Session 1, Day 3

Another gorgeous day at camp! I can't believe how lucky we are... Right now, I would like you to close your eyes. Imagine that you can hear the calm of the ocean waves crashing in a near distance. Now you can see the sun setting over the water and Three Rocks. The sky is turning an orange, pink, yellowy color, and darkness is slowly creeping it's way in. Okay, wake up!

Like I said, today was another wonderful day here at camp! The campers are having loads of fun tidepooling, playing elimination, making salmonberry snowcones, and other fun unit interest group activities. After lunch, cabins had a pack-out lunch that allowed them to have a picnic where ever they choose. Some ate on the porch, some at the campfire, on the steps, and on the beach. Other campers (in Highlands) hiked to High Meadow today, and "enjoyed being on top of the clouds."

Now, main camp is quiet. Campers and staff dispersed to their overnights around 4:00 this afternoon. They are going to learn to cookout their own food, and enjoy (hopefully) sleeping under the stars. And, Teens has begun their two night overnight!

I am very impressed with our campers and staff. They are all an amazing group of people to have this first session of camp!

Menu:
Breakfast - pancakes, sausage, breakfast bar, bagel/toast bar, orange, apple, and grape juice.
Lunch - make your own sandwiches (kids are really enjoying our new sandwich bar of making their own sandwiches. Some of them even come back for seconds!)
Dinner - Pack-out for overnights!

Session 1, Day 2

THE SUN!
THE SUN!
THE SUN CAME OUT TODAY!

Oh, it's a wonderful day. It tricked us a little bit as it was sprinkling hard this morning, and now, it is going to be a gorgeous sunset on the beach. WooHoo!

Today was the first full day of camp. This morning, we had some cabin time and talent show prep time, while the finishing touches were put on the bouldering wall. After lunch, the cabins were in full activity swing. Sherwood campers had time at the Art Palace & the Cove (Camp Store) as well as Challenge Course; Highlands participated in Challenge Course and Cabin/Shower TIme; Alpine had fun at the Barn (Bouldering Wall, Archery, Soccer) then kayaking and river dipping; Teens did archery this morning, kayaking and river wading this morning and the Cove and Art Palace this afternoon.

Right now, campers are getting ready for the Talent Show in the Lodge. Strike that, Talent Show over, and it was fabulous! The kids are great!!!!


The menu for today:
Breakfast: Eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, yogurt, cereal bar, toast/bagel bar, applesauce, milk, water
Lunch: Make your own sandwich, fruit & cookies
Dinner: Baked potato bar, salad bar, ham, cornbread, Jell-O

SESSION 1 CAMPERS ARE HERE!

I'm not quite sure how it came so soon, but I'm glad it did!

Staff training is over. Open House - even with the rain - was a great success! And now, you're never going to guess who's here... Yes, I am hearing the laughter and play of all the Session 1 campers!

After the campers arrived today (and found a crab!), they met their cabins, played some games, we had a health screen & an all camp orientation; soon will be flag, then dinner, Sunday Sundaes, cabin time & campfire! It's a pretty packed first day of camp!

Oh, I'm pretty sure that I've talked about how wonderful our cooks are... Well, tonight for dinner, we've got spaghetti and homemade bread! WooHoo! The lodge smells so good! We will also have our brand new salad bar out! Mmm, dinner was great!

WooHoo, I'm Here at Camp!

We welcome you to Camp Westwind,
We're mighty glad you're here,
We'll send the air reverberating,
With a mighty cheer,
We'll sing you in,
We'll sing you out,
To you we raise a mighty shout,
HOORAY!
Hail, Hail the gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind.

WooHoo! I am so excited. We moved out to camp a few days ago, the sun has been shining and it's been fairly warm (considering what the last few days in Portland were). I've been listening to the wind, hiking on a trail, doing flag, oh, and have I mentioned how wonderful our kitchen staff are this year? They are FABULOUS! :D I can't wait for you all to try their food!

Two days ago, our STARs, UCs, and Returning staff arrived at camp. We started cleaning out the Bat Cave & Barn (where we store camp for the other 9 months of the year)... We also began discussing some of the exciting changes for this year including, all staff being able to become certified lifeguards (if chosen), archery instructors, small craft safety (kayaking),. challenge course & bouldering wall! We are all very excited about this! What does this mean for you...? Well, this means that more people will be able to faciliate any activity that you are looking forward to doing at camp, doesn't that sound fabulous?!

The rest of the resident camp staff joined us yesterday where we put on an awesome campfire! It was a great, and hilarious start to this summer - we'll see if I can figure out how to put up some songs and videos from it as well.

Today, the wonderful day camp staff joined us! We sang them in today! Not only did they bring their awesome selves, BUT, they also brought our archery equipment back, after we had it professionally checked out! The arrows look fabulous as all the nocks and fletchings are now color coded! This is very exciting for me because I am a BIG fan of archery (especially our range!).

Our Executive Director & Interim Executive Director came out to visit camp, as well as Choya (another YWCA staff member), and they wanted to stay forever! Luckily, camp will be here, and they can join us (and you) any time!

We were very excited about our guest trainers, Scott Arizala, Trisha, and even more! Thank you for coming out to help train our staff!

Oh yeah, we also saw some whales and dolphins today!

I apologize for the lack of recent blogging, and I will do better in the following weeks.

Question!! How often would you want a blog post? Daily? Weekly? What would you like to know?!

We are very excited to have you here this summer, if you are not yet registered for camp, there is still plenty of room! Sign up, sign up a friend, etc!!!

It's almost June!

Who is getting excited about camp? I know we are! And this week, we'd like for you to meet Ciwara, the Day Camp Director, who has just completed school and is now in the office!

As you may have read in our last posting, there was an adventure a foot. Sassy, Pickle, Jellyfish, and Vista were out on a fabulous adventure scouting for Travel Camp! On that trip, I was very excited to see, experience, and learn things that I haven't yet learned. The Sassy Pickled Jellyfish's adventure from before ended in Santa Cruz in the previous post. The following day, we were going to check out the famous Santa Cruz Pier. However, after watching the news that evening we learned that the latest American Idol castoff was going to be at the Pier and we decided to vacate and begin to move back up North.

In the following days, we spent time looking for fun things to do and places to stay. There were many beautiful wildlife and trees when we got closer to Redding. One of the best parts was searching out all of the little tourist "traps" between San Francisco and Portland! Oh, we also got to pet and feed baby lions and tigers!

Excited about that trip now? Call Sassy to see if there are more spots available.

This week, we are not adventuring on the road anymore, but here in the downtown office. We are working hard to get everything ready for camp: staff training, teen program, American Camp Association standards (we are accredited by the ACA, choosing to adhere to over 200 standards), day camp, health forms, and more!

Our staff are even working hard to be ready for camp. They are all participating in a virtual online training course, with videos from camp professionals!

OH, I ALMOST FORGOT! One of the most important and exciting events (besides the actual camp sessions), is the JUMP Fundraiser! Do you like to jump? Do you like to watch others jump? Do you wish you had a giant trampoline? Or, maybe you just wish you could meet some of the camp staff.... WELL, this JUMP event is the time to do it! Camp Westwind has rented the whole trampoline arena at Sky High Sports!

Again here are the details:

Date: June 5th Sunday
Time: 9:30am to 10:30 am
Where: Sky High Sports in Tigard
Cost: $10 for jumpers $5.00 for non jumpers-this is a donation to Camp Westwind and is tax deductible
Why: Help support YWCA Camp Westwind Scholarship fund and have a brilliant time!
Who: Any who wants to come and anyone you want to invite!
RSVP: you must reserve your spot! Email Sassy in the camp office at: Westwind@ywcapdx.org

Travel Camp Scouting Day 3

Once upon a time, a Sassy Pickled Jellyfish went on a road trip. She was so excited to get out and explore for this fabulous program (Camp Westwind Travel Camp).

Day 1: Portland - Bend - Kalamath Falls. A trip around Mt. Hood looking at all the gorgeous waterfalls, an afternoon snack at Dairy Queen, a trip to the High Desert Museum, exploring routes and fun all the way to Kalamath Falls. Ahh...Time for bed!

Day 2: Kalamath Falls - Somewhere in California - Lava Beds - Tule Lake - Possibly Canby's Pass - Bieber - Sacramento. Yesterday, now that was fun! Parts of the trip, well... the Sassy Pickled Jellyfish didn't know that Winter lasted longer here (in California) than it does elsewhere... She kind of got stuck after she went on one of those gray lined roads on the map. Who knew?! Luckily, she had her trusty fanny pack/bum bag! Thank you Camp RIGHTSLEEVE! Anyway, she figured out where she was headed and went on her way to find lunch. There was a quaint little town that totally had a huge bear in it - okay, the bear was stuffed, but still... The bear even got some action with the fanny/bum bag. Back to the car, the Sassy Pickled Jellyfish drove on. She passed through many towns along the route (although I don't quite remember them all, I do remember Bieber!). Eventually we ended the night in Sacramento California....

Day 3: Sacramento - Garlic Gilroy - San Jose - Santa Cruz. As the Sassy Pickled Jellyfish begins the day with waffles for breakfast, she is super excited to head TO THE BEACH! Not just any beach (and not the thebeach (as in Westwind), but the sunny Santa Cruz destination. It really was a gorgeous day, and SO many things for Travel Camp to do! The Sassy Pickled Jellyfish has come up with a billion pamphlets for the campers to choose from and have their own adventure.

That's all on the Sassy Pickled Jellyfish for now...I'm sure more will come later!

If you haven't already, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help support Camp Westwind by purchasing some Macy's tickets. I know that if you don't read the blog tonight or tomorrow, it won't be too helpful, but tomorrow, Saturday May 14th, is the Macy's Community Sale where you can save $10 on your purchase of $25 or more. If you show up to the Macy's at Washington Square, you can meet some of our fantastic staff! Bring some friends, make a shopping day out of it!

Camp Westwind is doing a fabulous (thanks to our community) in registering for camp. HOWEVER, I would like you to know, that we still have PLENTY of spots open, especially for day camp! Do you know someone who isn't quite ready for resident camp or doesn't want to leave their friends for a whole week? Well, Day Camp would be the place for them! It has fabulous themed weeks, and the staff are fantastic. Some of you may not know about our new Father Child camp either... We still have plenty of room there and in CAMPOUT! If you'd like more information, please, contact us!

Hope you enjoyed this blog!

Summer 2011 is Fast Approaching!

We welcome you to Camp Westwind,
We're mighty glad you're here,
We'll send the air reverberating,
With a mighty cheer.

We'll sing you in,
We'll sing you out,
To YOU we'll raise a mighty shout,

Hail Hail, the gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind!


Who's excited about Summer 2011? I know I am! I can not believe how fast it is almost here... It feels like only yesterday we were sitting at the computer blogging to you about the gloomy weather of the last session of 2010, and reminding you to purchase DVDs (which I hope you all did...)!

Anyway, here in the downtown office, we are really picking up for summer. Vista & Jellyfish are back in the office gearing up for camp, as well as the always-wonderful Pickle & Sassy.

We have so many new things coming this summer! If you have been following our Facebook page, then you know about some of our new items.

First, can you imagine a SALAD BAR? Yes, that's right, an actual salad bar, as if you were at Hometown Buffet. You know the kind that is not sitting on a table, but inside a cooling (or heated) table. One where there are many choices of toppings. *Sigh* Just imagine.

Can you see yourself at the top of High Meadow? What about after playing in the river? You always know that you need to stay hydrated at camp, and sometimes you just wish you could have some ice water. Well... Drum roll please... This summer you can! We were able to raise enough money to get ourselves a nice little ice machine. This will definitely refresh ourselves after that long hike, or fun out in the mud.

Of course, one of our most important new things for the summer is all of you (moms, dads, children, grandmas, grandpas, etc) as well as our staff! Look for a new-featured staff member every week!

We may also have new surveys to the right of the blog, so keep checking back!

Oh, I almost forgot! MAY 14TH is a very important day to remember! This is the day that you can go shopping at Macy's and earn money for Camp Westwind! All you need it a booklet (that we so conveniently have at the downtown office). It will cost you $10 upfront for the booklet, however you get $10 OFF your purchase of $25 or more. If we sell the most booklets, we could get up to $15,000! Feel free to contact Sarah Keplinger at Westwind@ywcapdx.org for more information, or to purchase your booklets.

As always, we would appreciate LOTS of comments from you! Right now, I am looking to know, who's excited about camp? What are you most excited about? What are you worried about? What kind of items would you like on our new salad bar? Do you have any fun ideas for camp?

I can't wait to hear from YOU!