Jersey Kids

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021

Starbucks Reserve Roastery NYC

When visiting Seattle before the pandemic, we spent a wonderful afternoon at the original Starbucks Reserve Roastery Seattle in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. With many seating areas inside, we plunked down near the fancy coffee bar serving Chemex-prepared coffee that looked like a chemistry experiment. We had fantastic dessert coffees that were presented on adorable wooden trays and cost a pretty penny. Though we ended up not having to pay, because the server couldn’t find our bill, and said it was on them. Score! Why was there not a Starbucks Reserve Roastery NYC?

July 18, 2021July 19, 2021

Visiting the Statue of Liberty with Kids During the Pandemic

Approaching the Statue of Liberty from the ferry. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

One might think nothing much changes at the Statue of Liberty. But one would be wrong. I didn’t do much research before booking our ferry tickets to visit the Statue of Liberty with kids during the pandemic, other than seeing the crown wasn’t open. Not a problem – there are a lot of stairs and some of my traveling companions were not eager to take them.

July 18, 2021July 18, 2021

Visiting Ellis Island with Kids after the Pandemic

We haven’t been to Ellis Island in about 10 years, so when we had out-of-town visitors for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown, we were eager to get out and about. Even in July, it was easy to get next-day ferry tickets to visit Ellis Island with kids.

The New Jersey ferry station and train terminus, at Liberty State Park. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020

Review: Big Snow at American Dream

The idea of driving 30 minutes to ski instead of 90+ minutes is appealing. The idea of skiing indoors is novel enough to want to try it. So when Big Snow at American Dream invited my family for a visit as their guests, we said yes. But it’s indoors! It’s in a mall! What about COVID-19? I have an entire section on how they’re handling COVID-19 below. Because it’s a huge topic.

What is Big Snow?

Big Snow at American Dream is an indoor ski area that’s finally opened in East Rutherford. Yes, the massive mall and former Xanadu eye sore that was sitting vacant forever! Big Snow at American Dream is one of several large experiences you can do indoors there, in addition to the Nickelodeon Universe theme park (currently open), DreamWorks Water Park (currently open), and the Sea Life Aquarium (opening spring 2021). Big Snow opened late 2019, closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic, and reopened in October.

The top of the hill at Big Snow American Dream. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

December 5, 2020December 5, 2020

Visiting NYC in December 2020

On Black Friday we headed into NYC, where we hadn’t visited since March. We weren’t sure what to expect. It was a lot quieter than we anticipated, except for 5th Avenue, which was pretty busy (uncomfortably busy – but less so than a typical Black Friday). I wanted to share some photos and thoughts from that day!

Christmas tree in Fox Plaza. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

November 29, 2020November 30, 2020

NYC Holiday Windows 2020

We usually go into Manhattan on Black Friday, and this year we wanted to check out the NYC holiday windows 2020. We haven’t been in Manhattan since early March, just before the lock-downs started. So we weren’t sure what to expect. This is the first of 2 posts about NYC observations – this one of course, holiday windows. Here’s a good NYT piece about the history of NYC holiday windows, and this year’s theme.

Bloomingdale’s

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.