Aromatherapy for Campers?

We saw this the other day and couldn’t help but share it. A company called “Fairtale Wishes” is making an “aromatherapy spray” called “Happy Camper.” The spray smells like grape jelly, and according to the Web site, a child just sprays her pillow with the “magic” spray and the “sweet grape jelly scent will keep homesickness at bay.” The spray is perfect for when campers need “a little dose of home” because it is a “sweet smell that kids love.”

The company makes other scents designed for kids as well: “Super Hero Spray” (peppermint), “Monster Repellent” (Bubblegum) and “Sweet Dreams Spray” (Lavender).

It’s not clear how these different scents work, how effective the smell of grape jelly is when a child is feeling homesick, for example. There are well-tested and well-known tips for handling homesickness at camp, and while they don’t rely on our noses, having a slightly sweet smelling pillow can’t hurt either!

Happy Thanksgiving!

All of us here at Rockbrook, Sarah and Jeff, Charlotte, Carol, Sofie, Frampton, Connie, Richie and Jerry want to wish our campers, counselors and their families a happy Thanksgiving holiday.

Happiness, health, friends and family— these and many more are our wishes for you!

90th Year Reunion a Great Success

What an amazing weekend! It was 3 days bathed in absolutely perfect weather, decorated with fond memories relived, and filled to the brim with laughter and conversation among friends… a camp reunion to remember. Rick and his crew took great care of us by serving wonderful meals, including several fresh yummy desserts baked by Alison. Everyone stayed busy on Saturday hiking to Kilroy’s Cabin, climbing the Alpine Tower, making pottery, shooting archery, and zipping down the water slide at the lake, but perhaps most enjoyably, spending a lot of time relaxing amid the beauty of Rockbrook.

Here is a group photo we took after lunch on Saturday (click the photo for a larger version). We also took lots of photos all weekend long and have published them here: 2011 Alumnae Reunion Photos. Take a look!

Stay tuned to our Alumnae Blog for more updates about the reunion. There are many wonderful moments to recount.

Thanks to everyone who attended the reunion. We always enjoy welcoming former campers back to the “Heart of a Wooded Mountain.” It won’t be long before we do it again!

90 Years of Rockbrook

This weekend we celebrate Rockbrook’s 90th year by inviting all of the camp’s alumnae to return to the “Heart of a Wooded Mountain.” Former campers and counselors from all over, from the southeast to the northwest, women of all ages, from 21 to 71, are arriving today in Brevard for the weekend events at camp. It will be a wonderful time to reconnect with each other, reminisce with stories, and simply to enjoy together the beauty and spirit of Rockbrook.

We’ll be posting updates on Facebook and Twitter throughout the weekend, so if you couldn’t make it, you can still follow along. Stay tuned!

Cooperation and Imagination

Juniors dance! The dance activity, which meets in the Lakeview Lodge, is popular for every age group at camp. Partly this is because Lindsey has come up with different, age-appropriate, dances for the Juniors, Middlers and Seniors, but also because the girls are really learning some cool moves. One wall of the Lodge is lined with mirrors making it easy to watch as Lindsey demonstrates a certain dance sequence, and for the group to watch themselves as they try it as well. As they master each dance move and string them together, they’ve got a great show. In fact, during the intermission of the camp play performance, each age group will perform their dance for the rest of the camp.

Today was another day that included several tours of camp, families who visited Rockbrook to tour it so they could see the camp and meet some of the people here— the directors, the counselors and the campers. It’s always a delight for us to show folks around Rockbrook. Families are certainly impressed by the camp’s buildings (the stone lodges for example) and grounds, and they are excited to learn about the wide variety of activities we offer, but it’s particularly nice when they pick up on the feeling of life at Rockbrook. My favorite comment today was, “Everyone seems so happy and friendly.” It’s true; as you walk around camp, you can’t get far without someone greeting you and saying hello. It’s just easy to make friends here, so that makes Rockbrook stand out as being friendly too.

The equestrian staff organized a fun event for the campers that combined, like a lot of things around here, music, dancing, dressing up and a heap of imagination. It also, however, included some horses because it was a pop music “air band” and “lip sync” competition based on different horses playing the parts of pop stars like Katy Perry, Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift. The girls dressed the horses with paint, ribbons, beads, braided tails, glitter and even lipstick, and then came up with a dance for each. The campers then were the backup singers for each artist (horse!) as they performed for the “judges” (Audrey and Sarah). It was very fun for the girls and very cute to see.

After dinner tonight, we played a camp-wide game of “Clue.” Like the board game, there was a mystery to solve that involved the players, in this case all the cabin groups, moving from room to room collecting clues. For us, the cabin groups tromped all over the camp looking for clues. They went to the tennis courts, the gym, the store, the different lodges, and so forth. At each place a character from the game (a counselor dressed as Mrs. White, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, etc.) would first require the cabin group to accomplish a task like inventing an RBC cheer, or everyone telling a joke, or untangling a human knot. After successfully completing the challenge task, they were given the clue that would send them on to the next location. Ultimately, after performing all the tasks and solving all the clues/riddles, the groups were led back to the dining hall for prizes and treats. Wow, what a game! It required great cabin group cooperation and imagination, and got the whole camp moving. Big fun on a Saturday night.

Activities Galore at Rockbrook

Miriam tries out her Yoga skills

Monday was quite eventful around Rockbrook Camp as our Third Session campers tried their first set of daily activities. They will do these chosen activities for three days and then have the opportunity to try a whole other set for the second half of the week. We have seen over the years that this concept of choice while away from home is a wonderful way to encourage independence and growth for every camper.

Two extra morning highlights included muffin break and free swim. Our resident baker Allison had wonderful chocolate sprinkle muffins waiting for the girls between first and second period. Then after second period, most girls headed down to the lake for a dip after this warm morning. They had their first opportunity to go on the water slide and swim laps for our Mermaid Club. With all of these bust active girls, there were smiles everywhere down at the lake!

Two thumbs up for the slide

After rest hour this afternoon, activities continued and our first white water rafters left for an overnight camp out experience at our Nantahala Outpost. Another group will join them tomorrow on the river for a day trip. As the only camp with an outpost at the Nantahala River, we love being able to let each camper decide which length of trip she would like to participate in.

We did have a little rainstorm this afternoon, but we did not let it slow us down. One of our favorite songs here at camp is the “Dewcoat Song.” We just think of rain as a little dew and keep on going! As we all filed into dinner, campers were greeted with a camp favorite: hotdogs with all the sides and fixings followed by key lime pie for dessert.

Even our youngest campers have the opportunity to weave on our Appalachian looms

Great new friends who met yesterday!

We hope that every camper picked up a new skill today, whether it be making a friendship bracelet, walking a horse or talking with a new friend. Each of these qualities is what makes Rockbrook so special and the campers will continue to build upon during the rest of their session here.

Counselors Between Sessions

You never know who you might run into, but when it’s a break between summer camp sessions and you’re at a popular restaurant, odds are it’ll be a camp counselor. That’s exactly what happened to Rebecca W. (all around awesome camper!) and her family when she suddenly recognized not one, but fifteen Rockbrook counselors! It didn’t take long for their Rockbrook spirit to percolate up and inspire a camp song or two. A very happy coincidence, and fun for everyone.

A Celebratory Sunday at Rockbrook

Sundays at Rockbrook always bring a great relaxing spirit to our campers through our chapel service, all-camp assembly on the hill, surprise afternoon event and movie night. This final Sunday of 2nd Session has been one of the best of 2011!

The morning began with breakfast in our pajamas and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The dining hall was full of smiles for this one. Just after breakfast, our campers donned their camp uniforms and finished their cabin chores just in time for flag raising and chapel. Today’s theme was “It’s a Small World” led by our Junior Line campers. Campers sang songs and talked about what this theme meant to them. The overall consensus seemed to be that Rockbrook is the perfect place to learn about our similarities and differences to other girls from all over the world. We are very lucky to have girls from across the United States and from many other countries, including England, Mexico, Switzerland, Colombia, Ireland and beyond.

It's a Small World at Rockbrook Camp

The annual Miss RBC Pageant took place this afternoon. It started with the talent portion followed by a question and answer session. The entire camp was quite impressed by the talent that turned out today. We saw square dancing (they must have picked that up last night at the High Rocks Square Dance), a Harry Pottery rewrite of Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way,” gymnastics, and two original songs written by campers. The cabin crowned Miss RBC was Junior Three. They sang and danced to a song written by camper Nicoletta. The whole audience was amazed!

Also, the HUPs left late today for their three day adventure trip with Jeff and Jerry. They will spend the next few days trying various adventure activities in the area. Tonight’s movie was Ramona and Beezus. What a hit for girls of all ages here at camp! It wrapped up with cookies and milk.

Monday will bring our last set of activities for our 2nd and Mini 2 Session campers. Oh, how it has flown by! The morning will also include a Looking Glass Rock climbing trip and a tennis tournament with Camp High Rocks. We know our Rockbrook girls will do great and have a blast!