Living in a Camper in the Pocono Mountains as Traveling Magicians
So...we did a thing. We towed my in-laws' camper to the Pocono Mountains.
We had landed a pretty cool magic show residency with Woodloch Pines Resort and somehow decided living together in a 19-foot camper was a great idea. I mean…a beautiful campground in the Pocono Mountains where we could work and live for part of the summer? Sign me up.
"Have you ever lived in a camper before?" you ask.
No...no we haven't.
But we've survived living together in a cruise cabin for months at a time, so what's the difference? Besides, this had to be better than the time we tent camped in the middle of a farm in Ohio and ended up sleeping in our crazy hot car because of a massive thunderstorm...right?
Jason has pulled trailers before. At least, that's what I kept reminding myself as we drove down the highway with a camper hooked to the back of the truck.
We're fine.
That's what I kept saying to myself while I watched YouTube videos of campers flipping over and taking the truck with them. We're fine...
We really did try to be prepared. We left extra early so we'd have plenty of time to get everything leveled and set up before it was dark. We were also trying to beat a storm heading right for the campground, but between traffic and construction, I think we got stuck three different times in terrible traffic jams.
Somehow we still made it with about thirty minutes to spare. We got the camper leveled, everything set up, and the minute we jumped in it started to pour. Not gonna lie, I kind of loved listening to the rain hit the roof of our little house.
So, how did we end up living in a camper in the first place?
We had been talking with Woodloch Resort for a while about partnering together. After filling in for a few show dates last fall and again this spring, their Entertainment Director asked if we wanted to do a summer residency with them.
We'd get to perform our show in their beautiful theater every week while working on new material. That sounded incredible so…we jumped at the opportunity.
Then I switched into planning mode. I started looking for ways to make staying in the mountains for several weeks fun but also profitable. I booked library shows for summer reading programs, and thankfully came across several options within about an hour of Woodloch. Then I found Keen Lake Campground, a beautiful family-owned campground that put us close to everything while still giving us the full Pocono experience.
One of the best parts of what we do is traveling to new places, especially small towns. We love performing in communities all over the country because it gives us a chance to experience places we probably never would have visited otherwise.
If you wander around long enough, you're almost guaranteed to find a great used bookstore, an amazing local restaurant, some wonderfully weird oddities (always a win for magicians), and a historical site or two for Jason.
A few years ago, Jason and I made an agreement. If work takes us somewhere new, we're going to experience it. We're going to say yes to adventures instead of just performing and driving home.
One of those adventures just happened to be...the World Cup.
I still can't believe we got to watch Brazil vs. Haiti in Philadelphia.
If you're surprised that I'm a soccer fan, don't worry it surprised me too. I never played soccer growing up, and no one in my family watched it. Well...I did play once. I got talked into joining a co-ed intramural game in college.
It didn't end well.
Let's just say I ended up in the ER getting a ring cut off my thumb and walked away with the only broken bone I've ever had. (Yes, I know you're not supposed to use your hands in soccer.)
Everything changed when we started working with Holland America Cruise Line. Soccer was always on somewhere, and eventually we got sucked in. We randomly picked Arsenal to cheer for (who are now the Premier League Champions!) and somehow became real fans.
Back to the World Cup...
A friend's son, who worked for FIFA helped us get tickets. We happened to have the day off, and since we were only about two hours away, there was absolutely no way we were saying no.
The atmosphere was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I can still hear the chants ringing in my ears. Seeing our Arsenal boys, Gabriel and Martinelli, play was surreal, and being surrounded by thousands of passionate fans made the entire experience unforgettable.
Oh...and within the first five minutes we got drenched in beer after Brazil scored. So yes...it was absolutely worth it.
The adventure didn't stop there.
Kolta (our spoiled and crazy dog) came along for all three weeks and loved every minute of camper life. We hiked beautiful trails, explored little mountain towns, and spent our days off seeing as much of the area as we could.
We took a trip to Scranton and found the cutest bookstore, Pigeon Post. They had an art vending machine, and we scored some adorable little Richard Scarry prints from it. We finished the day stuffing our faces with incredible turkey Reubens from Abe's Deli. The sandwiches were amazing...but honestly, the pickles might have been even better.
Later that week we headed into Hawley to ride the rail bikes...but first, pizza.
We stopped at Ravyn & Robyn for a quick lunch and had one of the best wood-fired pizzas I've ever eaten.
The rail bikes were so unique and such a beautiful ride. We pedaled through tunnels of trees alongside the Lackawaxen River and we spotted a juvenile bald eagle, this thing was massive!
To be honest, I was nervous about living in a camper for three weeks. I thought we'd quickly get tired of living in such a tiny space.
Instead, the opposite happened.
The three weeks flew by, and I was genuinely sad when it was over.
Our shows were great and all of our little adventures were unforgettable. But my favorite part was sitting around the campsite with Jason and Kolta, riding our bikes, going for walks, and having hours to just slow down and talk.
Traveling for work is one of the greatest perks of what we do, but it can also be tiring. It was so nice just having the time to enjoy where we were for a bit.
Oh...and in case you're wondering...we only had one minor bear incident.
Jason heard something large moving around in the woods behind us but decided not to stick around long enough to see it…he jumped in our camper so fast!
And yes...I watched YouTube bear attack videos too.
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