Hey! Look at the Cool Location Of CKM.

Hey CKMinisinkers!

Last week as we were sitting around the campfire we started talking about Campus Kids Minisink- location, nearby attractions, history, etc. So, for those of you who have not yet googled this area, here is some cool info on where we are located. CKM is located on 500 acres in the Town of Greenville (which is near Port Jervis, NY) very close to both the Delaware Water Gap and Neversink River. Canoeing and Kayaking are big activities in this area. We are located just 85 miles from NYC. There is both train and bus service from NYC into Port Jervis. Camp is located in New York but is a hop, skip and jump from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We are a short distance from High Point State Park which is located in Montague, NJ. High Point is the highest elevation in the state at 1,803 ft above sea level. We are very fortunate to have a hiking trail from camp that leads us right up to High Point. When our campers and staff arrive at the High Point monument there is a beautiful view of NY, NJ and PA waiting for them.

Here are some fun facts about Port Jervis, NY:
-Stephen Crane, renowned author of The Red Badge of Courage, lived and wrote in Port Jervis.
-Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, Bucky Harris was born in Port Jervis.
-1934 Day and Night Photos of electric lights installed in Port Jervis are featured on the Smithsonian website.
-Former Port Jervis High School wrestlers Ed and Lou Banach, won gold medals in the 1984 Olympics.

We hope that you enjoyed this blog as much as we enjoyed writing it!!
Brad and Tricia :)

From the Desk of the CITs

C.I.T Blog – Week 2

It is safe to say that the C.I.Ts had a great first week. To start off the 2nd week, many of us went to our first session of lifeguard training, which will be very useful when we become counselors. After that we had a fantastic Monday lunch of burgers and fries. Then we had another treat; a C.I.T only activity. We Chose dodgeball and had a great time, it helped us get to know each other even better. Tonight we will probably have another great meal for dinner and an even greater time at Capture the Stars; this is an all camp special event which is similar to Capture the Flag; its so much fun and we helped to set it up, hopefully we might have some fireworks or rockets. The first week of camp was good, but the second week has a chance of being even better. I cannot even imagine how amazing this summer will be.

Speak to you all again soon,
Yours Truly

The C.I.T’s

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

We gathered together to work on today's blog. Brad shouts out let's write about things that really should be red, white and blue but are not. Needless to say we opted for his 2nd suggestion which was the best way to spend your 4th of July. We have unanimously decided that spending the 4th of July at CK is the best way.

The buses came rolling up the hill this morning, greeted by CKM staff decked out in some form of red, white and/or blue, we enjoyed a bbq lunch and are enjoying a busy afternoon of activities. Tonight, thanks to Mark and the CITs, we will be running a special event "Capture the Stars". Besides the fun activities nothing beats being with friends, laughing, making memories, starting new traditions and/or continuing old traditions. From all of us at CKM to all of you, we hope that you too are having an incredible celebration!

Jani, Brad, Kathryn and Tricia

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Hello to all our friends in the CK Minisink world. It has been a little bit since our last blog. Hopefully there will be several more new blogs before camp for you to read and enjoy. Happy Passover, Happy Easter and Happy Springtime to everyone. We have paid our taxes and paid our dues with this deplorable weather. We have high hopes that this summer will be picture perfect everyday. The ideal summer weather for camp is 85 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze running from look-out point across the sports field and over the lake. We need the breeze to power our sailboats and to help give you that extra second of airtime on the blob. Let the sun shine during the week and it can rain a little on Saturday night. That would be just perfect.

So summer is right around the corner. We have been very busy with the final camp preparations. The staff has been hired, we are done with camp fairs, but we will still do tours for any family who want to see our summer home. As each day passes the excitement for CKM2011 continues to grow. Everyday we hear from campers and staff members begging for camp to begin. In just about two months we will be enjoying the 500 acres of Minisink and the Port Jervis fresh air.

There are so many things that make the summer so special. Of course going to camp and making lifelong friends is on top of the list. Ice cream and lemonade just taste better on those hot summer afternoon. All the big blockbuster movies seem to find the theaters in the summer. Baseball games look better in July than they do in April. I cannot recall ever knowing the top ten songs in March, but everyone at camp knows all the big tunes. Summer is swimming, running around and laughing. Summer is camp, and camp is our life.

Hopefully these April showers will finally end. Then the flowers will be in full bloom. The warmth of summer will fill the air and we will be having fun at camp. That time will be here very soon.

See you in a little more than two months.

Brad and Tricia

February Happenings

It is nice to have a few warm days in the middle of February. It put us in a summery mood at the CK Minisink office. We opened the back door to let in the refreshing breeze. It felt a little like the breeze we often feel at camp. You know the one that starts near the tennis courts, goes over the softball field, then through the ropes course and out towards the lake. Does that wind add an extra challenge to the ropes course elements?

So what has been happening in the world of CK Minisink? Camp prep is in full swing as we get ready to rock CKM2011 or camp365 (our summer theme). Everyday we discuss what new and exciting things will happen during the summer. We are busy planning new projects for arts and crafts and searching new trails to trek on the way to high point mountain. Weekend Adventures are almost set for the summer, and we will send you full details about them next month. (A little hint, we are bringing back one of the highlight trips from past years) We have a great number of counselors returning from last summer. It actually is an amazing number and we are very excited to have such a strong returning group. See if some of your favorites are on this list: Dan, Lilla, Lindsey, Darcy, Molly, Luke, Colin (Big Cat), Abby, Rob, Jenna C., the other Jenna C.,Lexi, Lillian, Rebekah, Ronan, Amy, Dylan, Cory, Mia, Ciara, Cait, Noa, Jesse, Leah, John G.,Ashely, Kelsey, David H., Krisztina, Kaci, Mark, Lauren, Chris, Matt K., Tom, Andrea, Alex, Sara, Kristen, Larissa, Oaksey, Tim, Ariana, Theo, Pat, Hannah, Stan, Megan, David S., Matt S., Jillian, Alyssa, Aliza, Ross, Richard, Frank, Gavin, Shaneekqua, Simon, Emma, Sara R., Ducky, Effi, Peter, Max, Charlie, Josh, Frankie, Mike, Keith, Jake V., John, Dan, Sophie, Liam and Jake. Plus there are a few counselors returning back to camp that missed last summer at CKM. So it is looking like a fabulous team.

Camp is now only four months away. Yeah. As each week passes the excitement continues to build. Being at camp is like a two month family reunion. We are so lucky to spend time with our friends in the fresh air and enjoying great activities. What are you looking forward to trying this summer? Here are a few things that we are really looking forward to seeing soon. 1. The first big campfire for the entire camp. 2. Hearing that unmistakable sound of someone flying down the aqua zipline. 3. Hearing Hey Baby at the camp dance. 4. The buses pulling up the hill on the first day of camp. 5. The official countdown to start the Apache relay. 6. Someone laughing loudly as they jump off the leap of faith. 7. The sound of "swish" as the perfect basketball shot falls through the net. 8. The flapping noise the sailboats makes as the wind powers it forward. 9. The sounds the ground makes as we hike up the mountain. 10. The laughter and giggles heard everyday by the greatest group of people.

Peace out-cub scouts

Brad and Tricia

Are You Ready to Escape Winter?

Hello to everyone out there from the CKM office in frigid CT. Wow we can't believe the weather that we have been having here...definitely one for the record books. Ok, so we took a vote in the office and it came back unanimous, we are ready to put this winter weather behind us and start unpacking our Campus Kids t-shirts and shorts.Jani will be emailing Mother Nature this afternoon to let her know.

So, let's talk camp...What is it that you most look forward to? Is it your camp friends? The camp activities? The blob? Ropes Course? Soccer? Stargazing on the sports fields or lookout point? Is there a new activity that you look forward to trying this summer? Is this the summer that you will lead your Apache team to victory? There are many reasons that camp is so important to each and everyone of us. If you would like to share your feedback about camp along with pics, we would be excited to post that on our website (www.campuskids.com)and on our facebook page.

We have attended quite a few camp fairs this month and it is so great for us to talk to families about camp. For a few hours we are able to talk about what we love and share the joys and benefits that camp has to offer with these great families. We think a lot of the people that we met also enjoyed being out of the wintry NY weather and inside a building filled with camp pics, videos, etc. (who wouldn't love that?)

Whatever it is that brings you back to camp year after year, we just want to say thank you for being such a special part of our camp community and family. Only 4 more months...
Tricia and Brad

Winter Time

Yikes it's cold out there. Some people love the winter months they go skiing, build snowmen and drink hot cocoa by the fire. While we are big fans of the change in seasons, enough of this snow and ice already. It has been a difficult winter all over. In Connecticut, 22 inches of snow fell to the ground in just 12 hours. New record accumulations were recorded all over the state. Over in New York, camp looks beautiful in the winter. The lake is completely frozen and the trees sparkle with all the snow and ice. Last week we found a gigantic icicle. It might be a world record as it hung from the big gym to the ground. We do want some warmer weather to arrive. It would make tours easier, but being at camp is still fun even in this awful weather.

Random Quick Questions: So are you sticking to your New Year's resolutions? Are you counting down the days until camp begins? Do you wish summer was here already? Does being on the blob sound like the perfect afternoon activity? Is soaring down the aqua zip more your thing? When you hear a summer song on the radio, does it make you think of camp? Are there counselors from last summer you hope are returning to camp? These are just some thought provoking questions from our CKM minds.

We have to spend some time on those J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets. Now I know there are some people out there who hate the Jets and their loud mouth coach. It is true that he and some players talk a bit too much, but there are probably 100 people that are associated with the team. There are so many great individuals and role models, people who do great work in the community and play strong football on Sundays. For the past 40 years the Jets have been lovable losers or the same old Jets. The coach wanted to change that attitude and talking only in positives was part of his game plan. There are many of us Jets fans that have suffered through some of the worst defeats in football history. If the Jets pull off 2 more wins they can forever leave having the same old Jets label and live in history as champions.

Stay warm, stay classy and let's go Jets!
Brad and Tricia

It's The Time Of The Season

Now that the calendar has turned to a new year, the focus on CKM 2011 has intensified. Of course this is a really great feeling. While working year round for camp we go through many different seasons. Sometimes we compare the experience to what athletes go through in professional sports. They have the main season, the off season, they spend time recruiting new players and trying to make the team better, training camp (which is like our staff orientation) and then back to the action again. So for our team, (CKM superstars) we are now in another level of our season. It is that time of the year where so many of the key parts of camp come together. We are still meeting new campers at camp fairs and on tours. We are interviewing staff members and putting together our starting staff lineup. We are working on camp newsletters and planning our famous weekend adventure trips. There are dance themes being thrown around the office and our summer theme of "Camp365" is ready to rock and roll. It is a very exciting time and as always we love hearing ideas and input from our campers and staff.

We had to add a brief sports moment to this weeks blog. The J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets play a huge game on Saturday night against the Colts. Once again the Jets will try to shred their label of being lovable losers and the "same old Jets." They face Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Last season the Colts beat the Jets in the championship game, so let this rematch begin. Now we know that many of you are Giants fans, Patriots fans, or fans of other teams. However, CKM is located in New York. The Jets are the New York Jets. So out of loyalty we should all use our positive energy to cheer on the men in green. Jets fans would do the same for Giants. In fact, we wish the Giants made the playoffs to make the NY presence even stronger. So on Saturday night there might be some fresh snow on the ground, light the fire place, grab your favorite blanket and root root root for the home team.

There are lots of exciting things happening with camp over the next few months, We will keep you updated as things are confirmed. Last month we finalized our new crop of CITS. Congratulations to everyone who applied. We had 32 people apply for 16 spaces. We wanted to select everyone but we just didn't have enough room for everyone. Everyone that applied was incredibly qualified for the program, so we had to make some very difficult decisions. Good luck to the 16 2011 CKM CITS. We know you will make a great team.

Have a great week as we get just a little closer to paradise.

Brad and Tricia