Remember the days when Dad's job was solely to bring home a paycheck and cut the grass? It was so expected that they wrote books telling wives and children to cater to his every whim. Bring him the paper, his slippers, his pipe, and have his dinner ready on time. It was a simpler and not necessarily better time.

Today, Dad and Mom share the household chores and, usually, both bring home the bacon (literally and figuratively). With these added pressures, they need to get away once in a while--both for sanity's sake and for the harmony of their union.

So, the wife and I recently packed up the Kia Optima (my press vehicle at the time) and shuffled off to the Poconos. Nestled in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Poconos were the destination for many couples along the East Coast in decades past.

Like Niagara Falls, the Keystone State's famous mountain range has been the backdrop to so many honeymoons and anniversaries of yesteryear, it may sound passé to head there in 2011.

Mention a weekend in the Poconos, and it's true many folks just won't "get it." And that's their loss, because places like Paradise Stream, our weekend destination, are old school fun. Opened in 1971, this Poconos palace is happily mired in the 20th century, reveling in the "old school is cool" trend. Paradise Stream isn't a kitchy kind of "old school" place, though. This is the genuine article... loads of red carpeting, "star" lighting, and mirrors galore.

Driving the Optima up PA Route 33 en route to this Seventies throwback was much like any other modern automobile excursion, ribbons of four-lane highway shaded by billboards and exit signs. Miles from Allentown to Stroudsburg provided no hint of the time travel taking place.

When we turned off onto Route 940, the pace slowed, the road winding through small towns living in the shadows of the large area resorts. Places like Scotrun and Pocono Manor feature bait shops and tourist traps necessary for the odd local allure of hunters and vacationers. Traveling from the more metropolitan areas to Mount Pocono, the distance from modern life increases.

Approaching the resort, its 40-year-old buildings come into view. You find yourself thinking that this time capsule couldn't have withstood the years without becoming antiquated and shabby. Refurbished in 2004, Paradise Stream surprises with a well-maintained tribute to a slower pace of life.

Cross over the bridge and the parking lot opens in front of the resort's main building. With its lack of windows and the carport entrance, it looks like a casino. I almost expected polyester-clad couples smoking Marlboro 100s to walk out, patting each other on their posteriors and acting like teenagers as they sauntered over to their Ramblers and Chrysler Newports.

Fortunately, there was far less man-made apparel on the visitors than our fall down the rabbit hole would have us believe... and I noticed more Lexus SUVs and Mercedes sedans around