A.R.E. Camp Rural Retreat VA

The Director's Cabin is where the Camp Directors have their office, and also where they sleep. The directors are in charge of all the business parts of camp, so if you have questions about forms, etc., you should go to them. The Director's Cabin also has the Camp Store, which sells things like flashlights and toothpaste and stamps.

The Dining Hall is where we eat all our meals. Food is served family-style, and tables seat between 6 and 8 people, so meals are definitely a social event. The Dining Hall also tends to be the hub of camp activity. Gatherings are held on the large back porch, and games are kept inside for anyone to use.

What are the meals like? Will my picky 10-year-old be able to eat?
What if I have special dietary needs?

Our kitchen works hard to provide meals which are healthy, kid-friendly, and which follow Cayce's ideas about food. Many vegetables come from our own organic garden. Since it is difficult to please everyone when cooking for 100 people, our kitchen is very accommodating for people with special dietary needs, and peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches are almost always available for picky eaters.

Our sleeping cabins are rustic; they are open-air, screened-in wooden buildings. They have no electricity or running water. Recently, all the cabins have been renovated due to a generous donation; they all have new roofs, new or repaired screens, and a new porch!

During Children's sessions, five or six campers sleep in a cabin with one or two counselors. During Family Sessions, cabins are shared by one or two families.

The Dance Hall is an open-air building with a cement floor and a stage at one end. We have weekly square dances there, with music provided by a local band.

Our wooden stage was built by friends of the camp only a couple years ago. It allows us to use the Dance Hall for Talent Shows, which happen near the end of every session.

The camp pond is a stream-fed pool about a quarter-mile away from camp. As well as being our camp swimming hole, it is also a home to small fish, turtles, and frogs.

During family sessions, families are encouraged to enjoy some time on the beach, but during children's sessions, campers use the pond only when a lifeguard is there during an acivity period.

Latrines & Showerhouse
The Showerhouse is located between the Highland and Lowland sides (although it is closer to the Lowland cabins.) It is divided into a men's side and a women's side, with two showers for the men and three for the women. The showerhouse also contains laundry facilities for campers.

Our bathrooms are pit latrines and composting toilets. These facilities are cleaned daily.

Nurse's Cabin
A certified EMT or RN serves as the Camp Nurse during every session. The Nurse's Cabin (or Wellness Cabin) has emergency equipment and a refridgerator for medications. He/she also stocks a variety of Homeopathic and Cayce-recommended, as well as traditional, remedies for minor aches and pains.

During Children's Sessions, we ask that campers keep all medications in the Nurse's Cabin, unless they need to carry it with them at all times.

Library
The camp library is made up mostly of donated books. It has a little bit of everything: children's books, philosophy, plant identification, and so on. We also have a collection of old "circulating files" from the A.R.E. These are booklets containing information from the readings on a certain subject. Both health topics and metaphysical topics are covered.

Craft Hall
The Craft Hall, as you could probably guess, is where we do crafts. Although we lock up expensive or dangerous supplies, there are always basic materials, like paper, crayons, markers, scissors, and yarn available for anyone to use.

Among our many craft activities are Tie-dye, candle-making, painting, mask-making, "warm fuzzies," and beading. We also use art to explore some Cayce concepts, through crafts such as dream journals, meditative mandalas, a chakra collage.

Garden
The Camp Garden is an organic garden, with one gardener who cares for it the whole summer. We usually grow lettuce, carrots, beans, squash, and lots of other yummy things! Edgar Cayce recommended that people eat food that is grown locally; what could be better than food we grow right in our own garden!
The gardener is almost always delighted to have help, or just company, while he or she works.

For more information, contact Karen Kell A.R.E. Youth and Family Coordinator call 757-428-3588 ext. 7166, - email karen or Suebee Sheldon A.R.E. Youth and Family Manager 215 67th Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23451 or call, 757-428-3588, ext. 7162, - email suebee