Off to the Poconos!

Have you ever been to the Poconos? Well,  take it from someone who grew up there, it has four seasons of fun awaiting your trip. Right now, the skiing, snow tubing, and snow boarding are the main outdoor activities. Blue Mountain is practically in my mom's back yard, and other slopes like Camelback and Jack Frost are short drives away.

In the summer, Camelback turns into Camelbeach, a vast land of water slides and lazy tubing rivers. The day there a few years ago with my friend Melissa was very fun. I think us 20-something women out-giggled some of the kiddies nearby us in the wave pool. Sunblock was our best friend that hot day, though we did get some coloring.

In the fall, take a long, rambling drive and check out the fall foliage and ample amount of roadside fruits and vegetable vendors for the area's best apples, berries, pumpkins, and homemade pies and cookies.

In the spring, thaw out from the winter during a hike on the many trails or take a scenic train ride through Jim Thorpe. It's still too cold to go rafting down the river, but it is not too early to view the the rapids during a drive. It's also the time to see the seniors from area schools getting all pampered and primped up for their Prom night at local venues like the Woodlands, Jim Thorpe Memorial Hall, Crystal Chateau, Summit Lanes, and more.

But what brings me to PA more so than skiing is the family. My next trip home is mostly about my cousin Matt and his fiance Stacy's April wedding. I've got bridesmaid fever, haha. I picked up my dress at Alfred Angelo (love that store, and the designer!!!) a few months ago and now have to visit my grandma's friend, who will do the alterations. Oh, and I have volunteered to help address, stuff, and stamp wedding invitation envelopes. There's a hair cut and highlight squeezed in there too! So that's the weekend fun ahead of me.

Someone's got Disney on the brain...

I cannot tell a lie... I could use some Disney magic myself. Last night, I learned that my three-year-old niece, Aubrey, her mom Stacy, and mom-mom Sue will be taking a girls only trip to Disney World at the end of the month. I think this is their third year going. They always return with such great stories to go along with the picture texts I have received throughout the week. Last year, Aubrey got made up to look like a miniature Cinderella at a little girls' spa. It was so adorable. I don't think that existed when I was her age.

My all-time favorite Disney ride is "It's a Small World." During one trip, I took a picture of nearly every scene. I think I could literally recreate it from scratch if need be, as long as I had the proper tools and the song to replay again and again. I had to bring that up now, didn't I... You and I will have that tune stuck in our heads for awhile today!

Disney World is a load of fun, no matter one's age. My last time there was during spring break in 2000. I saw a gray-haired lady wearing a tiara as her family took her picture with Mickey Mouse. I asked her about her tiara, and found out she celebrating her 90th birthday. She had asked her family to take her to the park instead of throwing a large party at their town's fire house, like her other friends had received of late. So they had made the trek from Tallahassee, rented a hotel for the night, and gave her the ultimate gift. After her photo with Mickey, they were headed to "It's a Small World." She also could not wait to see Epcot's fireworks later that night.

I've seen many kids' face light up when they enter the park, but the smile on the lady's face was like none other I had seen. True, she had been to Disney a few times in her life, but it was always about her kids or her grand kids' time at the park and following them around, checking off their must-do list. This particular day was all about her and the activities she wanted to do - which included photos with her family, a few rides, shopping, and basking in the sunny day while adorned with a fake diamond-studded tiara.

Whether you are three or 90, the parks that make up Disney World can help soothe the ailment of wanderlust. Whether it's leisurely floating down a river in Animal Kingdom, spinning around and around in tea cups at Magic Kingdom, or rapidly dropping several flights in MGM's Tower of Terror, you will be anywhere but here!

To be anywhere but here

Winter is and has always been my least favorite season - except for those six weekly trips to the ski slopes in northeastern PA that began in third grade and continued through high school. I still love to ski and try to get back to the slopes of Blue Mountain once a year. Sometimes, I take someone with less skiing skill and teach them the art of starting, stopping, and sitting down on the chair lift.

But as my bare feet hit the cold bathroom floor this morning, I did not want to venture to a frigid ski slope, but rather board a plane to a tropical destination like Maui, where a lei and a large margarita awaited me. You see, winter is the season when I most desire to be anywhere but here. In middle school, my dad would plan a trip to Florida to visit my grandparents around President's Day weekend, so I would not miss that much school. The best year was when we went to a strawberry festival and some nail artist lady painted a strawberry on each of my fingernails, which were long at the time.

After my bare feet got used to the cold floor, my mind then wandered to a return to Ireland, where I traveled last March for my 30th birthday. Having a St. Patrick's Day birthday has always resulted in a lot of fun and new friends, and the same was true when my aunt and our tour group reveled in Dublin. On March 17, Aunt Bev and I began the day with a brisk walk by ourselves around Dublin, then joined everyone for the parade, followed by our bus tour of the city, had an impromptu tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral, then met a group of Australian guys dressed as leprechauns at Hard Rock Cafe, and heard some local musicians at a few other bars. I am pretty sure 30 was the best birthday celebration; unlike my first birthday where I reportedly cried until my mom asked the clown to stop his performance and then a few hours later, I decided to take a nap in a piece of my birthday cake - my spoon was still in my hand!

While some people are afflicted by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this time of year, I am a self-diagnosed sufferer of Wanderlust. I want to go anywhere, be anywhere but at home. Weekend road trips home to PA to visit family or an hour's drive to Annapolis to see my best friend are good starts. But there are times when I yearn to get off the blue line metro at Reagan Airport and on a whim by a plane ticket to anywhere warm. Don't worry, I would return in a few days - a lot happier and a little tanner!

Where will my mind travel to in the next posting... Stay tuned!