POLL: Potential Sites for NEPA Get-Together (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: amusement park, college, restaurants)

[ScranBarre]

Good evening, everyone! Where would you all like to hold our proposed Spring/Early Summer 2008 picnic/shindig thing-a-majigger? Please note that this poll is also multiple choice if more than one venue floats your boat!

[I LOVE PA!]

I'd go wherever eveyone else wanted to go. I'm not fussy, and it's the company I'm lookng forward to!

[ScranBarre]

I'll explain my five top choices, in descending order.

1.) Nay Aug Park: I personally think that this park would be a perfect location for us, especially if young children come along. There's the Genesis Wildlife Center with some exotic animals in it for the little ones to see, the new treehouse, covered bridge, waterfall, swimming pool with water slide, playground, small amusement park, pavilions and picnic tables, small train ride, the Everhart Museum, ample parking, etc. The park is easily-accessible via I-81, and if we decide to have the event catered there are plenty of restaurants in and around the city within a few miles to choose from. I'm a proponent of choosing a location in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area simply because it would be near a geographic center for those of us hailing from Pike County (Suzer, MsMilford, Greentown, bldginPA, etc.), Monroe County (MollyMe, Summering, etc.), Wyoming County (KBlasi, MemoriesBre, etc.), and other surrounding areas. Unfortunately this would still be a bit of a drive for our friends in the Lewisburg/Selinsgrove/Sunbury area (Dawne, StormInaTeaCup, Susquehannock, etc.), but I'd rather inconvenience only a few people as opposed to the masses, especially considering most of those who might come are within a 30-40-minute drive of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre via I-84, I-380, I-81, etc.

2.-5.) Kirby, McDade, Ricketts Glen, Frances Slocum: The rest of these four parks are less easily-accessible via I-81, which sets them all down a notch from Nay Aug. There's also less in the way of planned activities available in all of these areas. Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre has tennis courts, baseball fields, etc. which gives it an "edge" over Nay Aug if we wanted to have a lot of room to do some sporting events, and they also have a playground. However, a fellow King's College classmate of mine was just raped in broad daylight while jogging at Kirby Park, so I'm worried that it is being patrolled by the police as heavily as it should be for an urban park. I'd drop it down to #5 for that reason, especially if children will be around. Frances Slocum has a lot of hiking trails, a lake for boating/fishing, a swimming pool, campground, and playground, but all these amenities are pretty well spread out from one another. The location is also difficult to access for those who might visit from outside of the immediate Back Mountain area. McDade Park is a wonderful place that offers the PA Anthracite Heritage Museum and the Coal Mine Tour, both of which might prove to be interesting for the kids, so I'd probably rank it as #2 behind Nay Aug. Finally, Ricketts Glen is an awesome natural oasis that should be appreciated by everyone, but it's a long haul for most members, and the kids would be bored quickly after seeing the waterfalls.

Let me know what you all think!

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by I LOVE PA!

I'd go wherever eveyone else wanted to go. I'm not fussy, and it's the company I'm lookng forward to!

Agreed. I wouldn't mind driving a long haul either. I personally think either Nay Aug Park or McDade Park should be the forerunners here though since kids will probably end up bored after an hour or two if we just go to a park with trees and tables and not much else. Both of these parks offer a lot of entertainment possibilities, which is why I personally hope one or the other ends up winning the poll (even though I'll go wherever everyone else would like). I personally don't own a boat (nor do most of us), so Lake Wallenpaupack personally won't appeal to me.

[NYRangers 2008]

Another park in Lackawanna County near Carbondale that could be a contender is Merli Sarnoski.

[mm_mary73]

I choose Lake Scranton so we could walk the entire perimeter and eat then walk again and have dessert......

[weluvpa]

I think that we should really consider McDade, iys going to be cleaner and in better shape that soon after the winter. I am really not sure if the city will have the funds needed to get on Nay Aug early and Mcdade is always clean and its county run. It probably wouldn't be as busy either.