summer

The Daily Spotlight for 7/27/2015

Tom Lynch Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Hello Everyone I hope you’re doing well.  It’s been a very busy few weeks for me, which is why I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus.  But I plan on being back on here much more over the next week with a bunch of different things going on.  I hope to provide you guys with a daily spotlight each day and, hopefully, a few more fun pieces throughout the week.  Let’s get into some of the reasons as to why I’ve been away as well as some of the fun pieces you can expect to see in the coming days, this….is the daily spotlight.

About ten days ago I had a bit of health scare in which I felt pretty under the weather.  I’m not sure where it stemmed from but I’m the type of person that generally can keep going with a ton on my plate and with very little sleep for long periods of time.  Once in a while this does catch up to me and it requires me to really then refuel on sleep for a few days.  Well there was a stretch of about three weeks at the end of June/ beginning of July where I was going very hard in that I was squeezing in physical therapy sessions before work (I’m recovering from a back injury after being rear ended and I should point out I have your standard 9-5 job so my sessions were at 7AM) and then I got a few side projects that took up a good amount of my time after work.  I was also doing some reviews for this website (Which I’m not complaining about at all, many businesses have been nothing but accomodating when I explain what we’re doing over here and I couldn’t be more thankful) and my girlfriend and I had plans thrown into my schedule which included babysitting our goddaughter a few nights per week as well.   I just don’t have any idea about what my limits are and I’ve always been a “work now, sleep later” kind of guy.

Well this really caught up to me about three weeks ago.  It came to a head when I was at a work conference for two days in the Bronx.  The meeting room we had was set for about 16 people in a tiny room and the air conditioning broke which made the two days pretty unbearable.  It was so bad in this room, in fact, that one of the invited speakers who traveled from Louisiana decided not to return for the second day.  To make matters worse the food that was served at this ordeal was brutal.  In particular, there was this basket of fruit that was being served that I thought tasted weird.  I noticed one of my co workers trying to get my attention but waved and thought nothing of it.  I continued to eat the fruit, as I was hungry, and the rest of the food was bad anyway.  Well, during our break my co worker came over to me and told me that the fruit was totally spoiled and that’s why he was trying to get my attention.  The rest of the day, I was sick as a dog.  I went home and immediately cancelled a camping trip with my girlfriend and her friends (for me to cancel a summer weekend trip is so rare everyone knew I was absolutely out of it).  Furthermore, I spent the rest of the weekend in bed, thankful that this happened on a Friday so that I’d be able to recover all weekend and not miss any time at work.

I don’t really mind missing time at work, especially not at my job as I’m afforded a good amount of paid time off.  I feel if paid time off is provided by the company, then it should be used however the employee wants to use their time, provided they give proper notice of course.  At my old job there were two banks of time off that I received.  The first bank was for vacation time and the second bank was for sick time.  Thus, having 12 days a year specifically for sick time, I wouldn’t mind taking a day or two if I was feeling under the weather.  Well at my current job, there’s just one pool.  We get a good amount of time off but it can either be used for vacation or for sick/personal days. With as much traveling as I do, I vowed when I started my job not to use any of my time for sick days.  This plan lasted for 18 months before I took my first sick day two weeks ago.  It pained me to do it but I really had no choice, I was just a wreck.  The worse part was that even when I returned to work I was so out of it the whole week.  I felt disoriented and couldn’t wait to go back home so I can sleep. I even ended up cancelling a whole week of physical therapy because I had no energy.  Eventually, I felt better and I’m not even sure what I had.  Part of me thinks it was a mild case of vertigo as I’ve been known to get that but whatever it was, it took it’s toll.

That’s going to do it for me today but I’m glad to be back and feel pretty reenergized after a good two weeks.  I’m planning a big Daniel Bryan inspired weekend here on the Daily Spotlight as I’ve recently finished up his blu ray set entitled “Yes, Yes, Yes” and am working on getting through his new book “Yes-my improbable journey to the main event of Wrestlemania”.  So far it has been a really easy read that I would suggest any fan of WWE or wrestling in general should go out and get it.  Regardless, when I finish that up I will have reviews of both of those, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  Until, then stay locked in for more fun stuff right here on thedailyspotlight.com

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The Spotlight On Camelback Resort’s Aquatopia 

Tom Lynch Reviews, Travel , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  I recently got an opportunity to check out a sneak preview of Camelback Resort’s brand new indoor water park Aquatopia. It was a really enjoyable day for my girlfriend, her younger brother and I and we were all in agreement that the new park is a hit & an automatic must see attraction in the poconos. Let me get right into some of the highlights of Aquatopia. 

Highlights

  Fun After The Sun- If you’re a waterpark enthusiast like me than you are probably aware that the only drawback about water parks is that they often close pretty early. Most parks close, at the latest, 7pm & sometimes as early as 5pm. Well this isn’t the case with Aquatopia, because the park is in a weather controlled climate of 86 degrees at all times, the park stays open until 9am which allows you to take your time & stay until after the sun goes down. Furthermore, if you’re a resort guest or have purchased a combo ticket to both parks,  you’re able to make the smooth transition from Camelbeach (the outdoor waterpark located on Camelback Resorts) to Aquatopia if you still want more waterpark once it closes. 

  Fun for the whole family- One of the great things about Aquatopia is that there is something for everyone. This is a really large area for kids that features a number of slides, a basketball area, an aerobics maze & much more. If you’re more into thrill rides there’s some big water slides for both families, body flumes & tube rides, there’s a surfing simulator and a water roller coaster that has to be experienced to be believed.  On the contrary, if you prefer to go at your own pace, there’s a lengthy themed lazy river, a giant wave pool that allows you to lounge on tubes while you ride and even a hot tub. Our personal favorite though, had to be the pool bar for adults. These are often only found at Caribbean resorts & it was a nice touch for Aquatopia. What makes it even cooler is that adults can take their drinks right up to the side table where they can meet their kids who can be seated on the opposite side outside of the pool area enjoying a meal from the snack stand. 

  A Lot Bigger Than You Think- I’ll admit that when I first hear about an indoor water park I immediately think about how small it would probably be. Well this wasn’t the case with Aquatopia. Not only were we occupied with the rides that they currently have, it’s nice to see that their are a number of attractions that are still in the process of being made. Likewise, there is also a lot to do at the Camelback Resort other than Aquatopia. When we first made our way downstairs we saw a state of the art arcade that can only be described as a mini Dave & Busters. From there were a number of other indoor activities available such as mini golf, rock wall climbing, laser tag and a children’s play area. You can easily spend a whole weekend participating in all of the new activities in the inside of the resort.    Closing Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised with the newest indoor waterpark in the poconos, Aqautopia. From the people I spoke to at the resort, it also really pays to stay at the resort especially if you’re considering going to the outdoor waterpark, CamelBeach. Rooms are spacious  and reasonably priced at $200 per night which includes admission to Aquatopia for the length of your stay and a one day admission to the Camelbeach waterpark. If you’d prefer to make it a day trip, however, you can purchase a combo ticket to both parks for $60 per adult. 

In the end, I think my girlfriend said it best when she said to me that she couldn’t wait to stay at the resort during the wintertime when we can snowboard at camelback mountain during the day, and go to the waterpark at night. That is when CamelBack Resort wil really have a hit on their hands!   That’s going to do it for my review of Camelback Resort’s Aquatopia but I definitely suggest you head out their this summer. If you have any questions feel free to ask and if you do end up heading to Aquatopia this summer, Id love to hear about you’re experience.