Post camp part I

Camp Dartmouth Hitchcock was amazing. I spent the majority of my time at the ropes course, working for DH, family camp, National Guard camp, and Polaris, a freshman orientatation programme for Pennsylvania college. It was great to see the kids who really struggle with their joints get to the top of the climb tower, or take a length around the rope course and come down the zipline =)



I lived in a cabin for the week, with a few great girls, Emily, Miriam, Faryn and Laura. All staff members, no campers - they were looked after by the volunteers, so I had a lot of free time! It was a very social week, with a lot of hanging out round a fire or on the docks at night. And nights UTH; Up The Hill. Every night there is a big fire UTH at Lanakila where councilors from all camps can go and hang out and have a few drinks and socialise. The best night I've had so far is ever more to be known as The-Night-That-Was-Meant-To-Be-Up-The-Hill-But-Ended-Up-In-The-Castle-Instead. I drove the huge truck up the ridiculously steep dirt track with 2 big containers of water for putting the fire out. And could not find the spot. Normally the fire is lit and the you can see it through the trees, but we could not see or hear anything. So we drove down again - which was lucky because we found the water coolers on the track; the truck no longer has a tail gate! Refilled them and filled the truck bed with 6 people and headed up once more to discover there was just nobody around, so we turned around (again) and headed to the castle and sat in there for most of the night instead.

It was sad to say good bye to Lake Fairlee and Aloha. And so much harder to say goodbye to all of the people. It's been an incredible summer, and I've made the most amazing memories . It's strange thinking back to the me who stepped onto a plane just a few months ago. I feel like my confidence has grown, my independence,  my creativity, my ability to Fake It Til You Make It, to make the best of things - Take 24 kids instead of 12 with 1 less member of staff? Sure. Jump out of bed at 7 after a 5 hour meeting that ended at 11:30? No problem. Homesickness kicking in at 3 in the morning, every morning? Piece of cake. Be in 2 places at once? I got pretty good at it.

I left camp exhausted, with clothes that smelled of sweat and camp fire. I had too much stuff to fit in my pack and shoes that were worn through. I had laughter, tears, memories and friendships that are going to last the ages, no matter how far away we are.

But on to the next part of the adventure.

I drove to Massachusettes with the hilarious Molly, and that journey taught me one vert important thing; don't leave Molly alone to lock up the car! We spent an extra while sat on the curb waiting for the AAA to come and retrieve the keys from the cup holder (sorry Molly, i refuse to let you live it down). We stayed with another camp friend Matt (and by that i mean a friend from camp, not that he is camp!) and his family who were incredibly lovely and welcoming. We spent the next day exploring Boston before continuing our long drive down south to Molly's home in Bethesda, Maryland. The next day was Baltimore which is a really cool city. We went to the National Aquarium where we saw a lot of cool stuff including a beautiful giant sea turtle with only 3 legs, sharks, lots of jellyfish and a dolphin show.

And then to Washington DC. I met up with some girls from camp amd we spent the day exploring the city. Its very beautiful, lush and spacious the roads are very wide and the traffic is a bit crazy, but every one seems pretty chilled out which I was not expecting. All the museums are free so we spent a long time cruising around them taking in cool exhibitions amd learning lots. The best was the Museum of American Buildings that had an exhibition called The Beach. It was a giant ball pool where  we spent a good couple of hours pretending to be kids again.


I met up with my wonderful family in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, and have been here for the last few days. It's complete madness around here, with the 4 Virdee sisters and their families all squished into one (very large) house. There's Dan and Jag (sister #3) and their daughters Alex and Simran; we're at their house. Then Rupi (sister #2) and Gurch (#4), Deepie (#1) and her kids Anoop and Ajooni, and her neice Mia and mother in law Momaji. And then there's Mommy and Daddy bear. And me. That makes 14, and thats a lot of people to co-ordinate. We spent today at the beach. Its a private one for all the people who live in this neighbourhood. It's crazily hot too, hotter than it was in Vermont. It's currently 69°f and its 10pm, earlier it was 82°. Would have liked to have spent more time in the water, but there's a lot of jellyfish around. Not a problem, however, when you are on a jetski.

Dartmouth Hitchcock

My time at Aloha has passed so quickly,  but at the same time it feels as though i was there for ever. I met some great people and we ended Aloha 2015 in style, with a banquet, pretty dresses, awards (I won't even tell you what some of them were for! !), a big fire and a hell of a lot of cleaning!

For some reason I can't upload pictures right now, and it hasn't let me for a few days. I will add them at a later date, so you can see all the pretty places and people, but right now there's too much more to tell you to wait.


It's full steam ahead and into Camp Part II. I spent a day at Aloha's 110th reuinon weekend where campers and councilors of the past returned. And then I moved across to Lanakila which has reverted to it's year-long name of Hulbert Outdoor Centre. I am now working for Dartmouth Hitchcock camp. DH is a camp for 8-18s who have JRA; Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Its a much smaller scale, with only 46 campers, but the individuals are far more diverse and their needs and personalities are very different. There are 10 members of staff, including me, and 20 volunteers who are nurses, doctors, students and people who were at the camp before.

DH is only a week long, but for many of the kids it is the highlight of their year. And it's easy to see why. Already there is such a great atmosphere here, full of noise and excitement and positivity. The condition affects them all differently, but modern medicine means there is much greater control than there used to be. 10 years ago the majority of campers were in wheelchairs with 2 personal carers looking after them. Now it's hard to tell that most of them have any problems at all. And it's great to see how open everyone is, because they are somewhere they feel at home, and somewhere they don't have to try to fit in.

I'm excited to see how the week plays out!

Coming to an end

I'm currently in the library at Dartmouth College.  Yes Mom,  you'll be able to say that your daughter went to an Ivy League School. It's the equivalent of England's Oxford or Cambridge. The trick is to walk in like you belong there and nobody will stop you.  Nobody will stop you taking a tour around either if you look interested enough.
It's my final day off before the end of camp. The 2nd half girls leave on Wednesday and then it's clean up before Reunion Weekend. This year marks the 110th year of Camp Aloha and all the girls/women who have ever been at camp have been invited for the weekend. Then there's a further week of different camps,  National Guard, Family amd Dartmouth Hitckcock. And then my time in Vermont is over. Which is sad, but it's time to move on, too much to see to stay anywhere for too long!

I have had so much fun monkeying around. I absolutely love spending my days outdoors, and I feel so at home within the trees. I love how the kids really look up to me when they are climbing - yes,  sometimes literally - but they think the ropes course is the coolest place and that makes me the coolest person!!!

One of the best (but not most comfortable) nights was my tent family overnight. We hiked up the mountain to the treehouse, made a fire and cooked an amazing marshmallow crispy dessert that we ate hot out of the pan. Then we curled up in our sleeping bags and talked ourselves to sleep. It was awesome !!

Time Flies

At the weekend the first half campers went home. It's incredible that they have been at Aloha for 3 and a half weeks. Which means I've been in the US for 6 weeks. In a way it feels as though I've only just arrived, but then it also feels like it's been my life forever. The endless cycle of bugle playing reveille at 7am, breakfast (2 courses every day!), activities, lunch (always served with dessert!), more activities, dinner (more dessert), and an evening programme that changes every night, taps (kids bedtime at 9), and then all the staff had down to the counsellors room to hang out or head to one of the many after taps events. So far i have been hypnotised, danced in an 80s party and a kids sleepover and spent a fair amount of nights Up The Hill - at our brother camp where there is a huge bonfire every night.  

The fire on the 4th July was excessive! It was easily as big as one of the huge old 3 story victorian townhouses. We all went over the Lanakila for a funfair put on by the boys, dinner, fireworks over the lake and the bonfire, which was lit by the oldest campers in a Moari style display of flaming torches.

I've done so much since I've been here that it's hard to keep track of everything. Lots of climbing of course, and I've been running most mornings. I get in the lake when there's time - sometimes it gets so hot that you can't help but dive in. 

MJ's Mayhem was one of the best days. Instead of the regular schedule and activities, we went crazy with this year's marine theme. I was in charge of mattress surfing, which was ridiculously fun and also kinda painful! There was also lots of crazy stuff at the water front, like a run across upturned kayaks, and an upturned canoe slide. There were boat rides around the lake and sunbathing on Waikiki, our little stretch of beach. 

Meet Bri, one of my best friends. She is AWESOME! She is Australian so she talks funny, but she has a very beautiful soul. We are very similar and spend a lot of time together. We are planning our adventure after camp, as we have to get from Vermont to LA to fly out of. It's going to be an epic 3 weeks, we've already figured that much out, and the fun is going to continue in Aus!!

The actual Best Day Ever was when we both had the same day off. We headed to the Lake Morey Resort and spent the day lounging beside the lake. We went out on a paddle board and just sat out on the water looking at the incredible sights that surrounded us.

And then the coolest thing happened. Or thingS. Parker and Nick. They work on the waterfront at the LMI and we got talking - everyone talks to everyone here, it's really nice and also kind of weird at first. There was no one else going out on the daily pontoon boat ride so it was just the four of us. We headed out into the middle of the lake, stopped the boat and dived in. Climbed out and dived in again. And again.... We spent a long time underneath the boat, in between the 2 hulls which was really surreal. When we got back in the boat, the motor wouldn't start, so we had to get towed back to shore! And then, as it was getting dark, the boys had to go and find a family who had taken a canoe out around the lake and get them to start heading back. So we got to ride in the speedboat!! Then obviously the resort's pool and hot tub - because we just can't get enough of water.

We spent the day with the guys, and they've become good friends. We've got plans for the next day off to hang out again. Can't wait. Days off are rare, and though you want them to catch up on much needed sleep, there is so much to do!!!

Welcome to Pines. This is the unit I live in.

Not to brag or anything, but we've won Golden Broom every week! 

There are a lot of beautiful places around camp.  You can hike up the many trails into the woods and find something incredible around every corner. 

Father Gulick's Ravine

The Aloha story goes; Mother and Father Gulick were cycling round the lake, thought what a great place it would be to live, saw a for sale sign, brought the house and a few years later turned it into a camp. The camp began 110 years ago, and its history is very strong in everything that happens here.

Glenn's Falls is one of my favourite places to go. Its a short walk away, and when you're there you can be completely alone. As you walk further up the trail the falls get higher and more spectacular. I took my campers there and Lizzy and I (the sensible ones!) sat on the banks and watched while Delphine and Sidney went into the ice water.

I am now a woodland hippie! 

Winships is another amazing place. Named after the man who sold the Gulick's the land back in the day, its part way up the mountain with an incredible view. There are some shelters up there that you can camp in and fire pits where you can cook dinner.

My favourite place of all has to be The Bluff. Its a 45 minute hike up the mountain through the forest. There's an outcrop of rock where eagles used to nest that looks out over the lake and the mountains. 

Photo Reel

It is dramatically beautiful here on the shores of Lake Morey. We are surrounded by tree lined mountains that dissapear into the distance. Deer live in the woods, there's a bald eagle in the trees and chipmunks rule the grounds.

My campers have arrived and they are great! 3 girls, all aged 13. Two are seasoned campers from our younger camp, Aloha Hive, so they know the drill here. The third girl has never been to camp before and was incredibly shy and despondent. But in just a few days she came right out of shell and is now noisy and chatty and having fun. They are a great bunch to be around, and we have a lot of laughs together.

There are 3 girls and 1 councilor (fancy name for a staff member) in each tent, and 12 tents in each unit. My unit is called Pines and we have a brilliant group of councilors. We went on a unit night out after taps (camper bedtime - a lot of good stuff happens after taps!!) and sat on the docks in the moonlight sharing 6 tubs of Ben and Jerry's icecream. Ben and Jerry started their company in Vermont so their icecream is the most popular - not gonna argue if someone wants to hand me an entire tub of Half Baked! We also had a unit cookout where we hiked up to Winships, a clearing at the top of a hill overlooking the lake, made a fire and cooked dinner. Then toasted marchmallows to make s'mores which are AMAZING! We camped out under the incredible blanket of stars that night, and could see Jupiter and Venus really bright. 

  

The Lanakila Ropes Course

Our brother camp, Lanakila has a huge ropes course, and that is where i am spending most of my time. I spent a week before camp being trained with councillors from other camps within the Aloha Foundation, one of whom, Jenni, is also going to Australia for a year, so we are going to have a lot of fun together! 

My role this week has been the zip tower. So i climb 40ft up the Big Ol' Ladder and supervise from above until someone (or usually 10 at once) comes across and wants to go down the zipline and fly with Lanakila Air. Going off backwards is SUCH a rush!!!

We also have a trapeze. You climb the telegraph pole,  pull yourself up on top and balance with nothing to hold on to about 30ft high. That's a bit scary, but the next bit is worse. You leap off and try and grab the trapeze bar... my fingers have touched it, but i am yet to grab on. My goal for the summer - catch the bar!

I'm still alive!

I'm at camp Aloha now,  with ~45 other staff members,  ready for our kids to arrive tomorrow.  I was at camp Hive for a week, another camp in our foundation, doing Wilderness First Aid training,  CPR training and learning about the ropes courses and climbing towers i will be leading on. Moved over to Aloha a week ago where i have been crazy busy with PreCamp which is all about successful counselling and getting the place ready. It's been so full on since i arrived with lectures and physical work 8am-10pm and i am exhausted.
This place is so beautiful. Vermont is known as the green mountain state, and that sums it up perfectly. There's nothing but trees and mountains and lakes as far as you can see. Not right now though, now i am in the laundromat where there is free wifi! It's a very exciting concept!!
I live in a tent, but the canvas sides are hiked up so it is completely open to the elements - quickly realised you want your bed in the middle of the tent; when it rains here it really rains! But then it is scorching hot half an hour later. I spent a night camping out under the stars a few days ago. You can see Venus and Jupiter really bright! We had a cookout where we built a fire and cooked a stir fry over looking down over the lake. Then we huddled up in sleeping bags and fell asleep to the sound of the lake. It's incredibly peaceful. There's lots of wildlife too, chipmunks everywhere! And there's a herd of deer that live in the woods surrounding one of our ropes courses, a bald eagle lives nearby too!
Today is our first bit of time off, so everyone from all of the camps is here doing laundry and then off to the good 'ol Walmart.
Unfortunately i don't have time to upload any more pictures so i can't share how beautiful it is here, but as soon as i can, there's some amazing things to show you!
Much love from the US of A!!

And so it begins...

I am exhausted; physically and emotionally drained. Saying goodbye to my beautiful family at the airport was so difficult, as I don't know when I will see them again. Though there was one person who seemed ok about me leaving...

The plane was incredible. It was brand new, huge and very flashy. I'm talking windows that tint at the touch of a button, and a screen in the back of the seat in front showing exactly where the plane was on an interactive map.

James, Jaz and I started the journey in style with complimentary cocktails, and done really good food. After a few hours we got bored messaging other people through the seat chat on the tv screens, snuggled up with blankets and pillows and each watched a different movie. 

We finally touched down at Newark airport at 8pm local time - 1am England time! By the time we had passed through customs, picked up our luggage, got the coach to our hostel in New Jersey, attended the orientation to get information about our onward travel and actually got to bed it was 11:40 USA time; 4:40 in the morning if you're still running on UK time  - not bad when you got up at 8! 

Today is Sunday, and I was up bright and early, ready for my 9am pick up. Thankfully 9am local time meant I could get a much needed full night's sleep. Travelling with me are 3 other people from my camp, Ellie who is leading hiking at Aloha, and Argen and Zofia who are at our brother camp, Lanakila. We were driven into the city where we got a coach that is taking us the 6 hours to Vermont. It's an incredible drive. We've seen the Manhattan skyline, driven through the Bronx, and will pass through New Jersey, New York, Conneticut, Massachusettes, New Hampshire and arrive in Lebanon where we will get a ride to Lake Morey and Camps Aloha, Lanakila and Hive in Vermont.