Poconos, Pennsylvania

So, I guess everyone is trying to catch up on those things we promised ourselves months ago and still haven’t gotten to.

    My boyfriend, Jeremy, and myself finally got our rear ends out there and kayaked the Delaware River through the Water Gap.  We did a total of eleven miles. We had been driving through the area and talking about it for long enough and since it was my weekend off and there was nothing on the calendar squares, we decided that now was the time.  We rented equipment from the Pack Shack and got a shuttle to Smithfield Beach and rode the river down to Portland, where we got picked up and shuttled back. It was a pretty amazing day. I sent two pictures from our trip, one of the river from our take-out point and one of Jeremy in the Gap. You can see that this is a very calm river. I worked at Pocono Whitewater for a summer a few years ago, being a river guide.They do trips on the Lehigh River, which is a beautiful place, but the river is not always so calm. After a summer of working the Lehigh, I find I prefer lake and calm river kayaking. 

    On Sunday, a bunch of the gals from work wanted to go down to the Jam On The Dam, in White Haven.  My son, Julian, loves to ride his bike, so we packed the bike in the back of the truck and off we went.  We got a bite to eat at the festival, hung out with the girls for a little bit, and went to explore.  I actually rented a bike of my own so I could go too, after all, why should the kids get to have all the fun?   Pocono Whitewater recently opened another base right in a White Haven, so I went to visit some old friends to get my bike.  We biked between the river and the railroad and took a few breaks by some streams, and small waterfalls.   Julian got out the trail fine but when we turned around to come back to the base, he started complaining that his legs hurt.  I think this was the first time I heard him get exhausted from bike riding.  It was a lot of fun, and we actually won a pass for Pocono Whitewater, so we are planning to go again soon for a whole day.  I sent a picture from the beer tent at the festival where the Sundance Vacations crew was hanging out listening to some live music.  The picture is (left to right) Liz Warne, Karen Cooper, and Sharon Davenport.   Allie Loughridge and Cheryl Zambotti were also there but I didn’t get any good pics. 

    So, there are definitely a bunch of cool spots right here in our own backyard that could keep us amused for a whole summer.  With the price of gas these day’s, we’d probably be smarter to look into what our own area has to offer and check out some local places we haven’t been to before, or just go back to some of our old favorites.

    We spent an entire weekend not traveling more than an hour away, and it was one of the best of the whole summer.  Let me know if anyone else has any suggestions and I will let you all know some more of my favorite’s.                                                                                                                                                 

Rochell Zambotti

Hazleton Phone Room

Vacations are supposed to be a time to relax, right?  So I find it funny, that many travelers find the need to fill every minute of their vacation with stuff to do.  Ok, I admit it, sometimes I’m one of those people.

I guess I was pretending to be a Pocono tourist this past weekend.  I crammed my weekend full.  After biking for 13 miles on Saturday in the Lehigh Gorge State Park (see my previous post) we did indeed go rafting on Sunday.  For $55 per person my daughters and I spent the day paddling on the Lehigh.  We went with Pocono Whitewater Adventures on Route 903 (1-800-whitewater).  The weather turned chilly overnight after a warm and pleasant day on Saturday.  Asking for two good weather days in a row is apparently out of the question.

We rented full wetsuits.  They stunk like sweat or mold or both.  Mine was, well, wet when I put it on which was unfortunate because although I was quite willing to get wet I would have preferred to do it at the river. 

We chose to raft the Gorge section of the river where the rapids are a little more exciting instead of the family float.  Our group was small, just 4 rafts.  We geared up, boarded the bus and were transported to Drake’s Creek to launch our rafts.

Launching our rafts was probably the most dangerous part (for broken ankles).  We had to heave our raft through a washed out gully, balancing each step on river rocks. The river guides said a major flood caused the damage.  Thankfully two other adults were added to our raft because my two young daughters and I would have had trouble getting the raft to the water in those conditions.

Finally, we were launched.  Morgan and Madison upfront, two teachers from Bethlehem in the middle and me in the back.  Somehow I got the job of captain. Within 3 minutes of working on the river, we were all hot!  That’s right working.  We’re paddling, we’re steering and we’re bailing.

I definitely had the wrong image of rafting.  They instructed us back at the rafting center to leave everything in our cars (dry clothes, dry towels, cameras, cell phones, etc).  I did.  I thought that things could get wet, through some splashing etc.  I had no idea that water was going to seep into the bottom of the boat or worse yet, that we were going to hit “45 minute” rock and have water fill our entire raft!  There’s no time to bail when your running the rapids and trying to avoid rocks but when we got to flat water, we bailed and bailed and bailed.  At least the heavy water pushed us off “45 minute rock” very quickly.  Apparently it’s called 45 minute rock because it’ll take 45 minutes to get rescued or freed from the rock.

Although my daughters were disappointed that they didn’t get to go for an unexpected swim, I’m thankful that they stayed in the raft the entire time.  I got dumped out twice (once when we stopped abruptly, (of course on a rock) and the other time when I was ruddering in the back and just rolled out.

My girls loved the trip.  It was a real life roller coaster.  They loved the class III rapids.  I would not go if the river was any lower, in fact, if we go again we’re going to watch for special water releases.   I think fall is a good time to go rafting.  The water is still warm and the river is not too low.

In closing, let me say that it is a long day.  We arrived at the rafting center before 9:45 am.  I don’t remember what time we actually got on the river (who can check their watch when they are desperately trying not to break their ankle).  We got off the river around 3:30 and were back at our cars at about 4:00 pm.

Every muscle in my upper body hurts (my shoulders, neck, obliques, forearms, pecs, just everything!).  I tried aiming the jets of a Jacuzzi on my shoulders.  I applied BenGay and finally I took an Advil.  Obviously, I tried to muscle the river too hard.  Maybe we should have tried throwing the paddles in the boat and letting the river just take us.

Rafting while on vacation has its advantages; you don’t have to use a sick day the day after.  How about you?  Have you ever felt like you needed a vacation after you had a vacation or participated in a "leisurely" activity? Let us know…

Tina Dowd

Although I have lived within 15 minutes of the Lehigh Gorge Park my whole life, I really appreciated its serenity and beauty for the first time today while biking from Rockport to Glen Onoko.                                                                                                                                                                                    

I have been planning this ride since May.  OK, not really “planning” per se.  But it’s been on my list. A busy summer kept getting in the way.  “Free” weekend?  I don’t even know what that is anymore.  Finally, this past weekend, I put my foot down.  We are biking the Gorge, period.                                                                                                                                                                        My husband “innocently” tried to tell me that a storm front was moving in faster than expected and we would probably get wet, but if I was Ok with that, then so was he.  My kids moaned about their various aches and pains.  The only other family member who was excited about our adventure was my 3 ½ year old because she loves to ride in the bike seat (no peddling).                                                                  

We dropped a car at Glen Onoko in Jim Thorpe.  From the Poconos take Route 903 South to Jim Thorpe.  As you come down the hill and into Jim Thorpe, you’ll pass a Sunoco station on your right and Annie’s Ice Cream on the left, go .8 miles further and turn right.  (It’s the right turn after 3^rd Street. Watch for the brown signs for Lehigh Gorge State Park.)  Travel .3 miles and turn left into the Park.  There are parking lots carved out on the right, but go all the way to the turn around first (1.7 miles).  You can get a glimpse of the Lehigh River as you cross the bridge and see a huge cave that used to be a railway tunnel.                                                                                                                                 

It takes 20-30 minutes by car to drive to Rockport.  Exit the park the way you came in, but after .3 miles, go straight at the stopsign (not right).  Cross the bridge and turn right. Turn right on Route 93 at Izio’s restaurant.  Travel 5.6 miles to a right turn on Route 4010.  Travel 2.2 miles and make a right turn across the railroad tracks in Weatherly.  The road snakes through the community.  So, make a right on Wilbur, pass the old train station, then left toward White Haven.  Continue on First St.  Again follow toward White Haven.  Make a right on East Main Street.  This road turns into S Lehigh Gorge Drive.  Turn right on Rockport Drive. Again there are well-marked brown signs for the Lehigh Gorge State Park.  (The total distance from when you crossed the railroad tracks to when you turn is 3.6 miles.)  Park at the bottom.  There is a restroom at the trailhead.  Bike downstream (right) to return to Glen Onoko.  The biking portion took us about 2 hours.  The trail is smooth, packed gray gravel.  My 10 year old is very picky about the riding surface. It can’t be too rocky or have too many roots or be too sandy.  She thought it was perfect.  There is a 1% downhill grade from Rockport back to Jim Thorpe.  Don’t get me wrong- that is flat, flat, flat.   You still have to pedal but at least it’s not uphill!  There are scenic overlooks and a few picnic tables scattered the length of the park.  There are no garbage cans.  Everything you take in you have to carry back out.                                                                                                                                                                

It was a perfect day.  Surrounded by the sights and sounds of the river on the left and occasional rock cliffs on the right, my family quickly forgot their gripes.  “This is so nice.  Why’d you make us wait so long to come here?” asks my husband.  Don’t worry, he’s still alive.  (He was out of my reach when he said it. )                                                                                                                                             

~Tina Dowd                                                                                                                                       

PS- Watching the rafters and kayaks maneuver the river gave us the itch to give it a try.  So, next we’re going rafting with Pocono Whitewater Adventures (1-800-whitewater).