Heading out for the Poconos, Kelli was the navigator.
Before arriving at the campground, we stopped at a watering hole for a few beers….
And some food.
When we were done at Alaska Pete’s, it was time to head to ….
Our cabin in the mountains.
We had a small kitchen area…..
And a nice bathroom.
There was a wifi hotspot…..
And seeing it was so cheap for a week, I signed up.
The next day was my birthday, so we packed up and headed out.
We went for a drive and ended up in Bangor, PA.
There’s not much there, but we did find a place to….
get a few beers, of course.
The food there was pretty good, too.
The scenery on the way home was nice.
I had a craving for some ice cream, so we stopped by the DQ.
We passed by the Caesar’s Pocono Palace, and decided to stop and check it out.
Most of the rooms we looked at had private indoor pools.
And romantic bedroom areas.
We have one of those tubs in the room we were staying in already!!!
Now, why do you think they would call the next set of rooms we were looking at Champagne Towers?
Maybe because they had the quintessential pocono accoutrement, the champagne shaped hot tub.
The indoor pool here was a little bigger…
And the bedroom was penthouse style.
Looking down on the hot tub.
If we stayed there, this would be the room for us!!!!
Not only did it have a great view, but it was very open feeling.
It also had a private pool under the entranceway….
That you walked over when entering the room.
Back at the main building, I tried to get Kelli to take her top off for a more complete pose.
On the way back, we picked up some beer from the local beer store.
That night, it was out to dinner for my birthday!!!
Peppe’s used to be our favorite place…
But this time out we found it to be not as great as we remembered.
The food wasn’t that great…
And I really thought it was going to be….
Although her lobster was good.
At least they got this part correct.
The next day, it was out again….
This time at a place called the Trolley Stop Pub…..
From there it was on to more drinking.
I love Stella.
We never ended up finding what we wanted, and settled for pizza….
before heading home for a night of R&R.
We can turn a room into a pig sty in no time.
Kelli really wanted to take a day and go to the Pocono Snake and Animal Farm, and who am I to say no.
This turtle was as long as her arm.
The petting zoo section.
Snakes, why did it have to be snakes.
The goods on the previous snake.
There were lots of snakes, and I hated them all.
This was a cool thing where you bought food…..
And then fed it to the monkeys.
They moved really fast, and were hard to get pictures of….
So we moved on to the lemurs.
A little more reading for you.
Some information on them for you to read.
Cute, eh?
Who we get our decorating ideas from when on vacation.
A two headed goat.
Actually it wasn’t a two headed goat, it just looked that way.
Check out the baby.
A wolf and a bear in a cage together….
Apparently they were raised that way, so they were fine together.
Another fast mover that was hard to photograph.
Seeing all those animals made me thirsty, so it was time to get a drink…..
But what to drink?
I bought Kelli some treats……
And then one for myself.
If you’re ever in the area, I recommend Barley Creek Brewing Company.
Hanging out the next morning before heading out.
We decided to go hiking that day, and needed to first stop and get a…..
map, so we would know where to hike.
Our first stop was Raymondskill Falls.
We started walking downhill…..
And arrrived at the falls 2 minutes later.
Not really the hike we were looking for….
So we snapped a few photos….
of both of us…..
Said hello to some local wildlife….
And then headed to Bushkill Falls.
This park was privately owned with lots of trails.
Some were more difficult than others….
So we set out on the “red” trail.
Looking down from the top of Bushkill Falls.
The red trail was the hardest trail….
But Kelli had no troubles.
At this point I’m thinking, how much should I bore you with nature pictures?
While I was pondering that thought, Kelli kept on moving ahead.
You can kind of see why it’s called Bridal Veil falls.
Some areas had steps, but not all.
I was going for that frothy look on the water.
The scenery was very pretty.
That was about a 100 foot drop. The picture does not do it justice.
Almost completing our loop, Bushkill Falls from the other side.
After our 90 minute hike, we checked out the gift shop….
Before heading out to get a few beers.
The picture before we headed out that night.
The Stone Bar Inn is our new favorite place in the Poconos.
The food was really good…
From the start….
To the middle…..
To the finish.
We treated this as my real birthday dinner.
Our campground had an indoor water park.
Kelli was quick to get in the hotub, of course.
Find Scott.
There I am.
Wouldn’t you try the slide?
Note to self, next time cover face so as not to get a nose full of water.
After our water park fun, we went for a walk to Timothy Lake (of Timothy Lake Campground).
One word…..bugs.
Did you really think you were going to make it through without seeing us in that tub together?
That night it was out to another great place, The Pocono Brewing company.
My kinda guy.
We made it just in time to catch the Belmont Stakes…..
Which the 38 to 1 longshot, Da’Tara, won.
An odd place to get sushi…..
but it was good.
Sticking with the gender based color scheme.
Mmmmm, tuna.
On our way out to the car, we passed this truck….
Which brings me to why we were in the Poconos…
Besides all the drinking…..
And eating that we like to do….
We’re also NASCAR fans going to see a race.
While you may think of your typical NASCAR fan as a redneck….
I assure you, we are not rednecks (well, not mostly).
We made our way though the traffic….
And the various checkpoints…..
Soaking in the track history….
Before heading under the track….
And into the infield for the Pocono 500.
So I would remember where I parked the car.
Our passes got us onto pit road before the race.
It was really cool…
To see all the various driver pit boxes….
Including my favorite.
The tires were ready….
And so were all the tools.
Have you seen your favorite yet?
I had to get this shot, I really think it’s cool.
Pre race inspections were going on…
So we walked around and found some place to go shopping….
And I got a new hat.
I told Kelli I would buy her the bathing suit, but she said no.
US Marines, recruiting today’s youth with an Xbox 360.
We watched Speed TV for a while….
While enjoying some ice cream.
This is where all the drivers and their crew stay…..
And this is where they work.
Victory Circle.
As the cars were finishing inspection….
They were rolling them out….
Onto pit road.
It was sweet checking out the cars this close…..
Especially this one!!!!
What can I say, I love racing!!!
Pole sitter, Kasey Kahne.
The drivers were coming out soon, so we had to leave the area……
And head to our seats…..
Which were right behind pit road.
The tickets we had included food and drinks!!!!!
The drivers were lining up to be annouced…
So I got out the telephoto and grabbed a few shots.
Do you see your driver?
There’s mine…..
A fan favorite.
The pace car got into position….
While the drivers waited.
There was also an Airforce flyby.
The sun was beginning to give us our rednecks.
The cars were on the track….
And with the pace car ducking in…..
It was time to go racin’!!!!
Before the pit stops… it was interesting watching the crew get ready…..
Before it was go time.
We listened to the radio broadcast on our noise cancelling headphones.
Beer, soda, and food, oh yeah!!!
A wreck right in front of us…..
That didn’t go well for the 0-Seven car.
I took about 100 of these.
Another wreck…..
And the crew tried to fix the issue in the garage.
So I know where the race took place.
Pole sitter Kasey Kahne won the race…..
And made sure to let everyone know.
When your sponsor is budweiser…..
It’s time to celebrate with your sponsor’s product.
In minutes after the race, everything was broken down and packed away.
Looks like I am a redneck after all!!!!
Well, the trip had come to an end….
And it was time to head home…
But we had a great trip, and Riley was glad to see us again!!!