Ron and I met on the drive down to Camp Ramah. We had a small caravan of Ramah kids and moms from the Bay Area (Walnut Creek, actually) and were heading down to Ojai, CA for the summer. It was my first year and it was Ron’s 2nd year. I’d be in Solelim and Ron was a big-shot Machoner.

While we instantly became friends, the major age gap at the time—of 2 years—prevented any romance for the time being. For years, nothing serious ever materialized, even though Ron was thought to be having a “CCR” with me and got in trouble. In fact we actually were setting each other up with our own camp friends. All the while we knew deep down that we were perfect for each other.

We stayed friends through high school and into college, where we both went to UCLA. We started dating at the end of 1999, graduated and later moved to San Francisco in 2002, and got married in 2004.

Our years at Camp Ramah not only started a long and wonderful friendship, but also started a crush that would last for 11 years until we got married. I think we still have crushes on each other! We both recognize what a major impact Ramah had on us.

Aside from the fateful trip down and the many nights we spent on the lawn talking, Ramah instilled in us a love for Judaism, and the importance of living a Jewish life with Jewish friends. There’s no doubt that when the time comes, we’ll send our kids to Camp Ramah.