Lehigh Valley InSite

RV Vacation

For a real blend of adventure with plenty of opportunities for relaxation and sightseeing, a trip through Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania can’t be beat for an RV vacation.

Extending from Allentown, PA through Bethlehem and Easton to New Jersey, this lovely area of Lehigh Valley invites you for plenty of summer fun. There is a lot to see, so let’s get started!

WWE-RAW-WorldTour

Last Friday night I was given the opportunity to watch a live WWE spectacle, known as RAW, right here in Lehigh Valley. This wasn’t a first for me, but it was the first time in almost ten years I’d been at a live event and also the first time in 10 years that I’d watched wrestling. But there I was in line at Stabler Arena.

The crowd hasn’t changed a bit … it’s as young as it ever was with a little bit of everyone else mixed in. People still go crazy over the merchandise. So once I was in the arena and past the merchandise vendors, I went to my seat and took a look around.

sporting clays

Yesterday I took a little trip out to Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays for our next Lehigh Valley Visions video. Normally, I attend these shoots as a middle man, assistant, wit-inducer and now esteemed sweat towel provider. Yes, my friends, yesterday was a hot one, but that didn’t stop us. The crew from NewVision Communications, Discover Lehigh Valley staff, our host Tracey, and Jon from LV Sporting Clays all hopped in our golf carts and headed onto the course with coolers in tow.

Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays has 17 stations to shoot “trap” as some may call it; luckily for us most of the signature ones and/or shoot locations we used were in the shade. I won’t tell you too much about this attraction since I want you to watch the video and all, which will be ready and on our YouTube channel in approximately one month. Ok, ok, no more plugs.

WWE Raw

WWE Raw is coming to the Stabler Arena tomorrow night and we got our hands on a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky winner. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below and tell us your favorite wrestler (past or present). The winner will be chosen at random today (June 21) at 3:00 p.m.

The winner will be sent an e-mail to notify them, and if we do not hear a response by 5:00 p.m., we will pick another winner. Good luck!

I feel we are being watched!

With a wonderful six-year-old son at home and Father’s Day just behind us, I thought about the things my son and I like to do together in Lehigh Valley. I decided to add a twist to my list and add free. Sure there are the staples like Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the Crayola Experience™, but when you add free it takes a whole new look.

So here is where Noah and I like to go…

the Farmhouse

There are so many great restaurants in Lehigh Valley that it is difficult to discover them all. That is why the Dream Come True 2012 Restaurant of the Month Calendar has been so helpful in introducing me to some unique dining options. The calendar includes great restaurants like Edge, Cosmopolitan and Shula’s Steak House. I was really excited to visit June’s featured restaurant; the Farmhouse in Emmaus.

Since the Farmhouse specializes in farm-to-table cuisine, I looked into their menu and beer list well before my reservation. With over two pages of beers, I couldn’t wait to see which beer would complement my dinner.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival

This past Friday night I rounded up friend Tracey Werner of Blabbermouth Communications and we went to Broadway. The great part about it was we weren’t stuck in hours of traffic, we didn’t have to pay any tolls and best of all, parking was free!

That’s because we went to the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival located on the campus of DeSales University, right here in Lehigh Valley. We went to see “Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” which won a Tony Award for Best Musical.

Soccer

I had the chance to spectate at the 33rd Annual Lehigh Valley Youth Soccer League Tournament  this past weekend. The tournament was held at the Lehigh County Sports Complex  in South Whitehall Township, just outside of Allentown. This is the oldest youth soccer tournament in Pennsylvania and on the entire east coast for that matter. It brought in teams from all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Maryland. There’s a lot to be said for that.

I was totally amazed at how youth sports organizations have changed since my son played in them, and that was only about 8-10 years ago. First, they were playing on state-of-the-art fields. This sports complex is all-grass with nine playing areas (three with lights) primarily used for soccer, but there are also six softball/baseball diamonds, a walking/running track and a pavilion. There’s also a ton of parking, and I must say that they were well organized when it came to this detail which could have been a nightmare. The fields were in pristine condition and there were staff making sure all the garbage was picked up. And, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the sporadic trees that were placed in spots that allowed for optimal viewing of the fields.

Caitlin and Milquetoast

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to a faraway land we go as the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival transformed the Shubert Theatre stage into the timeless Brothers Grimm classic, with a modern twist, of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The intimate theatre was the perfect setting for parents, grandparents and kids alike.

The kids were allowed to sit directly on the sides of the stage, on carpeted rugs, which made for some fun as the actors conversed with them up close and personal.

Art-of-the-Fantastic

There is something in the vast expanses of time and space and reality that we long for. There is something in the fantastic that captures our imaginations.

The proof is in our collective enjoyment of all things fantastic from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars. Currently, showing at the Allentown Art Museum is something for everyone; At the Edge: Art of the Fantastic. And this weekend I was there.