Well, we had yet another amazing time at Woodloch Pines! We went there last year at this time (you can read about last year’s trip here). It’s an all-inclusive resort in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. For us, it’s a perfect trip because even though it’s only about two hours away, you really feel like you’re “getting away from it all.” A lot of it was very similar to what we did last year (in fact we laughed because even the menus were the same, LOL!), but that wasn’t a bad thing. We got there on Superbowl Sunday and originally thought we’d eat at the nightclub (where the Superbowl party was — they were having a dinner buffet), but opted for the dining room like we did last year. After that we headed on over to watch the game until the boys got tired and then we headed back to our suite.
Our suite was awesome, yet again. We stayed in the same building we were in last year, and even though we were in a different room it was set up exactly the same — deja vu! We opted for one of the bigger suites with a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room with a pull-out couch. Also, it was great to have free Wi-Fi! I admit that I did check my e-mail and peek in at Facebook once or twice while we were on vacation. (Drew brought his laptop just to keep tabs on what was going on at work, LOL…)
There were tons of fun things to do: organized kids’ crafts (in addition to the craft room that is open all day), a toddler room with toys, a huge indoor playground, indoor pool, etc. etc. I attended the cooking class again and that was fun. They made apple-parsnip soup (which I didn’t like as much as I thought I would), penne with chicken in a pumpkin cream sauce (this was so delicious!), portabella and red pepper salad with ricotta salata (Drew loved it, I wasn’t crazy about it, but I am not a huge mushroom fan), and carrot cake cookies (oh goodness! I will be making these very soon). One night after dinner we went to one of the nightly shows to see a juggler (the boys were super excited about this), and Noah was SO fascinated. I swear, his eyes just lit up and he clapped as hard as his little hands could. He really enjoyed the performance until… the juggled called Drew up on stage to help with a stunt. (Drew had to hold a straw in his mouth and the juggler knocked it out with one of the pins). Now, it wasn’t so much that daddy was up on stage that upset Noah. Oh no… it was that Noah could not “come too.” LOL. From that point on, it was screaming and tears and we had to leave shortly after Drew got off stage.
This year’s theme night was a tribute to some of the shows they have put on over the last 50 years. They had several people dressed up as characters to correspond with various themes (for example, they had Shrek for “Oscar Night” and Elmo for last year’s “American Icons.”) We didn’t go to the show itself (the shows all started around 7:30 or 8:00, and the kids were just way too tired), but they do a wonderful dinner and the characters parade through the dining room, so you at least get a sneek peak.
The weather wasn’t very cooperative — it was warm and rainy, but we did get to go snow tubing on Monday. Better than nothing! I can’t say enough good things about Woodloch. I would certainly reccomend it! I am sure we will go back again at some point, but probably when the boys are a little older and we can see the shows and participate in more activities. Good family fun, though!