Greetings fellow campers!

The place where campers hang out after a long day in the sims.

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Brad S.
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Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Brad S. »

Hehe, I never knew this forum was here, and now I'm a bit enthusiastic, after a few nights of reading through :D

Greetings to all. I'm and Academy I/II attendant from '89/'90 (I think. Not entirely sure the exact years, but after Pathfinder went on display for sure.).

Indeed, I was never a right stuff award kind of guy, only choosing to go for the sheer fun of it. My only "claim to fame" is being one of the (blurry) kids standing at the rail, behind LeVar Burton, when he was filmed in the 1/6th gravity chair, (for the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek special, filmed at Space Camp Huntsville). I never followed a career in space or anything, and indeed, haven't even thought about SC much in the last 25 years, until a few nights ago. It was then that I realized that my cherished video of camp had not been see for at least 15 years, has life had gotten busy with moves and such, and most likely it was no longer playable anyway.

Now don't get me wrong. I only mention the above for two reasons:

One, to give an idea just what kind of camper I was. Fun loving, and serious enough not to get in the way of the more serious kids, but not somebody who would be considering a future in space, or looking to take any great advantage of the education.

And two, just to mention I've been in an actual Star Trek show, because, oh come on, who wouldn't brag a little about that now and then? (Even if even I couldn't even for sure pick myself out in the shot the last time I looked up the show on YouTube, lol.) And at Space Academy to boot...Just how cool, out of all cool things Space Camp, is that? :mrgreen:

But I digress. Has I was saying, I started thinking on the old video, and it occurred to me that there may have been a very slim chance that this video could have been kept in records, and therefore could be re-acquired. (Doesn't look like it.) Did a little searching, and came up bingo, but ok, the investigator in me says, "No problem. There were other kids there. Other videos were bought. Let's do a little digging for those.", and a broader search of the internet soon followed.

Unfortunately, No luck there has of yet, (mainly because I haven't dug up enough details from my memory yet for a decent search for any of these people), but I do have some pretty good ideas of where I may have some names, and maybe even some old letters, so I remain positive at this time. However, has luck would have it, during all of this searching, I found various links leading here.

While I do not think this site will be in anyway helpful in my quest, I was very glad to have found it. It would seem that I may be entering into my 20th, or 30th childhood at this time you see, and suddenly I find myself very much interested in Space Camp again. Indeed, after two nights of reading this site, I've already told the wife that I'm going back to adult camp, in the next few years, for new memories, friends, and a restock of space icecream.

Her reply was, "Oh, aren't you cute!", and a lot of giggling, so that's a go. (I get the same thing when I successfully lobby for buying any of my more expensive Lego Technic sets... :wink: )

So there you have it. Not much detail there, I know, but the basics of the story.

Has for why I registered? I just love the idea of this site. I've read through much of it, and while my memory has gotten very weak on my own experiences, I like the idea of that being refreshed somewhat by what I read here. Maybe I'll even have a story or two of my own, or even, maybe, run into an old friend. Never know. The world is indeed small in the universe.

In the mean time, glad I found this. It's the primary reason I find myself with that childhood excitement welling up again, for a place called Space Camp. :D
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Vincent
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Vincent »

Brad S. wrote:"No problem. There were other kids there. Other videos were bought. Let's do a little digging for those.", and a broader search of the internet soon followed.
That's how I was able to get a copy of one of my trips to camp! I didn't get a video, but I was placed on a video team. A few years ago, I tracked down an old teammate and asked her to lend me the video so that I could digitize it. Now I have a copy!

Keep hope alive!

And welcome!
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Hotdog »

Welcome to the club! Always glad to have alumni find us and join in on the conversations here. I strongly urge you to register at http://www.spacecampalumni.com/ as well. The Space Camp Alumni Association will keep you up to date on all things Space Camp, and they may also be able to help you find your old teammates (assuming they have also registered).

I still have my old Camp video from 1989, but I'm afraid to watch it! :oops:
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Brad S.
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Brad S. »

Thank you both!

I have indeed registered with the Alumni site. I actually did that has soon has I found it, but I finally had to force myself to quit looking for a bit, and get off the computer, lol. I managed to resist the urge to continue for the next 12 hours, but I may look into help there in the next day or two.

I'm currently optimistic on a lead, that has lead me to a woman on Facebook. I need to find some more evidence before I will allow myself to send an inquiry, but it looks very promising. Right age, birthplace, school, etc, but I have a rule that I don't bug people that I am not 90% sure about, and the years attending high school seem to be just a little off to be correct. I don't remember her last name at this time, which likely has changed anyway, but I would like to confirm that from some old letters I should have, if I can.

If that pans out, it should get me in touch with her brother also, who was in my room in Hab1, and possibly a few other people. Both brother and sister were regular attendants to camp, and I know they had a habit of keeping in touch/planning attendance with a few other friends. Some of those were also on our team that year.

The really annoying thing is that I thought of this girl often for years. I don't know about her, but I would guess from the frequent "No PDA please" requests from the camp counselors, that I was probably somebody that she would remember, but somehow I have simply lost the memory of the last name in the last few years. I used to know it like has if we'd always stayed in touch, but now, "Poof", it escapes me. Frustrating.

I should also probably explain that I have a background in Law Enforcement/Criminal Investigation. I've actually relocated a fair number of friends, from roughly the same period, in recent years. I find this enjoyable, but I have very strict personal rules about how to go about these things. Frankly, I find the ease of locating people on the modern internet to be creepy at best has it is, so I am very hesitant to put information out there about another person, even if it helps to locate them, and I don't like to contact people until a certain standard of evidence is met. Even then I assume that they may not remember me, or may otherwise be uninterested in contact. (It's probably for that reason that I am most hesitant to go through third parties at this time, such has the Alumni Assoc, or I would have likely already have done so yesterday.) If it seems like I am resistant to some suggestions, it's not because they are bad suggestions. Such suggestions are very welcome, but may simply be held in reserve, lest my usual methods fail. :wink:

Has for those videos guys, if you haven't already, I'd get those transferred to both DVD, and digital storage if you can. They'll last much, much longer that way. I definitely regret putting this off myself.


***UPDATE****

Found her!....Sort of. Multiple confirmed photos in a yearbook on Classmates. No attached account however, and searches of Facebook, Google, etc, are producing less than fruitful results. It does however provide the last name, has well has some other useful info. Going to cross reference against her brother now, and men are easier to trace in my experience. (YAAAAAY! :D :D :D )


***UPDATE 2***

Likely matches found on facebook for both brother and sister, with common friends/family listed between, a proper correct home town listed, and some apparent relatives that I may be able to cross reference with other sources. All in all, too many coincidences to leave me much doubt, so I'm currently deciding on contacting what appears to be the brother. Woot!
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by SpaceCanada »

Hello, and welcome to Hab1!

I'm of no use when it comes to the 1989-90 camp dates or finding long lost friends or videos, but I wish you luck in your search.

Space Camp has changed significantly since my first camp in 1998; even more if you haven't been there since 1990! You probably won't even recognize the place, yet alone the new buildings and simulators. You're probably seen the current Space Camp brochures and a few photos in your searches; the whole place is different.

There is rumour of a week-long adult camp for the public in October, which may be worth looking into when details are released. (Keep checking here, as these things become popular threads rather quickly.) That would give you the most immersive experience and allow you to become closer knit with some of your team. You will experience more simulators, longer missions, and possibly one of the newer Mars missions. I'm sure the weekend camps are great too, though condensed, and whatever you can afford for both time and money will be worth it. The general consensus here seems to be that if you enjoyed Space Camp as a child, you'll definitely enjoy it as an adult, possibly more than before.

Good luck, have fun, and keep us posted.
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by p51 »

Brad, post the photos you have. Many of us here (myself included) didn't get to go as kids, so we missed the experience of going before the age of 18. I always love seeing old SC (Space Camp, not South Carolina) photos and I know I'm hardly the only here who does!
SpaceCanada wrote:There is rumour of a week-long adult camp for the public in October, which may be worth looking into when details are released.
Oh, how I hope you're right about that. That'd be the perfect time as I plan on heading to Florida to see Mom for her 80th birthday anyway (I was down there at the end of February for Dad's 80th, no could I swing by Huntsville then, though).
I'm of course hoping for a repeat of the week-long program with 'Hoot' Gibson as I couldn't swing it in 2015. But even still, I've never gotten to do a SC program longer than 4 days. Man, I want do that, bad!
Brad, you should try to get to Huntsville if you can for an adult program session. Sure, it's different than your experience as a kid, but each time I've gone, I've been with a highly motivated and enthused group of adults. It's well worth the time and money if you're an SC alumni or just a space fan in general...
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Brad S.
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Brad S. »

Oh, for the love of.....(Spent 30+ minutes replying, hit the Backspace key, and Firefox made it all disappear) :roll:

That wouldn't be so bad if I didn't like to write novels...and I could remember to save drafts. Ah well.

Ok, abbreviated version:

Pictures I should have, and most likely in good condition, but that will take time. The side effect of many moves has a child, later with the Army, and continuing into adult life for various business, is that items like that have been in storage for a very long time. The albums would have gone into the current lock-up approximately 15 years ago, and even earlier into the previous units. What I have would likely require a weekend's worth of digging through U-haul's largest storage space, and finding the time for that may take awhile on it's own. That was part of the reason that the video search got started in the first place, given that such storage is not known to be kind to that era of video technology. I do plan on looking, however, has I am just has interested in looking at them again myself.

The current video search is now in wait and see mode. I have found the brother and sister with 110% certainty, and have sent out inquiries on Facebook. Now I just have to wait to see if I'll hear back, and if the video can be had through them. Realistically, I may not get a response of course, or they may not have the video, so I've already braced for the possible dead end there. The accounts in question have very little activity, suggesting they may not even get the messages, or that it may take months or more, and 25 years can sometimes simply be too long between hellos for some people. We'll see.

The part that I regret the most about losing my previous post attempt, was a wonderfully wordy response to the question of how things have changed. Yet surprisingly, I find myself pleasantly surprised on how much of the old remains, albeit often with subtle (and sometimes less than subtle) changes. Unfortunately, I have the habit of spewing out nostalgia at a rate befitting a man twice my age, (A habit for oral history that I choose to blame on the Native American branch of the family tree, and a long family tradition of stealing various bits and pieces of the cultures that we've married in to :lol: ), so I had gone through quite a few observations. I regret that these will now have to wait for another time, has I am getting pretty tired, but indeed you are correct SpaceCanada. The place has indeed undergone much change. That fact that despite that change, I can see much of the old in the new, is definite testimony to the hard work and dedication of all those that keep it all going however. Very impressive.

Last words for this night, I sadly suspect that this year will simply be too busy to attend any camp sessions that may present themselves, but I am definitely going to be looking into next year. I do believe that at least one pilgrimage back shall surely be required. The longer the session, the better. :D

And with that, good night all!
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Hotdog »

What part of the world are you living in now, Brad? If it's not too much trouble, you could come down for the Alumni Festival in July. It's a 4-day reunion of sorts, with a ton of activities, culminating in what will be an 80's-themed concert under the Pathfinder shuttle. I attended last year and it was AWESOME. If you can't come down for one of the adult camps, this is the next-best thing!
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Brad S.
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Brad S. »

Oh, the drive isn't much of an issue. At a forced march it could be done by car in under 20 hours, from up near Chicago.

The main issue is that the wife and I are taking care of my mother, who is in year three of some pretty nasty cancer. This is the first time in the three that we've made it to march without major surgery, but the trade off is that she's on chemotherapy every other week, indefinitely. That pretty much means she's too sick to be left alone for at least half of the time in between, and we'd have to fit things in so that my wife could take the time off while I go play.

Putting the trip off a year is much easier to co-ordinate, has well has giving us a chance to see how things progress from here on out, given the situation.
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by majtom7 »

Brad S. wrote:Oh, the drive isn't much of an issue. At a forced march it could be done by car in under 20 hours, from up near Chicago.
What kind of car? I used to do it in 10. ;)
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Brad S.
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Brad S. »

Hehe. A cruddy old 2001 Ford Taurus station wagon, with over 250,000 miles on it. 5 of those 20 hours would be spent in gas stations, and another few for rest stop breaks, due to the hard Ford seats. :lol:
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Re: Greetings fellow campers!

Post by Brad S. »

HA! Found them. I'm currently in contact, and the brother thinks he may have the video. (Happy dance..)
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