It was a great family place, lots of activities for the adults and a day camp for the children.
On a sunny afternoon the pool was the place to be - you could swim, you could just sit and chat, you could participate in "Simon Says" or learn the latest dance steps. That's where my husband and I learned the Cha-Cha, the Tango, the Mambo and whatever else was IN at the time. We weren't the greatest dancers but we loved dancing!
Evenings at Grand Lake were spent in the Club House where there were nightly shows. No name talent like the Catskills but it was always a fun evening.
One evening they held a dance contest. The master of ceremonies asked for lady volunteeres - I don't know whatever possessed me - I put my hand up and was called to the stage with the other ladies. I was an ok dancer but had no business entering a competition.
The next thing I know, I'm doing a Cha-Cha with the gentleman. After that he danced with the other contestants and THEN he held his hand over each dancer and asked the audience to applaud - well, what do you know, I got the most applause and won a bottle of champagne!!!
You could have knocked me over with a feather - me - win a dance contest!!! When I pulled myself together I figured it out.
We'd been going to Grand Lake for years, not only did we go with our friends and their children ,and there were lots of them, we knew many of the guests who also came year after year!
They all clapped for ME!
What a thrill.
Now, I'll tell you what inspired this post
DANCING WITH THE STARS
I'm not a big fan of Dancing With The Stars but there have been times that I got hooked because I wanted to see certain celebrities perform.
This season I was especially interested in seeing Jennifer Grey dance.
Image Courtesy: ABC
Seeing her dance with her partner Derek Hough reminded me of her dancing with Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing."
Image: Wikipedia
Oh, what a movie that was! The Grand Lake Lodge experience was just like that.
Watch: Dirty Dancing - Time of my Life (Final Dance) - High Quality
Now about Bristol Palin - She's still in the running - better dancers have been knocked off the show but she and her partner are still in the competition.
Image Courtesy: ABC
You can have lots of talent, be charming and good looking but if you do not have the right connections or know a lot of people you just might not win.
On the other hand if you "have a name" and know a lot of people you can be a winner!!
Look at me!!