I’m at the top of a tall wooden platform, looking down at the slide below. It’s at least fifty feet long, and I’m about to jump. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, get a running start, and I jump. I hit the slide and I bounce, before landing on it again. The water starts to spring into my eyes as I near the bottom, so I shut them tight and get ready for the fall. All of the sudden I feel my legs shoot out of the slide with my body soon following. I’m airborne for a few moments, until my body slams into the cold water beneath me, and the sound of a rushing river fills my ears. I float up to the top and smile, then get out of the way for the next person. I swim over to my friend, who went before me. I was shaking from fear and excitement. Was it worth it? Definitely.
Everything at Laity Lodge Youth Camp is worth it, except for the blob which I wouldn’t go on to save my life. (It’s right near this concrete wall where the water drops off so on the other side of the wall it’s shallow. Although I’ve never seen or heard this happen, I’m afraid I’ll get blobbed off over the wall and die.) I absolutely LOVE LLYC. It’s a Christian camp and there are three camp sites at Laity Lodge now, and they are all placed around the Frio River in Leakey, Texas, near Kerville. The camps are Family Camp, (LLFC) and two youth camps, one at Singing Hills from incoming 1st to 6th graders, and Echo Valley, for incoming 7th to high schoolers. Echo Valley is the biggest, and in my opinion, best camp. Virtually, they are all the same but Echo Valley has the best location.
LLYC has 4 sessions that are each two weeks long and a jam session which is one week long. I’ve gone to jam session twice, and 4th session once, and before jam, I went to family camp. For each week, you pick two activities, which include: water sports, mountain biking, swimming, art, fishing, archery, red-neck sports, dancing, and others. Everyday there is a routine: wake up, breakfast at 8:15, morning round-up(where you go to the pavilion and the guys and girls split up) then cabin cleanup, activity 1, activity 2, lunch, cabin time, swimming or an activity, dinner, roundup, and bedtime. Sometimes at night they have cabin sneakouts( which aren’t allowed but are sometimes planned anyways) where you raid the snack shack, or have a party, or go look at the stars, or even, trade cabins for the night with come one from a different camp location. (It’s all basically the same place, the younger kids are just a little farther down the river.)
Everyday is filled with as much fun and excitement and surprise as you can possibly fit in. Everyday you go to bed tired but wake up ready in the morning for whatever the day throws at you. The whole two weeks(or one week) you are on your feet excited for the day. The canyon it’s located in is absolutely gorgeous, with tall old trees right by the river and lush green grass going everywhere. If there is a camp you need to go to, it’s LLYC. I am really sad to say that I’m not going this year, although I will miss it very much. Next year however, I am going, and even though it’s more than a year away, I’m still looking forward to it!
I’ve heard of the blob from other students, and I don’t blame you for being afraid!
Sounds like a wonderful camp. What are you doing instead? Must be some great plans to take you away from your annual trip to Camp LLYC…
Wow that sounds so fun! I wish I could go. Keep up the good work! Be sure to visit my blog http://avarae.edublogs.org !