By Bob Waite
I would have liked to have left earlier, but in an effort to avoid rush hour traffic, Tanya and I decided that our trip up the PA Turnpike to the Poconos should begin around nine in the morning. Our bags were lightly packed. There was no need for us to bring dress clothes nor a lot of accessories. Tee shirts and jeans would do for this trip.
After several delays and being rerouted to Route 309 and then PA 33, we made it into the mountains. It is always gorgeous in the Poconos. The higher elevation popped our plain-dwelling ears as the elevation increased. Hills and an occasional deep valley would appear to our gawking eyes as we drove up to Pocono Manor Resort & Spa, a family resort that combines the class of a full-service hotel with outdoor recreation, and sits so majestically at the end of Manor Drive in Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania.
Pocono Manor, known locally as “The Grand Lady of the Mountains,” is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and has been welcoming guests since 1902. I felt like I was driving into an old English village when I first saw the main building. Parking in the guest registration spot, Tanya and I walked to the large outdoor pool, filled with people of all ages. It didn’t seem like many were sitting on the sides. This was very obviously a place for family fun.
Once inside we were impressed with the spaciousness of the building. At the check-in desk, Krista signed us in and answered our questions. The Lobby was nice and the check-in desk was well-staffed. At the end of the room was an immense fireplace. Looking down the hallway there were people in the gift shop and entering the Lamplighter Lounge, one of three dining establishments inside the hotel.
Tanya and I couldn’t wait to see the room, which turned out to be beyond anything we expected. Entering Tanya said, “Whoa,” to the long hallway that had two large spacious mirror-covered closets. At the end of the hallway was a kitchen which had a round table with chairs and was equipped with a refrigerator, a Keurig coffeemaker and a microwave. A window in the kitchen overlooked the grounds, eliciting another “Whoa” from Tanya. Next to the kitchen was the bathroom, which had his and hers sinks, a walk-in glass door shower and a bathtub, which also had a shower.
The bedroom was impressive. I immediately saw the desk and chair at one end of the room and appropriately said, “Whoa.” In the same corner as the desk was a little sitting area that had two comfortable chairs and a pole light with a dimmer. In front of the two king-size beds were cushioned benches and across the room was a dresser and a full-body mirror. On the side of the room was a chest of drawers. There were two bay windows that allowed a scenic view. And, of course, there was a flat screen TV.
After lunch at the Lamplighter Lounge Tanya and I went to Ranch at Pocono Manor to go horseback riding. We made an appointment for 4 p.m. At the ranch we were met by Felicia, the manager. She was friendly and kind of funny. She asked us a series of questions and after seeing we were greenhorns, took us through the stables to the back where we waited along with another couple for our horses.
John and Marie opted to wear helmets for safety. Tanya and I decided not to wear them. We were introduced to our horses by Becca, a 20-something riding instructor and guide. She had a buoyant personality and told me that she had the best job in the entire world. She introduced us to our horses. Tanya got to ride Zeus, a handsome black horse that was the biggest of the four. I rode a smaller horse, Sherlock. On trails for an hour we rode through a forest, in which we saw several deer. I rode right into my imagination and while Becca was talking, asking us questions, telling jokes and bits of folklore, I was an old cowboy riding slowly through the woods to the tune of “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling.”
After getting out of the saddle Tanya and I headed for the hills. The Manor is in the mountains and mountains are all around. Mount Pocono is a short jaunt, so we went there first and saw right on the main street a ice cream parlor/ movie theatre, a delectable combination. We continued then down the main street and onto Route 611 heading toward Stroudsburg and in no time came to an outlet mall. There were 100 stores in that mall, a shopper’s delight. We walked a while, checking out the sales and then got back in the car. We stopped at a small restaurant and had a great meal.
After touring the area for a while we stopped at Mount Airy Casino Resort and watched people gaming. Neither Tanya nor I are gamers ourselves but we like to watch the excitement. On our way out we saw one of the machines going crazy. The woman was playing one of the penny slots and got to spin the wheel and wheel kept landing on the 10X indicator. She was on her way out and decided to play just one more twenty. As the machine was racking up money a crowd gathered and watched her win over $7000. Everyone said, “Now go home.” No one wanted to see her leave with five cents less than she won on that slot. We then had a Starbucks coffee and headed back to the Manor.
When we returned it was evening. We had already eaten out and it was dark. None the less we decided to explore. We walked around the grounds at night, and it was very romantic. The moon was full that night and the Manor glowed. The pool was obliged to reflect back the lunar shine and some of the tall pines looked like they had painted tips. That night we met a wonderful couple from France who had two delightful children. We ran into them several times during our stay.
The next day we got up early and went to breakfast at the Manor. It was a buffet that had everything you could ever think of eating for breakfast. Many of the family packages included breakfast. Ours did too.
We took another drive in the morning to the Camelback Resort and went to the top of Camelback Mountain. The view was stunning. It was a high point and we could see for miles. Below was what looked like an aerial view. At the resort were both an indoor and outdoor water park, but what fascinated us was the Zip Flyer with the longest zip line in the world. We watched a couple get in their seats and, when released, flew down across the valley at speeds Camelback claims are up to 60 miles per hour. I said to Tanya, “Lets go,” and she replied, “Right.” Thus zip flying would have to be put on hold for a while.
After going to Camelback Mountain we headed back for our appointment with Manor Sports. Manor Sports offers a variety of activities, many that are included in the small Resort Fee. These include target practice with BB guns, bait fishing, bicycling and others. Sports with extra fees include archery, trap shooting, pistol shooting, fly fishing and golf cart tours.
At Manor Sports we had an appointment with Mike Passenger who is a pistol, trap shooting and fly fishing guide. He was a real gentleman, who looked like an avid outdoorsman yet had the smile and manor of a someone who wanted his students to have a good time. We met him and Melissa Garcia, who is activities manager. They were both very nice.
Pistol target shooting was much harder than it looked. We used two different size guns. The first pistol we shot was a 22 caliber semi-automatic and then we used a 9 mm semi-automatic. Tanya, nicknamed Annie Oakley by Mike, like me preferred the 9 mm pistol better than the 22. We both were able to hit the targets but no bullseyes. We learned how to hold a gun, a little about safety and how to move the gun without moving our arms.
Next we spent some time trap shooting. This was really a lot of fun. We used 12-guage semi-automatic shotguns. Melissa would release the traps after one of us would say, “Melissa pull!” Tanya shot first and knocked one of those discs out of the sky with her first shot. That was kind of scary for me. I hit one after umpteen times.
After shooting we talked with Melissa about other activities that she supervised and she gave us a whole list that included arts and crafts, family jeopardy and other games. We were told about the beautiful golf course at Pocono Manor, but neither of us played that sport.
After we got back we decided to go to the indoor game room and play some ping pong and pool. Now we were both rusty at ping pong, meaning we chased the ball a lot. It was great though and we, at one point, couldn’t stop laughing. Pool was different. Tanya told me how she could beat various relatives and had played a lot of pool in her time. I grew up around pool players and several were big tournament winners, so I told her I wasn’t very good at the game. I was judging by those I played with when I was younger. Anyway, she won the first game but I won five consecutive games after that. Then came the accusation: “You hustled me,” she said. “you said you weren’t any good, and then I see you lining up balls.” I pleaded innocent to the charges of hustling and felt like a lucky blackjack player accused of card counting. Tanya didn’t waste any time telling others about what a hustler I was. Of course, being a fan of Paul Newman, I kinda liked it.
The next morning, we sadly had to leave. Driving back, we took the Jersey side after crossing the Delaware Water Gap. As the terrain began to look less like mountains and more like rolling hills, we laughed about our adventures until the landscape began to look like home.