A Look Back to 2021 – Butter and Egg Adventures
Did we not just start 2021? I can’t be the only one that’s refusing to believe that 2022 is just around the corner. Either way, here we are…another year in the books at Butter and Egg Adventures in Troy, Alabama.
For those of you that haven’t been following our business for that long, this was our 20th year in operation. Twenty years…wow! That’s pretty impressive for our little family-run, small business. I might have only been 12 years old when my dad (co-owner, Ron Pierce) first started teaching baseball and softball lessons in my literal front yard, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. Fast forward to now, and we are a full-fledged retreat and outdoor recreation center that doesn’t even do baseball lessons anymore.
When we started 2021, we didn’t really know what to expect as most businesses did. Covid-19 was still very real, and we didn’t know what was to come for the upcoming year. But you better believe we all had positive attitudes and we were determined to get back to somewhat normal operations.
We were thrilled to have overnight retreats slowly booking again with us. We started out the year with Safe Haven Church’s (out of Trussville, Alabama) youth group visit us for their winter retreat in January. Things looked a little different with all of us wearing masks and socially distancing as much as possible, but we still had a great time!
Some people don’t know this, but we don’t shut down for cooler weather. Even in the cooler months at the beginning of the year, we were also booking our guided tours, called packages, for families and small groups. We might have had to bundle up a little bit, but at least we weren’t sweating, right?
As February rolled around, we hosted First United Methodist Church – Panama City for their 7th annual children’s ministry retreat with us. While visiting us this year, we realized their group is our longest repeating group to visit us in our 20 years of operation. We can’t thank them enough for their continued support throughout all these years.
Although we didn’t get a chance to host field trips again this year, we still had a great spring at Butter and Egg Adventures. One of the highlights of the spring months were hosting a few events for Troy University’s Greek Week. We hosted an “Amazing Race” event, a human foosball tournament, a sand volleyball tournament, and build-a-boat races across the lake. Groups had 3 hours to build a boat out of cardboard and attempt to race each other in the lake.
And then there’s the summer. This year, summer felt like we were definitely getting back to normal. We had it all…day groups, overnight retreats, and the return of summer day camp. We were thrilled to announce that we were bringing back day camp for the second year in a row and with many changes. We held 5 weeks of day camp for ages 8-14. We packed in so many activities during the week, that every morning when the kids came back the next day they claimed they were sore and tired but were ready to do it all over again.
Once we caught our breath from the business of the summer, we were ready to tackle the fall. Before the school year began for New Brockton High School, we traveled to them to conduct a team building program for their faculty and staff. With all the props we have, it’s so easy for us to travel to an organization for those types of programs.
October was a highlight for us for this year. With our Butter and Egg After Dark Halloween special event being such a big hit last year, we knew we needed to bring it back. It was two full nights of hunting zombies in the woods with our laser tag guns, zip lining through the trees in the dark, and conquering new heights at the climbing wall. Later in the year, we also hosted our once-a-semester, free Zip in the Dark event for Troy University students.
Our hearts are full, and maybe a little tired, from the busy year but we couldn’t be happier for all the support we have received this year, and previous years. We are excited about what’s to come for 2022 and ready to see you all soon for your next adventure!
Happy New Year from the staff at Butter and Egg Adventures in Troy, Alabama!
