COSTA 2014 Dia Primero!

Hola Parentals,

           We may have hit a few speed bumps along the way (literally and figuratively), but we finally made it to the hotel around 2  a.m. After waking from our Dramamine induced comas, we ate a traditional Costa Rican breakfast buffet. Apparently rice and beans is a trademark dish here. Once we finished eating, we boarded our shuttle bus and headed to go canyoning.

Canyoning is a mix of repelling and hiking across multiple terrains including natural rock terrains and rainforests. The first of the repelling obstacles was 168ft down a sheer faced rock wall that had a water fall flowing down it. The next three obstacles were smaller but just as fun due to our encouraging and comedic guides. In between the repels, we hiked through the rainforest with gorgeous views of both flora and fauna of which included a multitude of plantain trees and the most poisonous frog in the world (at a close distance, of course). After the canyoning adventure, we headed back to base camp and had another typical Costa Rican lunch of red beans and rice, chicken, plantains, and a delicious pineapple-papaya drink. Cheers to our awesome tour guides for serving us lunch after guiding us through the rainforest.

After a quick pit-stop at the hotel to dry off and change clothes, we made our way to the Safe House for another brand of adventure. Bringing with us the donated clothing and toys, we spent the afternoon chasing and being chased by twenty of the sweetest kids that we communicated with through hugs, smiles, and broken Spanish.  We kicked around the soccer ball, threw Frisbees, gave piggyback rides, and played in the sand for an hour and a half until the kids and the group played ourselves into a well-deserved time of relaxation. We left the kids with smiles and promise that we would return on Monday to continue our game of tag!

We returned to the hotel for a relaxing evening consisting of swimming in the natural hot spring pools that come straight from the volcano bringing along on its journey to the hotel many refreshing and moisturizing minerals. Science is cool. We capped off our evening at the hotel restaurant dining on a wide array of global cuisine. After stuffing ourselves with delicious food, we headed back to the rooms to hang out and talk as a big group.

We are looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

Sloth Watch 2014: Day 1

The group remains devoid of sloth sightings.

Total: 0

-       Your favorite chaperone and camper duo/team/squad/pair/pack/junior suite living roomies/one less than a group/ones and onlys/alliance/sloth loving/twosome/platonic couples/buds/pals/friends/allegiance/fraternal twins (not really)/duplet/confidants/play fellow/alter ego/getting to the point where we finish each other’s sentences-sentences…

Teddy and Reed (Repping Room 611)

                   

Day at Camp Groupon Special Event!

Two weeks ago, Camp Balcones Springs launched its Day at Camp special through Groupon! On Friday, April 18, the Retreat at Balcones Springs opened its doors to children and families for a “taste of camp,” previewing our summer programs with a day packed full of camp activities! Our guests zip-lined across Lake Ted and took a dip in its cool waters, flying off of the Blob and down the slide to cool off. Guests also took a shot (or two) at the CBS riflery range, in addition to enjoying family-style camp meals in the Rio Grande dining hall. We were so glad to welcome all of our guests to camp—even if only for a day—and we hope we see more of you this summer! Visit the Camp Balcones Springs’ website to find out more about all of our summer programs, and join in the fun!

Day at Camp was coordinated by Tammy McKinney.

Father/Daughter Weekend at CBS!

This past weekend, the Retreat at Balcones Springs held our annual Father/Daughter Weekend! Tons of dads and their lovely little ladies joined us for games, fun, and most importantly—quality time together! Our visiting dads and daughters played volleyball, went fishing, soared up into the air on our Charlotte’s Web trampoline, flew through the sky on the Screamer—a rope’s course “ride” that lets participants securely soar back and forth after dropping from the top of our rock climbing wall--, handmade pizzas together, and finally, got dolled up for a fancy dinner party—very similar to our popular Girls’ Dinner event during summer camp.

Some comments left by our guests include:

“We love it here…it really is a special place.”

“This is my second trip to the Retreat. I am very impressed, Your staff always makes me feel welcome and special.”

“It was a great experience, and I can’t wait to come back.”

We loved hosting the Father/Daughter Retreat, not only because we had the pleasure of meeting so many fabulous dads and daughters, but also because it got us thinking about our summer camp program! Less than two months remain until our gates open for the first term of camp! If this weekend sounds fun to you, prepare to be blown away by how much we have to offer during camp season! Visit our Camp Balcones Springs website to sign up.

CBS Feeds the Poor in Austin

On January 31st , CBS high school campers, summer staff, and full time directors gathered in downtown Austin to set up the CBS “Mobile Soup Kitchen” to provide dinner to the hungry and homeless of Austin. CBS alumni set up tables of hot food, drinks, and snacks and served 100 people in fellowship until all of the food had run out.

During the summer, CBS Leadership Training campers (high schoolers who have completed the eleventh grade) complete a day of service by taking a field trip to Austin and setting up a lunch-time version of this soup kitchen, serving anyone in need until all food runs out. Campers even serve water to any pets that show up!

This night was especially fun, since Austin high school campers were able to reunite with each other, summer staff members, and full time Girls Camp Director, Adrienne Grissom, and share in the experience of giving back to their collective Austin community.

After serving dinner, the CBS crew retired to owner Christine Baskin’s Austin home to celebrate the birthday of Xena Pierce with cupcakes and a hang out. It was great to reunite with summer friends in the spirit of helping those in need!

If you are interested in summer camp or the CBS Mobile Soup Kitchen, please send us an e-mail at info@campbalconessprings.com

Hi all,

Today was our last full day in Costa Rica and it is a bittersweet ending to the trip. While we are all sad to be leaving, our last day has been so much fun and by far one of the most memorable days as well as my personal favorite. We jump started the day with a 6:45 wake up and were out the door by 7:15. Dressed, packed, prepared to teach, and full of Kelli's yummy pancakes, we were ready to go. The drive to Escuela de Cerros was neat because it took us right through a plantation for the plants that produce palm oil and we got what the ticos call a "free costa rican massage" (aka a bumpy ride down a dirt road). When we pulled up to the school we were met by Karoline, the English teacher for grades 1-6. We paired up with each other and each pair was assigned to a grade. We assisted the teacher in leading each class and then got thirty minutes at the end of every period to conduct our own activities with the kids in each grade level. We played pictionary, charades, and different games to help the kids with their vocabulary. In me and Kelsey's second grade class we even got the chance to teach the kids one of our favorite camp songs, "My Father's House." Some of the kids caught on to the lyrics and hand motions and joined us in the front of the classroom to sing and dance. It was a lot of fun. When we weren't teaching we were painting trashcans and tables or just playing with the kids. We taught them few fun hand games and chants in English and they taught us some Spanish ones in return. We also ran around in their yard playing soccer and held a big boys vs. girls game (girls won of course). The girls were so much fun and even gave us bows. It was an awesome day of hanging out with these kids.
Tonight we went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then just hung out back at the bungalows. We are all very tired from the long day and are headed to bed. Tomorrow we are going to hang out at the beach and then leave for San Jose to spend our last night near the airport.
Buenos Noches! Besos
Love,
Audrey

'Twas a Sunday in Costa Rica

'Twas a Sunday in Costa Rica, when all through the bungalow
Not a creature was stirring, not even a monkey of the jungle-o
The bathing suits were hung in the shower with care
In hopes that they would dry in the Costa Rican air

 The children were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of zip lining danced in their heads
And soon they were wakened by pillows and noise
I guess that's what we get for rooming with boys


JAMBO! This is the Wolfpack (Megan, Kaleigh, Brooke) coming to you live from Costa Rica. We hope you are enjoying your last days of peace while we are away. Today was one of our last big adventures. (included in this blog post are Spanish vocab words)

We started off the day as all good days should start off...WITH BACON. Mama Adrienne showed off her domestic side by cooking us a plentiful breakfast in the comfort of our own bungalow cocina (that's kitchen for you Americans... and Canadians). Kaleigh  showed Megan and Brooke the ways of work crew while they helped prepare and clean up breakfast.

After breakfast we made our way in an autobus (bus) to the zip lining area in the rainforest.  When we got to the zip lining area we were given a tour of a butterfly and snake garden. There were many types of butterflies, but the prettiest ones were a bright azul (blue). We were determined to catch butterflies, but only a few lucky souls were chosen as a landing spot by the mariposas (butterflies). Thankfully, the snakes were in glass cages. The Harry Potter fans of the group tried out their parseltongue, we must not be related to Voldemort because the snakes didn't answer us. Our guides hurried us out of the garden after they realized we were obsessed with getting the butterflies to land on us.

The friendly zip lining crew strapped us in our harnesses, and we were ready to go! We started with a short zip line and then hiked 8.6 miles (more like .5 miles) up the rainforest. Armed with walking sticks, our guides leaded us up steep stairs. By the time we got to the top we smelled of rainforest juice and fear (a.k.a sweat). It was an experience my calves will always remember.  The course consisted of 10 zip lines, 2 free fall repels, and a tarzan swing. Rain fell from the Costa Rican clouds and it created a majestic scene in the jungle. As our guides soared through the trees it reminded me of monkeys, and I felt like Jane from Tarzan touring the rainforest from the tree tops. On the final zip line we were allowed to be hooked on to another one of our friends and fly through the trees together back to base.

After a lunch of pollo and rice we took an autobus back to our bungalows where we changed out of our now wet clothes and dispersed to do different activities. Kelli took a group of us to the market to get snacks and food for dinner and the rest of us went to the beach. The beach sits in a little cove and the waves were huge. We spent the time boogie boarding in the rain and the Kaleigh was magically turned into a sand mermaid.

It started to get late and a car came and picked us up and took us back to the bungalows so we could begin to get ready for dinner. We stayed in tonight and Kelli made us a beautiful dinner of burgers and chips. Megan dropped her phone 4 stories from the top of the bungalow but don't worry it survived... barely. We finished the night off with an M&M pazookie and we all made lessons plans for tomorrow to help teach children english.We are all looking forward to spending the day with the students. Buenos Noches

The Wolfpack