Usually, we eat family style in our dining room, but move outside at least twice a week (pictured here). We think the variety of our menu is great. There's a salad bar at lunch and dinner, and vegetarian options are available at every meal. Fresh fruit is put out for snacking between meals. If you have a birthday at camp, you'll get a cake!

Incidentally, we cannot allow campers to keep food (including candy and gum) among their belongings. We do however, make an exception for fresh fruit. After meals there are announcements about upcoming activities. After breakfast, we go into the assembly room, for some music and announcements.

We have an infirmary on camp premises with two registered nurses in residence; a doctor in residence serves both Mondamin and our sister camp, Green Cove. There is a hospital six miles away. Regular health checks are made daily (showers, brushed teeth, etc.); parents receive weekly letters from counselors and a telephone call in case of any unusual problems.

Green Cove has consistently held a grade "A" rating from the North Carolina State Board of Health.

At Green Cove, there is an attempt to quietly foster a spiritual atmosphere, and to encourage time for thought and reflection. We have a simple, non-denominational service at camp on Sunday mornings, which emphasizes ethics, morals, and friendship, rather than formalized religion. It includes nothing ritualistic or intrusive. Catholic campers may attend mass nearby.

Campfire on Tuesday evenings, pictured here, is also a time for thought and reflection. We sing songs and tell stories... kids report on trips they took the previous week, often inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

The majority of parents prefer to drive their children to camp, but as many as a third to a half of our campers come on commercial flights. Here are a few tips.

For those that choose to drive, we are about three hours northeast of Atlanta, GA, two hours west of Charlotte, NC, seven hours east of Nashville, TN, and eight hours southwest of Washington, DC. There are some beautiful places to visit in the mountains of North Carolina which may be an added incentive to making the drive. Just call us for Information on where to stay and what to do.

If you are comfortable with your daughter flying here, we do a couple things to make this a little easier for you. First, we have a staff member and a driver meet all campers coming into our two nearest airports at the gate. These airports are Greenville / Spartanburg, South Carolina (GSP) and Asheville, North Carolina (AVL). Asheville is a bit closer to us, but either is fine. Second, U.S. Airways usually offers us a 5% to 15% discount (depending on the fare type) for camp participants. Call us for details about this.

As you may have noticed in the program section of this website, we enjoy many outdoor activities here at camp, which of course means exposure to the weather. Bringing the appropriate things to camp (and leaving the inappropriate things at home) is extremely important to having a good experience.

All specialty equipment needed for activities (such as lifejackets for kayaking) is provided by camp, as is community camping gear. Campers will need to bring comfortable and durable clothing, a few personal items, and some basic personal equipment for camping. We don't expect you to spend a lot of money on elaborate gear, but there are a few items that one simply cannot do without in the woods. Backpacks are available to rent for the summer. You can download a detailed list of the items that we recommend by clicking here.

Visiting is best done Sunday. We ask that campers not leave camp with friends, relatives, etc. more than once during June Camp, or twice during Main Camp, and not overnight. We host a "Mother-Daughter" backpacking trip at the end of each session.

Parents who cannot visit may wish to telephone their camper. We ask that you make mail (e- or snail-) your primary means of communication, but a call in place of a visit works for us (maximum two calls in main session). We have found that phone calls can be upsetting for a homesick child though… Please read the page concerning homesickness. Letters from home which reassure and give confidence are wonderful.

A good camping experience is very definitely a community experience. We therefore do not break our camping sessions into shorter periods. Cutting a term into two halves, neither of which is complete, is a system we tried and abandoned years ago. We have seen that a child who comes to camp or has to leave camp half way through a session experiences a disruption of skill progress, social continuity, and community stability that is unacceptable. This scenario is especially disruptive to the campers who stay, seeing their friends and cabin-mates leave.

Occasionally, a camper may be allowed to miss a few of days of camp in the beginning or the end of a session, because of school or an important family event. We would much prefer it if this situation could be avoided, but if such would be the case, please talk with us about this ahead of time.