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Regional Gatherings Spread Summit Fun Throughout the Year

Why should the fun of Summits be limited to just one week out of the year?  Regional events are a great way to connect with your Summit friends and introduce new friends and family to the Summits.

Summiteers can organize Regional Events at any time.  An event can be as simple as a hike or as complex as several events, meals, and an overnight.  Heather DeSha and Roseanne Mistretta can help you create an fun and unique gathering for Summiteers in your area. You can also see what other Summiteers have planned by looking through recent Regional Events below.

If you are interested in hosting a Regional Event, contact Roseanne at rmistretta@abingtonfriends.net or (215) 266-5046.

Upcoming Regional Events: Treasures of Brandywine Valley Sunday, May 22, 2011

Canoe and hike at the MidAtlantic Regional Summit Event in May.Join your fellow Family Nature Summiteers in a search for treasures along the Brandywine River Valley.  This adventure will begin in Pennsylvania with a canoe trip down the Brandywine River and finish with a hike in Delaware at Brandywine Creek State Park.  Along the way we will search for treasures of all types; nationally-known works of art, priceless natural beauty, and trinkets hidden in geo-caches.  Something for everyone!

Prior to launching the canoes we will have the opportunity to visit the Brandywine River Museum.  This museum houses a premier collection of American Art featuring works by Pyle, Schoonover, Remington, and the Wyeth family.  For those not wishing to view these treasures the grounds of the museum feature a native wildflower garden.  After visiting the museum, we will launch the canoes and follow the gentle current while searching for signs of spring.  The river will take us into Delaware and we will then exercise our hiking muscles for a short hike depending on the wishes of the group (2-3 miles of easy terrain according to FNS standards.)  While hiking we may try to locate a few of the several geo-caches that are part of the Delaware Geocaching Trail. 
                   

Details:

Cost - $55 per canoe (2 persons per canoe = $27.50 each)
All paddling equipment will be provided.  Singles will be paired with another.
Bring a bag lunch.

Additional information including meeting location and time, driving directions, recommended items to bring, etc. will be emailed to participants prior to the trip.

Pre-registration is required in order to reserve canoes. Email Jeff Hanlon at:    
psb256@live.com to reserve your spot.

Recent Regional Events

January 22nd Great Lakes Regional Event

Pokagon State Park is a lovely park located in the Northwest corner of Indiana, about 3 hours from Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, and Indianapolis. It is the home of the Potawatomi Inn, numerous lakes and wetlands, and one of the only refrigerated toboggan tracks in the Great Lakes area!


Let's meet at the warming shed near the toboggan track at 10:00 a.m. for a day full of tobogganing, cross country skiing, and hiking! We can either pack lunches or get sandwiches at the warming center for lunch. Then we can spend the afternoon hiking, exploring, skiing, and checking out the nature center, followed by dinner at the Inn. We are too late to get reservations for an overnight at the Inn, but other accommodations are available from the Pokagon State Park website:  http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2973.htm

 

Cost:   

$7.00 per car to enter the park ($5.00 for in-state visitors)

$10.00 per hour to rent a bobsled (4 people per bobsled)

$7.00 per hour to rent x country skis ($2.00 discount if you rent a bobsled)

Less for children under 16.

$???? Lunch and/or dinner

 

Please let us know if you'll be planning to attend this great event by emailing regionalevents@familysummmits.org or by calling Sue Sabo at 614-260-7441.


Attendees at the New Jersey Family Nature Summit regional event April 24, 2010

November 26th Florida Regional Event

John Moore said the Florida Regional Event was very enjoyable with the group meeting at 8AM and departing around 8:30AM. John says, "We enjoyed a 4 hour, 8 mile downstream paddle with the highlight of paddling within a few feet under a red tailed hawk without him (or her) moving. We had three sightings of deer sipping at the waters edge, baby and adult great Blue heron, egrets and turtles.  The weather was perfect, the company great and the float was fantastic."

November 13th MidAtlantic Regional Event

Canada goose and chick at the regional event April 24, 2010

 



Attendees of the New Jersey Family Nature Summit regional event April 24, 2010 Attendees at the New Jersey Family Nature Summit regional event April 24, 2010
 

 

Martin Harrell checks in about how much he enjoyed the November 13th Mid Atlantic Regional Event.

 

"Twenty-one Summiteers and guests (and one dog) spent a beautiful Mid-Atlantic fall day November 13 having brunch, hiking more than five miles on a rails-to-trails path along a tricking small stream glinting in the sun, and ending with a late lunch and wine tasting northwest of Baltimore, Md.  This was a day just to enjoy being outside among friends.

 

Long-time Summit attendee Homer Ayala hosted the event, along with her husband Joe and son Boz.  Attendees from Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Kentucky met at their home in the rolling hills of the Maryland horse country appropriately named Hunt Valley at 11 a.m. for a light brunch.  After fueling up, we were hiking by 12:30, complete with Homer's version of "a sack lunch" - water, peanuts, and an energy bar!  As with most Summit hikes, everyone set their own pace.  Joe met the hikers along the way to provide refreshments and shuttle service to cars at the end of the hike.    

 

Our path, formerly the North Central Railroad and now part of the 21-mile long  Torrey C. Brown Trail, took us along the Little Gunpowder Falls stream much of the way, passing small villages that sprung up in the 1800s along the railway.  The trail is part of a pathway that stretches from York, Pa., deep into Maryland.  We shared it with numerous walkers, joggers, hikers and cyclists enjoying the incredible blue sky, warm temperatures, and flaming fall foliage of a perfect Indian summer day.  The group ended the hike at a restored train depot now serving as a museum and community center.

 

After catching our breath, folks drove to a local winery where we had soup and sandwiches and celebrated the birthday of one of Homer's potential recruits in true friendly Summit fashion - cake and a rendition of Happy Birthday!!  We then adjourned to the wine tasting room where the hostess insisted on sharing eight or so wines, and we went along with the program.  They even gave our birthday gal a bottle on the house.  A long day but one well spent.   

 

Our thanks to Homer, Joe and Boz for hosting us, especially since Homer had a musical performance that night in Baltimore!! Their program went off without a hitch!"

 

 

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