Some weeks back, a few of us at Proozy were having some water-cooler talk about the ultimate camping spot. All the usual suspects were there: Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and even the 50 yard line of the new US Bank Stadium. (With a caveat of "not during a Vikings game, of course"). Then someone offered the most exclusive woods retreat known throughout the nation: Camp David in rural Maryland.
Not knowing much about the little-talked-about Presidential retreat, I did what all lazy people do: I checked Wikipedia. As it turns out, since it was built in 1935, every president has visited and most have used it to broker deals with other foreign leaders.
(I realize this is the internet, but let's put politics aside for a few minutes, please?)
Here's a short list of Important Campers or Events
- FDR & Winston Churchill met in 1943 to likely make fun of an Austrian guy's silly mustache, among other things.
- Eisenhower had his entire security council meet there. You know at least one person spotted a squirrel and made some sort of Boris and Natasha spying joke.
- The Kennedy children rode horses, while JFK preferred boats and the ocean.
- LBJ met with the Australian and Canadian Prime Ministers
- Nixon frequently went to try and find a way out of Vietnam with his staff. He also decided the lodge needed a swimming pool. (Weird Fact: previously mentioned Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming in time between his Camp David visit and Nixon building the pool).
- Carter hosted the Egyptian and Israeli leaders to work out some differences and came up with the "Camp David Accords" in what is perhaps the most famous peace deal to come out of the wooded retreat.
- Reagan spent the most amount of time there of any president, and who could blame him. He also hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and hopefully talked about their favorite Billy Joel albums.
- George H.W. Bush saw his daughter Dorothy get married there.
- Obama even held the "G8 Summit" on the grounds of Camp David in 2012
Camp Counselors
The retreat into nature is as essential to world leaders as it is to us at Proozy. There seems to be a strong bonding effect when people surround themselves with nature. We let our guard down a little and actually hear what people have to say a little more than in formal settings. These were the sentiments that were filling our heads and hearts as we returned from our holiday vacations this summer. Also, that we have tons and tons of products to make your next camping trip that much easier. See for yourself HERE.