Let me take you back to a simpler time: the summer of 2019. No stress about school or an election, less civic unrest, and most importantly no pandemic. The long, warm summer days demanded me and my friends to find new places to explore. The best of days were when we would find places to swim and cool off. Today I will focus more on my personal experiences, with one reason due to this location not having much known history and also because right now I could use a mental vacation back to a great day with my friends.

The area from Allentown–where we were headed–up towards the Poconos is known for having great swimming holes, but some can be very dangerous. Hearing about various deaths and accidents from kids swimming where they shouldn’t be is definitely discouraging, but we are safe about where we swim and always check the depth of the water first.

After picking up my friends and packing four in the backseat, we were on our way. Following the recommendation of my brother and his friends, we set out towards an abandoned quarry up in the Lehigh Valley. Music was blasting, as it should be, and all windows were rolled down. After the forty minute drive, we were close to the GPS coordinates relayed by my brother. The address brought us to a swimming lesson pool, ironically, and we had to park there to then walk through the woods. In my head, I thought we could tell the cops we parked here to swim because we did, just not at the lesson venue. Interestingly, the quarry was also right next to Penn State’s Lehigh Valley Campus.

We began our trek through the woods, and it was taking much longer than any of us thought. It was probably a 25 minute walk through nothing but mud. We weren’t even sure we were going the right way, and somehow we ended up directly next to a highway at one point and could see the cars speeding by less than 10 feet away. We kept walking through the woods, though, and I am so grateful we kept going. Soon after the highway, we came upon more and more rocks, and it started scaling gradually uphill. Once we peaked the top of the hill, we were blown away. We found it. An enormous quarry, filled with beautiful blue water, practically inviting teenagers in for a swim.

After putting on our swim suits and checking the depth of the water, we jumped in. It was so refreshing, especially after our meandering, muddy adventure through the woods. It also was completely empty, which made it so peaceful. Despite the faint highway-related noises in the background, we were alone, which is rare for a swimming hole in the summer. The location reminded me of the cliff jumping spot in the movie Grown Ups 2, just without the people. There was also a 50-60 foot rock that was tempting us, but no one had the courage to jump there. I also advised against it, as I was the one who would have to drive anyone to the emergency room. Once the sun began to set, we began back towards the car and wrapped up the day. It was a beautiful, unproblematic summer day that I will strive to recreate when it’s warm again.

I encourage everyone to write about a fun or exciting memory or vacation. Writing about my summer day was a great way to take a break from school and societal stressors. I look forward to delving back into my memories soon again and documenting my experiences.