Childhood Memories to Cherish...
Written: Jul 14 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Warm, caring environment that encourages your child to thrive!
Cons: None -- unless you dislike tofu!
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| UNovelGirl's Full Review: Camp Kulaqua |
I grew up in the little town of High Springs, located about three miles outside of Camp Kulaqua. Some of my favorite childhood and teenage memories revolve around experiences I gained from having attended numerous summer camp sessions there, and I look forward to the summer my own children are old enough to attend.
The area in which the camp is located is the ideal summer camp locale -- towering oak trees, a spring-fed river, and acres upon acres of pastures and forests.
While Kulaqua is a (non-profit) camp that is funded by Seventh Day Adventist, the summer camp welcomes all youth and is interdenominational, focusing on a Christian Youth experience -- not promoting any one specific religion as a theme. Camp sessions are held each summer, and are divided chronologically by age group.
There are a wealth of activities that keep the camp bustling from morning 'til night, and campers get to pick for themselves the activities in which they will participate each day:
The camp boasts a first-class stable, stocked with well-kept, well-tempered horses. Campers have the option of taking riding lessons, and advanced riders have the luck (or is it?) of taking shifts of waking before sunrise and assisting in the duties of tending/feeding/watering the animals.
The spring-fed river offers a plethera of water-related activities. All campers attend swim lessons, and then are classed as beginner, intermediate, or advanced, accordingly. There are bumper boats, plenty of canoes, and inner tubes that campers have liberal access to use, either during planned water activities or during "free time" each day. A nearby lake provides the opportunity for campers to learn to waterski and hydroslide -- though these sessions fill up quickly and it's usually the first activity booked-solid.
There are four-wheelers and motor bikes, and instructors to teach campers how to operate and safely use the ATVs.
There is a nature center in which campers can participate in nature hikes, and there is a zoo that boasts a wide array of exotic and not-so-exotic animals.
Other activities campers can choose from include gymnastics, archery, art classes, pottery classes, and too many more to list them all here (plus I'm aging, so my memory isn't what it used to be <wink wink>). There are, of course, camp-wide activities planned throughout the session including things like 3-legged races, hay rides, talent shows, swimming races, and even watermelon-seed-spitting contests.
Religious services are incorporated into the activities each day, obviously. Prayers are said before meals (you'll get the "dish" on the food in a moment), religious songs are sung by the campfire each night, and on Saturday there is a morning worship service.
Campers are housed in two room, one bath, all-boy and all-girl cabins (8 campers, 4 sets of bunkbeds) with a same-sex youth counselor.
Now, for the food: as a Seventh-Day Adventist camp, it offers vegetarian cuisine. For a 10-year-old who survived on Bologna sandwiches and Chicken Nuggets, it was a rude-awakening. The food is wonderful, and aplenty, mind you. Cooked from scratch pancakes in the morning, fresh fruit, cereal, and the likes. Lunches were brown-bagged, and dinner was never without dessert. It just took a few days for me to adjust to the new taste of tofu being introduced to my palate -- but there is plenty of that for protein, including tofu sausage, tofu lasagna, tofu burgers, and so on...
Care packages are welcomed, and you can send your child whatever his or her heart desires -- candy and soda are nowhere to be found on the campsite, but such contraband is "okay" (as long as, at least in my case, it's shared with your chocaholic cabin counselor). There is also an ice cream stand, an afternoon favorite for popsicles and sundaes to help fend off the sweltering summertime heat.
One thing to bring that may not be mentioned in your "must-have" list the camp will send you prior to your child's arrival -- BUG SPRAY and hydrocortisone! Most activities are held outdoors, and in North Florida the bugs and mosquitos are in full breeding season during the summer months. The nearby water and hammock of trees surrounding the camp only fosters the environment those critters thrive on.
Camp Kulaqua is not a "fancy" camp. It offers well-trained professional youth counselors who care about kids, and offer experiences that are designed to encourage your child to blossom in a healthy, old-fashioned environment.
Nature-lovers could vacation in nearby High Springs while their children are at summer camp, as the area offers a wonderful variety of outdoor summer activities. The Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers are within five miles of Kulaqua, offering boating, fishing, and canoeing options. The world-famous Itchetucknee (spring-fed) river offers a four-hour inner-tubing experience. There are many, many lakes and wildlife sanctuaries in the area, and for those who like shopping, the town itself is known for being one of the best antiquing towns in the state of Florida, with rows and rows of antique cottages lining brick-laid streets with old-fashioned lamp posts.
And for parents who are wistful of their child's summer camp experience at Kulaqua, fear not. Kulaqua also offers "adult" camping retreats for singles, couples, and families during the year, and can be booked for corporate or private occasions with full or partial access to all of the ammenities on-site. Our high school reunion (I won't say how many years) will be held there a year and a half from now, and I'm looking foward to seeing Kulaqua again as much as I am looking forward to seeing my old classmates!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
UNovelGirl
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Location: Florida
Reviews written: 59
Trusted by: 87 members
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