Summer camp

My daughter has been in summer camp the last couple of weeks. Not stay-away-from-home camp, but day camp. They have so many cool activities for camp now that they just didn't have when I was a kid. Like, "Learn to be a motocross racer while dissecting a squid with your toes!" and really, who doesn't want to learn how to do that.

There were so many options for camp this summer, and I wanted her to do them all- until I saw how much they all cost. So we had to scale back, but still, she is doing some cool stuff this summer and is having a total ball.

Here's what I recall of summer activities- warning, nerd alert!

* I remember going to vacation bible school at the Presbyterian church. We got to make a little plaque out of clay, and they took all of our plaques and made them into a giant cross by the side of the church. I thought that was pretty cool. Even when I had "switched" to the Episcopal church, I remember going by that cross every once in a while to find my name.

* I remember going to the local swimming pool, and my swimming teacher used to give us snacks. To this very day, a community swimming pool immediately makes me think of soggy animal crackers (I can almost taste them).

* I remember going to Episcopal overnight camp twice. Once in 4th/5th grade when I was terrified of the priest who was missing a hand, I threw up in the middle of the night and demanded to go home early. (Did I? I don't even remember, but I remember being horribly shy and homesick). I went the second time as a teenager (16? 17?) where I got a (gasp!) boyfriend out of one of the other counselors (not one of my counselors, mind you- he was a counselor for the young 'uns). That time I had an absolute blast and did not want it to ever end. I was there with my two best girlfriends, we shared a cabin together (a nice cabin! With running water and electricity! and air conditioning in the counselor's lounge!). I recall this camp as being one of the best experiences of my teenage years.

* Ok, Internet, here comes the big confession. I went to COMPUTER camp for 2 weeks (overnight camp!) and absolutely loved it. I learned to program my first PASCAL code there, and even won a programming contest for my animation program. This was back when Macs were brand new (I'm sure that was a big selling point in the brochure!) This camp I am SURE is entirely at fault for creating a computer career for me that has now spawned over a decade.

* And in case you weren't entirely convinced of my nerdiness yet, let me tell you that I went (voluntarily!) to summer school from sixth through twelfth grade at Rice University. I loved being the little nerdy kid among all the college kids and academic types. My favorite spot was the library. I remember riding my bicycle to campus, and I also remember being so happy when I had my driver's license so I could drive over there. The best part was school was only part of the day (instead of a full day like in the regular school year), so most summers I had season passes to Six Flags. My afternoons were full of begging my parents to drop me and my friends off at Six Flags, hanging out there, and going to concerts at the amphitheatre. With a season pass, standing room tickets for most concerts were FIVE DOLLARS. I have a slew of ticket stubs from those concerts- Depeche Mode, UB40, Mister Mister, Erasure- all the 80's greats :-)

What about you? What are some of your favorite summer activities from your childhood?