family reunion in the delaware water gap

This weekend we met Dave's brothers and their families at the Days Inn in East Stroudsburg for a fun family weekend. It didn't start off so well for us because I-380 was closed do to several accidents. All the traffic was routed onto 611, which was so crowded it was barely moving. Fortunately, we had a GPS which, after going around in circles several times, we used to get around the traffic and take a less direct, but possibly faster, route to East Stroudsburg. In the end the 2 hour drive actually took us about 4 hours. The Days Inn there was adequate. My main complaint is that the bathroom was claustrophically small, and the breakfast was barely adequate (cream cheese and a pitcher of cold water would have been a significant improvement). The indoor pool was really great, though.

Saturday, Howard wanted to show us his favorite secret spot in the Delaware Water Gap, but before heading there, we had to fight traffic to shop at a crowded flea market to get the kids nets (to play with in the water) and water guns. After a quick lunch, we finally drove to the Delaware Water Gap and barely managed to find parking in the small lot near Howard's secret swimming spot (so much for getting away from the crowds!). We walked along a stream to get to a waterfall with a small pool in front that we could play in. Though not so secret, the kids had fun swimming and trying to catch frogs.

By the time we were done playing, dinnertime was almost approaching and Howard wanted to take us to the Walpak Inn where deer come to feed right in front of the windows of the restaurant. While waiting for Russ and Jodi to join us, we all went our separate ways exploring for a 1/2 an hour. Our exploration took us down a dirt road to some bear sightings! We saw a mommy bear and two baby bears climbing a tree! Dinner was OK--the kids ate some chicken and some pasta. Though we enjoyed seeing the deer show up toward the end of our meal, we weren't overly impressed with our meals.

Sunday we swam in the pool and played in a park near the hotel before heading home. Klozkin family reunion #1 (the first annual?) was over at last!