Growing up, I watched films like The Parent Trap and It Takes Two, ‘90s classics where twin protagonists meet at summer camp and carry out shaving-cream and water-balloon pranks amid the most exciting cabin wars. I wanted so desperately to go away to camp for myself, to play tug-of-war, toast marshmallows, and then whisper under covers to a group of girlfriends I only saw a couple weeks every summer. And even though my Puerto Rican mother sat on the plastic-covered sofa next to me, also laughing when the identical characters fooled the adults around them into believing they were each other, she never budged when I’d beg her to sign me up for a camp experience of my own.
“No, hay hombres,” she’d say, rejecting my pleas on the same grounds she’d use to deny my requests to sleep over at my friends’ houses, too. There were men there. Men she didn’t know. Men she couldn’t protect me from if I was miles away from her.
“I wanted so desperately to go away to camp for myself, to play tug-of-war, toast marshmallows, and then whisper under covers to a group of girlfriends I only saw a couple weeks every summer.”
raquel reichard
I don’t blame Mami. According to research published in the peer-reviewed Trauma, Violence, & Abuse Journal in 2025, 3.7% of surveyed adults report experiencing child sexual abuse in youth service organizations, like summer camps, sports clubs, and religious organizations. Now as an adult, and an aunt, aware of the data and headlining stories, I understand and agree with Mami’s decision. But that understanding hasn’t quelled my inner child, still longing to spend a few days or weeks in nature, making camp friends and experiencing carefree fun and adventure. And now, I have the agency to make that choice for myself. So in July, I treated Baby Quels and signed up for Camp Elevate, an adult camp experience curated by Chase and Marriott Bonvoy to explore the benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card.
Our camp experience began at Trailborn Highlands, a cozy mountain lodge tucked into 4.5 wooded acres in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. At roughly 4,100 feet above sea level, the air was a crisp 70 degrees and smelled of pine needles. I couldn’t wait to get outside and explore the forest like Annie or Hallie in The Parent Trap. Throughout the adult camp trip, I got to experience the perks Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card members could enjoy, both inside and outside the hotel. Just staying at the Trailborn Highlands and dining at the Highland Supper Club, which makes delicious vegan substitutes for its southern cuisine, can earn cardholders up to 17x total points to redeem toward future free nights. And new Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® cardmembers can earn even more Free Night Awards for stays valued up to 50,000 points each.
During our first outdoor adventure, I joined my campmates, a group of journalists and publicists, for a guided hike through the lush Nantahala National Forest to Glen Falls. Along the way, we sampled the lemony leaves of sourwood trees and learned about the American chestnut, once a defining presence in these forests before a fungal blight decimated the species in the early 1900s. As we made our way deeper into the woods, the sound of rushing water grew louder until we reached overlooks offering views of the falls cascading over rugged rock formations, refreshing mist cooling us down from the hike.
“I stood amid the towering trees, taking it all in, grateful for the younger body that carried me up the trail and the older, more mature mind that knew to pause and appreciate the beauty around me. “
raquel reichard
I stood amid the towering trees, taking it all in, grateful for the younger body that carried me up the trail and the older, more mature mind that knew to pause and appreciate the beauty around me. With its abundant rainfall and variety of plant and animal life, Highlands is one of the most biodiverse temperate regions in the world. It’s a breathtaking landscape shaped by nature and generations of people, including the Southern Blue Ridge Hikers, who guided our trek and help maintain local trails. The area also has a long history of conservation. In 1909, local residents rallied to protect the summit of Satulah Mountain from development, laying the groundwork for what would become North Carolina’s oldest land trust. Today, that legacy continues through community stewardship, donations, and visitors (like us) who support local conservation efforts.
When I returned to my room at Trailborn Highlands, I showered and welcomed a local massage therapist, who set up her table near the balcony overlooking the treetops. For an hour, she worked the knots and tension in my back, neck, and shoulders, discomfort that accumulated after years of work and stress. Baby Quels may not have known how to care for them, but Adult Quels was more than grateful for the reset, especially after nearly tapping out during the hike back.
Later that night, I got to return to treating my inner child, experiencing the camp activities I only ever saw on TV before then. First up was the Blue Ridge Cyanotype, a hands-on photography workshop at the hotel that uses light-sensitive paper to capture the shapes of leaves and flowers. We arranged our botanicals on the paper, placed them under a special light, and then submerged the prints in water to reveal delicate silhouettes against a deep-blue background. I made two prints, one I had framed and stands proudly in my home office, reminding me of a childhood dream finally realized. The experience costs $25 per person and earns Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card holders 17x points. Next, we headed to the outdoor patio to make s’mores. As a vegan, I built mine with plant-based marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between graham crackers. It was my first time making them, and I felt a little giddy as I held my stick over the fire, rotating the marshmallow and getting a bit nervous when the heat hit my hands. It felt like the entire group turned into younger versions of ourselves, laughing, excited over kid camp treats, and attempting to swap scary campfire stories.
“I remember watching the sunset that last night and how my campmates and I ended our trip by singing Camp Rock’s “This Is Me” — just as we would have if it was 2008, when the Disney Channel classic dropped, when we were all still teens just imagining camp days like this one.”
raquel reichard
The next morning, I made my way to Dixon Woods for an experience I’d long wanted to try: forest bathing. For two hours, Dr. Mark Ellison, founder of Pinnacle Forest Therapy and a certified forest therapy guide who leads experiences in the Highlands area, guided me through a practice of slowing down and reconnecting with nature. We sat and meditated as he shared poems by Mary Oliver and David Wagoner, writers whose words remind us that we, too, belong to the natural world. Then we wandered through the forest, bathing our senses in the landscape and taking time to focus on what we could see, hear, smell, and feel. With each pause, I focused on something new, from the velvety moss carpeting parts of the forest floor to the music of the songbirds soaring above me. We eventually returned to the ground to reflect on the experience and closed our time together with cups of white pine tea and a conversation about what nature had given each of us that day.
But the land had more to offer me. From Dixon Woods, we drove about an hour southwest to Rosman, North Carolina, for a special dinner at Rachel’s by the River, a rustic barn nestled along the French Broad River and operated by Headwaters Outfitters. I walked through the tall grass toward the river, watching the water tumble over the rocks. I listened to a live band play Appalachian bluegrass, swaying to the twang of the banjo and fiddle. I savored vegan renditions of a hearty spread of grilled apple-brandy “ribeye,” herb and sundried tomato couscous, miso-glazed mushrooms, and roasted sweet potatoes.
Between the vista, live band, and food, I felt like I was in a scene I had only seen in a Hallmark film, you know, the ones where the big-city girl finds love in a small town and leaves the hustle and bustle of her career back home for the simple life. The love I discovered at Rachel’s by the River, and at camp overall, wasn’t romantic, but it was communal, the kind that keeps kiddies excited to return to camp every year.
As fall settles in, the crisp air and autumn leaves make me nostalgic for my time at camp, longing to return outdoors, to the simple joys of nature. I remember watching the sunset that last night and how my campmates and I ended our trip by singing Camp Rock’s “This Is Me” — just as we would have if it was 2008, when the Disney Channel classic dropped, when we were all still teens just imagining camp days like this one.
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