July 8, 2024

Experiencing Lake Life

My good friends and newlyweds Dina (Miller) & Ed Szwarc invited me to their Lake House, for the long 4th of July Weekend. We drove up to Sussex County, NJ, Lake Culver on Wednesday night. It took a little over 2.5 hours from Philadelphia, on roads with very little traffic and we stopped for a nice dinner on the way. Once there, I found accommodations to be quite POSH ! I got the Americana suite and scallop edged Charmin toilet tissue - a first for me ! Only the best in Sussex County!

Thursday the 4th started with a visit from the resident Swan family - Mom, Dad and 9 newborns. They are about 3 months old and have not learned to fly yet. Ed's son Chris caught a catfish, weighing just under 7# very quickly from the dock and released. Then we all boarded their pontoon boat and went to watch all the lake activity; including the annual water skiers parade around the lake.

Lake Life is easy to get used to - just drop anchor - or tie up to friends and Float!

The lake is surrounded by all different style and price point homes. Here's some of the top priced to fixer uppers! The last one is currently for sale - a simple boat house complete with a porta potty since it has no septic or indoor plumbing, a mere $500,000 !

We enjoyed amazing food all weekend including a 19 hour smoked brisket, compliments of Chef Chris and his trusty smokemaster  ( a.k.a. Dad) Ed. Yummy desserts included my raspberry, whipped cream and meringues, blueberry, Eton messes and Italian donuts called Zeppoles.  We also got to see Fireworks three nights in a row.

  • Slide title

    19 hour smoked Beef Brisket

    Button
  • Slide title

    Father & Son Master Chef and Smoke Master

    Button
  • Slide title

    Eton Mess

    Button
  • Slide title

    Zeppoles

    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    19 hour smoked beef brisket

    Button
By Patricia Patrick February 23, 2026
I love a good architectural tour and even though I did this one last time I was here, the story is so interesting, I decided to do again. Plus they are always updates and changes in operations at the Sydney Opera House . This tour didn't disappoint - I saw new theater spaces and gained new insights to the story of it's construction from concept in 1958, to it's opening in 1973. The drama that played out for Danish architect Jorn Utzon , who won the commission out of 300 submissions and never got to seen the final building.He was fired by local politician, in election year, when project was grossly over budget and schedule. The building is an engineering marvel and I love so many of the details!
By Patricia Patrick February 23, 2026
I love to get to know an interesting neighborhood when visiting a big city. Newtown is a creative, fun and slightly edgy area in Sydney known for its' preserved Victorian architecture, street art and it's lively, friendly food and bar scene. There is lots of live music, quirky bars (they call hotels) and the population there is the largest LGBTQ community in Sydney. It's young and vibrant with the University of Sydney right there. Great if you want a place with personality over polish!
By Patricia Patrick February 21, 2026
Sailing into Sydney Harbor is one of those iconic moments that will stand out in my memories for this adventure! Sydney is one of a few natural harbors, worldwide, like San Francisco , known for its sparkling waters, landmark sights, spectacular events and hundreds of miles of shoreline.