Summer camps are filled with memories of making friends, having your first crush and experiencing the best week of summer. Basically it's every kids favorite part about summer. Whether it's an art camp or a horseback riding camp, the experience never let's kids down. I mean, they shouldn't with how much they cost.
If you are from Idaho or the surrounding area and were lucky enough to go to Camp Ida-Haven, you got to spend a week in beautiful McCall, Idaho where your own summer camp story came to life. This camp is like no other. It has every single activity you can imagine. It has jet-skiing, edible crafts, challenge course and water sports (the all-time favorite). It has an endless list of classes that you can choose from. No camper is ever unhappy. Camp Ida-Haven constantly keeps the older kids wondering if they will ever change the age cap to 25 so you can go one more time.
Here are all the things that still remind us of Camp Ida-Haven, even in our 20s.
1. You went a whole week being a vegetarian, even though you love meat. It was a sacrifice.
2. You keep running into your cabin roommates in the most awkward situations for the rest of your life.
3. You never forget the camp theme song. “So come with your family, come with your friends, come to Ida-haven, COME TO IDA-HAVEN, where the fun never ends.”
4. Getting your first concussion banana boating.
5. Hating the campers who snuck their Razr flip phones in and texted their friends at night.
6. And you understood that wearing a helmet was necessary because camp was the most insane tubing experience of your life.
7. You got your first class schedule. If only college was as much fun.
8. If you went on raft trip, you left for the day and felt like the baddest camper in town.
9. You still own a Camp Ida-Haven souvenir and cherish it.
10. Getting chosen as the camper who got to tell Douglas, "All present and accounted for, sir," made you top dog.
11. Camp was the only week where you are allowed to have endless amounts of sno-cones because NO PARENTS!
12. You’ve been to McCall, Idaho, the most beautiful mountain town on the planet.
13. Looking forward to Christmas to see what staff member will send you the card, you always want it to be one of the hot water-sports guys.
14. Finding out that your cabin counselor was actually dating the counselor you had a crush on — so jealous.
15. Getting emotional over the late-night campfire songs. You're not even religious.
16. This is where you fell in love with Capture the Flag, and you still ask to play when you and your friends are bored.
17. This is where you learned to stand-up Jet Ski (which is way better than sit-down Jet Ski) and all of your basic water skills.
18. The most random camp songs pop into your head all the time. "I like bananas, I think that mangoes are sweet, I like papaya ..." Like, what?"
I don't get homesick, I get campsick.
