Camp has been over for a week now and we hope all of our campers are settled back in at home.  Although camp is over, summer 2014 will always stay with us.  We hope our campers are still talking about their Island Lake experience and reliving it with our online photos and videos.

Don’t forget to keep checking this blog, too.  I’ll be posting on a weekly basis to keep our families posted on the latest.  We will also be sending out our monthly newsletters and post them here on our website, as well.

Now onto business,…September 1^st is approaching fast and with that comes our early bird rates deadline.  Be sure to register your children now for summer 2015 in order to take advantage of our early rates.  Here’s a link to the rates on our website:  http://www.islandlake.com/about-camp/dates-fees-faqs.php

Remember, if you would like to pay in full before Sept. 1^st, there’s an additional 5% discount when paying by check and 3% when paying by credit card.  If you’d like to know specific numbers, just give us a call at camp at 570-798-2550.  Our office will move back to our NY address as of Labor Day weekend.

Well, that’s about it for now.  We miss our campers so much and are now anxiously starting our countdown for summer 2015.  Until then, ILC U THERE!

Sadly, today was our last full day of camp.  Summer 2014 here at Island Lake has been absolutely fantastic!  We could not have asked for a better summer filled with happy campers and amazing counselors.  Your children will for sure come home with long lasting memories of their experiences here at camp this summer.

Tomorrow the buses should all arrive at their designated bus stops between 11:30am-12:00pm, give or take a half hour.  Please be there on time to pick up your children.  If you are not sure which bus stop we have in our records for your children, please call us here at camp before 5:00pm when the office will be closing for tonight’s banquet festivities.

Today we let the camp sleep in and we had a late wake up and breakfast at 9am.  The kids then went back to their bunks to start cleaning up.  We then had our big session 3 Dance Show in the theater for all to enjoy.  Lunch followed and then we had our 2^nd annual Color Run.  Most of the camp participated in this fun run today.  As they reached certain locations they got sprayed with paint of different colors.  They all eventually gathered at the finish line, proud of their accomplishments.  We’ll definitely post photos of the Color Run for our camp families to view on our daily summer photos.

After the Color Run we had our final Rock Concert in the gym.  Following the rock concert all of the kids went back to their bunks to pack, sadly.  We handed out all leftover money in the kids’ bank accounts and they collected all of their belongings at the different departments at camp- arts & crafts, skatepark, sports, music, etc.

Tonight we have our annual ILC banquet in the dining room.  Instead of eating cafeteria style, the kids will all sit at the tables of their choice and the kitchen staff will bring the food out to the tables.  We’ll play music and there will be some dancing, lots of picture taking, and some awards will be presented after dinner.

After the banquet, weather permitting, we will go down to the waterfront where each bunk will take a candle onto the lake and make a bunk wish together.  Following this we will burn the “Island Lake 2014” sign on the water and we’ll sing some camp songs, including our ILC alma mater.  We will end the waterfront portion of the night with a big firework display.

Once the lakeside events are complete, we will all head into the theater to watch the summer 2014 Island Lake video yearbook.  The yearbook is a compilation of the entire summer here at camp.  After camp we will make duplicates of the yearbook and send them to every ILC family.

Although it will be late, we’ll allow all of our campers to make one last trip to the canteen to eat their hearts one final time.  Based on how late the yearbook runs we will decide when everyone’s curfew will be.

And that’s about it for the Island Lake Summer 2014 blogs.  It’s been a pleasure writing for all of you every day.  I hope you enjoyed reading my blogs as much as I enjoyed writing them for all of you.  We hope your children all come home “happy campers” tomorrow, healthy, sort of clean, and with all of their personal belongings.  Our office here at camp will remain open for a couple more weeks so if you need to contact us, just give us a call here at the camp number.

It’s been the most amazing, fantastic, wonderful summer, and until next year when we can all be together once again, ILC U THERE!!!

Today is our last day of majors and minors for summer 2014. Hard to believe that camp is almost over! It truly feels like yesterday when our 1st session buses rolled into camp to drop off our campers. We are happy to tell you that the weather has improved a bit since yesterday. The temps are finally warming up again and the blankets are going back into the bunks (lol, as opposed to our campers walking around wrapped up in them yesterday).

For those of you with children here at camp for the 3rd session, please remember that camp ends on Monday, August 18th. The buses should all arrive at their designated bus stops around 11:30am- 12:00pm, give or take a half hour for traffic. Please arrive on time to pick up your children. If you do not live near a bus stop and you are picking up your children here at camp, please arrive at camp no later than 10am.

This morning our Canoe and Kayak campers left for an overnight trip down the Delaware River. It should be a fun day for them relaxing on the river and later this evening pitching a tent and camping out overnight under the stars. Our Mountain Bikers also had their end of the session race here in and around camp today.

Our camper magicians put on a Magic Show during our 3rd minor today. Campers signed up to watch the show in our magic building. This afternoon we had yet one more baseball game for our 6th-8th grade boys here at camp. They played hard and they played well.

One more exciting event that went on here at camp today- our Skatepark Competition! Campers of all levels, beginners to advanced, on skateboards and rollerblades, participated in this competition and had a blast doing so. Fun events for campers with all different activity interests here at Island Lake!

Today’s special feature,…a MISH-MASH VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES! Enjoy the photos!

Tonight’s evening activity is our musical performance of “Big”.  We’re looking forward to seeing our younger and older campers perform on stage for all of their friends.

We have only one more full day left for summer 2014 here at Island Lake.  Our blogs will continue, even after camp ends, and will run all year long on a weekly basis.  Be sure to continue reading them throughout the fall, winter, and spring months.  If any of your children have written anything about their summer here at Island Lake that they’d like to share with their camp family, I’m happy to post it in the blog.  Just email the info to me at wendy@islandlake.com.  I’ll remind you later on about this, as well.

Enjoy your last full day of peace and quiet in your homes before your children invade it,…uh, I mean return to you on Monday.  We have one more blog to go while our campers are still here for this Island Lake camp season.  Until then, ILC U THERE!

Hi Island Lake families!  Our teen trip campers are all back safely and they had the time of their lives in Canada this past week.  Now they’re back to their majors & minors again with the rest of our campers.

Today’s weather is freezing cold.  Temps not needed, it’s just plain cold.  Lol, no really, it was supposed to hit a high of the mid 60’s today but it didn’t feel like it.  Where did the summer weather go because we want it back!

Regardless of the weather, we prevail and camp still goes on.  Today was COUNSELOR SWITCH DAY!  Yes, you heard me correctly, our counselors all switched bunks.  The boys went over to the girls side and the girls went over to the boys side.  Jeez, you should see what these female campers did to their male counselors.  Dans became Danielles, Michaels became Mikaylas, and Jons became Janes.  I’ll spare you the details and refrain from showing you photos of what these poor male counselors look like today.  Let’s just say, Miss ILC magnified by about 100!

Today we also had a special treat for our magic kids as they took a trip to the Houdini Museum.  They enjoyed seeing special Houdini exhibits and they took a magical tour around the museum to check out all of the special collectibles that they have there.  A famous magician put on a fantastic show for our campers and even made one child levitate!

Special feature of the day,…THEATER,…on stage and behind the scenes!

Tonight’s evening activity is our third and final summer 2014 Circus Show!  We’ll have lots of photos for you to check out tomorrow on our daily summer photos.  Until then, ILC U THERE!

Hi ILC family and friends!  I just want to let all parents of kids who went on the teen trip know that we returned to camp safely last night a little after 8pm.  Our campers had the most AMAZING, SPECTACULAR, FANTASTIC, FUN, FAB, INCREDIBLE (Did I get my point across yet?) 4 days they could ever ask for.  From Canada Wonderland Amusement Park to the Toronto Aquarium to Jet Boating in Niagara to the Maid of the Midst, everything was a lot of fun, and why?  Because our campers were amongst all of their camp friends!  And anyone who knows anything about summer camp knows that there is nothing out there in the world like camp friendships.  Inexpiable unless you experience it, but camp friendships are just so dear and special to so many for the rest of their lives.

More to come about today at Island Lake in this evening’s blog, especially about our Counselor Switch Day here at camp today!  I just wanted to let our families know that we returned to camp with the same number of children that we left camp with.  Lol!  We will post photos from the trip in our daily summer photos later today.

Lastly, although your children may not bring home any leftover money from the trip, they’re sure to bring home some great souvenirs and memories of our days in Toronto and Niagara Falls.  Until later this evening, ILC U THERE!

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today was our final Lazy Day of the summer. The weather was perfectly mild all day; not too cold and not too hot. We went through a touch of rain during the early evening but nothing that interfered with our activities.

Our campers slept in for the final time and enjoyed a wonderful brunch prepared by our fantastic kitchen staff. As a special treat for the last Lazy Day of the summer, we took our Group 4 and 5 campers to Nathaniel Cole Park located in Binghamton for a day of swimming, beach volleyball, ultimate Frisbee and a cookout prepared by our one and only, Matt Stoltz. Groups 1, 2 and 3 all went to the movies and feasted on popcorn and candy. Our film of choice was Earth to Echo and the general opinion around the bunks this evening was that it was a fantastic film.

Tonight’s evening activities are groups:

Group 1 Boys & Girls: Video Scavenger Hunt; Group 2 Boys & Girls: Dodgeball Tournament; Group 3 Boys & Girls: Gaga Tournament; and our Groups 4 and 5 didn’t make it back from their fun-filled Nathaniel Cole adventure until almost Canteen time!!

And finally, this evening at nearly 8:00 on the button we welcomed back our Teen Trippers. I have heard nothing but rave reviews on the trip, and equally as important, we heard nothing but rave reviews on our campers behavior! Two more days left of majors and minors before Banquet Day!!! Where did the summer go? Until then, ILC U THERE!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I think we ran the gamut of weather here at camp today.  We’ve had cold rain, warm sun, a bit of wind and a cool evening.  The weather has sure kept us on our toes this summer.

We start our blog journey in the north again as our Teen Trippers continue to have a blast in Toronto, Canada.  Today took the campers to Niagara on the Lake and jet boating on the rapids.  After our campers had dried off, everyone was treated to a tour of the Clifton Hill Area before checking into their hotel for the evening.  Dinner tonight will be at the Skylon Tower, and for dessert the campers will be treated to a magnificent view of Niagara Falls at night.

Today also marked the second, and final, day of Tribals.  The competition was fierce all day as every team had a viable shot at winning.  The morning was dedicated to a scavenger hunt; however, this wasn’t any scavenger hunt, the goal of this hunt was the rescue of each team’s Chief!

The afternoon activity session tightened the race even more, and we went into Tribal council with a tie for first place!  Tribal Council consisted of the presentations of each team’s Tribal Rattle, Tribal Headdress, Totem Pole, Legend and music video.  The creative juices were flowing, and the teams brought out the very best in each other; however, there can only be one winner in Tribals and for 2014 your winner was:

The Red Choctaw Bears!!

Tomorrow is our final Lazy Day of the summer and the return of our Teen Trippers.  It’s been a quiet few days without them around, but camp isn’t camp without them, and we are very excited to welcome them home.  Until then, ILC U THERE!

Before we jump headlong into the first day of Tribals, let’s check in on our Teen Trippers in Toronto: On the schedule today is a tour of the National Hockey Hall of Fame, followed by lunch at the Eaton Centre. After lunch, our campers will be taking a tour of the CN Tower and then finishing the day at Ripley’s Aquarium. It will be wall-to-wall excitement for our campers and those few lucky counselors who were selected to chaperone.

Now…on to TRIBALS

Welcome to Day One of Tribals! Our campers and counselors found our which team they were on and who their Tribal Leaders were last night. The teams this summer are the White Mojave Wolves, Red Choctaw Bears and Blue Shawnee Ravens. Two male and two female counselors lead the teams (Chiefs and Elders), and campers from Groups 3-5, as well as CITs (Warriors, Hunters, Councilmen and Tribesmen).

The competition has been fierce, and the enthusiasm has been through the roof! Despite the rain this morning, our first Activity period was an action packed roller coaster full of thrills and excitement. The White Mojave Wolves pulled off an incredible victory in a hilarious game of Human Foosball in our Hockey Rink. Not to be outdone, the Red Choctaw Bears snatched a close victory during Parachute Games in our Gym.

Unfortunately, the rain forced us indoors in the early afternoon. Crazy Games lived up to their name and were indeed C-R-A-Z-Y: pass the Life Saver, counselor cling wrap, basketball waddle, dizzy bat races and a hula hoop challenge! When the dust finally settled on the craziest of the crazy games, the Red Choctaw Bears ended the activity victorious and went into the afternoon activity session in the lead.

Our Second Activity Period contained another Human Foosball match and an exciting round of Chopped in our Cooking Department. The Blue Shawnee Ravens and White Mojave Wolves cut into the Red Choctaw Bears lead by both winning their respective Human Foosball matches. The Blue Shawnee Ravens cut even further into the Red Choctaw Bears lead by winning Chopped!

Tonight our evening activity will be a thrilling heads-up, survival of the fittest, quickest and smartest Pop Culture Quiz! The campers and counselors are gearing up now! Let the best team win and until then, ILC U THERE!

Happy Monday, everyone! It was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining. Our temperatures climbed into the 80’s once again, and some late afternoon clouds provided some much needed shade for our campers and counselors.

We started early today because our oldest campers left bright and early on their Teen Trip! After a quick meal of warm bagels and cold cereal, our campers loaded up on two charter buses and set their sites Toronto bound. Their itinerary today consists of a fun filled afternoon at Canada’s Wonderland complete with dinner at the park. The action continues tomorrow as they have a full day of activities in Toronto. Those of us left behind are extremely jealous!!

The fun today wasn’t just reserved for our Teen Trippers though. This morning we had a group of over thirty go out on a coal-mining trip. Our campers went to a coal mine in Scranton to get a tour of the facilities. They even get to ride down into the mine some 300 feet underground. It was in operation for over 100 years but now it’s just used for tours.

We also sent a group of campers on our 3rd session tubing trip down the Delaware River. Our campers struck gold with the weather today; it is perfect for floating down the river.

Tonight’s evening activity was our Camper/Counselor Talent show. We had ten acts tonight that sang and danced their way into our memories. The campers were enthralled with the many varied talents of our campers and counselors.

Tonight also marks the beginning of Tribals! Tribals will be a two-day, three team event that encompasses all facets of our Island Lakers skills and cunning. Stay tuned for a breakdown of Day One tomorrow. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Happy Sunday!  I know you’re probably so sick of hearing me say this all summer long but today was truly another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA.  Today was clear blue skies in the morning and mostly sunny in the afternoon with temps up to about 80 degrees.  It’s finally warming up to summer temperatures once again.

Today was our 3^rd session trip to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Lots of campers, both boys and girls, went on the trip to enjoy a day of everything baseball.

Last night’s evening activity, Miss ILC, was hysterical!  Our campers laughed the entire night while our counselors looked pretty silly up there on stage dressed up as women singing, showing off their talents, and answering questions about world peace (Ha!).  It was a fun, memorable night for everyone here at Island Lake.

Tonight’s evening activity is the SOCIAL!  DJ Dennis will be here at ILC yet one more time to rock the house (or shall I say, rock the camp gym).  Yet again, the girls will get dressed up and some will doll themselves with make-up while the boys, well, we’ll be lucky if they shower and comb their hair.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early at 6:30am we leave for our teen trip to Toronto, Canada.  Our 9^th grade and up campers who signed up for the trip, along with 10 staff including myself (Wendy) and Trip, will be heading out of camp on two coach buses and we will make our way to Toronto for 2 days and then Niagara Falls for 2 days.  Everyone is very excited for the trip.  We will post photos of the trip with our daily summer photos when we return on Friday.

Parents of campers on the teen trip, a reminder that if you’d like to speak with your child while we are away, just call the hotel at night time after 9-10pm and ask to be connected to your child’s room.  Hotel details were mailed to you this past June.  If you’ve misplaced it then feel free to call camp for the information.

Today’s special feature,…SKATEPARK!

While I’m away on the Canada trip, Dustin will take over the blog for me.  No doubt, he’ll do a fantastic job reporting to you what’s going on here at ILC while also entertaining you.  We’ll be back home to camp late Thursday night, so I’ll be back behind the keyboard once again on Friday.  Until then, ILC U THERE!