My Camp report for Spring 2001


Bright and early on Wednesday morning (about 5:30 AM) Daddy and I started for Camp. The weather was great and we made some stops along the way for snacks. At about 11:00 AM Daddy parked the car in the Camp parking lot and went in to register me. My room wasn't quite ready yet so I got the toys I brought for the charity toy collection and took them to the lobby. As it turned out I was the first girl at Camp. In a little while my room was ready so Daddy took my things to the room and I unpacked and started to become visible. As I was about my tasks I could hear the unmistakable sounds from outside that other girls were arriving. By about 1:00 PM I was visible and headed for the lobby at the main lodge. Through the course of the afternoon thirteen girls arrived! This was the most that had ever gathered so early.

I sat at a table in the lobby for a while and worked on my Japanese vocabulary words as I waited for the others to become visible. Others took walks around the Camp grounds to see what they could see. In the early evening we went in for dinner and had a lovely talk together while we ate. After dinner some of us gathered in the lobby to watch a Sailor Moon video while the others went to play or talk. By 9:30 PM it was my nighty night time so bid everyone "Oyasuminasi" (look on my Japanese pages to see what this means) and went to my room.

Thursday morning I was awake at 7:00 AM (very late for me) and I took my time getting myself ready for the day. I just love to listen to the birdies sing in the morning. There was even a Cardinal to sing for me. At about 8:30 AM I was out to take a quick look around Camp. I ended up on the porch of the main lodge to have a cup of tea. Some of the others had gathered there and in a little while it was time for breakfast. After we finished eating I sat on a bench outside and worked on my vocabulary words. As I sat writing with my paper in my lap and my head lowered, I became aware that I was looking through my hair. A very small thing, but somehow very nice. When I finished writing my words I started reading one of my Samantha stories. At around noontime the other girls started to arrive. In between greeting the new arrivals I got Michelle changed for the dolly's tea party. The tea party was lots of fun, Michelle got to be in the company of many of her dolly friends and meet to new ones too. As usual, we had cookies and tea. Everything was very nice and the cookies tasted very good.

After the tea party, we took our dollies and went to the sunroom to decorate Easter eggs. Arcee brought lots of colors of paint and brushes for us to use. The staff at the resort had the eggs already boiled and dyed. So we painted designs on the eggs. On my first egg I painted two pink hearts. On the second I painted yellow a sun and moon. For my last one I tried to make it look a little like one of those jeweled eggs that Mr. Faberge made, but it required lots of imagination to see it that way. That was lots of fun and we all speculated which eggs we would find during the Easter Egg Hunt on Friday afternoon. After egg decorating I went to change for dinner and returned just in time. After dinner some went to the porch to talk and others went to the lobby to play or watch a video. I went back and forth between the two. In what seemed only a little time, it was very late and I was sleepy so I went nighty night.

On Friday morning I got up at 6:30 AM as Arcee had asked me to stop by her room and wake her. Arcee was staying in a room upstairs in the main lodge and after I was ready I went over to wake her up. When I arrived at Arcce's room, her door was open and Catrina was standing there talking with Arcee. The three of us had a nice talk for a little while, mostly about making clothes and dollies. Arcee was still in her nighty so I went down to the porch so Arcee could get ready for Ballet class. There were still a few minutes before Ballet class so I took a seat on the porch and had a cup of tea with some of the others.

I skipped Ballet classes this time. I missed going to Ballet class, but I understood that it was for good reason. I am hoping that by next Camp Daddy's problem will be repaired. While Ballet class was in session, I worked on my vocabulary words, went for a short walk, and took a turn on the swings. After Ballet class was out we gathered for breakfast in the dining room of the main lodge. I had French Toast; I almost always have French Toast at Camp. I like it very much and we never seem to have it much at home.

I started taking my memory book around and asking girls to write in it. The way I do it is that I hand my book to someone and ask them if they will write something in it. When they are done it sort of gets passed along. Sometime in the process, I usually go do something else and it will be later in the evening or even the next day when I see my book again. I generally don't read what people write until I am back home; so I don't get to find out exactly who has written in my book until after Camp. That way I'm not teasing people to write in my book and I get a nice surprise when I get home.

In the early afternoon we gathered in the night club and Mr. Jay taught us how to do the May Pole dance. There was quite a bit of confusion at first, but after a while we started to get it. After practice, the ribbons were very tangled and Mr. Jay took them to the front porch of the main lodge so they could be straightened out. The idea was that we might get a chance to practice again Saturday morning. The actual May Pole dance was scheduled to take place late on Saturday afternoon.

I went to change for the Easter Egg hunt. When I was ready I went to the porch at the main lodge and talked with Taffeta for a while. As we were talking I was looking over the tangle of ribbons trying to decide how big a problem it would be to straighten them out. I picked up the bunch at the end where they were all fastened together and started pulling on one of the ribbons to see if I could just pull it free from the others. Well, it worked, and Taffeta joined me to help. a couple of the ribbons were more difficult to pull out of the tangle, but in just a little while, all the ribbons were separated and they were neatly draped over the railing of the poarch ready to use again.

At about 2:30 PM we gathered at the nightclub where we waited until all the girls arrived. Then we were given small baskets and taken to a large grassy area next to the nightclub and along the pond. The day was sunny and bright; I got so caught up in how nice it was to be walking around in such a lovely place that I didn't hunt very much and only found three eggs. They were very pretty though. After the hunt we turned in our eggs and I wondered what they do with them after the Easter Egg hunt.

Next we gathered beside the pond for the Teddy Bear Picnic. The people at the resort had laid out blankets for us to sit on in a nice grassy area. I brought my dollie Michelle. I was wearing my bright yellow play dress and Michelle was wearing one of her bright yellow dresses. Our outfits did not match, but that was all right. I felt sort of like I was in a sunny beautiful dream.

After the picnic I returned Michelle to my room and played for a while before returning to my room to change for evening. I wore my white party dress with the pink sash and large pink bow at the back of the sash. I love that dress; I feel so pretty when I wear it. I think every girl needs at least one dress like that. We gathered in the lobby and the porch to talk for a while before dinner and then we went in to eat. After dinner we played games, talked, and watched videos.

I slept quite late on Saturday morning. I was up at about 8:00 AM and was at the main lodge at about 9:30 for a nice cup of tea before breakfast. After Ballet class was over we all gathered in the dining room for breakfast. The time was nearly noon so I hurried back to my room to change. For this Camp, Daddy bought a new sailor dress for me. My sailor dress is white with red trim and even though there is a small problem with the cuffs on the sleeves, I like it very much.

The afternoon was very warm and I don't like to "glow" so I limited my activities somewhat so I wouldn't become damp and messy. I worked on my vocabulary words for a while talked with the other girls. Soon it was time for one of the big events of Camp; the Birthday Party! We went to the nightclub carrying our gifts for the gift exchange. At the party, the girls who had attended Ballet class put on a short recital that was very well done and very pretty. Our schedule for the afternoon was very busy so we didn't play games at the Birthday Party, but we did sing Happy Birthday, have cake, and exchange gifts. After the party, as I was walking up the path to the main lodge, whom did I see but Aunt Garnet and Uncle Tom! I was very happy to see them; I didn't think they would come because Uncle Tom was just starting to get better from a serious medical problem. I talked with them for a while and they said they would be joining us for dinner. Then I went to my room to change. That was a hard decision for me. I wanted very much to be in the Maypole dance, but it was getting late in the afternoon. I also wanted to change into my bright yellow princess dress so I would get to wear it for a while before it was night night time. I decided to go change and skip the dance.

When I got back to the main lodge I got to see all the other girls pretty dresses. It seems like all the girls wear their prettiest dress on Saturday evening. Taffeta's new dress was a lilac lavender color. I think we looked quite pretty standing next to eachother with her in lavender and me in yellow. Dinner was special because Uncle Tom and Aunt Garnet sat at the same table where I was seated. We had a nice talk during our meal. They are very special to me because Uncle Tom (Aunt Tessy) was the one who discovered me; that is, she recognized that I was really a little girl. After dinner I tried to stay up latter than usual, but I was so sleepy that I couldn't. I returned to my room at about 10:30 PM.

Sunday morning I woke up around 7:00 AM and I packed my things. Daddy became visible and set about loading the car for the trip home. After the car was packed, Daddy went to the main lodge for breakfast and to settle my room bill. In the lobby Daddy got to meet Pamela. She was very pretty wearing a lovely Emerald green dress with white ribbons in her hair. That was the first time I ever got to see Pamela. I guess she is quite shy because mostly I saw her Daddy or his big girl named Fiona. During breakfast, there was the usual last minute rush of writing in memory books. At about 11:00 AM Daddy said goodbye to everyone and we left on our way home. We were home at 4:30 PM and I helped unpack the car. Then I started doing my laundry from Camp. Now I am making my plans for Fall Camp!

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