As I began my Peace Intern summer, I imagined that all of the camps I would be visiting would feel like camps straight out of a movie. One thing about me is that one of my favorite movies of all time is The Parent Trap, starring Lindsey Lohan. I even printed out a picture from the movie to keep alongside my photos of beloved friends and family this summer. My love for this iconic summer camp movie has inspired me to watch as many summer camp movies as I could. With that being said, these movie tropes did raise my hopes pretty high for what camps would be like this summer. I traveled from camp to camp in search of my iconic Parent Trap experience (minus the hope of finding my long lost twin), waiting for the cinematic week of my dreams.
I had moments throughout my summer that felt like I was living my most fantastic movie moments. From walking on the tarmac to fly out of Asheville (DPF makes dreams come true!) to getting lost in the fields of Illinois only to find a little slice of Heaven within Camp Walter Scott, there were plenty of times my summer felt as though my most wild summer camp dreams were coming true before my eyes. Still, I wanted my picturesque Parent Trap daydream to come true.
Before dropping me off at the airport, my mom told me she suspected that my week at Crystal Conference Center in north-western Michigan may be just that. I loved her hope but I didn’t want to get too attached to the idea since it may not even come true. When I pulled onto South Shore Drive, I was met with the warm Michigan breeze coming off of Crystal Lake and I grinned thinking my mom was definitely onto something. By the end of my first night staying at the camp with the rest of the counseling staff, I called my mom and received her ‘I told you so’ speech that was much deserved in this case.
So, in honor of Crystal Conference Center’s cinematic week of camp, here are some of my favorite moments (in no particular order) of the summer in comparison to iconic summer camp movies and TV shows.
Camp Olympics → Disney Channel Games
At both Camp Christian and Camp Walter Scott, campers were invited to be involved with a unique kind of olympic games, camp olympics! As campers and counselors alike rushed around to win medals via broom and scooter ‘curling’ or gymnastics routines straight from the mat, I was reminded of childhood memories of watching my favorite Disney Channel stars competing in the most heated games of the summer. While there were no real winners or losers, the games we played along the way will always hold a place in my heart.
2. Walking on the Tarmac → Parent Trap Arrival Scene
DPF made dreams come true when I was able to walk on the tarmac to get aboard my plane in Asheville, North Carolina. Since seeing Parent Trap for the first time, I have wished for the time that I could walk on or off of my plane the same way that Hallie, or uh Annie, does to greet her dad. While I didn’t have the huge yellow duffel to complete the look, I’m sure that my 40 pound backpack did add to the overall cinematic experience.
3. Camp Talent Shows → Camp Rock
As the summer progressed, one of my favorite moments of the week became watching camp talent shows. They always consisted of campers showing up to show off their best and sometimes most strange talents. No matter the talent, I was sure to be entertained on talent show night. My last talent show of the summer was at Camp Crystal, where this Camp Rock dream was completed. As the acts finished up, the room transformed into the most exciting camp dance I experienced all summer. The dancing and singing that was happening on stage became a part of the crowd as the entire room was filled with song, dance, and lots of laughter.
4. Working on an urban garden → Hannah Montana Movie Arrival
As I arrived at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, I expected to be spending my week in a completely metro setting. This quickly was proven to be wrong as on our first day of being there, we visited two different urban gardens. It was in that metropolitan area that I did the most weed pulling, uprooting, and replanting than I have anywhere else. On top of my lack of prior experience, I showed feeling (and most likely looking) like Hannah Montana being unexpectedly dropped off at a farm due to my state of end summer exhaustion and confusion. What started out as a shock from Texas culture and the heat of gardening in the Texas heat though, turned into one of the most unique and exciting weeks of my summer.
5. Prank Wars → Parent Trap Camp Prank scene
As I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed on the first day of camp at Crystal, I couldn’t help but giggle at this immediate correlation between Crystal pranks and the pranks pulled by campers at Camp Walden in the Parent Trap. Who doesn’t love having your patio furniture on the roof for morning coffee?
6. Crystal Lake → Friday the 13th
Everytime I told friends that I was heading to Camp Crystal on Crystal Lake in Michigan, people looked terrified. They would laugh nervously before throwing in the classic, “You know that is where Jason Voorhees is from right?!?!?” While the similarities in detail are pretty tremendous, there is no killer loose in the woods or around the water. While you may have to watch out for Micheal Dirkson’s wild pranks, the only thing I feared at Camp Crystal were the erratic bicycle riders.