FEATURE: Summer camp for adults!

Activity: 4 day Digital Detox Summer Camp for Adults

Rating: 6 of 5 stars!

Website: http://campgrounded.org/

Details: In a nutshell: This is an adult summer camp where campers are separated into villages with bunkmates just like when you were a kid for a full 4 days of fun filled activities. While you can also chose to camp in a tent with your friends, the best part of the experience was fully embracing the camping life. This included no electronics or watches. While this may seem "too hippie" for most, by the end the majority would agree it was good to disconnect for a bit.

There was an underlying theme of wellness throughout the weekend. This included opportunities to talk to counselors, go to wellness activities, and partake in a vow of silence for a few hours one night. Don't let this discourage you if this is not your scene. Typically, this is not mine either. However. sometimes reflecting without other distractions can help relieve stress and allow you to be present in the activities.

What activities? Good question. This is exactly what you make of it. There are options to spend the day reading, type writing, making arts and crafts and having a relaxing weekend. Alternatively. there were people like me that wanted to be very active. The best part about camp is running around to the point of exhaustion, having a giant meal, and passing out after camp fires that made you laughed until you cried. The activities I chose were to fitness bootcamp, slack-line, acroyoga, and Zorb soccer. The latter was impromptu and so much fun!

The rest of the weekend involved group activities like a wedding themed dance, PJ brunch, and color wars. AMAZING.

 I rated the camp above 5 stars because you could make it any experience you wanted-- if you wanted to play music in the tea yurt until what was estimated as 4am you could, or  if you were in the mood to run and dance all day that was an option as well. 

Friends: In adulthood, much like as in childhood, sneaking into the boys camp on a covert mission to steal their camp flag creates a friendship that lasts longer than the weekend. Cheers to my friends Curly Sue, Avocado Toast, Shnitzel, Sushi, Snickers, Neon, Tapatio, and Nene  : )

Recommended for: adults to want to have some unapologetic fun

Camping at the Boonville Beer Festival

Everyone knows I love a good super hero theme!

Being outdoors is one of the best parts of living in the Bay Area. In May my friend took me to the Boonville Beer Festival in Mendocino County Fairgrounds. What/Where is Boonville might you ask? Why would you camp at a beer festival? Well let me explain.

We decided to camp because Boonville is about an hour and a half from SF. As it was starting to warm up the thought of a no-fog saturday was very enticing. So my friend packed up the Zip car and we were on our way to camping. We got there the night before the festival and set up camp. It was only $15 pp to camp per day and you were charged in cash at the entrance to the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. You know when you arrive because there is a painting of an apple riding a horse/dog. Apparently there is a Mendocino county fair with rodeos and apples. That I will investigate at a later date. 

Back to Boonville- camping was not as crowded as I anticipated for 11pm arrival. There was plenty of space in the open field. Some people had arrived much earlier- you could tell by the set up they had including a big screen monitor projecting music videos- and had taken the "better spots". The part that was missing from a traditional camping experience was the bonfire. There were no fire pits, so unless you brought your own - NO FIRE! Our group got settled in and hung out until it was past the time we could tolerate the cold. 

The next day was nice and sunny. We woke up, made breakfast, and prepared for the festival (made pretzel necklaces). Around noon they let in the VIP tickets and around 1pm everyone else was allowed to enter. There were several tents with local craft beers, an indoor area with craft beers, and some food stands scattered about. The ticket included a small tasting cup where you could go back for your favorites or try some artisanal beers. The most unique included one that tasted like hot chocolate (just not hot) and another that tasted like jalapeño. The food was pretty good and the music set the scene well. I would describe it as good for groups of friends to hang out. Apart from the small yet vocal bachelorette party, everyone was pretty friendly. 

After a full day in the sun our group made our way back for snacks, naps, and some kickball. I would like to say it was pretty low key, but there were some beer enthusiasts that took the party a little late. So if you are the type that considers camping a calming experience with nature I suggest you only stay 1 night. In my opinion it was not too bad that it was loud and it was easy to avoid participation if you were looking to relax.  I would recommend going at least for the day if you are into non-crowded craft beer events!

Until next time. Stay tuned.