Summer's "Last Hurrah"!

Another incredible perk our family received for M coordinating the Homeschool ski group was 15 FREE passes to Camelbeach...the ski resort's summertime waterpark. We decided to meet up with our dear friends the C family as our 2 larger families would be able to use these up without having to purchase any tickets :)!! So, they took the 4 hour trip from Maryland and we trekked about 2.5 hours to meet at the mountain. The forecast was 'iffy' but it was the only date we could possibly do it before Camelbeach closed for the season. We actually arrived a couple of hours prior to the C's so Daddy and kiddos were able to figure out the 'lay of the land' before our friends arrived.Somehow I had forgotten that Pocono Mountain air is always several degrees cooler than at home ...it was also misting and the mountain was barely visible though all the fog. I was freezing...and fully dressed with a jacket on. L and G had purple lips for most of the day but in spite of this, it was a memory filled visit. Daddy gets the award for running around with all the kids while the rest of us adults watched in the comfort of dry clothes and added jackets...well, someone had to document with photos, right??? I must admit is was very disorienting to be there after skiing on this mountain for a few years. We were all trying to figure out where we were in relation to the trails we usually skied and now next season we'll be remembering the Lazy River as we ski over top of it!
Our visits with the C's are never long enough but each time we are together I am so thankful the Lord has sustained our friendship over the past 22+years...and now that our children love to be together, that's an added bonus! Enjoy the pictures...

Just after arriving...this is the family area to meet at if someone in your party gets lost ...just 'meet at the camel' :)

Mercy, Odesco, and L didn't hesitate to get wet...the others took a little longer to take the plunge! I think this lifeguard thought our kiddos were crazy! This was early in the day and they were the only ones in the water....

This ride was great as all our kiddos and Daddy could race to the finish line simultaneously...there was a lifeguard at the bottom announcing the winnerin a bullhorn...you can see how thick the fog is in this picture!

Thumbs up from Odesco ...he had a blast!

This is the wave pool which produces surf like waves every few minutes...it was surreal since you could barely see the back wall of the pool...the lifeguards earned their pay! They were stationed every few feet on the walls and did a great job keeping an eye on everyone!! Fortunately there were not many people crazy enough to be out in this weather...it actually turned out to be a blessing because the lifeguard told us the week before they had 7,000 visitors in one day during the heatwave and the lines were up to an hour long...not a problem this day!!

This doesn't look much different than the view we get on a gray wintry day...minus the umbrellas and with the addition of snow, of course!

The whole chilly crew! (The C's have 2 grown boys at home as well!)

Look out below--BRRRR!!! For my ski buddy friends, this attraction is situated at the bottom of the beginner slope where the kids take their lessons...

Sweet Pals~It has been almost a year since we have seen the C's (we vacationed in Myrtle Beach last September with them) and I love how we can all just pick up where we left off!

Aren't they cute???

At the end of the day after the girls changed out of their wet clothes (the changing areas are really nice, by the way!!) we took a free ride up the chairlift to admire the view...it finally cleared up! It sure was odd taking this ride in the summer with slides and rides below us instead of skiers and snowboarders...and of course we have never had a chairlift ride back down the mountain before!

A view from above...

Some of the clan for a final shot before leaving the park...Ahhh, dry clothes!!

While the adults decided where to go for dinner, the kids made use of every spare moment to play...yes we do keep a basketball in our van--just in case :)!!

We stopped at Subway for a quick dinner before parting ways for our trips home~

How grateful we are for the many ways the Lord blessed our day...we are rich indeed!