The great poet Robert Frost once wrote:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Well, Mr. Frost, when it comes to traveling to Camp Ramah in the Poconos, it’s all about taking the fork that reads “Weight, 10 Tons”. After 3 hours of riding up Route 17, passing remnants of the Borscht Belt and signs for Woodstock, Laura and I made our way to Upper Woods Road, the home of Machaneh Ramah b’Poconos. The visit was the first of four on our Reshet Road Trip, our summer adventures across the east coast to meet tzevet, share the exciting updates and upcoming plans, and seek feedback and suggestions to improve and better the Reshet Ramah program.

We began our visit in typical camp fashion: with a meal. As a late afternoon thunderstorm put the kibosh on plans for an outdoor BBQ, Laura and I ate a delicious BBQ dinner of hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob, and the best chocolate cookies on this side of the Catskills. During our meal, we sat with several senior counselors, who shared some insights into how to better expand the Reshet program to more cities, asked questions about partnerships between Ramah and other Jewish organizations, and encouraged us to explore new opportunities for alumni living in Israel.

It was during this amazing conversation that the unexpected happened: a blackout. As the lights puttered out in the Chadar Ochel, madrichim quickly gathered to assess the situation. With lightning speed, peulot erev were changed without even a slight groan from the campers, as they gathered in the Chadar to watch a favorite camp classic, “The Sandlot” (thanks to a projector and the backup generator). We were so impressed with the flexibility and attitudes of both the campers and staff; despite the inconvenience that comes with a power outage, everyone’s ability to keep the energy level high and positive was truly admirable. Kol HaKavod, tzevet Ramah Poconos!

After a good night’s sleep, Laura and I shared some exciting updates Reshet updates with the Hanhallah (as, coincidentally, the power came back on). We were so excited to share some of the statistics about the Find Alumni Online Directory, including this exciting stat: since the inception of Ramah Poconos in 1964, we estimate that there are approximately 33,000 Poconos alumni in North America and Israel. Not too shabby! The warm reception from the Hanhallah was truly exciting: as future leaders of Ramah, we are very lucky to have such talented Ramahniks showing enthusiasm for continued Jewish engagement in and out of camp.

We concluded our visit to Poconos with a lunch meeting with several anafim, or specialists, who gave us some great insights into how to better geographically expand the Reshet program. Thanks to the amazing tzevet from Ramah Poconos, we feel so excited and energized for upcoming camp visits, as they confirmed to us the importance of Reshet Ramah in their lives.

The next fork in the road? Ramah Berkshires! Make sure to follow our adventures on social media with the hashtag #reshetroadtrip.

Photos from clockwise: The floor of the lakeside gazebo, the beautiful lake a sunset, Laura and Dana take a selfie, the basketball courts under the beautiful sunset, the amazing tzevet of Chalutzim, and more of the gorgeous lake.