Campfire Stories: WordCamp KC 2011

Miranda’s Campfire Story:
Years ago, I remember going with my mom and dad to drop off my older brother at Boy Scout Camp. He was there to learn how to make s’mores, swim, and camp in log cabins. I also remember going with my mom and dad to drop off my younger sister at horse-riding camp. She was there to, well, ride horses.

Now ask my brother and sister if they remember dropping me off at camp. The answer would be a resounding “No.” That’s because for one reason or another, I was never allowed to go. That is, I never went to camp until this weekend when Anda Creative attended WordCamp KC. Granted, there were no horses, no cabins, we couldn’t set any of the catered food on fire, and we were surrounded by fellow geeks within the walls of a slick, new modern art facility rather than a cabin. Other than that, it was just like camp.

Amanda’s Campfire Story:
When I was 11 my parents sent my sister and me to a 2 week camp in Potosi, MO (if the town sounds familiar to anyone that is
because the state prison is also in Potosi). After being at camp for like an hour I wanted to go. It was hot, dirty and I was not really great at making friends so I didn’t have anyone to hang out with. One hour turned into one week of misery. I was getting used to hating my days, though, so I told myself I could just go through the motions for one more week and it would be over. And then we went to Elephant Rock. It was supposed to be this grand field trip where we could not only vast in the greatness that is Elephant Rock, but also swim. Well, I still had no friends so I decided to hike around the area and do my own thing. And that is how I got a leach attached to my ankle. Yes, a #$%@#*% leach. Up until that point I thought that you had to be in a Third World Country (or that swamp in “Stand By Me”) to get a leach attached to you. Nope. Elephant Rock would do just fine. I still cringe to this day when I think about it. So I pulled the leach off, gagged a few times, went to the van to wait until it was time to go, got through the next week and have tried to think very little about camp ever since.

WordCamp KC was fun, though.

Anda Creative’s Campfire Story:
WordCamp KC was held in Overland Park, KS over the weekend. WordCamp is a WordPress conference that’s held in various cities around the world. This was Miranda’s first WordCamp experience, while it was Amanda’s second (Amanda also attended WordCamp NYC 2010). We attended the event to learn more about using WordPress as a CMS platform for designing and developing websites. We attended sessions from all three tracks (Designer, Developer, and Publisher)–Miranda focused on the Designer track, while Amanda focused on the Developer track, but all three were useful.

The folks in KC put together a great event. It was well-organized and well-attended, and we left feeling well-informed. Next, we’re looking forward to attending WordCamp Elephant Rock.