As I looked out the window on interstate 280, I was entranced by the captivating foliage of the beautifly green forest. I got lost in thought and reminisced back to my past years at camp. I imagined what our first activity would be and eagerly told my sister, “I hope my group starts with Gaga or Foosball!” 

“If I have time I’ll look at the master schedule and tell you,” she responded, “but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.” She stared at me intently.

“Thank you and I promise I won’t tell anyone,” I said as I crossed my fingers behind my back. 

“Hey I saw that,” she said as she giggled.

 “Keep your eyes on the road,” I said as I laughed as well.

Not long after that we got off the freeway, and as we entered downtown Woodside, I knew that we were almost there. I gazed at the small buildings in the town, all designed with an Old Western aesthetic in mind. We drove down Woodside Road, and as we neared camp, we passed Robert’s Market, which was a home to delectable, mouthwatering milkshakes. “Sasha, can we get milkshakes after camp?” I begged. 

She responded, “It depends, who’s the best sister in the world?” She slyly looked to her right and cocked her eyebrow.

“You are!” I exclaimed as I hugged her and we both laughed. 

As we approached camp I could hardly contain my excitement. I saw the large parking lot with few cars due to how early we were. My sister rolled down the passenger side window as we passed the check in table. The camp director, Steve Buddie hollered, “Arredondos! Great to see you two!”

To which I replied enthusiastically, “Great to see you too, Steve! I can’t wait for the day to start!” with a tremendous grin on my face.

We parked in the cramped staff parking lot, and I stretched as I got out of the car. It was still very early in the morning, and I should have been tired, but my eagerness to be at camp, paired with the frigid morning air, gave me a newfound vitality for the amazing day that lay ahead. We walked through the campus, passing the dense, cement picnic tables on our way into the main office. There we were greeted cheerfully by Heather who was Steve’s wife as well as the camp nurse. When she saw my sister and I she exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! It’s so good to see you two! How have you guys been?”

Sasha, smiling, responded, “It’s great to see you too and we’ve been pretty good, but we’re just glad to finally be at camp.”

As Sasha and Heather conversed, I peered around the room, taking in the familiar scenery. I looked at the white, wire cubbies that held the binders for each group, then to the bumpy, white surface of the refrigerator, and finally to the long, brown plastic tables where various staff members sat. Sasha and Heather finished their conversation, and Heather told me to have a fun day. I thanked her and wished my sister good luck with her group. As I walked out, I admired the various flags across the walls of the room and the old camp t-shirts hung on a clothesline that stretched from one end of the room to the other. 

I emerged from the office and was greeted by the warmth of the shimmering sunrays. I looked to my right and saw the arts and crafts table which had already been dressed with a long, white sheet of paper for the campers to draw on. Past that, I saw the Junior Counselor in Training (JCIT) camp spot already covered in backpacks of all shapes and sizes. I suddenly veered to the left as two small campers both proudly wearing their camp shirts ran by me on their way to their group spot.

The smallest one with long, blonde hair, timidly said, “Sooorry” then ran off giggling with his friend.

Slightly annoyed, I shrugged it off and headed to my own group spot. As I headed down the short flight of stairs I saw a multitude of group spots; each one complete with two white shade tents and two red, wooden park benches. I then saw the famous Gaga pit, which was a pentagon-like shape comprised of wire fencing about four and a half feet high with blue tarps covering all the sides.Green astro turf carpeted the ground, and shiny red and yellow duct tape divided the pit in half. On the top of the fencing were black tubes to protect campers from the sharp edges of the fence. On the outside of the Gaga pit stood five pillars striped horizontally with red and yellow duct tape. These pillars were all equidistant apart and had ropes tied to them that provided support for a large mesh-like blue tarp that provided shade for the pit. 

I watched as a few nervous looking JCITs prepared the Gaga pit for campers by placing flat, wooden step stools along its outer border so campers of shorter stature could have a chance to witness the exhilarating and intense game that is Gaga. To the left of the pit, I saw the ball racks lined with all kinds of balls, from purple, rubber soccer balls to blue and white mini basketballs. To the right of the pit, I saw more group spots, and beyond the group spots I saw the secondary blacktop lined with four full court basketball hoops. I peered even farther past the blacktop and set my eyes upon the two four-square courts painted white against the dark gray blacktop and the two green handball walls. Behind those was a lush, green field where groups played Capture the Flag together. I imagined the roar of eager campers on their way to play Capture the Flag chanting, “CTF! CTF! CTF!” as they extended their arms upward in a flexing-like position, jerking their fists forward in a rowdy fashion to the rhythm of the chant.

I continued walking, and after passing the Gaga pit, I was at the main blacktop, which was only one full-sized basketball court, but consisted of three sets of mini basketball hoops lined up along the sides going the short way. To the left of the blacktop was the gym, and although I couldn’t see it due to the doors being closed, I could picture its flawless, laminated hardwood floors along with its brand new basketball hoops and small set of blue bleachers. I glanced to my right and my gaze was met by the enormous red, blue, and tan two story play structure enveloped in tanbark. This impressive play structure was complete with a towering, tan plastic rock to climb on, a regular rock wall with shiny plastic red, blue, green, and yellow rocks, three slides, two sets of monkey bars, six ladders, and even a gliding zipline. Dextral to this playground was a vast, turf soccer field that included all the proper markings for a regulation field. 

As I arrived at my group spot, I looked out to the main field which had an abundance of activities that could be played on it. Closest to me was a thick, blue high jump mat with its orange, rubber crossbar covered in black foam. About 15 yards to the right of the high jump area was the grass volleyball court with a blue net that always seemed to get tangled up. Further into this field there was a full sized baseball diamond with red sand that always seemed to stain my shoes. This large field also contained an area to play wiffle ball with plastic, blue fencing along the back border of the field that marked a homerun. Every session of camp, there was a lunchtime wiffle ball competition that spanned for a majority of camp. The homerun leaders for each session got their names displayed in big white letters upon aqua-blue banners that were spread across the blue fence for all of camp to see. Everything was ready. Every field, every court, and every group spot. The only thing left was the spirit of Decathlon itself; the campers. 

As I admired this field, I was brought back to reality when a voice asked, “Hi what’s your name?”

The owner of the voice was my counselor who was a tall man, with red hair, wearing black Ray-Bans and a white tank top with the camp’s logo on it that only staff can get. I replied, “My name’s Gavin. What’s your name?” as I put my backpack down on one of the red benches.

He smiled and said, “My name’s Kyle and I’m gonna be your counselor this session.” as he handed me a name tag.

I put it on and started to converse about camp with him. I was happy to finally be at camp. I had waited the whole year and I was finally there.