I never went to camp when I was growing up. But I began liking the idea of camp ever since the first time I saw The Parent Trap (the 1961 Disney version). How cool would it be to stay in a cabin with your friends, going swimming and canoeing, marching in formation while whistling, having food fights, and even finding your long lost twin sister?!
Credit: Walt Disney
While I don't have a long lost twin sister, I do have a sister almost two decades my junior. I remember her arrival fondly...I was on my senior trip to Disney World, and got a phone call from my dad as I stood outside Cinderella's Castle with my friend Kristy. "You have a little sister! She just got here!" And then a bird relieved itself on Kristy's head. It was memorable on two counts.
So doesn't it make perfect sense that now, after all these years, I should host my own camp with my very own sister? I may or may not have had visions of myself wearing knee-high socks and sporting a whistle around my neck. Just like the camp director in Parent Trap! But, no....I played it cool.
"Camp Ree-Ree" was a hit! We did almost everything this city has to offer a pair of generation-gapped sisters. Six Flags, Grant's Farm, the zoo, The Muny, Ted Drew's...the works! We also watched a lot of Harry Potter and she introduced me to Billy the Exterminator...
Credit: aetv.com
Yeah, he's a bit of a strange bird. But he doesn't kill his catches, which is nice. Unless they are giant alligators.
It was great having Little Sis here. She is much cooler than I ever was at ten years old. She even skateboards! At one point, she was skateboarding in the living room and I asked if she wanted some music on. She said she'd like to listen to some heavy metal. I said, "I have some of that." Her response: "But you're quiet...And you go to the library. Why do you have heavy metal music?" I think I definitely racked up some cool points there. Good thing I purchased that Big Hair cd in high school...
Cooking Tacos
Child labor with Bil (Bil = "Brother In Law")
Skateboarding in the middle of the street
Petting sting rays at the zoo
We even made matching camp shirts!
My only regret is that Little Sis and I did not do this routine together:
So, was Camp Ree-Ree a 2012 edition of The Parent Trap? No. It was better. Move over, Hayley Mills!
