Vacamas 2004

Vacamas 2004
Originally uploaded by little sausage

This might look like a random trail in the woods that runs along some mysterious PVC pipe. But alas, ask anyone who has spent any significant time at Camp Vacamas in West Milford, New Jersey, and they’ll tell you what this is.

I’ve walked this path a million times, . . .well at least several hundred, but it seems like a million; having spent more than 10 summers at Camp Vacamas. It might sound corny but Vacamas was a really, really sepcial part of my childhood. The things I did there seemed impossible at home. I became empowered, I guess, as a result of the challenges I faced at Vacamas, not to mention the sheer all out fun!

This pathway, goes around the Lake Larriween from the manor House, to the fishing dock and around to sunfish beach. I used to walk around camp without a flashlight, until one night I stumbled over a section of the slippery when wet PVC pipe pictured here, and took a spill. I was alright, but after that, I got a flashlight (or as my UK folks call it; a ‘torch’).

I rememer one time, I took my bunk of campers to fish at the dock. It was overcast humid day, and it had rained the previous day. I went to the kitchen and picked up the requisite stale bread. I had the hooks and fishing line from my dividion head, and we rolled out. Now, normally people didn’t catch alot of fish with this primative setup, let alone with eight noisy eight-year-olds. But this one kid, man listen, he caught about five fish in like a half hour. It was crazy. Everytime I look up, . .he’s pullin’ one in from the water. To this day, I still hae no idea what that kid did that we all neglected to do. This picture brings back tons and tons of memories, tons. I could fill a book with camp Vacamas memories. But for some reason, this picture just it all.

Big ups to the camp directors Mike and Sandy Friendman and their family.