The Wonder Years

   This afternoon my daughter and I traveled across the Connecticut River to visit a tack shop.  As we drove through Moodus, we passed the old 4-H Camp that I attended with my cousins when I was 13 and 14 years old.  It looks exactly the same.   I was immediately drawn back in time… a weird  but wonderful feeling.   

   All those years ago I was a suburban girl living with my family on Staten Island and I cherished my summertime visits with my Connecticut country cousins and their horses.  Two summers in a row we went to camp, bringing their trusty appaloosa horse, “Apple” with me.  Those weeks are among the best of my teen years, I remember them like it was yesterday and to this day I’m grateful for the experience.

Not much has changed there in … 32 years.
Holy crow. 
32 years ago. 
32. 
Some of those memories…
Singing Johnny Appleseed at the morning breakfast call…
Those weaved potholders…
making tiled hot plates…
Archery..
twizzlers and caramel creams at the camp store…
BUG JUICE! (koolaid)
Reflections night..
(the entire camp sits around a big fireand sings camp songs…)
the crushes…
and the anquish of saying goodbye at the weeks end.

 I’m in the middle of the bunch.. the girl with the very dark hair and a tube top being pulled by the boy I had a crush on.. Billy Rule.    He was a smart*ss.      About the tube top…. I had not much of anything to put IN it… but they were all the rage back then.  (Hey, it was 1979 or so… you remember, don’t you. I bet you even had a few).  

The camp handed out news letters every friday… and that week, after the thursday night dance… the front page header was… “INVASION OF THE TUBE TOP TWIRPS”.   Um… that would be us.

    

  
   

25 thoughts on “The Wonder Years”

  1. Oh What fun! I love it and yes I had quite a few of those tube tops and way toooo much to put into it! lol That was such a fun, innocent time of life, wasn't it? Did you share those memories with your daughter as you were riding along? I'll bet that was the best part of the day~ xo Diana

  2. HA! Young relationships are sooo funny. I went to church camp one summer when I was still in grade school I think. I remember the archery, gold, swimming, eating in the big cafeteria building, singing around a campfire at night… Don't know why I never went a second time other than I may have gotten homesick the time I did go. What a cool picture!

  3. That is awesome! Summer camps were so much fun! I went to church camp every year so it was all the people I knew, but still so much fun! What a great memory for you to have and to be able to share it with your daughter!

  4. Oh my gosh, the buildings look just like the camp I went to with my sister and cousins. I would love to go back there and look at it again if it's still there… how cool for you to do it.

  5. Ha! Tube tops, yes loved wearing those things too!! They were soooo comfy and remember the terri-cloth shorts?? Ahhh youth, when life was simple…

  6. Good times! Yep, wore one of those tube tops. Not something I could have run in, with nothing to hold it up.

  7. Oh my, I can only imagine how wonderful those memories were for you. I love it when they come flooding back by the sight of something we haven't seen in awhile. Love your pictures!

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