Alford Lake Camp

We arrived at the Hickey's (Carolyn, Ann & Leigh) on Sunday afternoon, to a warm fire and a warm atmosphere!  Mary & Brian hosted us at their home filled with the anticipation of all four of their children being home soon for the Holiday.  We are so blessed with the parents that are connected to us, and their enthusiasm to talk about Alford Lake Camp and what the experience has meant to them as parents, for their children.  We saw a really great group of ALC alums in Chicago, as well.  It seems every time we go anywhere right now, we are awestruck by the number of people wanting to re-connect with 'their camp'.  For some it is because they are thinking of camp for their children and for others it is because they want to verbalize the impact camp has had on them AND they want to feel that camp feeling again!!!

To see some snapshots of our Chicago Gathering, click here.

Hi All! Well after a pretty amazing landing in Cleveland in the midst of Lake effect snow, we made it to the Robertson's house with just minutes to spare (and no luggage)!  Small and cozy are the two words to describe this gathering. But despite the size, we were excited to hang out and watch the '08 video with Isabel, new camper Lila and a number of Alums! 
 
The next morning we headed off to Logan Davis' house whose mom Katie Emerson, hosted us for an ALC Coffee.  We had such great conversation with a group of mom's who came to hear about camping in general and about Alfor
d Lake!  This is such a fun and productive way for us to be able to relay the message about 
the gift of a long term camp experience!  Huge "Thank You's" go out to both of these Alford Lake families for opening their homes to us and for spreading the word 
about ALC!!!
 

We are just back from Concord, Massachusetts where we had one of the
nicest, fun-loving and warm Gatherings at the Nelsons' home.  There was
a small Nova Scotia reunion in the making there as well as some ALC
Alums who sat together as campers when they arrived for their first
night at ALC way back when!  We welcomed new campers and again,
prospects, to have a look at the 2008 DVD.  We opened our email today
and found that one of our prospects from Concord has already enrolled
for this coming summer – HURRAH!!!! 

Remember, those of you in
Massachusetts, we have one more Gathering in Dedham in January – feel
free to come even if you have been to other Gatherings in MA or if you
missed a MA Gathering come on over to the Carr's in January.

To view a few photos of the event, click here!

As the gate quietly and peacefully swung open to greet us in our ALC car, we knew that we were entering into a wonderfully comfortable adventure in Bloomfield, CT!  This is exactly what took place at the O'Connells – thoughtful parents, enthusiastic campers, very connected alums and a viewing of the ALC DVD that told the story of last summer all together.  We LOVED our moments and cherish the opportunity to re-open an area where ALC has strong roots.

View the pics here!

A big thank you to Marnie Miller, husband Matt and their girls, for opening theirhome for our first ever ALC New Canaan Gathering! As you may be able to tell fromthe pictures we had many happy, energetic and smiling ALCer’s and potential ALCer’s- so much fun! Stay posted…for more pictues and write-ups of upcoming Gatherings. We are having a blast!

Be sure to take a minute to view the pics!!!

Hi Everyone! Well, we had so much fun in Washington, DC on Wednesdayevening, at the home of Emma DeCamp and Missy & David! We welcomed lots ofnew friends, both parents and camper age girls, returning campers and CT's,as well as some Alums, who we haven't seen in a number of years! What asurprise to see Liz, who lead our Mexico trip the last summer she was withus and Lily, who lead our Abroad trip her last summer! This group of camperage girls, asked so many great questions, after we all watched the 2008video. We loved it!! We even sang the camp birthday song to a new friendwhile we were there! Thank you to all who attended, helping to make it areally fun evening.

Check out the few pictures we were able to grab!! Enjoy!

WOW, the Chestnut Hill Gathering was absolutely wonderful!  We had ALCers and prospects of all different ages from first time ALCers to those who are third generation ALCers!!!  We had CT's and campers leading songs (just like after lunch and after dinner at camp), we had people talk about their best friends in all the world being ALCers and we had ALCers acknowledging that they are who they are today because of camp.  All in all, this Gathering was such a testimonial for the love that each one of us has for camp and those ALCers in our lives (or who will be entering our lives as first time ALCers).  We are so lucky!!!!"

Check out the photos here - there are only a few, but they are fun!!!

YAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOO, we had a great Southern Maine Gathering last night with many campers (all ages) eating snacks, hugging one another, viewing a 2008 slide show  on the Mac and then finally sharing fond memories (laughs and heart-string viewing) as we watched the newly produced 2008 DVD. 

Ahhhhh, our ALC camera was involved with a project at Bates College, so pictures have to be imagined until we can get some shots of some of our attendees from other places.  What fun we had and what a nice group of returning and new campers who will join in for the creation of the summer of 2009!!!!! 

Chestnut Hill was on Sunday and we will keep you posted – hopefully pictures and all from now on!!!!!!

Want to attend a Gathering in your area? Visit the website for locations and time – bring a friend or two!!

IT’S THAT REALLY GREAT TIME OF YEAR when Alford Lakers past, present and possibly future come together at Gatherings around the country.  So, we hit the road this coming week with our first Gathering right here in Cape Elizabeth (great snacks as we reported recently!!!).  (Check our website for dates and times of these events.)

The awesome part of a Gathering is the coming together of campers, their families, alums, and prospective campers to have some cozy time talking about camp!  Campers come away with the feeling of renewed friendships (or new friendships); parents leave realizing that the ALC experience is a part of our children’s excellent education that goes beyond just the academic.  So as we sit on a living room floor watching the 2008 DVD, we can celebrate the value of friendships, independence, healthy decision-making, strength in character, and the experimentation of being able to say yes and no when opportunities are put in front of us.  We welcome you to any Gathering you chose and hope that your decision to attend is one of excitement and continued investment in our children’s future.

Future blogs can represent topics that you would like to see discussed.  Help us to make this section of our ALC online community, interactive and productive around issues that are important to you. 

Please submit your thoughts or ideas right away and we will get communication and networking started!!