Part 2: Adults Can Be Campers Too – Forgetting About Life For A While

When I got the invitation 6 months ago inviting Greg and I to Beth and Andy’s 40th Birthday party at Camp Bryn Mawr, I had no idea what it would entail. I had visions of beer pong and color war but no insight into what we would actually be doing. I just knew I was super excited to go.  I was happy I didn’t have to pack a trunk and just a bag. I used to be a slob at camp and throw my shit everywhere. I was very conscious of what I packed because it meant less laundry for me to do when I got home. Although I was concerned I packed the right things.

The drive up to Camp Bryn Mawr was about 2 hours from Livingston.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive without my 4pm latte so I made sure Greg stopped at Starbucks on the way for an extra big one. I doubted there would be Starbucks at Bryn Mawr.  It was a GORGEOUS day.  Weather was a 10! We pulled up and checked in:

Adorable bags filled with water, snacks and t-shirts. A golf cart took our bags to our bunk (perfect). I found out bunk assignments were by couples and not boys in one bunk, girls in another. I would have to deal with the shower situation later.

It was around 12pm and everyone was ready for lunch! Picnic style and sober faces for about 5 minutes… (I was glad to see everyone was in flip flop or sneakers and not wedges or stilletos!)

The drinking started early:

Sweet Tea Vodka with a splash of Lemonade was the perfect concoction for a fun day of activities

or a Keg! (phew, no bug juice)

After lunch, we were told to get our t-shirts (aka color war shirts)  that were in our gift bags. The shirts were divided into blue and yellow signifying MICHIGAN! ( The Sonny’s both went to Michigan)

There was no shot we were wearing a plain jane t-shirt. We had some serious color war cutting to do!

 

Cut, fashionable and ready for war….

All of a sudden over the loud-speaker we hear all guests must report to the flag pole. We jet to the flag pole. Well actually we walked because who were we kidding. I was hoping my underwear would not be hanging from the top but truthfully would anybody even notice anyway?

Out of nowhere comes Beth and Andy on golf carts with confetti and the sign of color war breaking!!!

A few chugs for the captains and we were divided into teams! All couples were separated.

First activity:

Tug of War !!! Now this was a real test of stamina. 40 year-olds pulling a rope. Who at 40 still works out and who at 40 is a big couch potato? Luckily the teams were divided pretty evenly! I am not going to lie, I kind of layed low for this activity because the thought of a 200 lb guy falling on top of me was not in the cards for me that day. Injuries were likely and I am surprised not one person pulled something after this activity. (by the way, can you get over how beautiful this camp is?!)

Second Activity:

Volleyball or wiffle Ball. Wiffle ball, hands down. If it was newcomb, different story but volleyball and I are not compatible. The volleyball game seemed to be very intense.  I think this is the most jumping these guys have done in ages.

I liked the pace of wiffle ball.  Swing, hit or miss. Maybe run to first base, maybe not. This was my first attempt to talk to people who I didn’t know. Usually by now at camp, I would know everybody on my color war team but since this was an hour event, I hung out in the outfield, drank some beer and chatted with a few of the Westchester/Michigan people. The chances of a wiffle ball flying into the outfield was slim to none. No offense to the players but it was wiffle ball. Like see below, Beth is running to second base and the two girls in back are chilling, drinking their sweet tea concoction, shooting the shit.

Of course there are always the slackers. The campers who have their period or in this case, the campers with the keg!

The last and final activity was the Apache Relay Race!

This was always my favorite activity at camp (for those non campers – it is a relay containing multiple stops (egg toss, potato sack race, dizzy izzy, etc that are all over camp).

Camp Sonny’s was set up as so:

Everybody’s named was called and they were told to go to a certain activity. The activities consisted of Soccer, Kayaking, Making beds, Tennis, Basketball, Wiffle Ball and Flip Cup. I got wiffle ball, woohoo! I was so happy I did not get “making the bed.” I am the worst make the bed person ever. Something about getting the sheets on right, what can I say…I am not very domestic. Greg will tell you I try but it is NOT my forte!

The beginning of the relay started with Soccer:

Object was to kick 6 goals against a counselor goalie. This picture sums up the weekend. Instead of placing the beer on the side while attempting to kick the ball in the goal, this guy can’t seem to part with his beer.

The soccer peeps ran to the Kayak dudes next. Greg was on the Kayak team. Good thing because he is super Kayaker and won this race for them! Although I wasn’t rooting for him because he was on the opposing team.

Kayakers ran to the Tennis players. Tennis players had to volley the ball 10 times. If they missed, they had to start over! I thought blue would win since the girl below brought her own racquet (I didn’t go that far). I thought packing my toiletries was enough.

But I  assuming yellow won from this shot!

Tennis players ran to the Making the Bed people. I know I mentioned this before but I am so glad I did not partake in this. I am sure you are rolling your eyes, but I don’t know the last time I made a bed. That’s what the kids get allowance for! The object was to make a bed with hospital quarters. Fitted sheet, top sheet, blanket and pillowcase on the pillow. I believe the paparazzi did not find this activity too thrilling since there was not one single shot of this task..You can use your imagination.

Bed makers ran to the basketball players. Each player had to take turns making a basket. They could not move on until each player got it in the hoop. Glad I didn’t have to do this either, it would have taken me a year.

 Basketball players ran to the wiffle ball people, ME! Each of us had to hit the ball passed the cones in the outfield. Not so bad…

We ran to the flip cup peeps. The most fun activity out of the bunch but this one takes some talent! No need to explain this activity. If you went to college, you know how it’s done.

The drunk flip cuppers had to run to the flag pole to end color war!

After all that fun, we all wanted to relax. We walked down to Bryn Mawr’s gorgeous lake front and chilled.

or some of us passed out!

Free time at Camp Sonny gave us some time to explore Bryn Mawr’s beautiful campus. I could not get over how meticulous and pretty Bryn Mawr was. Free time meant different things to everyone. Some people played tennis, some people canoed, some people did the zip line.  When people told me they may get high at camp, I wasn’t thinking zip lining.

Some people did this flying swing. I mean there are only so many exhilarating things you can do at our age after giving birth or without drugs!

There were also some people sitting under a tree, drinking and happily doing nothing.  Some of the guys went to tennis because that is where the hot girls were hanging out, lol.

 

Amazing afternoon! I decided to take a tour to see what an all girls camp looked like. Since my boys go to an all boys camp, I love to compare and contrast. Look how gorgeous these bunks are! (this was my bunk). I LOVED THE PORCH!

Inside:

Impressive, right? I do not have a picture of the bathroom in the back of the bunk but I couldn’t believe they had shower doors. I think I looked at 15 camps and I do not ever remember seeing a camp with shower doors. Curtains, yes. Doors? NO!

Here is a shot from the back ( I love that they have doors that you can walk out from the back as well)

As I was touring I happened to have stepped into Bunk 5 because there was nobody in it. At least I thought. But then I heard a noise and saw a guy come out of the bathroom. It was such an awkward moment because 1) I didn’t know him so I couldn’t call him out on sneaking into an empty bunk to go to the bathroom. 2) He definitely thought I was secretly going into Bunk 5 to go to the bathroom which obviously I wasn’t  and 3) I had no idea what to say!  He didn’t exactly say, “sorry, I took a dump in there, go get a match or go to the dining hall where everyone else seemed to have been escaping to go to the bathroom.” He literally said “hey” and walked out. Um, now I had this secret shit moment with this guy and had to see him for the rest of the night. AWKWARD!

I moved on with my tour after that embarrassing moment and hiked across camp. I walked into the Equestrian Center and their Gymnastics Building. WOW! Zach’s camp doesn’t offer either of these (for obvious reasons) so it was fun to see the facilities at a girls camp.  Very impressive and nobody was hooking up in either of these quarters, phew!

After all that touring, I was ready for dinner! I forgot the Belmont was on so we all gathered in the main building downstairs to watch the unfortunate race for a few minutes…

Terrible loss for California Chrome, we moved on to a delicious camp dinner!! Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Veggie Burgers (I had two they were so good which made up for the bread I didn’t eat), Chicken Wings, Quesadilla’s, corn salad, they didn’t miss a beat. For camp food, it was terrific!

After dinner, it was S’mores time! YUM!!!  We walked down to the camp fire. What a beautiful night!

Beth handmade little S’mores packs for everyone that we grabbed as we sat around the fire. I should tell you know that Andy really was turning 41 so it was a 40th and 41st Birthday party.

Here is my attempt at roasting a few marshmallows. The onlookers were a little nervous because nobody wanted a “burnt” marshmallow. I think I did a pretty good job. They were fantastic. I could have eaten 10 of them! Although I will admit I was thinking about how many spin classes I would have to take the following week to make up for each bar of chocolate I ate.

It was time for shower hour! I needed a shower desperately after hours in the sun and the lake (I went in a canoe. No, I did not swim in the lake….no shot I was dealing with washing my hair in a shower I felt 10 feet tall in.

I gave a heads up to the guys in the bunk that I was showering and to please not enter until I was done. If this had been 25 years ago, I am positive there would have been eight random guys sitting in the bunk when I got out but I guess at 40 there is an understanding. However, I heard some funny stories in other bunks about guys walking around in their tighty whities. I am shocked men wear them. Boxer briefs, ok. But tighty whites, really?

I desperately needed that shower. I was ready for the PARTY!

The dance party was set up in the dining hall. WOW! What a dining hall?! Dance floor, carpeting, and all. Magnificent! I wish I had pictures of my dining hall. This was like being in Colorado! I loved the centerpieces Beth created for the tables. Need to ask her where she got those candles!

Loved the Camp Sonny Candy Bar when we walked in! Hard to tell from the picture but each candy had a saying like “40 stinks” (swedish fish), “40 is bear-able” (gummy bears) “40 blows” (gum balls)”. etc. Very pinteresty and very clever!

Full bar with two special cocktails (The Sonnen-Tea-ini and The Drunken Therapist…yes, Beth is a therapist)

I loved that everyone stuck to camp causal but looked great!

Nicky Nick was the DJ and Nicky Nick could rock! The only hiccup was the Rangers game. We lost the guys for an hour or so but the girls rallied and partied…

The guys came back after two overtimes and joined us….

A few vodka drinks in, there was a slight fight over the microphone. Two white Jewish people fighting for the mike. It was pretty funny to say the least but 6 mile it was not!

We took a break for the montage.

Now, if I had my way I would have posted the montage because it was HILARIOUS but some things are better left at Camp Sonny.

A million drinks later, late night pizza was delivered and dessert was served!

At 1pm final song by Nicky Nick and the party was over….

We all gradually walked back to our bunks. After several Kettle One and tonics, Cropsy took on a whole other meaning. I did not have one thought about Cropsy or 3 Fingered Willy. I was psyched to put my head on a pillow.

Slowly but surely everybody passed out UNTIL about 3am when I was woken by the loud sound of snoring. Normally I would have been so excited waking up to the sound of the boys on a raid but all I wanted was ear plugs so I could get a few more hours of sleep (oh how times have changed!). There were countless stories about snorers in the bunk. Someone even brought their own snoring contraption. If I had one call out to Bryn Mawr it would be to come up with a solution for the 40 year-old snorers. Possibly recommend to the host to place all the snorers in one bunk.

At 9am the following morning, Breakfast was served. I did have a moment when I woke up how I wished I snuck in my vitamix because the thought of not having my green drink in the am would throw me out of whack but it was Sunday. Monday is new day.

I could not believe the spread! Homemade blueberry pancakes, taylor egg and cheese sandwiches, bagels, and fruit! Breakfast was amazing! The campers who go to Bryn Mawr must be in heaven every morning!

After a quick breakfast, we headed home to celebrate my 10 year-old’s birthday. I wasn’t sure how I was going to function the rest of the day as I was dreaming about my bed but I was just going to have to rally. I told Greg we had to find a Starbucks or it was lights out for me. We did, 2 miles from my house.

All in all, it was an unforgettable weekend filled with color war, tug-of-war, drinking, and memories of being a camper. It was an incredible weekend to celebrate a 40th and I was so happy to be part of the festivities.

As I was leaving, I began to think how great it would be to have a wedding or Bar Mitzvah at camp.

I called Bryn Mawr and Dan, the owner, told me that this is their speciality! They host weddings, mitzvah’s and 40th birthday’s all the time in the off-season. BRILLIANT! I can’t think of a nicer place, if you are thinking about camp,  to have a special occasion. Dan told me that Bryn Mawr even provides a party planner that helps with every single detail from arriving, food, alcohol (you purchase your own alcohol but they will pick  it up!), DJ (nicky nick rocks!), flowers and anything else you may want! If you are interested you can contact Dan at [email protected]

A huge thank you to Beth and Andy for an amazing weekend. Thank you for taking me back to my childhood and reliving some of the best moments of my life! I had the best time but if I am being honest, I was excited to get back to my Vitamix, my spin classes and my bed.

 

p.s

and to the Gasman’s…we missed you!

P.S.S – I would like to know if people hooked up?  If so where and when? During free period? at the dance party? in bunk 5?

Lake Bryn Maw Camp, 593 Bryn Mawr Road, Honesdale PA, 18431. 570-253-2488