Our family has always enjoyed camping and had heard about camp hosting before and thought it would be something neat to do some day. After years of thinking about it, we actually decided to give it a try this summer. For those of you who are unfamiliar with camp hosting, I will give you a little overview of what camp hosts do. The camp host can be found at some campgrounds (not every campground has a camp host position). The camp host is responsible for checking campers in, helping them in any way, being a liaison between camp staff and camper, cleaning/tidying bath house, cleaning camp sites and fire pits, etc. Duties for camp hosts can vary between campgrounds. Most camp host positions are volunteer ( you can some find some paid camp host jobs too).
We had the awesome opportunity to host at Twin Lakes State Park here in Virginia (just outside of Farmville). The park is absolutely beautiful and the staff were very welcoming and easy to work with. We have learned that there doesn't seem to be too many young families who sign up for this job. I figure it is just because they don't know about the many wonderful benefits of camp hosting. We were the first family to host at Twin Lakes. They have never had young children with the hosts and were quite excited to have us. I often heard, "It's like we have six camp hosts instead of just one or two." The children met great friends and had so much fun riding their bikes, helping work in the office, check in campers, participate in the many great kids activities, and of course loved swimming in the lake! Aaron and I had the opportunity to make some new friends too and really enjoyed getting to meet and talk to so many people from all areas.
Even though Aaron still worked during the week (at his normal job) he often said that he felt like he was on vacation because he was able to come "home" to the campground each evening and just relax by the camp fire. I really enjoyed the trails and getting to talk (most of you know how much I enjoy talking). The work is not hard and we found it was actually enjoyable for us. The two days off during the week enabled me to bring the kids away for a little "break" and an opportunity for us to come home and check on our animals and other chores back home.
I met one lady named Leslie from South Africa, she was such a joy to get to know. She was a runner so of course we hit it off right away. She had traveled to many places and seen many things. She made the comment, "it is neat to learn that we don't need to have so much stuff to be happy". I learned that lesson during this past month. Our family ( a family of six) lived in that camper with just the necessities and we drew so close! I can not even begin to express to you the bond that we formed as a family through this experience. There is just something about not having to worry about "things, stuff"....just you, your loved ones and your necessities. It almost made Aaron and I want to stay out on the road. Some how I think we would really enjoy that lifestyle!
Well, maybe one day when our kids are grown and gone, but for now we will most definitely be taking this opportunity again. We will be back to Twin Lakes next year and maybe even try another State Park. The opportunities and memories are endless! What a great way to teach your children a strong work ethic while having great fun! I would like to invite some of you younger families to check out the benefits of camp hosting and would be happy to pass along more information if you are interested.
Happy Camping!
My husband and I enjoyed the hospitality of you and your family when we went camping a few weeks ago at Twin Lakes! We both were amazed at how helpful your children were and how happy it made us to see a young family with so much warmth and energy at the campground :) Keep up the excellent work!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet comments!
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