Pennsylvania Poconos-Not just for Honeymooners

Best Things Nearby:
Bushkill Falls, outlet shopping, The Christmas Factory

Best Things About the Resort:
It was quiet,and had terrific service. Located very close to Rte 80, making it easy to get around the state. The resort was clean and looked to have been recently updated. Our unit had a great big table in the kitchen that suited our family wonderfully. We did not use any of the resort's amenities, nor did we participate in resort planned activities, but they had many.

Resort Experience:
We were quite leery of this resort, as we had always traded for Gold Crown resorts in the past. We were very pleased with all that this resort offered. At first, I must say that the route and resort entrance was not as well marked as I would have liked, but after a quick u-turn, we located the check-in without further ado.

The check-in process was quite speedy, and very thorough and our attendant was very friendly. Our directions to the unit were complete and we located it easily. I must say that it doesn't make any sense to me that the door with the card key access was on the opposite side of the unit from the parking lot, but it was only a minor inconvenience.

Our unit was freestanding, so it made it nice not to have to keep the kids' noise level down all the time. Not all the units are like this, however.

The common areas were on the first floor, and the bedrooms were on the second. There was a half bath on the first floor, which made it very convenient not to have to run up the stairs each time! The appliances looked to be fairly new, as did the flooring and carpet. The furniture did not look to be that new and it was not very comfortable. The couch and loveseat were a crate type style with very thin cushions.

There was a large porch with outdoor chairs that would overlook the parking lot but for a few large bushes and evergreens. They made for a nice privacy screen. A cozy place to hang out on at night.

The bedrooms were smaller than we have been accustomed to, but all we use them for is to sleep and change, so it wasn't the end of the world!

The service was efficient. When we checked out the unit, we noticed that it lacked a smoke alarm and called it in immediately. Within 20 minutes, a service person had come and replaced it and tested it, to insure our safety.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

This was a diner that we stopped in for a nice sit-down breakfast on our way home.

Although the server wasn't rude, she wasn't the friendliest waitress I've ever encountered.

The atmosphere was a diner as we expected, complete with counter and swiveling stools. The decor hasn't been updated in awhile. Obviously Penn. doesn't have a no-smoking law for restaurants, yet, and you need to walk through the smoking section to get to the non-smoking section.

The ladies’ restroom was dingy, and very cramped. My first thought was there was no way that this bathroom was big enough to accommodate a wheelchair, even though no one in my family uses one regularly. My daughter did need one on our last vacation due to foot surgery, so I am aware of the need for accessibility much more, now.

The food was only passable but served in decent quantity. I had a Belgian waffle that was made of pancake mix, very heavy and not light and fluffy as I expected. They had only three items on the kids’ menu. The food did come out fairly quickly and it was all of the right serving temperatures. My youngest had a fruit salad, but it was the kind that came from a jar and she said it was sour.

All in all, I would give this restaurant two stars out of five.

The Dansbury Depot is an original 1864 train station converted into a restaurant. It has a charming, cozy, Americana atmosphere. There are model trains running on overhead tracks in all the rooms, a little gift shop at the hostess stand, and a substantial bar. Our food server, Tim, was great! He was extremely friendly and outgoing and helpful. It happened to be my daughter's 16th birthday, and he did a fantastic job of bringing her dessert out with the candle; I mention this because my daughter had just left to go to the ladies’ room as Tim was bringing out the dessert! He managed to hide it and round up the singing waiters/waitresses once more for a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" and they even used her name.

Everyone was very pleased with their portions and the taste of their entrees. I had one of their "giant" martinis and it was indeed large! It was very tasty and I managed to finish it all! It was easy to find from our resort with plenty of on-street parking. The menu was well organized, offered many items such as chicken, seafood, steak and sandwiches. The only bad thing I have to say is that I ordered some fresh fruit for dessert instead of the heavier items offered, and it was anything but fresh. It was the canned fruit salad that you get at the supermarket, and it was old and fermented.

I would recommend this restaurant highly, just as long as you stay away from the fruit salad!

Technically, this was not a restaurant, but a store selling cheesecakes. We LOVE cheesecake, so we thought we'd stop in on our way back to the resort for a quick bite. They sold cheesecakes from a display case like a bakery, by the cake or slice. Prices were about $32US for a whole cake and slices were $4US. They were very tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary, and not much on variety when we visited. I think they had maybe 6 kinds of regular and some sugar-free offerings as well. I was disappointed that there weren't more flavors. If you are in the area and cheesecake is your thing, I would recommend stopping in, but if you had to make a special trip to go there, I wouldn't suggest it, you could do just as well at a restaurant.

Bushkill Falls was very easy to locate off Rte 209N and has ample free parking. We were quite impressed by the number of activities that were available beside the hiking and sightseeing. A family of any size could have a nice long day here.

We had brought a picnic lunch to take on the trail, but no food or drink (except water) is allowed on the trails. This wasn’t a problem as they provide many different picnic areas including pavilions and groves with open grills, all were clean and inviting.

The entrance fee was quite reasonable, $36 for three adults and two children and that gained you entrance into the wildlife exhibit and then onto the trails. There are four trails in all. Each is a different length and skill level. The shorter ones are good for those people with small children who will be hiking along with them, but the longer ones are fairly easy (beg-intermed) if the children are older. Mine are 16, 11 & 8, and we did the blue trail and veered onto the yellow and then the red toward the end. The trails are well marked and kept in good repair. There are many steep, narrow stairs, and bridges, especially around the falls themselves (many different falls), but it is quite worth the hike for the view. The trails harbor many benches for those who need a resting place, and trash receptacles for empty water bottles. You will need a good pair of sneakers or hiking boots to be comfortable on this trail. We witnessed many "hikers" in sandals or flip-flops. I would strongly recommend using common sense as this is a natural area, not manmade.

Definitely bring your binoculars, camera and/or video camera as the scenery is breath taking. There are numerous photo opportunities, so make sure you have plenty of film and batteries. We forgot to bring extra batteries and ran out of juice too early, but we did get a few good shots of the spectacular main falls.

Be sure to do some good leg stretches before and after your hike as it is a good workout on the thigh and calf muscles! The red trail boasts 1,267 steps in all!!

The only other advice I might add is to remember that this is in the woods so be sure to bring bug spray to ward off ticks and other insects. Sunscreen might be a good idea if it is sunny, but most of the trails are nicely shaded, also because of the shade, you might bring a light jacket or such if it seems like it could turn cooler as you hike on.

We had a terrific time together challenging each other to get up the hills first, or investigating the plant and insect life along the trails. It was a great, relaxing family day.

WOW! This place was sooo cool! And I'm not even a kid! The whole family had a blast creating all kinds of fun stuff with Crayola products. They show you how crayons, markers, paint and chalk are made, then let you play with it! You get three coins with your admission that you can redeem in vending machines for a magic marker, a pack of 4 crayons or a small pack of Model Magic. There are all kinds of different displays for all the mediums that Crayola produces. We went into one room that you could make a summer journal using bubble wrap and paint, then you dry it in a special drying oven and add your black construction paper middle pages. The black was used because you then decorated your pages with these really neat gel markers! We had to get a set at the gift shop downstairs.

Of course the shop sold all the products that Crayola currently makes and lots of clothing and stuffed toys, too! There was lots of other way cool stuff to do, too, like read about the history of the company, and see the 100 billionth crayon produced, made by Mr. Rogers, himself!

The cost was reasonable, $9US for all over age 2, and $8.50 for seniors.

I forgot to mention that we got to paint with melted crayons, how cool is that!

There is also a canal museum (admission is included with your one ticket price) on the floor above the factory if that interests you, but we were having so much fun, that we just didn't have any more time left!
Crayola Factory

Our first full day in the Poconos found us setting out for a new adventure. Weeks before our trip, we had surfed the web for all kinds of adventures near our resort, and came across the Crystal Cave. It was one of the more interesting sights that we thought to explore.

Having never been inside a cave before, we had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a great little place to take the family, we were very pleased. We first stopped for a bite to eat at the little Penna, a Dutch restaurant on the grounds. It was fast-food counter service with booths and tables and the food was tasty, though expensive. Too bad we didn’t realize that Crystal Cave has a picnic park, we could have made a nice long afternoon of it.

Discovered in 1871, near Kutztown, PA, the Crystal Cave is the oldest operating cave in Pennsylvania. Our admission for 5 (3 adults, 2 kids) was $35.50US and you begin your tour with a little movie about the geological history of caves entitled "Inside the Earth". Once over, you are then led into the mouth of the cave. The pathway is quite navigable with concrete walkways and steel railings. There are a few steps and areas that have low hanging rocks; after all, you are in a cave!

Our guides were quite knowledgeable and witty, always a plus in any tour. The tour took about 45 minutes not including the movie. The crystal formations and natural stone "sculptures" were incredible. We were all very fascinated by nature’s work.

Some tips that would be helpful are that the cave is always 54 degrees F, so we brought sweatshirts/jackets and were glad to have them. Also, there is no bathroom in the cave, be sure to go before you enter! I had to cut my tour short and leave the rest of the family behind to tend to a potty emergency for my 8 year old. There are plenty of photo ops for shutterbugs, but only half of our pictures came out due to the low lighting, and that was using a flash each time. You might want to invest in a disposable meant for low lighting pictures.

There are two nice gift shops that have lots of neat stones for rock enthusiasts, and many gifts made of stone plus all that a tourist might expect! If it is a hot day, you can grab a nice cool treat in the ice cream shop, or play a relaxing game of mini golf. You can also hike on their nature trail to complete your day.

We really enjoyed this little site. It reminded me of all the cool little places that my parents took us as kids when we took our vacations as a road trip and camped every year.
Check out their web site Crystal Cave

WOW! What an adventure! If you are in the Lehigh River Valley, or close to it, and have a spirit of adventure, you have got to go rafting with Whitewater Rafting Adventures! They were the best. We have three girls, ages 16, 11, and 8 and they just loved the day that we spent on the Lehigh River, just outside of Jim Thorpe, PA.

They provide a guide both in the front of the rafts and another behind, but you paddle yourselves down the river and through the rapids. We’ve been on a rafting trip before, but had a guide in the raft with us. This time we had to get around using our own ingenuity. It was so much fun! The guide gave lots of great safety tips and maneuvering advice before we left, so we were well equipped to pilot our raft for the day.

They provide life vests, paddles, rafts, and a waterproof bucket to keep the bagged lunch that we provided dry. You may want to bring a helmet, I didn’t see where they provided these, but we didn’t ask, either.

Going in the summer allowed us to experience class 2 rapids. Being a milder ride, they allow children age 5 and up to go. It was such a nice trip down river, the scenery was beautiful and the water cool. Every once in a while, you are allowed to jump out of the raft and swim in the river, provided that you have someone strong enough left in the raft to pull you back in!

The guides were always around, checking on everyone’s progress and condition. I got bumped out of our raft on one of the rapids, and the front guide started coming over to help me immediately. Before he could reach me, he saw that I was all right, having fallen only in water that was below my knees.

Halfway through our trip, we pulled over to a nice rocky beach and had our lunch. It was nice to be able to take a little break. Once the trip is over, you take a 20-minute bus ride back to the facility. They provide warm showers, a changing room and best of all, a free hot dog cookout at the end of each trip!

We thought the fee was very reasonable, $33.95 for adults over 12, and $24.95 for under 12, and the second child is free with 2 paying adults. This is for summer rafting, other seasons have different pricing. They also offer wetsuit, bootie and mitt rentals, pre-ordered lunches and group rates. If rafting isn’t your thing, they also rent mountain bikes and have paintball facilities. Check them out at Whitewater Rafting Adventures or call 800-876-0285 for more information.

This large Christmas outlet is a must see for any seasonal buff! We found many items of interest with which to deck the halls. From garlands, to villages, to hand-blown glass ornaments, everything you would expect from a Christmas shop, and more.

They also carry Halloween villages, and many, many other everyday gift items that I haven't seen elsewhere. Their prices were ok, but not sky high as one might expect from a tourist type store.