Wandawega Blog Archive

The most important thank you note a guest has ever left for us.Do you remember the first time that you caught a fish, frog or firefly? Jumped off a dock into a lake? Roasted a marshmallow on a campfire? The basic rite of passage summer camp kid things that we all take for granted- are foreign concepts for lots of kids who live in so many of our Chicago neighborhoods. This past week we hosted ABC anchor @TanjaBabich to launch her new initiative: @LakeaffectChicago..In partnership with Kerry Woods @woodfamilyfoundation, they gave a diverse group of amazing urban kids the chance to experience their own firsts workshops in campfire building, astronomy, nature hiking, history tours, the crucial skill of smore building. Our hope is that this one small thing – a three-day-long retreat for kids who otherwise dont make it out of the city – will show our campers that there is a whole world of possibilities open to them with people who want to help along the way. – Tanja Babich, founderRipples make waves. #lakeaffectchicago #abc7chicago : @ourdaysphotoandfilm

August 16, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Progress report from the camp back acres….The new little nature watching cabin is a short hike down the trail – up the hill, just past the new camp latrines (and across from the tipi)..Her floor has been shored up, and cedar shake shingles are going up! Even though shes still a work in progress, were starting to try out different lounge chairs..When shes done being freshened up – it wont look much like the small animal barn she was originally built to be nearly a hundred years ago. (Thank you, @bhwoodworks ) .#butfirstcoffee

August 12, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Girl crush Sunday .Geeked out to have @lizmariegalvan of @thefoundcottage with her sweet little family here at camp this weekend.. (When guests post pictures of their stays here- like thIs, it makes us want to finish our stay in every bed tour that we started years ago….So we can experience what its like to bunk up in every sort of bed we have here…from a Boy Scout tent to a military cot to cabin bunk beds to a canned ham trailer fold out to a cot in a teepee, a camp bed in the bunk room- with dozens beds its going to take a while…..What we do know so far is that they all are varying degrees of uncomfortable- #camplife

August 11, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Can anyone translate German? (we never thought wed see this)A Belgium coffee table book BAUM HAUSER just showed up in the camp mailbox this morning, with a little chapter of our treehouse in it Many folks dont know why our treehouse is called Toms.The Daily Mail summarized it pretty succinctly : (link on profile) Excerpt:Camp owner builds three-story treehouse in memory of her father, who christened the camp by hanging a swing on that very tree just before his deathIt was a nice surprise to see the story of what he inspired show up in far flung pages like this book- ( a beautiful reminder that the things we build for each other are what creates the most lasting impressions.)So while we dont know what these words in their book actually say – they say everything to us. .When you visit Toms treehouse next, we want people to know why it exists, who dad was. (In the last photo of you zoom in, you can just make out the tree behind dad and I on the day David and I got married here)..Dad was too damned humble to have ever admitted it, but I think that would have gotten a kick out of seeing this little story about giving broken things a second life..Story:https://tinyurl.com/y6a4roqofirst photo: @bennettyoungco

August 8, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

We wear a lot of hats here at camp: part-time plumbers, emergency fixers, groundskeepers, time travelers, repair artists… But perhaps the hat we dont always acknowledge is our role as Storytellersso we nerded out when @airbnb approached us to create a #HowToHost episode on crafting and sharing your story – now live (link in bio). To our extended community here: Thanks for listening. Thanks for sharing. And thank you for being a part of our story. #ad

July 25, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

YOU NEED A VACATION.”the average U.S. employee uses barely half of their annual paid time off” thanks @TheManualGuidefor the wake-up call article, thereminder & honor of including usfive camp-style lodges where you can unplugEXCERPT:”According to a2017 study by Glassdoor, the average U.S. employee uses barely half of their annual paid time off. Worse, even those who do take a vacation generally fail to use it for the rest and relaxation. What are they doing instead, you ask?Alas, habit is a hard thing to break. Not just the habit of being constantly online, but the habit of being incessantly busy, of somehow loving the stress of beingso freaking important, of doing just one more thing before you finally let yourself relax.t shouldnt be this hard to take a vacation. And back in the day, it wasnt. Just a generation or two ago, taking a vacation meant really getting away from it all fleeing the confines of the city and the cares of workday life for a restful week at a sprawling lake house, a cozy family cabin, or a rustic lodge shared by fellow urbanites rediscovering the joys of roughing it.Believe it or not, these types of rustic woodland getaways still exist. In this modern age of constant connectivity, theyre more necessary than theyve ever been”. . “Camp Wandawega is the first name on any urbanites lips when theydream of a lazy summer getaway. It started life as a speakeasy in 1925 but was transformed into a wholesome family resort in the 1950s, where hard working middle-class folks could get away for fresh air and sunshine, home-cooked meals, and good company. With new ownership and a brand refresh to match, Camp Wandawega is an unlikely trendsetter, tempting jaded urbanites with old-fashioned Midwestern values and the promise of doing absolutely nothing. While most of the camp property is rented out for large groups, a small collection of cabins, Scout tents, and even a tipi can be rented individually THE OTHER LODGES FEATURED IN THE TOP FIVE LIST: they are all on our bucket list now)KEWEENAW MOUNTAIN LODGE, COVE POINT LODGE, NANIBOUJOU LODGE, CANOE BAY First two shots of the hillhouse @bobcoscarelli

July 24, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

The new little nature watching cabin is coming along slowly but surely. .A reconstructed undercarriage on her 100 year old body was the saving grace to get her moved to camp without collapsing in a heap..(Shes made it up the hill and is perched on the ridge overlooking the kettle, so when you visit us next, you can have your coffee with lakeview on one side, forest on the other.).Still a long way to go, but we are counting our blessings today- We are so damn lucky to have our co-camp director Brad – a talented carpenter and builder resurrecting this one. @bhwoodworks (and Frankie as furry counselor to assist)Next up: her Cedar shake shingles

July 23, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

UPDATE: to be respectful of Native American culture, we have removed the items here from the souvenir dispenser that are Native American in style – THE TINIEST STOREFRONT.Asking our little camp delivery truck to pull double-duty. Shes decided that after nearly 70 years of loyal service delivering everything from bread to car parts, she now wants to be a Camp Canteen (so we spent the weekend stocking her with all of our favorite souvenir-y things)But we still need 5 more items before she can open her doors for yall – to complete her teensiest store inventory alphabet.Anybody have ideas that start with QUXYZ??? They can be little to fit in the antique vending machines or as as tall as 6 – her inside height…A> Arrowheads. .B> Bobbers. Books. Brochures. Bracelets. Baby Binoculars and Bumper stickers..C> Cups and Compasses..D> Dice and Decals..E> Embroidered badges..F> Figurines. Fishhooks and Forever tree books..G> Glasses. .H> Hatpins..I> Indianhead emblems..J> Journals..K> Keychains and Knives. .L> Lures and Lanyards..M> Mugs. Matchstrikes. Matches and Moccasin fobs .N> Necklaces..O> Oars..P> Posters. Pins. Patches. Postcards and Pipes. .Q> ??????.R> Rabbits feet..S> Shirts. Slingshots. Stickers. Souvenirs. Spoons. Soaps. Stamps Smokey pins and Sweatshirts..T> Thimbles.Tattoos. Towels. Toy turtles and T-shirts..U> ??????.V> Vintagenotecards..W> Whistles. Wallets and Wandawega gear..X> ?????.Y> ?????.Z> ?????..Featuring match strikes by @grandmontstreet oars by @sanborncanoe tees by @threadless all three camp books by @randomhouse and more products for the sidecar, visit @uralmotorcycles and the kids toys visit @crateandkids // .powered by @conwayelectric .More at #wandawegacustoms

July 15, 2019 • Published by Tereasa Surratt