Once again, Manitou campers and staff gathered at two of America's finest ballpark to reunite with old friends and meet new ones before heading up to camp for the summer.

Last Friday, campers met at the home of the Philadelphia Phillies to watch them take on the San Fransico Giants in a match-up that has become a Manitou Phillies game tradition. Gathering in Philly were: Matt & Ben Solis, Josh Katz, Josh Spear, Mikey & Sam Green, Eli & Ethan Goldstein, Matt & Evan Steinberg, Matt Sokolic, Reid Moak, and Jack Kolodny.

Then on Saturday, Dave and Craig headed to Washington DC for a Nationals game in their new ballpark, which Craig described to be "almost as nice as Peckham Park." Joining Dave and Craig in DC were: Brad & Dylan Rotter, Jake Ruben, Matt & Justin Spivak, Spencer Brody, Michael Zuckerman, Adam Kanfer, Addison & Riley Veiner, and Alex & Peter Gold.

To help honor the last year of the House that Ruth Built, Manitou campers, parents and directors took over a left field section of Yankees Stadium this past Sunday for some fun, friends, and baseball. The Yankees won the game 2-0, much to the delight of 51,122 fans, but upset non Yankee fans Craig, Freddy and Jeremy Levensen and new camper Gabriel Moskow.

Joining Dave and Craig for the game were: New campers Harrison Ross, Jack Chaiken, Gabriel Moskow, and Josh Sopher. Veterans Jeremy and Freddy Levensen, Andy Taylor, Anton Kliot, Zach Green, Rory Knox (his first Yankee game!), and Brett Raskopf. It was great to see so many parents attend as well.

A good time was had by all.

Coming soon: Nationals game and Phillies game.

Former Manitou camper Geoff Cameron, who was recently drafted by MLS soccer team Houston, scored his first professional goal this week. The goal was actually nominated for Goal of the Week and can be voted on against other goal highlights - included one by David Beckham! To watch to goal, and cast your vote for a Manitou Alum, click the link below:

Goal of the Week

On Craig's annual trip to Atlanta he set aside time to reunite with Manitou Atlanta campers and their families for some some food, fun and friends at the ESPN Zone in Buckhead.

Joining Craig were: Jared and Zach Kerker, Jason Bohrer, Miles and Elijiah Sheft, Jared Allen, Jordan Epstein, Blake Neidenthal, Andrew Orkin, Max and Abram Schottenstein, and new campers Evan Young and Matt Paley.

A trip to remember!

Campers and directors ventured up to camp for a weekend of fun in the snow. Now to say there was some snow at camp would be an understatement! There were multiple feet of snow, everywhere. The winter wonderland that mother nature transformed camp into was unbelievable to many who have only seen camp with sunny blue skies and 80 degree weather. Walking to the island - on frozen water, sledding, snow football, board games, Manitou-opoly, bowling (featuring a 254 by Craig), Big Gs and the famous Korner Store pizza were all part of the festivities. Check out the pics below...

Joining Dave, Craig, Pete Hansen, Rob Whybrow, JD and Sara were: New campers Harrison Ross and Jacob Maged, Matt Meyersen, Simon Weiler, David Warner, Tyler Steinhardt, Seth Miller, Jordan Brodie, James Barlia, Holden Wegner, and, all the way from Florida, Max Moed, Daniel Arkin and Steven Goldberg. Also making appearances were director Josh Levy, video guru Brandon Shorey (video coming soon!), Curtis the dog, JD's sister Amy, her husband Mike, and their dog Oscar. A good time was had by all!

While this marks the end of the on-snow trip segment of the winter program, it means the beginning of our spring lineup of baseball games, new camper events and reunions in near!

In early February Craig and Dave went to visit Derek and Waldo (joined by puggles Walter and Joey) and hosted reunions in Miami and Boca. Craig and Derek were lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Puerto Rico and meet some of Manitou's campers from there. The Miami reunion set an all-time attendance record while Boca and Puerto Rico saw many first-time and all the time campers in attendance. A good time was had by all...

A long holiday weekend brought Manitou campers and staff together for a fun filled trip of skiing, hot tubing and exciting playoff football. With a solid crew of skiers and snowboarders, Manitou campers and staff were seen all over the mountain - cruising down runs, free-styling in the terrain park or just enjoying a nice ride down what staff member Andy Tonks calls "the mean greens." As the weather got colder throughout the weekend, Manitou campers were seen warming up in the base lodge with bread bowls of chili, chicken tenders, pizza, hot chocolate, and if lucky, a freshly made hot waffle from the popular Waffle Haus. After a long days of skiing and snowboarding, the Manitou crew would head down to the heated pool and hot tub to warm up and relax. The weekend ended with a half day of skiing on Monday and some more Manitou memories that will last a lifetime.

2008 Manitou Skiers and Riders, now sporting new winter Manitou hats, were:

Simon Weiler, Brett Raskopf, David Warner, James Barlia, Tyler Feldman, Rory Knox, David Shimer, Nate Gallant, Mike Greenbaum, Robbie Rosenthal, Brett Yorks, Cody Shemesh, Charlie Plavin, Eben Cooper, Jon Stepakoff and new campers Harrison Ross and Jacob Maged. The group also ran into campers Sam Cadan and Sam Martin. Campers were contained by a veteran staff members: Pete Hansen, Brad Tarr, Andy Tonks, Chris Marcoux with Dave, Craig, Derek and JD. Mt. Snow local, and newly engaged Manitou alum, Evan Nable, joined the group as well.

Despite the very cold weather, Manitou photographers found a way to snap some shots on the trip. To view the pictures, please log into your myManitou account and go to the pictures section.

A great opportunity for first time Manitou campers to meet other new campers and directors before heading up to Manitou for the first time. All events are run by Manitou directors and include an activity, a video introduction to camp, food, and the chance to ask lots of questions!

Boston: Sunday, April 13th
NJ: Wednesday, April 16th
South Florida: Wednesday, April 23rd
MD: Sunday, May 4th
NY: Sunday, May 18th

Specific times and locations will be emailed a few weeks prior to the event.

Come out to the ballgame with your Manitou friends! For the sixth year in a row Manitou will be reserving a block of seats at three baseball games this spring. Details on how to reserve your tickets will be sent by email once tickets numbers are known.

Details for this year's games:

Sunday, April 6th: Yankees vs Tampa Bay @ 1pm
Friday, May 2nd: Phillies vs San Fran @ 7pm
Saturday, May 3rd: Nationals vs Pittsburgh @ 1pm

Dear Manitou Campers, Parents and Staff:

We are thrilled to present this site to our camp nation and hopes it helps foster the strong sense of community Manitou has always had - all year long. There is something here for everyone, and the table of contents will take you anywhere you need to go. The best part is that this is only the beginning. See the article below for a list of what else is in store.

As always, we love hearing your thoughts and are always exploring ideas so please let us know what you think.

Look forward to seeing you all again this summer!

JD, Dave, Craig and Derek