Happy New Year! Many of you may think that winter in the mountains of North Carolina is full of cold weather and snow; today it is about 60 degrees! Hard to believe when you look at the pictures of the ice storm from just a few weeks ago. During the ice storm, camp lost power, water, and heat. I mean it was cold! Mills and Goose (my dogs) did a good job of keeping me warm. The office was closed for a while and we actually lost a good bit of email due to computer complications with the power outage.

(Note: If you sent us some email in mid-late December and have not heard back from us, we may have lost the email before getting a chance to read it. Just send it to us again at greencove@greencove.com.)

Nancy, Karen, Lee, Carrie, the Maintenance Staff, and I have been busy getting ready for Summer 2006! Between talking to parents about camp, keeping the barn running, riding horses, improving the cabins, and traveling; we have all managed to stay pretty busy.

As for travel, we have been all over the US! We will be showing the camp films in Charlottesville, VA; Nashville, TN; New Orleans, LA; Mandeville, LA, Alexandria, LA, and Baton Rouge, LA soon. Check out our travel schedule if you want to know when we are coming near you!

Horses, Horses, Horses! There are several new horses at the barn. Lee, Carrie, and Nancy have been busy. They have been traveling to find new horses and then “test driving” them for a while. Jack and Sierra are two of the new faces at the barn and don’t be surprised if there are a few more before the summer starts. Last year's campers may remember Lady who was loaned to us for the summer. She has just been given to camp and we are excited to have her!

Lakeside Love, A History Lesson:
Most of you probably know that for years now the oldest Middler campers have lived in Lakeside 1, 2 and 3. What you may not know is that the cabins that we now call Lakeside, were originally the "canoe dock". It currently looks more like a paddling shed than it has in years! Why? We have decided to take the 3 small Lakeside cabins and turn them into two more spacious ones. That’s right…campers who lived in Lakeside 3 last summer are the last Lakeside 3 campers. OK, I know the big important question is “which cabin will have two doors?”. Unfortunately I can’t answer that just yet. You may just have to come back in 2006 to see.

Tada! The DVD is finished!
Campers and staff from last summer should have already received 2 DVD’s with their 2005 Camp Directory. We hope you like it! Prospects and Reps will be getting their copies any day now. If you are not included in one of these groups and would like your very own copy, just send us an email and let us know where to mail your copy!

Important Dates:
Open House: April 8th and 9th
Canoe/Kayak Clinic: April 28th-30th
Staff Orientation begins: May 26th
Early June: May 31st-June 4th
June Camp: June 7-27
Main Camp: July 2nd Aug 9th
August and Family Camp: Aug 12th-17th
Mondamin/GC Reunion: August 18th-20th

We're planning an Open House here at Green Cove and Mondamin for Saturday and Sunday, April 8th and 9th, 2006. Click here for more info. Our Canoe and Kayak Clinic is going to be held April 28th-30th. The Canoe and Kayak clinic is a twice yearly weekend, which raises money for our Scholarship Fund. Guaranteed great instruction and a chance to paddle some of the rivers we paddle in the summer. If you would like to participate, just email Frank and let him know. In addition to the regular clinic I hear there may be a couples kayak clinic and a biking clinic this spring. Keep checking the website for updates! Summer 2006 is not too far away! If you are interested in camp for the summer, or know someone who is, now is the time to get in touch with us! There is a Mondamin/Green Cove Reunion being planned for the weekend of August 18th-20th. Mondamin is turning 85! Stay tuned for more information…

News Notes:

Christine Hilliard (staff ’96-’00) came through the area and Liddell Shannon (staff ’97-’00, ’03-’05), Erin McManus (staff ’94, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’02) and I met her in Asheville for an afternoon. She recommended that we all read The Tipping Point. The next time Erin, Liddell and I ran into each other, guess what we all had in tow! Liddell sent me a recent email letting me know what she is up to. Here is a blurb from it:

“I had a recent reunion with Dixon and Shea at my Aunt Ginny's house in
Atlanta. We ate dips, we talked about boys. It was great. Other travels included cross country skiing in Minnesota, shooting things (ducks, quail, clay targets) in Alabama, Dressing up in thrift store formalwear and having big hair over New Years, and then there was that trip to Costa Rica. 3.5 weeks of bliss with a gained appreciation for surfing, hiking to the top of volcanoes, and being a Spanish dork. I am now searching for sensible yet ravishing teacher clothes, I'm taking a class called "Education in a Diverse Society"..., and I just took the GRE this afternoon. My brain is like buttah.”