DANIELS FAMILY RESORT:
A RACER'S GETAWAY
by
Richie Grodski
click pictures for full or view gallery below
First I would like to thank
Artie Schenk
for the great stay he made
available to me at Daniels Family Resort, Matt and
Chuck Daniels
for being such friendly, accommodating people and the whole Roger Maynor entourage,
as they are a great group of people. I had such a marvelous weekend
at Daniels Family Resort only because of these people.
Daniels Family Resort is located on Rt. 447 in Canadensis,
Pennsylvania. Pocono Speedway, Mountain Speedway and Mahoning
Valley Speedway are all roughly within an hours drive away from the
Resort. Keep in mind, you don't have to be a racing enthusiast to
stay here but if you are coming to watch Nextel Cup at Pocono or
racing at Mountain or Mahoning, it would be a great family getaway
to stay here. There is 100 acres of property to enjoy at this Pocono
Resort.
My trip was slightly detoured by an overturned gas tanker on
Rt. 80, but to
tell
you the truth, the timing couldn't have been more perfect as the
colors of the foliage in the area were AWESOME. I was very thankful
I had a Nav1 GPS in my vehicle, which brought me around the accident
easily and I got to enjoy the sights of the area off the beaten
track. If I didn't HAVE to stop at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, I
would have missed the accident. Yes, I am addicted to this
restaurant but that's a whole different story in itself.
As I rode up Rt.447, off to the left is a stream that pretty
much runs the
length of the road. Let me tell you, this gives you a
great sense of calm as you drive and an appreciation of untouched
nature. After roughly a 25 minute drive off Rt. 80, you reach the
Resort entrance. To enter, you must
cross an old time bridge over the stream I mentioned above and pull
in front of the Main Building. To the left is a Tiki Bar, for summer
use, an outside pool, bocce ball court, shuffle board, playground
for kids, basketball court, 2 tennis courts and a huge open field. To the right is
a tennis court, the main building entrance and the i
ndoor pool area.
And just past the main entrance is the dining hall which has 43
tables of 6 set up, which has ample room if all decide to eat at
once. Moving past the dining area, up a hill and around back, there
are the individual cottages, a hideaway lodge building and a walk
down to the lake created by the waterfall dam.
My girlfriend and I arrived later than planned because of the
re-route due to the Rt. 80 accident, but had just enough time to set
our stuff in the room and then go down to the dining area for
dinner. Now we came on a Friday and were to leave on Sunday by 3pm.
Your stay here includes breakfast AND dinner all days
you stay. In fact any stay times here include the 2 meals a day.
These meals are not buffet/fast food stuff. They are home style
meals. Breakfast includes many choices from french toast, omelets,
sausage, bacon, toast and hash browns and the dinners include 3
choices of meals WITH a salad bar that is about 20
foot long and the freshest veggies I have seen anywhere. We both
thought the food was very good and more than adequate. After dinner
we were going to go to the bar but being we had Cracker Barrel for
lunch and the great meal here for dinner, we were stuffed and I
pooped out watching TV.
The next morning I walked out the back and down to the
waterfalls before
breakfast. What a great feeling!!! Crisp air, soothing sounds of
water rushing down the stone block dam, it absolutely made my
morning. After about a 1/2 hour of relaxation and plenty of
pictures, I went back and grabbed Gail and made our way back to the
dining area for breakfast. Cheese omelet and french toast were our
picks and it plenty filled us.
Being we were on vacation and NELMA was running their event
at Mountain Speedway, we journeyed out for the day. If I had stayed,
planned
events
for the day at Daniels included, a bocce ball tournament, horseshoe
tournament, a hike through their many acres, archery, hot tub,
mmmmmm and a host of any activity you may want to do on your own
throughout the property. And with tennis courts, shuffleboard,
softball field, indoor pool, well you can imagine the day could be
filled with anything you could desire. My next visit will most
definitely include some on premise
activities.
When I returned from the day touring the Pocono area and
Mountain Speedway, and man there is a lot to see and do here, we had
dinner again. Another awesome meal was to be had and then we hung
out at the front bar area for the evening. At that time, there was a
hayride for anyone interested and following that they created a
haunted house in the lower section of the building. I was
exhausted from driving pretty much all day so Gail and I opted to
hang at the spacious front bar. I finally met
Artie, Roger and crew,
as they had arrived very early Saturday and we had missed them. I
played a few games of pool with Gail and chatted with Roger and
Artie about the NELMA race he raced in earlier. In the back bar
area, there was live entertainment, so you could choose either a
quiet fireside front bar or the back with activities and music. It
was a very pleasing night of fun and chat. I had also met one of the
owners, Matt Daniels and I tell you what, he is a super friendly
guy. No bs here, he just one of the guys when you meet him and he
makes your feel like you are family.
After a few cocktails we headed back to the room to get some
zzzz's as the next day we wanted to get an early start as we wanted
to check on a
house
Gail had purchased at White Lake, NY, about an hour north from
Daniels and we never got to go there this year. We got up Sunday,
hit breakfast, chatted a bit with all and then checked out only to
meet brother #2, Chuck Daniels. Again, what a guy. Made you feel
like family and this was the first time meeting both of them. At any
time I had seen them, a big smile at all times were to be had on
their faces. The whole atmosphere was amazingly comfortable at all
times.
Depending on the season, depends on what is
available to do at Daniels Family Resort. I hadn't mentioned
horseback riding, bingo, stocked lake trout fishing, snow tubing,
cross country skiing, all on the property. There is something ALWAYS
available for all ages here. I totally recommend
Daniels to any couple OR family for a nice Pocono getaway. I am sure
if you just go up there once, YOU WILL BE BACK, MANY TIMES!!!! If
you look below through some of the pictures I took, there is a sign
with the 2007 activities. Still to come this year is a Thanksgiving
Weekend Special and a weekend stay which includes a hayride and pick
your own Christmas tree to take home. ALL INCLUDED IN THE STAY!!!
This place is awesome and I will be back many times as the
stay was comfortable and enjoyable. So stay away from those high
class, high dollar places. No hidden charges or fees here. Hit the
reasonably priced Daniels Family Resort for your next getaway and I
promise you wont be disappointed!!!!
Richie Grodski
Daniels Family Resort Website
[Daniels Resort Pictures] by Richie Grodski
[#74 Pictures] by Richie GrodskiTHE END
