I’m on vacation at Eagle Camp…on the Grand Isle in the middle of Lake Champlain. I’ve been coming here for 27 years, have missed maybe 3 during those years. Hmmmm, how to describe Eagle Camp, a place that defies description…Well, it’s been around since 1890, having been a Boy Scout Camp, a family Christian camp, and I’m not sure what else. But during the years, traditions were established and those standards still apply, even though times have certainly changed in the last118 years in the way we live our lives.
Camp runs for 9 weeks every summer. I go on week 8, and all the folks here are week 8ers also, so we know each other for this one week of the year, every year (except our families, of course). There is no dress code here, no competing for “stylin”…it’s shorts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, old jeans. EC’s motto is, Style is Dead, Comfort is King, and we all seem to take that to heart. The usual full camp is around 128+ people, and they include all ages, from brand new babies to elderly folks who have come for 50+ years and still make that effort to get back to their beloved Eagle Camp.
There is a tournament sign-up sheet posted on Sunday afternoon, and then on Monday--let the games begin. The tournament games include shuffleboard, bocce, golf-croquet, scrabble, ping pong, cribbage, backgammon, horseshoes (my brother wins this every year), trivial pursuit (teams), and a few others that I can’t think of. You make arrangements with your opponents, play the game and post it on the game grid, and the next winners play and so on—by Friday night, the games are finished and awards are given at the Camp Show. There are also two tennis courts here that get some use, but tennis is not usually a tournament game—tennis is awfully competitive for Eagle Camp…
Eagle Camp sits right on Lake Champlain, it consists of a combination of cabins and 12X12 platform tents. Beds, mattresses, bureaus and bedding are supplied. It consists of the Upper Tent Line and a Lower Tent Line, both include cabins also. I stay on the Lower Tent Line, which is right on the edge of the lake. I look out my tent flap and see the lake and the Adirondacks directly across the lake, where the sun sets each evening. After arrival and greeting friends that you haven’t seen in a year, and family, the car gets unpacked and parked in the lot up the hill and away from the tents and cabins. This is Northern Vermont and one must pack for all eventualities--intense heat, quite chilly to downright cold, rain and the dreaded mud. Meals are supplied and eaten at the Dining Hall at 8am, 1pm and 6pm. A bugle boy wakes us up at 7am playing reveille, then a reminder at 7:30, and we’re off to breakfast. Oatmeal, prunes, OJ, eggs, muffins, cereal are the standard fare, but there are variations during the week. Lunch is actually dinner, the big meal of the day, kind of like an old-fashioned Sunday dinner, but every day of the week. The menu stays pretty much the same and we know what dinner (at 1pm) will be—one day chicken, potatoes, veggies, salad, and the other days it’s meatloaf, ham, pork, etc. The bugle boy plays a little tune (never differing) that tells us when to go to the dining room (as if we’d forget!) The dining room is…rustic, eight large tables with 16 per table with large windows overlooking the lake and the mountains on one side. My niece Courtney is on the waitstaff this year and scored us a lakeside table. She rocks! Supper is a lighter fare, grinders, spaghetti and meat sauce (remember that meatloaf? leftovers are in the meat sauce), tuna salad, ham salad, bread, salad, etc. There is never a shortage of food, most of which is pretty good. There is usually something going on in the evening—Sunday night hymn sing, bingo, tie-dyed t-shirts, scavenger hunt, ultimate frisbee, outside concert on Thursday nights down at the Snowflake Vineyard...or just hanging out, watching some of the tournaments is pretty fun. Sometimes we do a group game in one of the tents after dark...25 Words or Less is a favorite. Taps is played at 10:30pm and quiet time is until 7am, when the bugle boy arrives again.
As I drive into EC every year, nothing seems to have changed…it looks exactly the same, although improvements are made and maintenance has been done, flowers, trees, etc., planted and trimmed, but overall, it just feels the same year after year, which is so great. I always have the same tent, #9, right on the lake. The food issues this year are a concern, because there is no supermarket on the Grand Isle, just little corner stores. I have brought a few things from home, I know that they have veggie burgers, and salads, oatmeal, of course, and I will just make it work. When I arrive to Saturday night dinner, at my table of 16 (all family/extended family), my sister-in-law, Andrea, had secretly set up an entire vegan meal for us all! They had all brought crockpots and salads chock full of wonderful foods that I could eat…I have never eaten so well! And there were leftovers that we have been enjoying too. My daughter-in-law brought many vegan dishes that we have been enjoying also, so yummy!…today is Monday and between the meal on Saturday night and all the food that Kristeen prepared, Carole, Mandy, Kristeen, Keith and I have been eating and enjoying…it has been another eye-opener showing the great food that is out there and is vegan. It’s really astonishing…they made it so easy and I am grateful for their efforts. The day that we all leave for our vacations at EC is a hectic day, and their day had added chaos with all that food preparation...I was touched by their love and support in the challenges of sticking with my eating plan at EC.
Eagle Camp has rules and traditions and they are strictly adhered to…Sunday is a day of rest and there are no games (noisy games) until after 3pm. Rest hour is every day from 2pm-3pm, and most folks nap during that time. No cell phones, computer games, radios, video games, etc; cell phones can be used up behind Perry Hall only, otherwise they should remain off. If you have a noisy child during rest hour, take him off-camp, so that others can enjoy their rest hour. Alcohol is prohibited. No bike riding in camp, take your bike up the hill before you ride it. Notify your waitress if you won’t be there for a meal. Eagle Camp is steeped in tradition. It’s great. Three words that describe Eagle Camp for me are...tradition, comfort, peace. It is quiet here and life slows down...we chat, read, have solace or not...sometimes a group of us might spend an hour watching little kids play together and are totally enthralled by them...EC is a special place.
Camp runs for 9 weeks every summer. I go on week 8, and all the folks here are week 8ers also, so we know each other for this one week of the year, every year (except our families, of course). There is no dress code here, no competing for “stylin”…it’s shorts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, old jeans. EC’s motto is, Style is Dead, Comfort is King, and we all seem to take that to heart. The usual full camp is around 128+ people, and they include all ages, from brand new babies to elderly folks who have come for 50+ years and still make that effort to get back to their beloved Eagle Camp.
There is a tournament sign-up sheet posted on Sunday afternoon, and then on Monday--let the games begin. The tournament games include shuffleboard, bocce, golf-croquet, scrabble, ping pong, cribbage, backgammon, horseshoes (my brother wins this every year), trivial pursuit (teams), and a few others that I can’t think of. You make arrangements with your opponents, play the game and post it on the game grid, and the next winners play and so on—by Friday night, the games are finished and awards are given at the Camp Show. There are also two tennis courts here that get some use, but tennis is not usually a tournament game—tennis is awfully competitive for Eagle Camp…
Eagle Camp sits right on Lake Champlain, it consists of a combination of cabins and 12X12 platform tents. Beds, mattresses, bureaus and bedding are supplied. It consists of the Upper Tent Line and a Lower Tent Line, both include cabins also. I stay on the Lower Tent Line, which is right on the edge of the lake. I look out my tent flap and see the lake and the Adirondacks directly across the lake, where the sun sets each evening. After arrival and greeting friends that you haven’t seen in a year, and family, the car gets unpacked and parked in the lot up the hill and away from the tents and cabins. This is Northern Vermont and one must pack for all eventualities--intense heat, quite chilly to downright cold, rain and the dreaded mud. Meals are supplied and eaten at the Dining Hall at 8am, 1pm and 6pm. A bugle boy wakes us up at 7am playing reveille, then a reminder at 7:30, and we’re off to breakfast. Oatmeal, prunes, OJ, eggs, muffins, cereal are the standard fare, but there are variations during the week. Lunch is actually dinner, the big meal of the day, kind of like an old-fashioned Sunday dinner, but every day of the week. The menu stays pretty much the same and we know what dinner (at 1pm) will be—one day chicken, potatoes, veggies, salad, and the other days it’s meatloaf, ham, pork, etc. The bugle boy plays a little tune (never differing) that tells us when to go to the dining room (as if we’d forget!) The dining room is…rustic, eight large tables with 16 per table with large windows overlooking the lake and the mountains on one side. My niece Courtney is on the waitstaff this year and scored us a lakeside table. She rocks! Supper is a lighter fare, grinders, spaghetti and meat sauce (remember that meatloaf? leftovers are in the meat sauce), tuna salad, ham salad, bread, salad, etc. There is never a shortage of food, most of which is pretty good. There is usually something going on in the evening—Sunday night hymn sing, bingo, tie-dyed t-shirts, scavenger hunt, ultimate frisbee, outside concert on Thursday nights down at the Snowflake Vineyard...or just hanging out, watching some of the tournaments is pretty fun. Sometimes we do a group game in one of the tents after dark...25 Words or Less is a favorite. Taps is played at 10:30pm and quiet time is until 7am, when the bugle boy arrives again.
As I drive into EC every year, nothing seems to have changed…it looks exactly the same, although improvements are made and maintenance has been done, flowers, trees, etc., planted and trimmed, but overall, it just feels the same year after year, which is so great. I always have the same tent, #9, right on the lake. The food issues this year are a concern, because there is no supermarket on the Grand Isle, just little corner stores. I have brought a few things from home, I know that they have veggie burgers, and salads, oatmeal, of course, and I will just make it work. When I arrive to Saturday night dinner, at my table of 16 (all family/extended family), my sister-in-law, Andrea, had secretly set up an entire vegan meal for us all! They had all brought crockpots and salads chock full of wonderful foods that I could eat…I have never eaten so well! And there were leftovers that we have been enjoying too. My daughter-in-law brought many vegan dishes that we have been enjoying also, so yummy!…today is Monday and between the meal on Saturday night and all the food that Kristeen prepared, Carole, Mandy, Kristeen, Keith and I have been eating and enjoying…it has been another eye-opener showing the great food that is out there and is vegan. It’s really astonishing…they made it so easy and I am grateful for their efforts. The day that we all leave for our vacations at EC is a hectic day, and their day had added chaos with all that food preparation...I was touched by their love and support in the challenges of sticking with my eating plan at EC.
Eagle Camp has rules and traditions and they are strictly adhered to…Sunday is a day of rest and there are no games (noisy games) until after 3pm. Rest hour is every day from 2pm-3pm, and most folks nap during that time. No cell phones, computer games, radios, video games, etc; cell phones can be used up behind Perry Hall only, otherwise they should remain off. If you have a noisy child during rest hour, take him off-camp, so that others can enjoy their rest hour. Alcohol is prohibited. No bike riding in camp, take your bike up the hill before you ride it. Notify your waitress if you won’t be there for a meal. Eagle Camp is steeped in tradition. It’s great. Three words that describe Eagle Camp for me are...tradition, comfort, peace. It is quiet here and life slows down...we chat, read, have solace or not...sometimes a group of us might spend an hour watching little kids play together and are totally enthralled by them...EC is a special place.
Alright, I may not be able to post this, as it seems that I cannot get online up here...I have written it as a Word document and will post as soon as I can.
1 comment:
Reading your post was a great way to relive a fabulous week at Eagle Camp this year! Thanks so much, mom, for the week, and for the great write up. You might have been a touch generous about the food there. But muffins like that cover a multitude of sins! I just long for the days when it was muffins EVERY morning.
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