Short, sweet and warm. That’s how I would describe this past winter’s family getaway, and one that is quickly becoming a family tradition.
In addition to dealing with winter’s wrath of snow, ice and bitter cold, my family finds winters financially draining too. We run a family seasonal outdoor business and cold, dry weather is the total pits, resulting in no snow and limited income. Ugh, the worst! So a much needed break was sorely needed. BUT who could afford it?
Right after the holidays my family booked a couple rooms for an overnight stay at an indoor water park. There are a few nearby that are approximately a two hour drive from Westchester.
1. Kalahari Resorts and Conventions is located in the Pocono mountains with amazing scenery.
2. Great Wolf Lodge resort offers recently renovated suites, indoor water park fun, and dry-land activities for the entire family.
3. Camelback Mountain Resorts offers snow tubing and other outdoor snow activities in addition to the water park.
4. Kartrite Resorts is the newest state of the art indoor park and is located in the Catskills.
5. Sahara Sam’s Oasis is located nearby in neighboring New Jersey and features indoor and outdoor water parks.
Indoor Water Park Advantages:
Indoor water parks bring summer to you when winter has overstayed its welcome. Check-in can be painless and if your room isn’t ready upon arrival you can store bags and personal belongings in convenient lockers. You can easily change into your bathing suit and cover up (or wear it under your clothes from home), pull on flip flops/water shoes and jump into the pool.
Packing is very light, especially if you are only staying for one night. A casual outfit and bathing suit/pool garb is all that is needed. If you love your own towels, then pack big beach ones, if not, plenty of clean towels are usually provided.
Water rides are usually of varying degrees of fun, ranging from swirling slides and high and long tube rides to a shallow water pool with baby slides. Personally the shallow spots are more my speed, especially being that my almost three year old grandson came with us this year. My little guy was fascinated with the water, but comfortable enough to go down the slides repeatedly. Kids will tire out until they drop from exhaustion or the parent with them gets a leg cramp from going up and down the short staircase 20 times over (just like yours truly). My favorite part of a water park is the indoor and outdoor hot tubs, with beautiful winter scenery to enjoy while soaking in warm bubbly water!
Most places offer a variety of fast food options and dining locations. Some even have nice big, fruity drinks available for the adults at various bars (and ice cream and snacks too).
Indoor Water Park Disadvantages:
As with most family trips, they always seem too short! Of course stepping outside into the cold stiff breeze quickly reminds you there’s still a little more winter to get through. Thank goodness Spring is here!
But still, the sweetest part remains that we’ve created new memories with our loved ones. The bad winter weather often isolates us but we crave and need to be in the company of family. This keeps us young and vibrant, just like the coming of spring and the creation of new traditions. Although these getaways are brief, the wonderful memories are lasting.