Your Guide to Family-Friendly Day Trips in New Jersey, New York…and Beyond
I hope you’re all doing okay in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Until things calm down and life gets back to normal for most of us (I realize that won’t happen for all shore residents or those in Staten Island/Long Island for longer), I’ll wait to post more.
My personal blog includes reflections on what’s happening as well as some updates for those in Union County. Please post how you’re doing.
We haven’t taken any specific fall foliage trips, but the best colors I’ve seen so far were on the side of a strip mall on Route 22. The long line to pull out of the lot was almost worth it, when looking at the changing leaves.
We’ve long wanted to try Ninety Acres, a culinary center located in a restored carriage house. My in-laws came to visit, and offered to take us for our birthdays. Ninety Acres is part of the Natirar (Raritan spelled backwards) resort in Somerset County. They have a private club, event/meeting spaces, celebration spaces, a farm, a park…quite beautiful and refined.
Ninety Acres offers locally grown and sourced foods when possible, When you eat at Ninety Acres, you choose between a regular menu and the “Bring Me Food” (BMF) menu, which was the source of much confusion for our family. With BMF you will not get a menu at all (well I got one, but that’s because I was taking notes, and they felt bad for me. So they brought one but made me promise not to look at it until the end). Continue reading “Review: Ninety Acres – “Bring Me Food””
We’ve been the New York Aquarium a couple of times now, and we really like it. It’s on the Coney Island boardwalk, so you can go from the aquarium to the beach to the rides with no effort. They have the usual exhibits, like jellyfish, seahorses, sharks, fur seals, sea lions, walruses, sea otters, penguins, turtles, sting rays, a reef and shore area. They have 4-D movies (extra) and a sea lion show, plus special exhibits.
Fun facts:
President Theodore Roosevelt was the person who demonized the piranha, whose sharp teeth are legendary. He wrote about a school of piranhas attacking a bleeding cow while visiting the Amazon. In reality, the tour guide threw the cow in the water to make the trip seem more exciting, and the fish were starving and trapped. Continue reading “Review: New York Aquarium with Kids”
With history buff family in town, we took a day trip this summer to visit two Hudson River mansions in Hyde Park, the Roosevelt mansion and the Vanderbilt Mansion. I’ll post separately.
Admittedly I knew little about the Vanderbilts before we went, so the history was quite interesting. I can confirm I already knew about clothing designer Gloria Vanderbilt (I coveted her jeans in high school) and her very cute son Anderson Cooper. As for the rest of the family, I get lost in the family tree, especially since half of them seemed to be named Cornelius.
Continue reading “Day Trip: Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park”
When we had friends in town who wanted to see a Broadway show, I looked through the list that would be family-friendly (and shows we haven’t already seen). We settled on Bring it On the musical, a Broadway adaption of a movie. I was a little wary about the subject matter, having never been a cheerleader myself, nor having cheerleader aspirations. The show was a lot of fun, though, and taught some good lessons about being true to yourself and being nice to other people.
How do you like to spend Halloween? The New York Botanical Garden has a haunted pumpkin garden. You can win 4 tickets to go – info at the bottom.
I haven’t been to the New York Botanical Garden (but the rest of my family went a few years ago when I was at a conference). They loved it. And this event looks like fun. Lots of carved pumpkin sculptures.
It runs from October 6-31, and has tons of different kid-friendly activities. The Haunted Pumpkin Garden is located in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, open daily with guided activities from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends. That might include a parade, dissecting owl pellets, potting buckwheat seeds to take home or decorating science bags for fall collections.
On other days there are pumpkin carving demonstrations, a pumpkin party, a pumpkin carving weekend, carving workshops, and spooky nighttime adventures.
Tickets are $20-25/nonmember adults, $8-10/nonmember kids, and $15/members. Prices vary depending on the date (there’s no “one price” on the website – it’s a little confusing).
CONTEST
Want to win a 4-pack of tickets to use any day from October 6-31? You’ll have access to the rest of the gardens as well, including a narrated tram tour and other exhibitions. Post an entry below stating your favorite Halloween tradition. Also leave me your email address, so I can let you know if you won. If you don’t want to put your email address below, still leave an entry, but email me telling me which entry is yours, at blog (at) jerseykids (dot) net. Entries must be received by Saturday, September 29 at 6 p.m., and you must reply to my email within 24 hours or I’ll move on to the next person. Winner will be chosen using random.org.
I’m sure you know about Dylan’s Candy Bar, and all the candy it contains. In fact, it was a Treat of the Day sometime back. However on our recent visit, my husband saw a sign outside for happy hour. What does that mean in a candy store? Well, it turns out they have an actual bar upstairs, in the same area that you can get ice cream treats. It’s slightly roped off and we had to show ID to get in (though they let our kids in with us, stamping their hands).
They served drinks like a S’more shot, with marshmallow vodka, whipped vodka, creme de cacao, and garnished with a graham cracker rim. Or try a Sugar Rush Shooter with different vodkas (cake, coconut, whipped cream) and a sugar rim.
Continue reading “Treat of the Day: Dylan’s Candy BAR (the alcoholic type)”
Eleni’s in Manhattan’s Chelsea Market was a delight. Their specialty is cookies – you’ll see how each of them is decorated like its own piece of art. They have a wall of different design groups. Their cupcakes are also scrumptious. And kosher and baked in a nut-free factory. Take a look at what you’ll find throughout the store.
Field Station: Dinoaurs opened in Secaucus this past Memorial Day, and I’d been dying to take the kids. It was a busy summer, however, and we finally made it there! I brought two boys, both age 9, and I wasn’t sure if they’d be too old. They weren’t, though some of the activities were a little young for them.