TRAVEL--Weekend Getaways West of New York City

New York City is an easy place to love - if from time to time you can escape the ubiquitous asphalt and relentless hustle. Which is why, as a lifelong tri-state resident who has been writing about travel for 20 years, I'd like to share a few of my favorite day trips and weekend getaways within two easy hours of the Big Apple.


GREAT WOLF LODGE
Scotrun, Pennsylvania

The Great Wolf Lodge opened to considerable fanfare in Scotrun, in the Pocono Mountains, in October 2005. It is owned by the largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, and boasts 92,000 square feet of indoor entertainment including its own gigantic waterpark. There is also an Aveda Concept Spa, a "cub club" for the kids or grandkids, and an upscale retail store called Buckhorn Exchange.

According to Dale McFarland, general manager of GWL, his firm chose the Poconos because family travel to the area has always been strong. "It's got natural beauty, there are a lot of activities for people to do, and we're close to the New York City and New Jersey markets," McFarland said. "So far the response has been overwhelming, more than we ever expected."

The Lodge has three eateries including the Bear Claw Caf, which features a vast selection of ice creams, homemade candies, and Starbucks coffee, and the Crossings Outlet down the road is a source of terrific shopping.  


SETTLERS INN
Hawley, Pennsylvania

Another great place in the Pocono Mountains is the Settlers Inn. Sip a frappaccino in a tavern that boasts 100-year-old chestnut woodwork. Play croquet near the herb garden overlooking the Lackawaxen River. Watch the golden orb dip into the water from a sunset dinner cruise on nearby Lake Wallenpaupack, and swirl Armagnac after a dinner of honey-peppered salmon with lime ginger and sesame sauce. 

A superb resort for the affluent traveler, the Settlers Inn at Bingham Park, Hawley, is less than two hours away from New York City, and has much to offer the discriminating visitor. Bird watching, fine dining, cross-country skiing, golf, and snow-mobiling are among the available activities.  Nearby are the Dorflinger-Suydam Glass Museum, the Ritz Company Playhouse, and Stourbridge Line Rail Excursions.

Innkeepers Jeanne and Grant Genzlinger are eager to explain the history of the Inn and how they've spent the past 18 years restoring the building.  Working methodically to create elegant comfort, they renovated and redecorated each floor along with 18 rooms and suites.  Today, guests can relax in white wicker furniture among antiques, flowered wallpaper, and quilted bedcovers.

My family enjoyed the food at the Settlers Inn above all else. The smoked chicken, fish, and beef from nearby streams and farms along with organically grown produce and herbs, homemade bread, and Amish cheeses made us want to stay inside and eat the entire weekend.  "I'm very interested in gardening and cooking and the confluence of the two has been real positive for me," said Grant, who meticulously oversees the restaurant and on-premises herb garden.


SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA

Educational yet fun -- that's what we took away from our day trips to Scranton. As you drive through this northeast Pennsylvania city, the architecture reaches out and screams: There's much history here! 

There's also so much to do. You'll have to plan your itinerary around your own preferences, but don't forget to visit the Steamtown National Historic Site.  This is the perfect place to start learning about Scranton, and the only place in the entire National Park System where the story of steam railroading and the people who made it possible is told.  Visit the restored roundhouse and turntable, participate in Ranger-led tours and train operation demonstrations, and watch your grandchildren's eyes pop out of their heads when they see the technology and history museums. 

A good transition from Steamtown for us was a delectable brunch at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel. Located right off Interstate 81 at 700 Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton, the hotel -- a restored train station -- offers an impressive glimpse into a city whose proud history is rooted in the development of the railroad, iron, and coal-mining industries.
After lunch, take in a dash of culture at the Scranton Cultural Center.  We were lucky enough

to catch a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by the Missoula Children's Theatre, but the architecturally stunning theater with restored private boxes and spiraling ceiling features shows for people of all ages, year-round. 

There was so much to do in Scranton that we decided to combine two day-trips into one exciting weekend with an overnight stay at the Marriott Courtyard. There are plenty of nice hotels in town, but we chose this one because of its proximity to our next activity: snowtubinig. Under the lights of Montage Mountain Ski Resort, we flew down the slope at breakneck speed, swirling round and round over the icy bumps and hills.  A beautiful resort complete with outdoor fire and indoor snack bar, Montage is an excellent skiing and snowboarding spot with 22 trails on 140 acres - all powdery white from a powerful snowmaking system. 

Before relaxing in the Marriott's indoor pool and hot tub, we had dinner at Cooper's Seafood House, rated as one of America's top 125 independently owned restaurants. Platters of lobster, shrimp, crab, and scallops hit the spot, while the kids marveled at the 25-foot replica of the Smithsonian's blue whale hanging from the ceiling in the Whale Room. 

If you're traveling with grandchildren, and even if you're not, swing by the Everhart Museum before you get back on the road.  Here you'll enjoy display case after display case filled with birds, mammals, dinosaurs, rocks, minerals and natural history, plus hands-on opportunities and fine art.  The Everhart's Kristallnacht Reflections is a memorial to "the night of broken glass" - the first large-scale government-organized Nazi violence carried out against Jews in Germany and Austria, November 9-10, 1938. 


CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Forty miles west of Philadelphia and 20 miles north of Wilmington, Delaware, Chester County, Pennsylvania can be reached by car in less than three hours from New York and encompasses such appealing destinations as Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine River Museum, the Brandywine Battlefield Park, and the Faunbrook Victorian Bed and Breakfast Inn.

The rolling hills of the Brandywine Valley are instantly calming and invite the traveler to drift toward the past and myriad events that unfolded here. Staying at Faunbrook unlocks a time machine. An imposing Italianate red-brick mansion constructed in 1860, the inn was handsomely restored by Judi and John Cummings, whose fortunate guests enjoy carved Honduran mahogany woodwork, antique furniture, a grand staircase, and wraparound veranda accented with ornate wrought iron. Faunbrook was once home to Smedley Darlington, a wealthy investor and congressman who entertained guests there during the late 1860s.

After a scrumptious breakfast, we headed to Longwood Gardens, where hyacinths mingle with forget-me-nots, sweetly scented white freesias blossom alongside primroses and pansies.  We saw palm trees, sinuous pools, hundreds of cymbidium orchids, and more than 2,000 blossoms as we strolled the winding stone paths through the hillside gardens.  These extraordinary botanical gardens at Kennett Square are set on 1,050 acres of the former summer home of Pierre DuPont.

Don't miss the N.C. Wyeth tour.  After viewing paintings by several members of the Wyeth family, including the famous Andrew Wyeth, we traveled by shuttle bus to the Chadds Ford studio that belonged to Andrew's father, N.C.  Known primarily for his illustrations, N.C. Wyeth bought 18 acres here with the money he earned for illustrating Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Built in 1911, the studio remains filled with huge canvases and other artifacts, and appears to be left just as it was in N.C.'s lifetime.

Back at Faunbrook, Judi Cummings directed us to the Spence Cafe for a wonderful meal. Over spinach-and-arugula salad, pan-seared tuna steaks, and sauteed Louisiana crawfish cakes with Creole remoulade, we talked about the Wyeths, Darlington, DuPont, and Lafayette. We kept talking about them all the way home.


NEW JERSEY STATE PARKS

To many New Yorkers, New Jersey may be little more than the butt of endless jokes made by late-night talk-show hosts. But the Garden State does have its enjoyable places to visit, like four wonderful state parks: High Point, Stokes State Forest, D&R Canal State Park, and Worthington State Forest. 

High Point State Park in Sussex County is, at 1,803 feet, literally the state's highest point, a superb place for a summer or early fall getaway weekend. Expect spectacular views along the crest of the Kittatinny Mountains. The park's 14,056 acres extend eight miles southwest of the New York State border and offer golden opportunities for camping, swimming, hiking, boating, and fishing.  There are 50 secluded campsites along the 20-acre Sawmill Lake, about three miles south of the High Point Monument. Cabins are available by reservation only.

A portion of the Appalachian Trail passes through High Point State Park, and the Shawangunk Ridge Trail enables hikers to pass through High Point and continue north along the spine of New York State. Fishermen, listen up: Largemouth bass and trout are caught in the park's lakes and streams.  And if you want to launch a boat, feel free to do so at Steenykill and Sawmill Lakes. The High Point Monument is dedicated to the memory of New Jersey's wartime heroes.

 Not far from High Point is the magnificent Stokes State Forest, a great place to camp if you're up for a real wilderness experience complete with clear freshwater streams, scenic vistas, and elevations from 420 feet above sea level to 1,653 feet atop Sunrise Mountain.  Covering 12 miles of the Kittatinny Ridge, northwest of Branchville in Sussex County, the forest connects with High Point State Park to the northeast and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to the southwest.  Along with Worthington State Forest, these lands form a continuous corridor of public-owned properties along the Kittatinny Mountain Ridge.

Activities in the Stokes State Forest include picnicking (the most popular area is at Stony Lake, for which there is a parking fee during swimming season); camping (either ground or platform sites that include fire rings and picnic tables); cabins (in such high demand that a lottery is conducted every year to determine occupancy); hiking (a 12.5-mile section of the Appalachian Trail winds through the Forest); and boating (only small boats with electric motors are permitted in the waters of Lake Ocquittunk). A variety of animals inhabit the park - black bears, deer, bobcats, beavers, raccoons, oppossums, and skunks.

Also along the Kittatinny Ridge but near the Delaware River is Worthington State Forest. Occupying 5,830 acres, it contains some of the most rugged terrain in northern New Jersey, on which camping, hunting, fishing, boating, tubing, and rafting are among the pleasures to be explored.

Why visit these places?  John T. Cunningham put it best in his book, This Is New Jersey: "My advice to those who think only about the negatives of our state is this - get off the turnpike."