SKYTOP: Old World Charm in the Pocono Mountains

                           http://joan-reese.artistwebsites.com/art/all/all/all/landscapes

The placement of the Skytop Lodge at the base of West Mountain in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains is perhaps the best indication that this grand resort has always been inextricably linked to its natural surroundings-and the 30 miles of hiking trails weaving through the 5,500-acre site merely reinforces that fact. Even the 18-hole golf course, where deer quietly graze, takes full advantage of the natural topography. 

The Dutch Colonial-style manor house overlooks Skytop Lake, boasting opulent views of the surrounding region from every direction and offering a wide array of outdoor activities for every season, from winter skiing to summer kayaking, since it opened in 1928. The full-service resort has two pools (one indoor, one outdoor), lake swimming, seven tennis courts, an award-winning golf course, and a sporting clays shooting range. Experts are on hand to provide instruction in golf, fly-fishing, and shooting with special kid's activities organized each summer and the lodge's own naturalist leading hikes through pristine wilderness areas. Guests in the main lodge stay in comfortably furnished country-style rooms. The "Skyview Spa" located on the lodge's fifth floor opened in the summer of 2003 and offers a full complement of salon and spa services.

http://www.skytop.com

Room 803, by the sea is meant for me.

http://joan-reese.artistwebsites.com/featured/room-812-joan-reese.html

Room 803

My home away from home

My seaside place,

Twice the size of my everyday space.

No Clutter, white walls;

Perfumed soap gift wrapped

Waiting for my return.

Sliding glass doors 

Overlooking  Atlantic ocean.

Sounds of the sea rock me asleep.

Ten blocks away, neon Casino lights.

My secret place; self- contained:

Restaurant, pool, movie theatre, gym.

I brought a lover once

His presence is long gone

Room 803, by the sea, is meant for me.

From my balcony I see a grand old  brick mansion.

Three stories high, freshly painted wooden shutters, 

Stain glass,wrap around balconies. Water-less fountain.

I spy the windows for signs of life.

A man enters a side door, only to leave soon after;

One out-side light burns all night.

I imagine a gray- haired lady lives there alone.

Her grandson checks on her everyday.

She knows Atlantic City in its hayday.

I want to drink a cup of tea with her and listen to her memories.

Did her family build the boardwalk; the steel pier?

Who was the love of her life? Is she happy still being here?

The gift of living long.

A treasure trove: landmark moments.

It only takes a listening ear to bring them back to life.

My grandmother Eva, born in Atlantic City, 1920.

Great grand parents, Banford, left England, settled by the sea.

Atlantic Avenue where they lived, I walked by in wonderment.

I imagine a gray- haired lady who lives alone in the mansion

Holds the keys to my family’s past. 

If only we could have a cup of tea.

I discovered a life to claim as mine....

Intervening Rivers

 by Joan Reese

Prana flows through me like springtime,

Prussian blue glass jewels the coral sand.

I discover a life to claim as mine,

In a space of grace beyond time.

I bathe in Dead Sea salt and Spanish lime,

By candlelight Amadeus plays a baby grand.

In a space of grace beyond time,

I discover a life to claim as mine.

Crystal stairs illuminate the climb,

Old souls are close at hand.

I discover a life to claim as mine,

In a space of grace beyond time.

Dreams conceived in my prime,

Strong in faith, I stand.

In a space of grace beyond time,

I discover a life to claim as mine.