Maine: Washington, Medomak Family Camp – Rowing, Campfire Stories, and Never Ending Family Fun.
If you are browsing for a summer camp for your children and the descriptions make you wish to be a camper yourself, wish no more. Reserve a week at Medomak and stay on for campfires, yoga, arts & crafts, hiking, stargazing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, blueberry picking, tennis, sculling and rowing. Sharing in the fun will make summer camp memories even better.
Resort: Medomak Family Camp is a summer haven providing an escape from the stresses of life’s daily schedules. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of woods and fields, and anchored by a beautiful crystal clear lake with more than a mile of private shoreline, the camp is steeped in tradition, simplicity and old-fashioned fun. The atmosphere makes it easy to unplug, relax, and reconnect with what's important - family, community and the environment.
Accommodations: Built in the New England tradition – simple and serviceable -each new, one-room cabin has a bathroom, two sinks and a separate shower. There are a few creature comforts like reading lights, rocking chairs, comfortable beds (queen mattress and box spring for the parents/ twin mattresses for the kids), and a writing table. Outside each cabin you will find two Adirondack chairs to enjoy the warm days and a good book.
Need to know: No need to pack your sheets, cabins are supplied with linens and towels for each guest.
Bonus points: Within the grounds but away from the main camp area is a sturdy sleeping shelter ideal for an overnight adventure. North Star Lodge has camp mattresses and a bug screen making a wilderness sleepover easy to do. Enjoy a quiet campfire (with s'mores of course), gaze at the stars and fall asleep to an orchestra of loons.
What’s for lunch? Healthy, hearty, and excellent, the camp staff takes pride in the quality of food served providing breakfast, lunch and dinner family-style in the farmhouse dining room. Most of ingredients for salads, vegetables, and herbs are selected from the organic garden onsite.
Bonus points: Everyone looks forward to the weekly picnic with lobster and fresh mussels on the menu.
Activities: During each family camp session adults and children alike enjoy more than two dozen counselor-led traditional camp activities including archery, sailing, fishing, arts and crafts, tennis, campfires, rowing, sculling, hiking, stargazing, skits, as well as yoga, gallery visits and Maine cheese & beer tasting.
Bonus points: The exciting news is a new quad boat rigged for four scullers. Rowing enthusiasts benefit from requested coached sessions as well as have access to all shells.
Need to know: No two week’s activities will match because attention is paid to the number of families and the age mix of participants however, an atmosphere of learning, community, and recreation is guaranteed.
Night owls will feel at home at Medomak because the options for fun continue after dinner with scheduled family evening activities which include a sunset canoe expedition, evening contra dance, and family scavenger hunt. Bonus points: Remember when the skies were dark? Remember being able to see the Milky Way? You still can in Maine. Each summer Medomak hosts an Astronomy Week led by J. Kelly Beatty, Past Senior Contributing Editor of Sky & Telescope Magazine and camp's own night sky "Guru". During the camp week he conducts star walks and sky gazing sessions. Need to know: Astronomy Week 2010 will take place August 8-14,
(Blackberry Season).
Value added: Laid back and personal, family camp is designed to accommodate only 11-12 families and the size of the camp staff is proportional to enrollment. The size gives families, as well as staff, the ability to get to know one another and interact on a personal level.
Discovery: At the retreat center guests have the chance to meet others and share similar interests, expand their knowledge, and enjoy wonders of nature. Medomak Retreat Center hosts its own retreats including an ecology workshop, knitting retreat.
Here’s the deal. Tuition includes accommodation in a comfy cabin with private bath, family camp facilities, camp activities, equipment and activities, three healthy meals and snacks per day, linens, and use of any of the Alden rowing sculls, canoes, kayaks and sailboats. The only additional charge is for an optional hour massage with their licensed massage therapist or items bought at the camp store (postcards, t-shirts, candy…). The all-inclusive price depends on the week selected, number of family members, and number of families in the session - the more families in the camp session the lower the cost for each family. The cost for a week for a family of four ranges from $2400 to $4000.
Location on the planet: Camp Medomak 178 Liberty Road Washington, ME 04574. Toll-free 1-866-MEDOMAK (1-866-633-6625) or (301) 854-9100, summer (207) 845-6001 (phone and fax) or
www.medomakcamp.com
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