+ Details +
Directions to SWIM!
Directions for Staff
Before SWIM
After SWIM
Other Accommodations: Motel & RV
Accessibility
Health Concerns
12 Step
What to Bring
SWIM Store
+ Details +
Directions to SWIM!
During SWIM, our address is Owaissa Bauer Campground, 17001 SW 264 St., Homestead, FL 33031. The phone number is (305) 247-9975. This pay phone is used for brief incoming calls for all participants, so you might not get through the first time.
By air:
You should fly into Miami International Airport (MIA), not another airport. Supershuttle is a commercial service available from the airport to the church for $17, for Christmas Day arrivals who have arranged for home hospitality, or to camp for $44. Additional passengers are $8, so carpool with the Supershuttle to save money. Please call 305-871-2000 to verify prices and arrange service.
SWIM provides limited transportation to camp – on December 26th only – for $10 using our rented vans. You must call ahead or fill in the appropriate area on the registration form to arrange for this; we send the vans only if we know someone is waiting for them. The pickup times are 10am and 2:30pm on December 26th.
Please meet any SWIM ride or van at the end of Concourse H, the “designated” SWIM pick-up area, outside the Delta and USAir departure area upstairs in fresh air and sunshine, not the baggage claim level.
New Year’s morning, we combine van returns with shuttles to the airport. We will send vans to the airport at 10am and Noon. If you can drive one of these vans for us, please volunteer to drive when you send in your registration.
By car:
Unless you live in the Florida Keys you will be driving south! SWIM is south of Miami in Homestead.
Take I-95 south, drive west and then south on SR 826. You can take SR 826 to the end, exit on US-1, or take SR 874 to the Florida Turnpike Ext SR 821.
If you take I-75, you’ll want to take the Florida Turnpike south, following the orange sun signs toward Key West. It’s worth paying turnpike tolls. Finish your trip following the directions below for the turnpike.
(Note: Some roads in Florida go by two names. Both are correct. If you are asking for directions, keep this in mind.)
From US-1, turn right on 264th Street (Bauer Drive) to Owaissa Bauer Campground, on the right just past 167th Avenue (Tennessee Road).
From the Florida Turnpike, take Tallahassee (SW 137th Ave.) north. Turn left (west) on 264th St. (Bauer Dr.) Turn right into Owaissa Bauer Campground, just past 167th Avenue.
By carpool:
December 5th, Jerry Elsenrath will email a list of interested carpoolers based on inquiries and pre-registration. For info or last-minute needs, call or email Jerry.
Directions for Staff
All staff are expected to arrive by 11:30am on December 26th. (If someone is travelling with you, it is okay for them to arrive with you, but anyone who arrives early will be put to work setting up camp.) We will have a staff meeting at Noon. We’ll need to be set up for registration in the dining hall by 1:30pm (to register staff). There’s a lot to do!
All staff should be represented at a daily staff meeting from 6:00pm to 6:15pm on the back porch of the dining hall. (Represented means if you can’t make it, you should find somebody to talk to before and after the meeting to stand in for you.
For New Year’s Eve, staff are allowed one guest at no charge. Host must meet guest at the Info Desk. Guest must arrive after noon and wear a guest wrist band.
All staff must plan to stay January 1st until at least noon to make sure the camp is back in shape. Staff who can stay later (and please do) will also meet that afternoon to go over the week, read evaluations, and plan the staff schedule for next year. Overnight accommodations at Owaisa Bauer will be available for staff the evening of January 1st. Please leave on the 2nd to take advantage of a good night’s sleep. If you’ve got questions about this, call or email Pepi.
Before SWIM
What can I do on Christmas Day? (a.k.a. December 25th)
Owaissa Bauer is not available until December 26th, but many of us like to congregate in Miami a bit earlier. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Miami, with which we are affiliated, lets us join them for a reception for our participants, a glorious turkey dinner, and home hospitality for overnight stays.
You must register in advance for dinner and accommodations. The dinner costs $8 per adult and $5 per child under 13 and must be included in your advance registration fee. It is held at the Miami church. From 826, take the Sunset Dr. (SW 72 St.) exit east. Turn right at the first street (SW 75–76 Ave.) at the small UU sign. Follow the road around the curves to the church at 7701 SW 76th Avenue.
Home hospitality costs $8 per person per night. Please state your age and whether you have special needs, such as a bed rather than floor space for your sleeping bag. Much of our home hospitality space is shared floor space but we do have some volunteers able to share their homes with extra beds and bedrooms.
Janice McArthur and Bob Jacober will make arrangements based upon requests on registration form.
After SWIM
What can I do on January 1st?
After SWIM, please stop to sleep! Yes, it will all come to an end on New Year’s Day. We hope that you will leave Owaissa Bauer revitalized and refreshed but, for many of us, New Year’s morning is not a time characterized by energy and wakefulness. Many members of our community live not far from the main roads we take to drive home. Some will offer their homes for much-needed sleep. At closing circle we will ask those who have homes to share to step forward.
We do not want anyone to drive when they are over-tired and sleepy, so please take advantage of their kindness! We have space on the registration form for you to volunteer your home, and we will post a list by December 30th so that everyone can make preliminary plans.
Other Accommodations: Motel & RV
5th Annual Motel SWIM
Two motels next to each other on U.S. 1 (South Dixie Highway) in Homestead provide alternative housing experiences. Floridian Hotel, 305-247-7020, and Inn of Homestead, 305-248-2121, provide two levels of price and service. Anyone who wants to stay at one of these motels must make their own arrangements using a credit card. These rooms will fill early with the holiday rush, so call early! SWIM will help arrange some kind of van service or carpooling between the two motels and camp Owaissa Bauer for car-free participants. We know it’s not much, but off-site sleepers can save $30 off the Site Fee. Our accommodations are so inexpensive at SWIM, that there is not much to refund.
RV Rentals
In the past, a few families have arrived in rented RVs, which worked well for them. We just had to do a little finagling to run power to the RVs (since Owaissa Bauer has no RV hook ups). Even without power, RVs provide a touch of luxury. This is a better comfort option than sleeping offsite, since you don’t need to worry about shuttling to the motel and you can stay on site.
If you need nicer accommodations than our bunkhouse cabins provide, you can rent an RV that accommodates 4–6 people in style for about $900 to $1,500 for 7 nights from national or local RV rental companies.
There is no discount for sleepers in RVs parked on site. Participants have found reasonably priced RV camps in the SWIM area with more facilities. Contact Jerry Elsenrath for suggestions.
Accessibility
Camp Owaissa Bauer is generally flat, and buildings, including bathrooms, are reasonably accessible for elderly and disabled persons. Offsite trips require transportation by standard vans or private vehicle and are thus subject to some limitations in accessibility. Offsite destinations vary considerably in the level of accessibility. If you are physically challenged but want to participate in SWIM, please contact Pepi Acebo for advice and help with planning by email at info@swimuu.org or at 828-776-7288.
Health Concerns
SWIM makes every reasonable effort to provide a physically healthy and safe environment, and we have a number of our staff familiar with basic first aid. We have on our volunteer staff a first aid and safety coordinator, Kate Couch, who addresses issues of site and program safety and basic first aid, but we are not a health care provider and must stress that we are not in a position to support on site someone with serious medical illness. We cannot supply nor prescribe medication (some over-the-counter medications and sunscreen may be available through the SWIM Store).
There are hospitals and urgent care facilities in the area to which we can refer you if you are in need of such care, and we can transport you there if necessary. You must have your own insurance to cover such a contingency. Should you have asthma, serious allergies, or any chronic condition which might require emergency medication, please be sure that you have such medication with you and available on site and on trips, and that you have informed companions and trip leaders of the whereabouts and use of such medication in the event you are unable to do so.
If you are a minor at SWIM with special medical needs, you must carry on your person and provide staff a copy of pages 2–4 of our registration forms showing your medical needs, insurance, contact information for your parent or legal guardian, and authorization for emergency medical treatment (see registration forms).
Finally, we encourage you to use good common sense about pacing yourself, getting enough sleep, taking precautions with sun exposure, and drinking water. SWIM is most fun when you are healthy!
12 Step Groups
We’re still making arrangements for this year. Most years, we set up a time and a place for initial meetings and attendees make their own arrangements for subseqent meeting times and places. Please check back for updates or email our director or chaplain for more information.
What to Bring
I know this will come as a shock, but Owaissa Bauer facility is being upgraded over the next year and a half. Bathrooms have new stalls and toilets and all the electricity has been upgraded to support air conditioning and heat pumps for the dormatories. These may or may not be installed by this SWIM.
For the time being, you should plan on our accommodations, both dorms and camping area, still being fairly rustic. There are no electrical hookups for tents, but dorms do have outlets. These beds will never be called “soft” thanks to thin matresses and the addition of sheet metal over the springs a few years back, so you will want extra padding to put under or over the thin mattress supplied by the campground – at least a sleeping pad. Better is a 3-foot wide, 7-foot tall sheet of 6" foam or your own small day bed or inflatable mattress. A good night’s sleep, when you choose to sleep, is the key to having a great time at SWIM.
You will need your own bed linens – sleeping bag, sheets, blanket – and towels and washcloths. Other items that may add to your comfort are mosquito repellent, sunscreen, a bathing suit, casual clothing that can get wet and be layered as the weather changes, fun clothes to wear out to dinner or on New Year’s Eve and other theme nights, a folding chair, a light if you stay in the dorm, a flashlight for our unlit paths, your own toiletries in something you can carry back and forth to the bathhouse, and other things such as cameras, games, cards, musical instruments, sports equipment, books, etc. for fun. Space is somewhat limited, however, so leave the kitchen sink at home! Of course, all weapons and illegal items are strictly prohibited. Also leave Fido and Fluff at home – the only animals allowed are seeing eye dogs and the local wildlife.
To meet the requirements of Florida state law, parents must provide car seats for children ages three and under participating in youth programs or off-site activities.
SWIM Store
Attention Swim Shoppers: The SWIM Store will be located in the dining hall and open daily. We’ll have a variety of items likely to be forgotten when packing or lost in the bath house.
Although SWIM 2004 clothing items (based on theme art) will be available in limited quantities, please pre-order when you register to guarantee availability.
Books, music, and hand-crafts from SWIM artists will also be available at the store. You will have the opportunity to select some beautiful and unique items. SWIM receives 20% of the sales. If you want to sell anything, please contact Mary Ann Somervill.
SWIM Thrift Shop Boutique is also back by popular demand. No time to visit thrift shops in the area? Not to worry, as we bring the thrift shop to you. You are invited to bring used garments to sell, as well as to stop and shop. Please put clothes on hangers and tag them with price and your name. SWIM will benefit by getting 20% of the price.
During SWIM, our address is Owaissa Bauer Campground, 17001 SW 264 St., Homestead, FL 33031. The phone number is (305) 247-9975. This pay phone is used for brief incoming calls for all participants, so you might not get through the first time. By air:
You should fly into Miami International Airport (MIA), not another airport. Supershuttle is a commercial service available from the airport to the church for $17, for Christmas Day arrivals who have arranged for home hospitality, or to camp for $44. Additional passengers are $8, so carpool with the Supershuttle to save money. Please call 305-871-2000 to verify prices and arrange service.
SWIM provides limited transportation to camp – on December 26th only – for $10 using our rented vans. You must call ahead or fill in the appropriate area on the registration form to arrange for this; we send the vans only if we know someone is waiting for them. The pickup times are 10am and 2:30pm on December 26th.
Please meet any SWIM ride or van at the end of Concourse H, the “designated” SWIM pick-up area, outside the Delta and USAir departure area upstairs in fresh air and sunshine, not the baggage claim level.
New Year’s morning, we combine van returns with shuttles to the airport. We will send vans to the airport at 10am and Noon. If you can drive one of these vans for us, please volunteer to drive when you send in your registration.
By car:
Unless you live in the Florida Keys you will be driving south! SWIM is south of Miami in Homestead.
Take I-95 south, drive west and then south on SR 826. You can take SR 826 to the end, exit on US-1, or take SR 874 to the Florida Turnpike Ext SR 821.
If you take I-75, you’ll want to take the Florida Turnpike south, following the orange sun signs toward Key West. It’s worth paying turnpike tolls. Finish your trip following the directions below for the turnpike.
(Note: Some roads in Florida go by two names. Both are correct. If you are asking for directions, keep this in mind.)
From US-1, turn right on 264th Street (Bauer Drive) to Owaissa Bauer Campground, on the right just past 167th Avenue (Tennessee Road).
From the Florida Turnpike, take Tallahassee (SW 137th Ave.) north. Turn left (west) on 264th St. (Bauer Dr.) Turn right into Owaissa Bauer Campground, just past 167th Avenue.
By carpool:
December 5th, Jerry Elsenrath will email a list of interested carpoolers based on inquiries and pre-registration. For info or last-minute needs, call or email Jerry.
All staff should be represented at a daily staff meeting from 6:00pm to 6:15pm on the back porch of the dining hall. (Represented means if you can’t make it, you should find somebody to talk to before and after the meeting to stand in for you.
For New Year’s Eve, staff are allowed one guest at no charge. Host must meet guest at the Info Desk. Guest must arrive after noon and wear a guest wrist band.
All staff must plan to stay January 1st until at least noon to make sure the camp is back in shape. Staff who can stay later (and please do) will also meet that afternoon to go over the week, read evaluations, and plan the staff schedule for next year. Overnight accommodations at Owaisa Bauer will be available for staff the evening of January 1st. Please leave on the 2nd to take advantage of a good night’s sleep. If you’ve got questions about this, call or email Pepi.
Owaissa Bauer is not available until December 26th, but many of us like to congregate in Miami a bit earlier. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Miami, with which we are affiliated, lets us join them for a reception for our participants, a glorious turkey dinner, and home hospitality for overnight stays.
You must register in advance for dinner and accommodations. The dinner costs $8 per adult and $5 per child under 13 and must be included in your advance registration fee. It is held at the Miami church. From 826, take the Sunset Dr. (SW 72 St.) exit east. Turn right at the first street (SW 75–76 Ave.) at the small UU sign. Follow the road around the curves to the church at 7701 SW 76th Avenue.
Home hospitality costs $8 per person per night. Please state your age and whether you have special needs, such as a bed rather than floor space for your sleeping bag. Much of our home hospitality space is shared floor space but we do have some volunteers able to share their homes with extra beds and bedrooms.
Janice McArthur and Bob Jacober will make arrangements based upon requests on registration form.
After SWIM, please stop to sleep! Yes, it will all come to an end on New Year’s Day. We hope that you will leave Owaissa Bauer revitalized and refreshed but, for many of us, New Year’s morning is not a time characterized by energy and wakefulness. Many members of our community live not far from the main roads we take to drive home. Some will offer their homes for much-needed sleep. At closing circle we will ask those who have homes to share to step forward.
We do not want anyone to drive when they are over-tired and sleepy, so please take advantage of their kindness! We have space on the registration form for you to volunteer your home, and we will post a list by December 30th so that everyone can make preliminary plans.
Two motels next to each other on U.S. 1 (South Dixie Highway) in Homestead provide alternative housing experiences. Floridian Hotel, 305-247-7020, and Inn of Homestead, 305-248-2121, provide two levels of price and service. Anyone who wants to stay at one of these motels must make their own arrangements using a credit card. These rooms will fill early with the holiday rush, so call early! SWIM will help arrange some kind of van service or carpooling between the two motels and camp Owaissa Bauer for car-free participants. We know it’s not much, but off-site sleepers can save $30 off the Site Fee. Our accommodations are so inexpensive at SWIM, that there is not much to refund.
RV Rentals
In the past, a few families have arrived in rented RVs, which worked well for them. We just had to do a little finagling to run power to the RVs (since Owaissa Bauer has no RV hook ups). Even without power, RVs provide a touch of luxury. This is a better comfort option than sleeping offsite, since you don’t need to worry about shuttling to the motel and you can stay on site.
If you need nicer accommodations than our bunkhouse cabins provide, you can rent an RV that accommodates 4–6 people in style for about $900 to $1,500 for 7 nights from national or local RV rental companies.
There is no discount for sleepers in RVs parked on site. Participants have found reasonably priced RV camps in the SWIM area with more facilities. Contact Jerry Elsenrath for suggestions.
There are hospitals and urgent care facilities in the area to which we can refer you if you are in need of such care, and we can transport you there if necessary. You must have your own insurance to cover such a contingency. Should you have asthma, serious allergies, or any chronic condition which might require emergency medication, please be sure that you have such medication with you and available on site and on trips, and that you have informed companions and trip leaders of the whereabouts and use of such medication in the event you are unable to do so.
If you are a minor at SWIM with special medical needs, you must carry on your person and provide staff a copy of pages 2–4 of our registration forms showing your medical needs, insurance, contact information for your parent or legal guardian, and authorization for emergency medical treatment (see registration forms).
Finally, we encourage you to use good common sense about pacing yourself, getting enough sleep, taking precautions with sun exposure, and drinking water. SWIM is most fun when you are healthy!
For the time being, you should plan on our accommodations, both dorms and camping area, still being fairly rustic. There are no electrical hookups for tents, but dorms do have outlets. These beds will never be called “soft” thanks to thin matresses and the addition of sheet metal over the springs a few years back, so you will want extra padding to put under or over the thin mattress supplied by the campground – at least a sleeping pad. Better is a 3-foot wide, 7-foot tall sheet of 6" foam or your own small day bed or inflatable mattress. A good night’s sleep, when you choose to sleep, is the key to having a great time at SWIM.
You will need your own bed linens – sleeping bag, sheets, blanket – and towels and washcloths. Other items that may add to your comfort are mosquito repellent, sunscreen, a bathing suit, casual clothing that can get wet and be layered as the weather changes, fun clothes to wear out to dinner or on New Year’s Eve and other theme nights, a folding chair, a light if you stay in the dorm, a flashlight for our unlit paths, your own toiletries in something you can carry back and forth to the bathhouse, and other things such as cameras, games, cards, musical instruments, sports equipment, books, etc. for fun. Space is somewhat limited, however, so leave the kitchen sink at home! Of course, all weapons and illegal items are strictly prohibited. Also leave Fido and Fluff at home – the only animals allowed are seeing eye dogs and the local wildlife.
To meet the requirements of Florida state law, parents must provide car seats for children ages three and under participating in youth programs or off-site activities.
Although SWIM 2004 clothing items (based on theme art) will be available in limited quantities, please pre-order when you register to guarantee availability.
Books, music, and hand-crafts from SWIM artists will also be available at the store. You will have the opportunity to select some beautiful and unique items. SWIM receives 20% of the sales. If you want to sell anything, please contact Mary Ann Somervill.
SWIM Thrift Shop Boutique is also back by popular demand. No time to visit thrift shops in the area? Not to worry, as we bring the thrift shop to you. You are invited to bring used garments to sell, as well as to stop and shop. Please put clothes on hangers and tag them with price and your name. SWIM will benefit by getting 20% of the price.