A Typical Day at Camp Aranzazu
Written by: Gillian Hale and Hannah Heide, Camp Aranzazu Program Supervisors
Each day at Camp Aranzazu starts out with an awesome breakfast in our dining hall! Mealtimes at Camp are one of our campers’ favorite times to gather. The food is always great, and we eat family style so it gives the campers intentional time to get to know one another and share what they are most excited for that day. Not to mention, we always start meals with our Aranzazu Grace which is one of our campers’ favorite traditions!
After breakfast, our campers will head out to their morning activities. Morning activities will vary each day but some of our camper favorites are sailing, boating, or cheering each other on at the challenge course! We try our best to make sure our campers get the most out of their time at camp and get to experience most, if not all, of our activity areas throughout the week. Texas summers get hot in the afternoons, so our campers enjoy doing our more strenuous activities in the mornings when it is cooler.
Once everyone has finished their morning activities, our campers head back into the dining hall for lunch. Campers are normally excited for lunch after a HOT and action-packed morning! Lunchtime at Camp is always a camper favorite. Why, you ask? CNN, of course! CNN stands for our “Camp News Network.” During lunch, some of our activity leaders will put together a skit and some fun games to engage with our campers while they are eating and hanging out. Our CNN crew will also give the campers exciting camp updates and (the best part) the GOLDEN PLUNGER! Now… the golden plunger may sound a little funny, but it truly is something our campers love and take very seriously. The golden plunger is, as it sounds, a plunger that is awarded to the campers with the cleanest cabin. Each day, before lunch, our staff will go around and check the cabins to see who is the winner that day. Our CNN crew will announce the winner at lunch and award them the golden plunger to hang on to until the next day when a new winner is announced. Last but not least, our CNN crew will announce “everyday heroes.” Here at Camp Aranzazu, we love to acknowledge all the amazing things our campers do throughout the week! Before lunch, the CNN crew will pass out everyday hero forms to the cabin counselors. These forms are an opportunity for the counselors to highlight any cool or friendly things campers have done while at camp. The counselors will turn these forms back in to the CNN crew and they will announce them, call the campers up to the front to give them their award, and we shower them with tons of applause! Not to worry, there are so many opportunities for fun and growth at camp that each camper will get an everyday hero award at some point! As you can see, lunch is fun and busy for our campers, but it doesn’t stop there!
After our morning sessions and a yummy and filling lunch, campers have earned some much-needed rest time. During this time they can choose to head back to the cabins for some R&R, go to the health center for some table tennis and social time, sit on the rocking chairs outside the dining hall enjoying the occasional view of some white-tailed deer, or whatever they need to re-energize for the rest of the day. Also, during rest time they prepare for the pool!
Early afternoon is the hottest time of day down here in the Coastal Bend. The best way to stay cool while having fun is to kick back at the pool! Here at Camp Aranzazu, we have two pools, the classic pool and the party pool. Our classic pool reaches down to 9 feet in depth, so it’s perfect for great swimmers and smaller groups. The party pool is 4 feet at its deepest and has in-water benches, fountains, a volleyball net (a new camp favorite), and a shaded outdoor room with lots of games for those not interested in swimming. The Party Pool is perfect for everyone! After pool time, campers head to the dining hall for a midafternoon snack, then back to the cabins to change and dry off.
Once they’re dried off, campers take off to their chosen HOST locations. HOST stands for “Hands On Skills Time,” a time dedicated to learning specific skills. It ranges from cooking class, Olympic games, Spy Kids, Survival skills, Mad Scientist, and more! Campers decide at the beginning of the week which group they want to attend for the whole week. (If you’re interested in learning more about HOST, we have a blog article just for you!) Not every camp opts for HOST, so some have different activities in the afternoon. These may include archery, birding, nature education, fishing, sports & games, boating, arts and crafts, and more!
Following the Aranzazu grace, dinner is served. Our kitchen staff always serves (period) the best meals. Not only are the main courses delicious, but they are also always followed by a mouthwatering dessert. Some of our personal favorites are, but not limited to, pumpkin bars, mini cheesecakes, and s’mores cookies! And don’t worry, our staff is able to accommodate all the various dietary needs and restrictions for our campers. Shortly after dinner, our staff breaks down the dining hall in preparation for our evening activity. Every night is a different activity. We have our opening night activity (you’ll have to wait until this summer to find out 2023’s 😉), Movie Night, Talent Show, Campfire, Party Night, and More!
Once evening activities wrap up, campers head back to their cabins. Sometimes they end up falling asleep immediately after a long day of excitement and energy, and sometimes they stay up telling stories, playing games, making friendship bracelets, or having meaningful conversations with one another and their cabin buddies. Not a single day will look the same as another at Camp Aranzazu, but every day is guaranteed to be filled with fun, intentionality, and celebration of our campers!
If you’re interested in camping with Camp Aranzazu, check out our website for more information!
