Come Together

This whole first week of camp as been such a blast. We are in this new location and we all had to adapt, and at first I thought it was going to be a little hard for all of the kids who have been coming to camp for years or are from other countries. But alas it has been a great week! We have kids from all over the world who come here, so it is so important to all of us counselors to make sure they have a wonderful and memorable summer. We have a large group from Spain and sometimes I forget that these are just kids and they are away from their homes, out of their comfort zones, and speaking their second language. Not to mention they usually stay for 4 weeks! I loved seeing this week how these international kids from brake barriers by making friends with the locals. A majority of the teen girl cabin are from Spain while the little girls in my cabin are not and it was so great to see them helping out these girls get ready for the day, or paint their nails, or dress them up for the dance and helping them at activities. I also saw it happening with all of the boy campers as well. It's just nice to see them learning about these other cultures and accepting the differences, and practicing other languages... I have a camper named Nicki, she is nine and speaks fluent Spanish, she was chatting away with one of the teens from Spain which I think is just so cool to see...and good practice! These kids are all so smart! So it has been an awesome few days of all of these kids coming together and braving the scariness of being away from home and tonight at closing camp fire I'll be so sad knowing some of them leave Sunday, but so glad they will have SO many fun memories from just a short week at Camp.

Cheers,
Spano

More photos are being uploaded at www.bunker1.com So check those out soon! They should all be up later today under the folder titled "Summer 2011" (our internet is slooooooooow as molasses people, I tell you what!)

Day One, Week One

We have just completed our first day at camp. And it was SPECTACULAR! This morning the first batch of kiddies and their counselors ate a delicious breakfast consisting of pancakes, apples, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and cereals. Following that we had our daily cabin inspection where campers are expected to make their beds, clean up trash, have sunscreen on, full water bottles, and their teeth brushed and ready for the day. Each cabin has the chance to do extra credit, such as a song, dance or skit, and the cabin with the most points at the end of the week receive a fancy pizza party! After inspection the camp was split into two groups of Teens and Youngins, and we were off on our adventures. We hit some bulls-eyes at archery as well as Pioneer Village with the tomahawks. Next we played kick-ball, basketball, and after our macaroni and cheese lunch we swung by the zip line and rock wall! It was exciting to see the kids face their fears and take on the height of the zip line and the rock wall. But once they took their first jumps or climbed the first rock it was all smiles from there. So after all of this running around in the crazy sun, naturally we finished the day poolside! For din din we had festive fajitas, and for evening activity it's Counselor Scavenger Hunt! The week has started off great and I look forward for tomorrow....and don't worry parents, I have the young gals in my cabin and they slept great, had a fun day and not one was feeling homesick...expect letters home soon!

Cheers,
Spano

The New Hot Spot

Well here it is folks...the exciting new location of Camp Cottontail. For over 50 years Cottontail has been tucked into the beautiful canyons of Malibu, California, but due to renovations happening on the land we had to pick up and move shop. We are very thrilled to have a whole new lot of land to call home in Valencia, California. And don't get me wrong...I had my reservations about this...change can be a tad bit scary, but once we explored this massive landscape we immediately wanted to commence summertime! We love our dearest Malibu and treasure the memories there, but I tell you what folks, you are in for a treat! Between the giant ropes course and the zipping zip-line I can barely contain myself...did I mention there are two pools. TWO! So basically my friends you are in for a fantastic summer of fun and I can't wait to see y'all.

- Spano