Hi, I’m Krista! Three years ago, my husband and I packed up our lives and our business in North Jersey and moved to the Pocono Mountains (somewhat unplanned, but that’s a story for another day). We turned our passion for design, renovation, and hospitality into a new full-time career, beginning with one vacation rental that quickly grew into four vacation rentals and, most recently, a boutique hotel.
As soon as we became vacation rental hosts, we set out to explore everything the Poconos has to offer so we could make personal recommendations to our guests in our Welcome Book. In the process, we discovered the Poconos has so much more to offer than we ever realized, despite having visited for most of our lives. (I seriously question how we did not know about all of this?!)
The best part about moving to a vacation destination was that we got to experience the Poconos as extended stay vacationers rather than locals. Every weekend, we set about trying something new. So far, we’ve experienced waterparks, waterfalls, state and local parks, hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, horseback riding, golfing, ATVing, paintball, ziplining, aerial adventure parks, boating, paddleboarding, kayaking, white water rafting, fishing, beach lakes, animal parks, escape rooms, festivals, concerts, county fairs, fireworks, Nascar, restaurants, wineries, breweries, distilleries, charming downtowns, historic train rides, historical attractions, scenic overlooks, fall foliage drives, apple and pumpkin picking, shopping, antique shopping, craft markets, farms, farmer’s markets, casinos, spas and wellness to name a few. And there’s still more to go on our Pocono bucket list. (I’m telling you, you could literally visit every weekend for five years straight and there’d still be new things to see and do.)
Looking back over these past three years (while personally very challenging in many ways), we know we’ve made memories of a lifetime. When our kids look back on the slightly traumatic experience of moving to a new state to literally start all over, I hope they look at our family photo albums and remember all the fun adventures we had. And that’s what vacation is, a time to get away, connect with loved ones, try new things and make new memories.
And that’s the inspiration behind this blog, The Poconos You Don’t Know. I want to share all the places, activities, and experiences we’ve discovered to help you discover a side of the Poconos you probably didn’t know existed, just like we didn’t a few years ago. I hope you’re inspired to make lasting memories with your family and friends. And when you do come to visit, I hope you’ll stay in a Hopskip Home as your home base for your new adventures in the Poconos.
— Krista
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