jerseykids, Author at Jersey Kids

August 11, 2020August 11, 2020

A pandemic visit to Burlington, Vermont

Like many, we cancelled trips during the pandemic. As a family that travels a lot, this was hard, but necessary. Aside from a camping trip where it was easy to avoid other people, we decided to take our first pandemic trip, after a lot of planning and forethought. We chose a pandemic visit to Burlington Vermont, though the location was subject to change up to a few days before, as we awaited infection numbers for our county. Vermont requires infection rates to be below 400 per million for your county (for specific Northeastern/mid-Atlantic states), to avoid a mandatory 14-day quarantine in Vermont (or other specific rules). Given that we were only going for 3 nights, it didn’t make sense to go unless our county was in the clear, and we had a back-up plan in New Jersey just in case. See the bottom of the post for our COVID-19 trip preparations.

Sunset at Waterfront Park in Burlington. *Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan*

February 20, 2020February 20, 2020

Review: Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall

I guess it’s been awhile since I’ve shopped at the Short Hills Mall, because I didn’t realize there was a new Italian marketplace. They invited me for a visit to their 17,000 square foot space. Here’s my Review – Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall!

The entrance of Primo Mercato at Short Hills Mall. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Primo Mercato is a cross between a fancier food court and a sit-down restaurant, kind of like a smaller Eataly but without the dry goods shopping – just the eating and drinking. They have five food stations, plus a cafe with bakery/gelato, a pizza making station, and a nice restaurant. And yes, there’s sit-down eating if ordering food fromt the stations. You’ll see some picnic style tables (much nicer looking, of course), and some other types of seating configurations.

January 14, 2020February 26, 2020

Review: Mardi Gras World with Kids

Mardi Gras season began on January 6, or rather the Carnival season began then. I’m still learning about this! When you’re in New Orleans, visiting Mardi Gras World with kids (or without kids) is a must, to see how the floats get made and learn more about the parades and history behind Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Worker is putting 2-3 inch paper mache strips on the Styrofoam prop at Mardi Gras World. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Mardi Gras History – in a Nutshell

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019

Review: National World War II Museum with Kids

Planes flying over Germany at the National World War II Museum

Should you go to the National World War II Museum with kids ?

New Orleans isn’t a city you generally think of when you think of World War II. But the city is home to the country’s official WWII museum. Why? Because the Higgins boats were made here. These boats were credited with winning the war (according to President Eisenhower), because without the boats that could land over ocean beaches, they’d have to rethink the entire war strategy. In September 1943, more than 92% of the U.S. Navy boats (12,964 of 14,072) were designed by Higgins Industries, and 8,865 were built in New Orleans. By the end of the war, about 20,000 boats were built in New Orleans at 7 Higgins plants.

October 20, 2019October 20, 2019

Amazon Tour with Kids

I write about supply chain management (logistics, operations, transportation etc.) so touring an Amazon fulfillment center (FC) seems like more than a fun thing to do – it seemed necessary for work! There are currently 23 warehouses/fulfillment centers in the U.S. that give tours, including 3 in New Jersey. You can take an Amazon tour with kids, but most tours are on the weekday, which can make it difficult unless you’re home schooling. Here’s what I learned on my Amazon tour.

The Amazon storage area, with robots moving the storage pods. Screenshot from an Amazon virtual tour.

By the way, you can’t take photos inside the warehouse, so these photos are screenshots from a virtual tour last week, run by Amazon for FIRST Robotics – an international STEM robotics program I’m involved with. You can watch the virtual Amazon tour here which was meant as an Amazon tour with kids, or at least for kids.

October 12, 2019October 1, 2021

Review: TreEscape with Kids – Aerial Adventure Park

My son and I have been to aerial treetop adventure rope/obstacle courses in Arizona and New York, and I had no idea that one existed in New Jersey. Fortunately TreEscape Aerial Adventure Park in Vernon Township reached out and invited us to be their guests, and we went last weekend. They opened in 2017.

*TreEscape with kids – one of the green courses. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan*

October 6, 2019October 6, 2019

Mercado Little Spain – Hudson Yards

On our way to the Vessel at Hudson Yards, we ran into the Mercado at Hudson Yards. It was morning and not yet crowded, which made it a great time to explore.

Spanish Market. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Offering “the best of Spanish food, drinks and culture from world-famous Chef José Andrés and the Adría Brothers,” the Mercado has 3 sit-down restaurants and around 18 kiosks and bars offering everything from cheese to churros.

October 6, 2019October 6, 2019

The Vessel in Hudson Yards

Love it or hate it, The Vessel in Hudson Yards is attracting a lot of attention. Opened in March, 2019, a steady stream of locals and tourists are visiting the interactive artwork by Thomas Heatherwick, to climb the interior staircases or to gawk from outside.

August 4, 2019August 7, 2019

Battlebots Filming – What to Expect (2019 version)

This spring we went to the Battlebots filming for the second year in a row. If you’re a fan of the show, you might notice that this year is a little different than last year. The big difference is that it’s 2 hours instead of 1. That means more battles. And that was a pleasant surprise for us, as we saw the line-up for our taping. There were a lot more battles! This was our Battlebots filming experience last year.

Battlebots set. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

June 15, 2019June 17, 2019

Is the MaxPass at Disneyland worth it?

The MaxPass was introduced at Disneyland/California Adventure since we last went. It’s currently $15 per person per day. We are FastPass experts, and the FastPass is free, so we debated whether to spring for the extra cost. We are so glad we did. Here’s why.

Author: jerseykids