As I write this blog, I can’t believe I am writing about the last trip of the summer of 2023. Every year right before school starts up again for our children, my wife and I like to take our family on one last summer trip. It is usually a quick mini trip after the children’s summer camp and before school starts. This year, my sister Amy and brother-in-law, Jay, were nice enough to let us use their house in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania for a couple of days. They have a house right on a lake in the small community on Lake Naomi.

When I think of spending time in the Pocono Mountains, I imagine just this time of year, cool summer days at the end of August. The water was warm just the same as the air. The sun was shining but not beating us down like the middle of July. The days were simply perfect. There was plenty of shade with just the right amount of sun and clouds in the sky. We had a canoe, a couple of kayaks and a couple of paddle boards at our disposal.

My son bounced from using the kayaks to coming in the canoe with my wife and me. At times, my teenage daughter even came on the canoe with us. At one point, I even got her to go with my son in the canoe. My son and I tried the paddle boards. They are certainly harder than they look, especially for this “old” dad’s lack of balance. I had been on them once before when I was up there previously, so I knew what I was getting myself into, but I took on the challenge anyway. I do not remember my daughter laughing harderin her life than when I fell off. She said she could see me trying so hard not to fall, but then I went down, only to hear my wife yell from the deck of the house, “Did you get it on video?” Thank goodness there was no evidence of me falling off! Just my daughter laughing and me in the lake!

One afternoon we took a short break from the lake and found a place where we could race go-karts around a track, so my son, daughter and I took them for a spin. It was fun as we all raced to be first. They also had an area where we shot paint balls at some targets. Quite honestly, I think we would rather have spent more time at the lake, but it was a nice break nonetheless.

One evening we drove over to a local little restaurant/bar called Sarah Street Grill, which calls itself “The Pocono’s One Stop for Delicious Food and Great Original Music” and is located in downtown Stroudsburg, in the heart of the Pocono Mountains. It was a little bit of a drive, but we had been there before and liked the food and the selection, so we took the 20-minute drive. We opted to eat outside on top of the rooftop deck. We had a couple of appetizers, salads, burgers, steaks and pasta dishes. Everything was great. They have live music inside.

The rest of the evening we sat around, soaked in the hot tub, played Pictionary and card games. We never made it down to the beach for a bonfire. Ah, well, I guess there is always next year! I miss the summer days already but have the warm memories to last us through the winter months. Looking forward to our next adventure . . .

— Eli R. Shapiro, director of sales