How Do You Win a GOLDEN PINECONE AWARD?

ANNOUNCING the Golden Pinecone Award — The camper who epitomizes the Camp GetAway Spirit will be awarded the Golden Pinecone at our closing ceremony. How do we judge? It is a secret code between Fearless Leader Patti and Awesome Wing Gal Eliza, so just relax and enjoy your weekend—the honoree will be apparent to the two of US!

Things to Forget

Stressed-out campers, eager for a getaway may want to pack everything including the kitchen sink. And while it is important to remember the essentials, there are some items that are better to FORGET (in other words, leave at home):
Forget laptops. Electronic notepads may have replaced paper ones as something we rarely leave home without. But expensive electronics are the last thing to bring to Camp. Besides being somewhat dirty and grimy outdoors here, hanging out inside a cabin is crazy! Personal electronics, from laptops to blackberries, cut people off from others.
Forget jewelry. Easily lost or damaged during a busy weekend, earrings and rings can come loose and sink quickly to the bottom of a lagoon. Necklaces and bracelets may get snagged on branches during nature hikes or inadvertently drop off after a clothing change for a spa treatment.
Forget treasured accessories. Your new Fendi purse or Oliver Peoples sunglasses are just asking to land in a mud puddle or go overboard when canoeing. Or just as bad, gooped up with the stuff that are part of Camp weekend: massage oil, sunscreen, bug repellant, roasted marshmallows and mosaic craft grout!
Forget posh clothes. Pack wearables that can get dirty or lost, period. As with any vacation, if you pack hoping for the best and planning for the worst, you’ll not be heartbroken.
Forget inhibitions. Not everyone attended camp as a kid. As a result, it may be scary or unpleasant at first. But being surrounded by an army of very excited fellow campers is the perfect time to let your hair down. Try anything and everything, especially if it's something you would not normally try at home.
Worried you won’t enjoy Camp GetAway? Fuggedaboudit!

Are You Ready to Hit the Road? Not Yet….

Your safety and wellbeing are a priority to us. Most of us are city folk, used to having a gas station at the next off ramp, or an AAA truck right around the corner. Guess what… you’re heading up the mountains! Heaven forbid, you have an auto issue that you cannot handle (our last TWO camps each had a flat tire on a campers’ vehicle – ouch!).
Be smart and schedule your next auto service call in advance of Sept. 21 and make sure all is healthy on your vehicle.
1. Steep, narrow, winding roads, high altitudes and unpaved surfaces (such as Camp’s parking lot and on-site roadways) can put a vehicle through rigors it is unaccustomed to. While the Highway 38 up into the mountains is well-paved, hazards still do exist – from blind curves to rocks in the road to critters!
2. Cell reception can be sporadic, another reason to have a vehicle in tip-top shape.
3. Check your vehicle's brakes and replace worn pads to prevent brake fade when descending steep hills.
4. Have the engine, transmission and final drive checked manual to lessen the strain mountain driving will put on them. If fluid service is required, consider using synthetic fluids to protect the engine under variable weather conditions and produce better fuel economy.
5. Inspect the wiper blades and replace if necessary, as mountain climates are subject to sudden, filthy rainfall.
6. Check the battery for corrosion and remaining charge, as high engine temperatures caused by climbing steep terrain with heavy loads can wear a battery down.
7. Open that trunk to make sure you have a spare tire as well as tools for changing a flat.
8. Put a number of bottles of water in your car for drinking and snacks for emergency. If you get into trouble and a service vehicle is called, it may take a while to get there.

Six Tips to Prep for Camp

1. Go thru your Goodwill bag to resurrect shirts for Tie-Dye. Tie-Dye hides a LOT of sins – spots and yellow underarms seem to disappear. 100% cotton is best. Patti is going to try dying her well-worn white Keds, while we’re at it.
2. Patti says down sleeping bags are washable, she’s done it! Hot weather is the best time. Unzip the bag to open completely. Stuff it into your washing machine and run on delicate with a teensy bit of soap in warm water. Open the lid once or twice and shove it all under water if it’s poofing up. Once spun dry, it will still be pretty drippy. Hang outside in the heat of the day (on a clothesline, over chairs or some way for air to circulate), turn it a couple of times during the day. If still damp by sundown, bring inside and re-hang outside tomorrow. It will smell incredibly fresh.
3. Order “Skin So Soft” lotion from Avon – sunscreen, moisturizer and bug repellant in one really good product.
4. Clear out your camera memory card to not run out of space. The mountains are beautiful, and when friends are relaxed and refreshed, photos really reflect it. You’ll get the best shots if you shoot everything and delete at leisure.
5. When was the last time you READ a good book? Ask friends for a loaner, then grant yourself “me time” to gobble up a wonderful story.
6. Bag up magazines to bring. We have a “bring one, take one” table – once you’re done pouring thru yours, feel free to take a whole pile back home at the end of the weekend. Or rip them up right there on-site if you want that article or recipe… we ENCOURAGE it (how many times have you been at the doctor’s office and oh-so-quietly tore out a page? At Camp, let ‘er rip).