Author: jerseykids

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Niagara on the Lake with Kids – and What to do on the Way

There’s plenty to do outside of the immediate Niagara Falls viewing area. Here are some options en route to Niagara on the Lake with kids.

The whirlpool area is downstream from Niagara Falls, and is a natural whirlpool. It’s not walking distance from the falls area, but you can take the WEGO bus or drive there. The whirlpool is right before a bend in the river. There are a few things to do in that area, plus an overlook.

The Niagara Falls whirlpool area, with aero car cables.
The Niagara Falls whirlpool area, with aero car cables.

Whirlpool Jet Boat Continue reading “Niagara on the Lake with Kids – and What to do on the Way”

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Visiting Corning New York and the Rockwell Museum

We visited Corning NY on a beautiful fall day. While it rained in the morning, these were the sunny skies we got later. Most people visit Corning to see the Corning Museum of Glass (our review here) and even to make their own glass.

 

Corning's well-known tower with a picture of a gaffer on top. In the foreground is the corporate office for Corning Glass.
Corning’s well-known tower with a picture of a gaffer on top. In the foreground is the corporate office for Corning Glass.

If you have time to visit the Gaffer’s District downtown (gaffer being a term used for a glassblower), check it out. You can walk from the Corning Museum of Glass – it takes probably 15 minutes at a good pace. There is parking downtown, though. Continue reading “Visiting Corning New York and the Rockwell Museum”

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Review: Corning Museum of Glass with Kids

What’s it like to go to the Corning Museum of Glass with kids? I heard its holdings were extensive and one could easily spend a complete day or two there, exploring the galleries. I thought they might be bored. Turns out they loved it. While others could spend days there, our visit was limited to 3 hours (including the “make your own glass” experience – separate post). And that was enough time to see much of the museum, even though we rushed through the very large 35 Centuries of Glass gallery, as the kids were running out of steam.

Corning Museum of Glass
Corning Museum of Glass

Interactive Fun Continue reading “Review: Corning Museum of Glass with Kids”

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Stony Hill NJ Corn Maze: Review

We usually do a NJ corn maze every year, and it’s often the Stony Hill corn maze. This year was no exception. Why Stony Hill? They have a lot of other activities to do there, many included with the basic admission. The corn maze is well done also.

When we went on a recent Saturday, they had live music, which we could hear inside the maze. They also had a face painter. Not sure if you pay extra for that.

This year’s theme is Rutger’s 250th anniversary.

Rutger's 250th anniversary corn maze at Stony Hill. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Rutger’s 250th anniversary corn maze at Stony Hill. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Continue reading “Stony Hill NJ Corn Maze: Review”

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Fossil Hunting With Kids at Big Brook

Did you know that October 12 is National Fossil Day? With a few days off this week, and fall break/teachers’ convention coming up next month, you may be looking for day trip ideas. Think about going fossil hunting in New Jersey! Turns out there are a couple of places that are easy to get to, where you can wade through streams looking for sharks’ teeth, oyster shells, squid fossils, and other items that are millions of years old. Even though you’re not by the ocean, this area was once covered in water.

Big Brook Preserve. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Big Brook Preserve. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Continue reading “Fossil Hunting With Kids at Big Brook”

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Customized Invitations and Announcements – Endless Options from BasicInvite.com

This post is brought to you by BasicInvite.com, but all writing and opinions are my own.

When my kids were born, I printed out their baby announcements on special vellum paper, attaching it to card stock with ribbon and then sending them out to friends and family. This was not a good project for a new mom. It was time consuming and required my husband bringing home his office cutting device, standing over the printer feeding in the vellum, and then ordering new ink when I ran out. In decade-plus that’s passed since then, there are so many better options for designing and ordering beautiful announcements online, at a very reasonable cost.

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Baby announcements from Basic Invite.

We get our photo holiday cards online. We get customized thank you notes online. We’ve gotten birthday invitations online.

So when it was time to order my son’s bar mitzvah invitations, did I call to an invitation person? Continue reading “Customized Invitations and Announcements – Endless Options from BasicInvite.com”

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32 Things You Don’t Know About Iceland

When you talk about Iceland, you can talk about the scenery, the waterfalls, the fjords, the wonderful hot springs. It’s all there and we enjoyed them in spades. Iceland is an amazing place to visit. But I wanted to share some of the quirkier things we saw in Iceland. Mostly, they’re things we observed as we drove around the country. Here’s what I’ve got for you.

  1. The thing to buy in Iceland is hand-knit wool sweaters. Only they cost at least $175 US, often more. And they’re itchy and not necessarily flattering. Turns out the only people we saw wearing them were the tour guides. In addition to wearing a tour guide medallion, I think it’s a required part of their uniform. And yes, in August it’s cold enough to wear a wool sweater.
Icelandic wool sweaters. Photo courtesy of Rudi Riet/Flickr.
Icelandic wool sweaters. Photo courtesy of Rudi Riet/Flickr.

2.  There are more sheep in Iceland than there are humans Continue reading “32 Things You Don’t Know About Iceland”

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