Community Magazine July 2021

34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Erica Nadav – Brooklyn-Based for the Summer Erica Nadav is my aunt’s good friend who stays in Brooklyn for the summer. She takes her family on weekend trips during the summer and also on larger trips during the gap days between school and camp. “Summer trips are usually road trips. Our favorite place to go to is the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. Every time we go, we stay at different houses in different towns. We love to explore new places, and we take advantage of what each specific area has to offer. We do lots of hiking. It’s awesome to go on hikes that have waterfalls and different kinds of views.” “I feel like the best part is just getting out of our surroundings, out of the city and seeing what the world has to offer. Different towns are much more laid back and relaxing than in the city. It’s great to go into the wilderness and be surrounded by nature, sit by a fire pit, and do other things you can’t do in Brooklyn.” Cape Cod Melanie Falack – GoWest, Young Man! My good friendMelanie Falack sends pictures fromher adventures that you wouldn’t believe. Her husband often travels to the West Coast for work, which leads them to some not-so-typical road trip adventures. “Every time my husband had a business show in Las Vegas we took the opportunity to travel to the West Coast. We would plan a two to three week road trip, rent a camper van, and drive up the coast little by little. We’d specifically drive up or down the coastline because my husband likes to surf! We’d drive about two hours to our next destination, go hiking, see the sights, get back in our van for the night, travel to a new spot the next day, and have a brand-new adventure. We’ve driven around Vegas, Utah, the Grand Canyon, different lakes, etc. We’d do outdoor activities and see amazing national parks. One that really stood out to me was Death Valley National Park. It’s one of the hottest places on earth. Its sand is so white that in pictures it looks like snow!” “Once we drove through a really old town that’s since been made into a museum-type attraction. It was like stepping into a wild western film, but it was all real. We got to learn the history of the town. Most of these towns sprouted up around the gold rush. People would move to these dusty places in search of this shiny commodity. They’d raise families around the goal of mining for gold.” “I’ve done these trips when I was married, pregnant, with one kid, and then with two. It wasn’t easy but it was definitely an experience. We once left the kids with my parents and went on a crazy hike for three days off the grid. We planned to end it by a lake, and even brought swimsuits, looking forward to the culmination of our hike. When we got close, we found ourselves surrounded by snow, and realized the lake that we had planned this whole long hike around was frozen over!” Grand Canyon Death Valley National Park Poconos Mountains I don’t know about you, but all these stories have me itching to explore America and all it has to offer, within and outside of the Tri-State area. Sightseeing, hiking, touring, visiting zoos and museums – there is so much to see and do!  If this article inspires a trip or anything else positive, I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to reach out on Instagram @friedaschwekyphoto or via email frieda@sephardic.org . Thanks for reading!