Well, we are back from the Pine Grove Dude Ranch and Resort in the catskills of NY. We had a really nice time. It's a dude ranch and family resort so there were lots of activities you could participate in or just do your own thing. They had a very nice pool with a cool corkscrew type slide for those daring enough to try it. And many planned activities during the day which they called "contests". All with prizes. Bocce, horse shoes, archery, bingo, basketball shooting from the foul line, bean bag toss (teams), ring toss (teams), shuffle board (teams) ping pong, miniature golf course, volley ball and bad mitten and paint ball course for those who wanted to do it (none in our group did), also a lake for fishing, paddle boats on the lake - which was more like a large pond, but nice area (although there was lots of algae on the pond).
There was horse back riding for beginners and intermediate and advanced. Dee and I did the beginner one day and then I did the intermediate the next. (Intermediate has a few "trotting sections where you bounce up and down. To get to the advanced you have to be able to go from trotting to cantering and do the canter while holding the reins only (no saddle horn holding).
Also there was entertainment and dancing every night - ballroom and line dances to live music. They had a magician and ventriliqist one night and a juggler another night (the guy juggled ping pong balls with his mouth (4 balls at a time. - amazing!) They had a line dance instructor "Goldie" on two days as an activity. She was a good instructor. I read the NYT each morning (something I don't do at home), all the food you could eat although it was served with waiters and waitresses - lots of choices from the menus each meal. Our cell phones were like in a dead zone - had to find just the right place for them to work - although I didn't need mine but once. We did some reading too - Dee finished the memoir book, "The Ice Castle" and started another novel.A mystery this time.
The people we were with were very nice and the escort on the bus was very friendly and got people interacting. Couples and lots of single people on the trip (older). A few single guys. 39 people on our bus. About 133 in the resort total guests. It was after the season ended Labor Day and the staff there was happy the families and kids were gone. They have a staff of 200 in busy season and about 80 when we were there.
Our room was okay - nothing special. Brand new bathroom and air conditioner. The beds were tired, but I didn't have trouble sleeping. Nor did Dee except one night.
We learned a couple of things about ourselves and the kind of people we like to be around, as well as those we avoid (very chatty people). Age wise, there were maybe 4-5 people there younger than us on our bus. Several our age, and the rest in their late 60s to eighties. All very active folks. Some very good dancers too. Fun to watch.
Would we do it again - yes. At that location? Maybe in a couple of years. We heard from the people on the trip about other places too. This was very down to earth, not uppity. I'll be posting a couple of pictures on the blog as time allows.
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