4th of July at Lake Wallenpaupack in the Pocono Mts in PA is a moving and patriotic experience. The high light of the holiday is always the fireworks display which are launched near the dam. They can be viewed from the high school bleachers, from the shore line, on the top of the dike, from the top of the mountain at Tanglewood ski slopes and, from your boat. It takes your breath away to see hundreds of boats anchored waiting for the show to begin. Some boats parade, showing their patriotism with flags. lights, and decorations in red, white, and blue.     As the sky line dims, the lights from all the boats reflect off the water. What a site to behold. Area businesses contributed to give locals and tourists alike a spectacular fireworks show. The colors of each burst mirrored off the wat... 07/13/2010

Took this photo a couple weeks ago outside the office.  I had been all around Lake Wallenpaupack but had not had time to observe nature's bounty in any significant way.  Sometimes this business of real estate is so consuming that you forget to stop and smell the roses...or daisies for that matter. Got back to the office and noticed a patch of widlflowers on the edge of the parking lot.  Had my ever present camera handy and took a 20 minute vacation captureing some fun pics.  Hope you enjoy!     Take a break - even if it's for 20 minutes - and enjoy the beauty you can find, even in a small patch of wildflowers next to a busy road or gravel parking lot.  Beauty is here - it is for you to find and savor it. 07/12/2010

I would like to take this moment to thank all of our veterans who have sacrificed to the ultimate, for freedom and liberty. God bless you, your fallen, and your families.   Yesterday while I was out showing property I saw many many people enjoying Lake Wallenpaupack and the beautiful surroundings here in Pike and Wayne County. Swimming, laughing, grilling good food and enjoying cold drinks. We had our own little get together last evening with a some good friends. My brother served in the military for 8 years - I am thankful that he was not in harms way, but I also am keenly aware of the lost, the fallen, the wounded, the MIAs, the POWs...and my heart breaks for those who suffered so much so that liberty and freedom can prevail. I thank God for you and for your sacrifices past, and prese... 05/31/2010

Join Tom McColligan, Judy Rodonski, and all of the agents from WEICHERT REALTORS PAUPACK GROUP for our annual Relay for Life Benefit Yard Sale.   This year the yard sale will be on Memorial Day weekend - Saturday May 29th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.   Rain Date: Sunday May 30th.  We are looking for donations to sell at the yard sale!  Please donate anything that is useable - 100% of the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society / Relay For Life (local chapter).  Any left over /unsold items will be donated to charity like other Relay yard sales, Salvation Army, and the Dessin Animal Shelter.  Books Electronics Household items Movies (VHS is welcome!) Music Tools Clothing Furniture Call the office at 570-226-8240 for more details.  Hope to see you there! Our office (2415 Route 6, Ha... 05/18/2010

      There are many beautiful things to be seen if we only take the time to notice them - wherever we are, no matter what the season, no matter what kind of day it is, there is always something beautiful to savor and enjoy. Taken with my trusty Canon EOS Rebel XS.   03/07/2010

REALTORS TO THE RESCUE!!! HELP THE PIKE COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY Sponsored By Gresham’s Chop House Restaurant & Local Realtors ALL ARE WELCOME!! March 3 2010 5:00 TO 7:30 P.M. CASH BAR $15.00 INCLUDES HORS’DOEUVRES   PLEASE HELP US!!   For more information call 570-561-6153 or 570- 470-5281  Gresham’s Chop House at 570-226-1500 Route 6 Hawley Pennsylvania 02/17/2010

Debbie Friese, outstanding production achievement awarded by Floyd Wickman, The Master Sales Society.   Do you ever feel like you hit a brick wall in Real Estate?   Do you ever feel like you are riding on a merry-go-round with no control or help for your Real Estate business?   The Teacher is here......Floyd Wickman !    I know there are wonderful Real Estate trainers available of which I found Floyd Wickman to be a man who is about caring, sharing and helping realtors meet and exceed their goals.     Floyd Wickman Forum in Livonia MI - near Detroit.     Each year, like a New Year Resolution affirmation, I (Debbie Friese) make a promise to myself to "Re-focus and re-commit" to my Real Estate business.  How best to service my clients in their real estate needs, Networking with Top Agent... 01/18/2010

Beautiful Weekend is HERE! Counting down the minutes to LABOR DAY Weekend on the Paupack and thinking what a wide variety of weather we have experienced while showing homes here in the Pocono Mountains of Lake Wallenpaupack, Pennsylvania.   One day, get the rain gear on and don't take the gear off for 5 weeks to waking the next month with "Wow, the humidity slammed in" to now having clear blue days and cool nights.  I could not help thinking while going thru this crazy weather season showing homes to clients, if the house is not flooding or floating away or the home is keeping energy efficient with the fast weather change then you found your next home!  Don not wait, put the offer in and let us see where the final sale price will be agreed upon between you and the seller.  If you see me... 09/04/2009

The original Paupackan Lake Lakefront home in this blog is no longer for sale. CLICK HERE for the details on 111 West Shore Dr., Paupackan Lake Estates.PAUPACKAN LAKE LAKEFRONT HOME FOR SALE SOLD!!!:  YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE BEAUTIFUL VIEWS from the deck, living room, screened porch, kitchen, and dining area of this Paupackan Lake Estates lakefront home for sale.139 East Shore Drive, Hawley PA - Wayne County - Wallenpaupack School DistrictTHIS HOME SOLD IN NOVEMBER 2010 FOR $355,000.This is a brand new listing, never before been on the market.  The owners have obviously cherished this home, carefully maintaining and thoughtfully upgrading, all the while savoring the natural wonders surrounding this little slice of Northeastern PA Paradise.Priced at only $379,000, this property is more ... 09/03/2009

The other day while out on caravan, I had a dry throat and coughed.  People cringed even though I did cough into my sleeve (never my hand).   A few houses later, the dust in the home tickled my nose too much and unfortunately, on our way out the door the dust combined with the pollen in the air was too much - and I sneezed.  People ran.  Well, just joking - nobody ran but my friend Linda ducked and said "You better not have swine flu!" It's the latest scare on the scene and it has lots of people concerned. Some home sellers are nervous about having many strangers view their homes - with all the talk of swine flu going around, it's reasonable to be a little scared, especially if someone in the household is suffering from a weakened immune system and is at risk of becoming very ill. It's ... 05/03/2009

"Happy Holidays" has been a seasonal greeting since way before I was born.  My parents had a recording of Bing Crosby singing "Happy holidays.....happy holidays...." This was an acceptable greeting long before anything was politically correct, and in fact, lots of stuff was politically incorrect.  There is no reason why "Happy Holidays" should be offensive. Yet, some Christians are offended by it.  According to them, the proper term should be "Merry Christmas," since that is the "main" holiday we are celebrating (at least in their eyes.) Actually I find it interesting that many Christians are upset about the idea of Christ being removed from Christmas...when Christmas was never a holiday He asked us to celebrate for Him, anyway. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate Christm... 12/20/2008

(This was originally posted on PikeWaynePABlog.com) This weekend, October 25, 2008, Weichert Realtors Paupack Group will be hosting several Open Houses in Fawn Lake Forest. If you've been thinking about selling your home, and would like to put it on the market, please contact me for a price evaluation and to learn about my unique marketing plan. The Fawn Lake home that I originally had planned to hold open has a contract pending, so I'm looking for a new home to market and put on display! It's not too late to get in on the action - I'd love to talk with you and tell you about what Weichert and I will do for you. 10/20/2008

Hi All, I have this house located between Hawley and White Mills, a fixer upper, but not that bad, and this house is zoned General Commercial, where you can run your home based business from, Beauty palor, dog groomer, accountant, law firm, I can go on and on, but you get it.  Priced to sell.  I need to sell it home owner motivated. 06/16/2008

Soapbox Derby - Hawley 500 Church St., Hawley, PA 18428 View Map Saturday June 14 was the 3rd annual Hawley 500 Soapbox Derby. This year it was named the Smokin’ Hawley 500, in honor of the late Smokey Austen, who was a devoted supporter of the two previous Derby events in town. Nothing spells A-m-e-r-i-c-a-n-a like a soap box derby on a sunny summer day (well, the derby was over just before the thunderstorm hit!) Steve Smith, owner of the Falls Port Inn & Restaurant in Hawley came up with the idea of having this annual event. Different businesses around town sponsor the derby by either creating and donating cars or financially supporting the event. It was a fun time had by all - including my two Speed Racers, or maybe Speed Racer and Trixie? Enjoy the pictures - my favorite car, witho... 06/15/2008

  THE BLOG ARTICLE BELOW IS FROM 2008.  CLICK HERE FOR 2009 OUR RELAY FOR LIFE WALLENPAUPCK BENEFIT INFO!  :)   Click HERE to Donate to Relay for Life Weichert Walkers Team!   My office, WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Paupack Group, is sponsoring Relay for Life this year.  We have several fund raising events planned (the one I'm looking forward to is the giant yard sale on Memorial Day Weekend, Sat. May 24!) If you have any items you no longer want and would like to donate them to help raise money for RFL, please call the office at 800-440-8070  Since I am also the Internet Specialist and interim webmaster for the company website, I was asked to post a blog about the upcoming fundraisers. (yes, I am temporarily the ghost author for that blog, but not for long)                Click HERE to Donat... 05/08/2008

The end of another week - I can't believe it. Already I'm halfway through April (well, almost...) and I actually don't remember much about March. When you're busy, time really does fly!  I never made my Wild Card Wednesday post here on ActiveRain because of the server issues.  If you would like to see it, it did make it to my outside blog on PikeWaynePABlog.com (Click to read:  Here, Goosey Goosey - Wild Card Wednesday) This edition of Karen's Friday Five is focused on "old stuff." I have picked five interesting places in Hawley to check out while you're here investigating all the attractive real estate opportunities (I could show you a Victorian home in nearby Honesdale that is just full of romance and charm.) 1. FOR THE SWEET TOOTH: Penny Lane Candles & Candies. This nifty little plac... 04/11/2008

I meet people of all shapes and sizes, in various stages of life, economic levels and interests. Thankfully, this area seems to be able to meet all their needs. There are so many great communities around the lake, and in future blogs I will attempt to examine each community individually. Just 2-3 hours from NYC, NJ and Philadelphia, most of our buyers and sellers are from out of state. There are communities in the area that are a bit of a distance from the lake, such as Masthope and Fawn Lake Forest, they make up for that with their own array of amenities and a limited horsepower lake. Other communities are right on the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack, such as Wallenpaupack Lake Estates. They also boast a wide range of amenities, but a property owner is also afforded "lake rights," on Walle... 02/09/2008

Okay, so this isn't a diary. I just liked the play on "dairy" and "diary." Chill out and have a cool moo.The Lake Wallenpaupack area has changed a great deal since I was a little kid - some of it for the better, some of it "indifferent" (to me), and some of it, sad to say, for the worse (again, to me).Once upon a time, there was The Char Bar, where you could get burgers and what my mom's friend Rose used to call "custard", but I called "soft ice cream." Now, that same building houses a rival real estate office which shall remain nameless, and a lawyer. Totally renovated some years ago, it looks nothing like the old fashioned drive-in that used to be there.On main street in Hawley, what is now Joe and Lorenzo's Pizzeria used to be Smith's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor. Years before my t... 08/26/2007

  BABY BOOMERS INVADE THE LAKE REGION . . . Baby Boomers typically have higher incomes and have accumulated private wealth.They are now discovering the Lake Region - and Lake Wallenpaupack.Baby Boomers number at least 82 million.  They will continue to discover the Lake Region and Lake Wallenpaupack's quality of life and relatively low cost of living.Many Baby Boomers are buying land at the Lake and building their retirement dream home.The Lake Region is under siege . . . 08/09/2007

Lake Wallenpaupack Hotels, Motels, Suites, & Rentals... It is late in the season to be posting this, but I have been so busy "doing real estate" that I neglected to get this posted sooner. Even though Labor Day is almost upon us, it's not too soon to begin thinking about your winter vacation (of course you would like to ski at Tanglwood or Big Bear; or bring your snowmobile up to the lake or to the nearby state land trails in Pike County..or maybe you're one of those folks who likes to cut holes in the ice, and hover there, waiting for something to bite...)   It is also a good time to be thinking about Summer Vacation 2008. I recommend bookmarking this post and coming back to it when planning your Lake Wallenpaupack visit, either in the winter, or next summer, or sometime in between. (C... 08/07/2007