The HabForum

Next week, I'm arriving @ camp the day before it starts [sat. april 3rd], does anyone know what they have you do to pass the time before everyone else arrives on sunday???

it depends on what time you get there. i went a day early both times . the first time i went i got there late afternoon, my friend and i took showers cuz we needed to and the counselor let us, then we sat in our room talking to the other 2 girls that got there early until dinner. then we played 4 square w/ the boys, and then they went to watch a movie but we went to bed. last year i got there after dinner, so i had likea bag lunch dinner, then we all watched my favorite martian before bed. the next morning before the other people came we just went to the museum and played 4square and stuff. its fun because you get to meet people in other programs.
have a good time.

The only year i arrived early was in 96 for Aviation challenge. We got a bag dinner since we got their after dinner then went over to AC watched Return of the Jedi ordered some pizza then went to bed. The morning that everyone arrived while we waited we goofed off swam in the lake and played cards but that was AC dont know about camp.

Most of the time if you get there early you just kinda get to hang out until your program starts. I have learned that a deck of cards is a very invaluble resource to have at camp, early or not. Especially if you know how to play egyption rat screw which is like the camp game lol. So yeah you will probably get to watch movies and just hang so i would pick up a deck of cards if you can!

For some reason, it seems everyone does EALD, except me... I know it's not true, but I always get that feeling... almost makes me want to say to my Mom, "let's drive up there a day early... and you can pick me up a day late."

actually i got stuck late over x-mas camp because my plane got cancelled because planes weren't coming into chicago

i went for two weeks last year so i was there all day the day between programs, it was sooooo boring, we watched 4 movies and wandered around the museam and rocket park for like 4 hrs, ahhhh i wanna scream just thinkin about it.

I never get bored at camp even if it is just EALD....but hey that must just be me.

we also got to ride gforce and space shot alot and there were hardly any lines. so that was funnnn.

haha i rode space shot 18 times in a row without getting off...how fun

alright, so basically you can do whatever you want!? That sounds awsome considering that last time I went to camp, we had absolutely no free-time except for the 20mins before bed & I needed that as shower time. Anyway, I'm kinda looking forward to arriving early now.

ps: Is the space shot open in April?

It's been my experience that you can't exactly do whatever you want.

If you arrive early in the afternoon, they'll take you to lunch and then give you a tour of the place. They usually give you some museum time and Space Shot time, etc. But you can't just roam freely.

Toward the evening, you grab dinner and then they usually put you in Hab2 to watch a movie...I think I saw Apollo 13 two years in a row.

At any rate, it the time spent as an early arrival can be boring at times, if only because you know the fun and excitement awaiting you all week. But it's nice to just be there.

I also recommend a late departure. You don't have to skip out on graduation...one year a team member had to leave halfway through the EDM...and you get to stay an extra day!

One reason why so many people opt in for the EALD option is to cut the costs of airfare. To arrive on registration day and leave on graduation day it would cost me 300$ more in airfare than arriving a day early!
Besides, arriving early gives you a chance to relax before the action begins.

If you want anything from the gift shop, it's an excellent time for shopping without line-ups. If you're a photo-happy person, it's also a good time to get photos of the facilities before they're swarmed with people. If there aren't too many EALD people, the counsellors should be pretty flexible with activities such that the EALD group goes and does everything together. At least, that's my experience with EALD...

Playing cards are a definite asset to anyone at camp, especially for EALD. I have those funky-weird circular NASA cards in my collection (yes, I own about a dozen different decks of playing cards...) They make for an interesting game!

I've always had to do EALD because I could never get flights in or out at the right times. It can be boring especially if you're the last one to leave. In the summer of 2002 and 2003 I didn't leave until 3pm the day after grad so that was boring. Other thatn that it's nice to be able to walk around and relax. You can even get more time to look around the museum than during the week. I'll be doing EALD when I go back in May. I don't leave until 6pm the day after Grad so I'll be there for a long time.

well me and my whole eald group decided that EALD was kinda a tedious name so we named ourselves BOB it was pretty funny whn it was time for the group to gather the councellor would scream BOB and our whole group and a few random people named Bob would all come

hmm i like EALD mainly because i have more time to relax....and if there arent many people there i can just chill and basically do what i want. sure watching the movies can be boring after a while, but i wouldnt want to miss a second of camp in which i could be there.

MAYTAG wrote:well me and my whole eald group decided that EALD was kinda a tedious name so we named ourselves BOB it was pretty funny whn it was time for the group to gather the councellor would scream BOB and our whole group and a few random people named Bob would all come

I was there that week! Becky was my day counsellor. We hid on her too! She was awesome.

Hehe. Uh huh, yeah, that was WICKED funny. I thought I had lost all of you, Laura!

Vincent wrote:It's been my experience that you can't exactly do whatever you want.

.......yeah.....it sounded a little too good to be true.

anyway, thanks everyone for all the posts!

I'm just glad i was standing there so i could see the look on your face becky lol