The Joy, and Dread, of Going Off to Camp

WHITE PLAINS

Skip to next paragraph In the Region Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey Go to Complete Coverage »

NORMALLY, being the assistant manager of the Bloomingdale's store here is indoor work. But on weekend mornings in the summer, Bob Sanders stations himself at the entrance to the store's parking lot, directing bumper-to-bumper camp traffic. In the early, pre-shopping hours, thousands arrive to meet buses that will transport children to sleep-away camps all over the Northeast.

"Raquette Lake?" asked a driver, and Mr. Sanders pointed to the lower lot.

"It says upper lot," said the driver, wiggling an information packet out the window at Mr. Sanders.

"Trust me," said Mr. Sanders. "Just trust me on this."

"Pine Forest?"

"Walt Whitman?"

"Mah-Kee-Nac?"

About 15 years ago, some wily camp director decided the huge Bloomingdale's lot would be a convenient pickup and drop-off spot, and word spread. "It's out of control," said Mr. Sanders. "I have to turn camps away." On this Saturday morning, there were 12 camps with as many as seven buses per camp.

"Look at that," Mr. Sanders said, pointing. "Can you imagine coming to camp in a limo?" As far as the eye could see there were children clutching pillows, surrounded by family members awaiting the order to board. "It's chaos," he said.

And into that maelstrom, at 10 a.m., 15 minutes later than planned, drove a silver Volvo delivering 10-year-old Asher Collins, of Larchmont, N.Y., who, at 4 feet tall and 52 pounds, was barely visible in the back seat. Asher was being sent to overnight camp for the first time, and he looked it.

He was wearing Velcro sneakers, white socks, sports shorts, a T-shirt, a Mets backpack. He was clutching his lunch for the bus - two slices of cold pizza wrapped in tinfoil - and wearing a Mets cap pulled so far down, all you could see was his mouth, which was definitely not smiling.

Nervous?

"Yeah, I'm nervous about not seeing my parents for seven weeks," he said.

His mom and dad rubbed his back and gently reminded him that they'd be coming for visiting day.

"You don't see them for three-ish weeks," said Asher. "Then they come for just one day. Then you don't see them for four-ish weeks."

How did the final morning at home go?

"I just woke up and, you know, I got ready and came here," Asher said.

"Where'd you wake up?" asked his dad.

"Oh yeah, in your bed," said Asher, pointing to his parents. He'd gotten there in the middle of the night. He couldn't remember how, but he did remember why.

"Yeah, I was pretty nervous."

Just then, the Peter Pan bus that would be taking Asher to Camp Mah-Kee-Nac raced its mighty engine, and someone yelled, "They're getting ready to board!"

For nearly a year, Asher's parents had been preparing their only child for this moment. The official party line at home was: It's perfectly normal to be nervous, but it's an excited nervous.

All that week, they'd watched him closely to see how he was holding up. "You never get an answer out of a 10-year-old boy," said his dad. But they could tell. He seemed more irritable, cranky, impatient. Asher is a smart boy, eager to please, and when they asked, he gave them the party line. But as his dad said, "He may have been adding on the excited part for us."

Until this summer, Asher had gone to day camp, but he grew tired of that. Both his parents work demanding jobs. Paul Collins is an editor for HBO, often putting in 70-hour weeks. His wife also works a long week.

So they went hunting for an overnight camp. Last August, the three spent two weekends visiting five camps from Pennsylvania to Maine, before deciding on Mah-Kee-Nac in Lenox, Mass.

In May, they attended an orientation at a Ramada Inn in New Jersey. "It's down to a science," said Mr. Collins. "They know how to minimize homesickness. They told parents, ‘If you think you're going to cry at the bus, wear dark glasses.' "

Mr. Collins took the day before camp off and kept Asher so busy, the boy had no time to think. They got haircuts together at Frank's, went out on the family boat, spent Friday night at a Mets game.

Still, Saturday morning was bumpy. "I could see a lost look in his eyes," Mr. Collins said. Asher dawdled over his French toast. "He was freezing in place," said the dad. "He didn't want to move on to the next thing." At one point Mr. Collins hoisted him up for a bear hug. "He turned his face away," said Mr. Collins. "But I saw a tear, and the nose was running."

1 2 Next Page »

E-mail: parenting@nytimes.com

More Topics:
Limousines.com
Limousines for all occasions from Limousines.com, offering limousine services to weddings, proms, and over 300 airports worldwide.

Limos.com
Limousine rental finder for the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. Compare rates and make reservations online.

LimousineDirectory.com
Limousine services directory, letting you search for limo rentals for airport transportation, proms, and weddings.

BookLimo.co.uk Limousine Hire Limo London
London Limousine Hire, Limo Hire Services featuring Hummer Stretch Limo and Limo Bus ... you live in UK and want a limo then contact us and we will be pleased ...

National Limousine Association (NLA)
Limousine owners and operators, manufacturers, and suppliers representing and furthering the international, state, and local interests of all aspects of the industry.