Heritage Camp ended with a closing ceremony in which a dozen or so campers talked about the positive impact camp has made on their lives, in addition to being so much fun. One of my favorite observations came from an adoptive father who read a poem he’d written. I don’t have his words in front of me, but the gist of it was how Heritage Camp is about each child finding his or her own voice, and feeling confident enough to use it. Exactly.
En route to Denver Airport we stopped at Winter Park so Olivia and Mateo could go down the Alpine Slide and try the Bungee Jump. An adoptive mother and her son, who live in Colorado, had mentioned Winter Park at dinner on Saturday night. Once Olivia and Mateo heard about the place, there was no question that we’d have to stop. The other family met us there.
The Alpine Slide came first. As I waited at the bottom of the mountain—I’m not a fan of heights or speed—everybody except me hopped onto the chair lift and got carried to the top. What seemed like many minutes later, they finally appeared—zigging and zagging down the mountainside seated in small yellow luges, fists gripping the controls to maximize speed.
After a round of breathless high-fives, the kids led the charge to the Bungee Jump. Up, up, up—almost high enough to touch the sky. There was time only for a quick round of ice cream cones before we had to hug our new friends goodbye and drive to the airport so we could return home.
If all goes well, we’ll be back next year.
ShareThisTags: adoptive families, Alpine slide, bungee jump, Colorado Heritage Camps, Latin American Heritage Camp, Winter Park
