Need recs? Send your kid to camp... - Page 5

AXOrushadvisor · #61 09-27-2011, 10:18 AM

My son went to Camp Stewart for years until he hit 16 and could no longer go. It was great for him and us! He was gone for a month every summer. When it got time for my daughter to go we based our camp choice on his experience (Stewart does dances with the girls camps) and our tours of the individual camps. We looked at 3 Heart of the Hills, Mystic and Waldemar. We choose Mystic and it was a good fit. I think in another thread I stated that one of the things that attracted me to Mystic is that it had a "sorority" feel to it and was run very much like a sorority. Waldemar is a beautiful camp, and Heart is Stewart's sister camp. All if not most of the counselors at Mystic Greek and so is the owner. I understand if your are chosen as a M Girl sororities know you have all the qualities for membership.

BTW, as a first generation camper family with no ties to camps in Texas the whole thing was fascinating to me. The Mothers still wear the charm bracelets and show up for closing day dressed in white. For some girls they are the 3rd and 4th generation to go there. When my dd was there Lady Birds grand daughter was there. Camp IS a big deal in TX.

AXOrushadvisor · #62 09-27-2011, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shirley1929

Nope! Most of the TX ones don't (Waldemar might?) but even some of the "fancier" TX ones (HoneyCreek, Mystic, Longhorn, La Junta, etc...) do not have A/C. However, they're either in the hill country or on a lake, so there's nice breezes and cooler at night.

That was the great thing about going to an all-girls camp - when you were 16 and all you cared about was boys...NO BOYS! You could wake up, not worry about your hair and makeup and just be a kid for 4 weeks.

Shirley, If I remember right Heart had air in the sleeping quarters and so did Waldemar, but Mystic had no air just fans and it got hot

Also, no computers, cell phones or ipods (counselors could) old fashioned letters home 1 time a week and that was their entrance into Sunday dinners- Chicken letters is what they called them I think. My dd had a love/hate relationship with camp, but it was very good for her to have to live with people she didn't necessarily love- sort of like a sorority house

Maybe I have been unconsciously preparing her- SCARY!

DeltaBetaBaby · #63 09-27-2011, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

I understand if your are chosen as a M Girl sororities know you have all the qualities for membership.

Wait, you have to be chosen to go there?

AXOrushadvisor · #64 09-27-2011, 10:27 AM

No they choose M Girls during the term. It is a special honor. It is difficult to get into Mystic though. I know we were on a waiting list and because my kids started camp at 9 and not 6- when a lot of them go. The cabins move all together every year and if the cabin is full for your age there are no openings. It is my understanding it is easier to get in during the HS years because as you can imagine HS girls do different things school or sport related during the summer.

Mevara · #65 09-27-2011, 01:47 PM

This is so interesting... do they have camps like this on the west coast?

DeltaBetaBaby · #66 09-27-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

No they choose M Girls during the term. It is a special honor. It is difficult to get into Mystic though. I know we were on a waiting list and because my kids started camp at 9 and not 6- when a lot of them go. The cabins move all together every year and if the cabin is full for your age there are no openings. It is my understanding it is easier to get in during the HS years because as you can imagine HS girls do different things school or sport related during the summer.

My camp was bursting at the seams back in 2001, and then saw a huge enrollment drop after 9/11. I heard this is a national trend, and that it took YEARS for a lot of camps to recover. People just didn't want to send their kids away for a month at a time anymore.

shirley1929 · #67 09-27-2011, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

My camp was bursting at the seams back in 2001, and then saw a huge enrollment drop after 9/11. I heard this is a national trend, and that it took YEARS for a lot of camps to recover. People just didn't want to send their kids away for a month at a time anymore.

Yeah, I don't think the Texas camps had that problem.