to make the cookies. I get to make cookies sometimes at home so I was the one who rolled out the dough. That's a little tricky, 'cause you have to keep working in the left over bits from where cookies have been cut out. Then when you roll out the dough you have to get it the right thickness so the cookies will bake nice, but not be thin hard wafers. Another thing that's important is to keep the surface you're rolling the dough on and the rolling pin dusted with flour so the dough doesn't stick to them. Well, we made a whole bunch of cookies and we tried something I never heard of before. We decorated the cookies before baking them. I was surprised that the decorations didn't just melt away into the cookies.

As we were nearing the end of making cookies it was time for the quizzes to start. Melissa brought a quiz and I had a second quiz. Melissa started and gave her quiz while I continued to help with the cookies. I really like making cookies. Anyway, it was time for me to get ready to give my quiz so I went to wash the cookie dough and flour off my hands. By the time Melissa was done and I was ready to start, the other girls had finished the cookies and some came out to participate in the quiz. When the quiz was finished it was almost noontime so I went to change clothes. I was really looking forward to this particular change.

You see, for last Spring's Camp I got a special new party dress. The dress is very fluffy like my white one, but it is sparkly bright yellow chiffon with sparkly bright white lace trim. Last Spring I wore it for dinner on Saturday and by the time I was going out to the main lodge for dinner There were some clouds in the sky and the sun was not shining brightly. This time I wore my special yellow dress as my afternoon outfit. I was very happy that the sun was shining brightly. As I left my room and started walking to the lodge the sun made my dress sparkle brightly. I felt so pretty. I twirled and bounced a little as I walked 'cause I loved the way my dress was so pretty and sparkly.

A few minutes later, some very special people arrived. Aunt Garnet and Uncle Tom! I was very happy to see them and I got big hugs from both. They got to meet most of the new girls as well as greeting the girls they knew from prior Camps. They had some errands to run so they left, but said they would return to have dinner with us.

The next big event for the day was the Christmas party. The wonderful people at the lodge provide a very pretty Christmas tree in the lobby; so the first thing we did was to decorate the tree with the decorations we made the day before and the decorations we made at Fall of 2000 Camp. The people at the resort have been very nice and save our things from one Camp to the next. As the girls arrived for the party they had put presents for our gift exchange under the tree. When we were done decorating, we went down to the nightclub where Ballet class is held. There Ms Farida and the girls from the Ballet class put on their recital. The dance was wonderful. I will be glad when I can go back to Ballet class. After the recital, we went back to the lobby at the main lodge and the cookies we made were served along with soft drinks while the gift exchange started. Everyone got a nice present. I specially like the wonderful book of bedtime stories I got.

We talked for a while until it was time to change for dinner. I went back to my room and changed into my fluffy white dress with pink lace trim and pink sash and bow. By the time I was back Aunt Garnet and Uncle Tom were back. Starting on Thursday night they people at the lodge arranged the tables for us in a large L shape that went the whole length of the dining room. After we were seated for Dinner on Saturday night we made a lovely sight I think. Everyone was at Camp now, and we were all seated together. All the girls were wearing their prettiest dresses. I was also glad to see all at once what a nice large group we were. I got to sit with Aunt Garnet and Uncle Tom; we had a nice visit during dinner. Though they are very busy, they always make a point of stopping by Camp to say hello. They are very important to me. If you've read the rest of My Diary and About Daddy's Life, you know why. We had a formal dinner that night, and everything tasted very good. After dinner Uncle Tom and Aunt Garnet took their leave of us. I stayed at the lodge for a few minutes after dinner, but dinner was late on Saturday night so it was soon time for me to go back to my room.

Daddy and I had planned to pack on Saturday night so we could get an early start for home. At about 11:00 I was done packing and went to sleep. In the morning, Daddy packed my things into the car the left for the main lodge taking my memory book along. By 11:00 Daddy had finished breakfast and gathered up my memory book; so we left for home. The trip home went nicely and quickly with lots of dreamin' 'bout Camp along the way. Now my Camp laundry is done and I am planning for next Spring's Camp!

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