Website for Plantation Farm Camp: http://www.plantationcamp.com/

Re: Mixed sports summer camp for 13-year-old
Highest possible recommendation for Plantation Farm Camp! We have 3 girls (11, 12, 13) who all rate Plantation Farm Camp as a 100 on a scale of 1 - 10! It is a 3.5 week sleep-away camp for boys and girls ages 8-16 or so, 2 hours drive from the Bay Area, has been going for almost 60 years, and is run by a couple who are extraordinarily warm, skilled at dealing with kids, solid, values-based, and committed to the emotional health and growth of their campers as well as to their safety, peacefulness, and joy. Mature counselors are hired from around the world, and the kids spend 24/7 out doors except for barn dances in the 100+ year old barn. They also have a commitment to families with varied means and have a great scholarship program. The camp is open to visit one weekend a month all year so you can check it out ahead of time. This will be our 3rd year and, as an over-zealous parent, I have only good things to say about our Plantation Farm Camp experience. Andrea

Re: Mountain Meadow Camp
My daughter went to Mountain Meadow last year and my son went to Plantation Farm Camp. The camps seemed kind of similar yet each picked a different one. While my son was adamant that he wanted to go back to Plantation and is there again this year, my daughter said her experience was fine but didn't want to go back to MM this year. She enjoyed her time at MM, I just didn't really feel that she was as connected or felt that camp had as much of an impact on her as Plantation did for my son. camper mom

Re: Farm Vacation Stay
Plantation Farm Camp is a summer camp on a working farm located in northern Sonoma county and it sounds like what you are looking for. Besides its children's sessions, it has a family camp which would provide you and your family the opportunity to live and work on the farm for four days. During your stay, you have the chance to work in an organic garden, and care for the horses and livestock including cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. The website is www.plantationcamp.com. My husband and I run the camp and are happy to answer any questions you have. Feel free to contact me at kelly[at]plantationcamp.com or in our Berkeley office 510-849-1084. Kelly

Dear Parents--If you're looking for a dynamic, residential summer camp in a gorgeous setting, consider Plantation Farm Camp in Sonoma County in Northern California. Once you get past the name, which for some may conjure visions of that unfortunate chapter in US history, you will discover a marvelous camp experience that is completely geared towards kids and provides loads of fun, stability and community-buil ding in a structured environment. What one hears over and over about this camp are accounts of the wonderful friendships campers forge here and that Plantation is often a pivotal life experience for many. The camp is a 500-acre working farm which features such daily activities as pool and lake swimming, horseback riding, crafts, drama, song, and the ever-popular Saturday night barn-dancing with music ranging from Israeli favorites to 70's disco to Miriam Makeba's ''Pata Pata''. There are outdoor games like ''Capture the Flag'' and the ''Slip 'N' Slide''--Plantation's home-grown answer to ''Raging Rapids''--and farm chore in the camp's own organic vegetable garden and with the horses, cows, goats, sheep, kittens and puppies that abound. My thirteen-year-old son, a three-year Plantation veteran, reports that he still enjoys doing the rain and sun dances which ''help'' the garden grow, and picking the big, fresh blueb erries from the plot beyond.

There is a three-day ''Canoe Camp'' for interested campers and the traditional all-camp hike to the nearby, stunning Pacific coastline culminating in ''The Beach Bake'' cook-out. Food is prepared by skilled chefs on site and includes fresh produce from the garden, farm meats and vegetarian fare. This is a camp that will be on the front burner in your child's mind year round. You will never hear the end of it, and for parents who desire their kids to be happily occupied in summer, that's good. Yesterday, January 16, my son and friends were discussing dreams which have convinced the children that they are in paradise. My son recounted that in his dream he awakened at home on the day he was to leave for Plantation. We drove him to Plantation where he underwent the familiar Day One camp orientation. The campers then had dinner and afterwards moved to their units to enjoy< BR>their nightly campfire. As they settled into their sleeping bags to go to sleep, their counselor said, ''Goodnight. We'll have lots of fun in the morning.'' In the morning, my son awoke and, of course, found himself at home in his own bed. He said he felt very disappointed that he hadn't actually gone to Plantation! Plantation Farm Camp accepts children from ages 7/8 to 17. John Chakan and Kelly Marston are the camp's dynamic directors. Camp counselors are carefully-selected, positive, caring individuals who love kids.

There are two, three-and-a-half-week-long sessions at this residential camp. To contact Plantation, write or call Plantation Farm Camp, Inc., 34285 Kruse Ranch Road, Cazadero, CA 95421, (707) 847-3494, or email them at www.plantationcamp.com. Laurie