Poconos 08

River rafting, horseback riding, field sports, a large flea market, rest and relaxation & pounds of food. This vacation was one to remember!

Memorial day weekend Jody's parents graciously offered up there vacation home in the Poconos for us to have ourselves a relaxing, rejuvenating retreat from the grind of New York City.

wait a minute... that's terrible. Please. This was a family weekend. It was all, innocent, good wholesome fun. Phil, come on, I'm trying to tell a story here... please. There were no Shenaningans to speak of. It was all singing around the campfire, alcohol free, fun...

Several cars of us made there way out to Marhsall's Creek on Friday. Phil and I drove up with Alicia and Brooke. Poor Tracy (my car, for those who don't know her) was stuffed more than she has ever been. Nary an inch of the car was left unpacked. What is worse, 5 of us had to drive to Lincoln Center from the Hill's, with 2 of Phil's friends, Olivier and Samuel, from Paris.

The drive out to the country was reasonably short and painless, and showtunes abounded!! Surprise surprise!! By Friday afternoon, we had arrived, and Dan, Jody, and Elvira had already gone shopping and set up the house for our arrival.

The first night, Dan manned the grill, and we stuffed our faces with some good old fashioned BBQ chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers! After eating, the music started, and a dance party ensued!

After blowing off some steam, we settled in for a good night's rest and an early rise for our big rafting adventure!

Surprisingly, the next morning went without a hitch... We actually washed, fed, and packed up 9 people, leaving enough time to get to the rafting home base about an hour away. When we arrived in Jim Thorpe, PA, we were informed that while the day itself was going to be gorgeous, the water temperature was only going to be in the low 50s. YIKES! Even our guides advised us to get at least a partial wetsuit, because the water was going to be BUTT ASS COLD!!! After some pulling and tugging and some creative positioning, we all managed to fit ourselves into the wetsuits. Let me just tell you... they were dead sexy!

For those of you who have never rafter before, I highly recommend it. It is a great way to connect with nature and is a wonderful, accessible trip from the concrete jungle of NYC! We loved it!! After a brief orientation, they stuffed us into a bus and drove us to our entry point on the Lehigh River. They could not get us riverside, so we were dropped off, and after a 15 minute hike, found ourselves in front a large stack of rafts. Our teams were each assigned a raft and asked to carry them under a bridge to our launch point on the other side. This was our first introduction to the frigid water!! Thankfully the adrenaline had already kicked in, so all thought of cold was lost in minutes!

Once we got on the water, we learned quickly that our boat had a hole in the floor. Yeah, good times! That wouldn't have been too terrible, except we had not picked up one of the bail buckets at the orientation site like we were supposed to; not thinking clearly, the entire group, only grabbed one bucket for 2 boats. oops! Thankfully, we were rescued by a boatload of butch boys we met bringing up the rear of our group!

The tour itself, took about 4-5 hours, with a break about halfway through for lunch. By the end, we were spent!! We were happy to shed our waterproof skins and stuff ourselves with some tasty hotdogs the rafting company had waiting for us at the base camp! I'm not saying I had 3... I'm just saying, thank you Rafting Grillers, thank you.

That night we opted for low key, and after another grilled feast, the creative team of Bogdan Surelys set up the loft like a drive in movie... We lasted about 20 minutes into the Jerk before we called the whole thing off due to exhaustion!

The next day was less structured. Half of us decided to roam the grounds of community where Jody's house was. Bugs aside, it was a fun morning. We laughed and walked and posed for stupid pictures at every possible turn. Yes, we have problems!

After some lakeside shenanigans, we head back to the house for a snack and then packed the cars and head out to the GIANT Flea Market. We spent about an hour and a half roaming the grounds for little treasures.
As you can see... they had all sorts of peopls and items for sale. It was hard not to walk away with a carload of stuff... cough... um.... right...

Moving on...

After a good shop, some folks opted for a nap and relaxation, and others us decided to try our hands (and feet) and soft ball and kickball!! Notice the form... damn we're good!

Our final night was... well it was something else! Food, wine, sparklers, Twister, Scrabble... I think pictures will speak louder than words!

I know... and those are the tame pictures... It is nice to know that at 30 something... we are still able to just let our hair down and be silly.

The final day involved a big breakfast and then a trailride through the hills of nearby resort.

THANK YOU JODY for inviting us... and thank you to everyone who came along to share in the fun. We're so happy to have friends like you in our lives!!

Glory Days

What became the opening night photo for this aspiring new Broadway musical Glory Days also became the closing night photo. We were fortunate to see the production the night before it closed. Sadness.....