If you’re a parent, though it's only March, you have probably already planned out your kids' summers. You know when school ends, what days they'll go to childcare, and at which pool they’ll be taking their swimming lessons.
But the most important decisions in my house are always about summer camp. And, wow, it seems like Alameda is the center of the universe when it comes to great camps!
On the island, we have , , , and many , too. Sport camps? Yeah, we have that covered, too.
There are great camps at the Oakland and San Francisco zoos, and I have not heard one bad thing about the camps held by Galileo Learning. UC Berkeley is close and has a wide variety of camps and Nike puts on specialty active camps through colleges like Santa Cruz and Stanford.
My favorite camp growing up was an sleep-away camp my parents sent me to when I was about ten. I don’t remember the name of it, but it was for a week, and it’s where I fell hopelessly in love.
His name was Jason Robertson. I remember boys and girls didn’t have many opportunities to fraternize, but he did save his brownie for me after dinner one night and that, at age ten, is the same as getting engaged.
It’s true. I will give my heart to just about any man who offers me a brownie. But this? This was different.
Jason Robertson also brought me ice for the swelling when I got stung by a bee UP MY NOSE at the drinking fountain. And, on the last day, he held my hand during the goodbye singalong at the huge fire pit.
This was true, everlasting love. Taylor Swift would have certainly written a song about it.
The love was everlasting until camp ended, that is, and we all went home and I never spoke to him again. Sigh.
This summer, my eldest daughter is very excited to be attending her second overnight water polo camp. My youngest daughter opted to go to Skylake Camp in Yosemite. This is a more traditional sleep-away camp with canoeing, horseback riding, hiking, etc.
But, be warned, Jason Robertson of Skylake, 2012. This girl isn't a floozy like her mother. She won't take brownies from just any boy. You're going to have to step up your game. Trust me when I say, she'll take nothing less than a s'more. She's quite the heart breaker.
