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Day Trip: Sterling Hill Mine in New Jersey

I went to the Sterling Hill Mine and Museum as part of a school field trip, but you can go on your own as a family.

The Sterling Hill Mining Museum. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

ROCKS

We learned that there are 3 types of rocks.

-metamorphic (created by pressure – heat turned it into something else). Examples: slate, which used to be shale. Marble, which used to be limestone

-sedimentary (silt, sand). Examples: coal, sandstone

-igneous (magma, lava). Examples: basalt

The mountain that’s mined is a marble hill, with white and gray stone. Continue reading “Day Trip: Sterling Hill Mine in New Jersey”

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Review: Hotel Elysee

When I headed into New York City for a conference recently, I wanted an adult hotel – since my kids wouldn’t be with me. I wanted something boutique. And I always prefer something with free wi-fi and breakfast included.

I got so much more than that at Hotel Elysee . Haven’t heard of it? It only has 92 rooms, and it’s part of the Library Collection, with four hotels in New York City. The location was perfect for my midtown conference, as the hotel was on 54th Street, between Madison and Park.

This is why it’s part of the Library Collection! Part of the club room. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan.

Continue reading “Review: Hotel Elysee”

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11 Things to do in Lambertville and New Hope with Kids

Lambertville and New Hope are a great place to spend a few days. There’s a lot to do whether you’re going for a romantic weekend away, or bringing the kids. New Hope is a little more kid-friendly because there are more shops (and fewer antique stores). Be aware, though, that some stores do ask that kids NOT come in, and restaurants post signs that say “well-behaved children are welcome.”

1.  Take a ferry ride along the Delaware.

2. Go to the Bucks County Children’s Museum. In New Hope, this museum is intended for kids ages 1-8.

3. Ride the New Hope and Ivyland Train (beware – the website plays music and the off button isn’t obvious. With hourly excursions in Continue reading “11 Things to do in Lambertville and New Hope with Kids”

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Treat of the Day: Ralph’s Ices

We first discovered Ralph’s when in Staten Island, eating at Denino’s Pizza. Ralph’s was just across the street. Since we’re relative newcomers to the East Coast, the concept of Italian Ices was rather new to us too. Turns out that Ralph’s is quite popular in the area, with many NY locations, and many in New Jersey as well. On every trip home from Sandy Hook, we stop at Ralph’s, which is heavily represented in the Garden State.

It’s always a toss up between the water ices, the creme ices and the ice cream. Here’s why:

Water ice flavors: cotton candy, grape, blue Hawaii, black raspberry, Malibu bay breeze, root beer, red raspberry, sour cherry and strawberry margarita.

Creme ice flavors: cappuccino, canolli, coconut raspberry tart, crazy coconut, cremalata, mocha chip, peanut butter candy bar, peanut butter cookie dough, pina colada, vanilla fudge brownie and more.

Here’s what we ended up with:

2 malted milk shakes (black/white and chocolate), a java chip creme ice, and a brownie sundae. We felt a bit ill after finishing them all.

Ralph’s has lots of locations.

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Review: Sandy Hook with Kids

Sandy Hook is a great place for those who don’t want the boardwalk experience, and want more to do than just sit on the beach. Plus it’s only $15 entrance for a whole carload of people. Parking is free and the money goes to the National Park Service. Sandy Hook is a “barrier spit” that’s 6-7 miles long, a mile wide at some points, and accessed via bridge.

What to do at Sandy Hook:

Ride a Bike: Bring your  own or rent one (there’s a rental place at Beach B – first right after the pay station). Lots of trails – 7 miles of them starting at the park entrance, out to Fort Hancock at the end.

Fishing: fishing is allowed at all beaches without lifeguards on duty.

Continue reading “Review: Sandy Hook with Kids”

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Ideas on Care Packages for Overnight Camp

Yesterday I shared some money-saving tips on shopping for summer overnight camp. Today it’s all about the care packages. You know they love getting things in the mail, especially care packages. Here are some ideas of what to send:

Coke or Pepsi? This book series has oodles of questions the kids can ask each other to get to know them better. It’s more for girls than boys

Origami paper and book – this will provide the kids something to do when it’s raining or rest time in the cabin.

Make paper airplanes (or even Star Wars flyers) with this book and paper set

Disposable camera – don’t want to send the digital camera or rely on camp photos for the memories? Send an inexpensive disposable camera.

Letters from Camp – you might give them some ideas, but the Letters from Camp book series is hilarious.

Picture frame to autograph – this one is for the memories!

Camp autograph book

Mad Libs – the gift that keeps on giving

Camp Bunk Box of Questions – from Melissa and Doug

Bunco dice game – just because you drink when you play it doesn’t mean your kids have to.

Dominoes

Glow bracelets – great to share with the bunk

Misting fan – stay cool!

Sudoku for kids

BrainQuest – good for kids to play alone or together

What do your kids like getting in the mail at camp? Please post your experiences and suggestions below!

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How to Save Money on Overnight Camp Supplies

I just finished packing up my kids for overnight camp. Camp isn’t cheap, and neither is the gear. Here are my tips for saving money on overnight camp clothing, bedding, etc.

Bedding:

Sheets: While we have plenty of sheet sets in our linen closet, the camp specified cot-size sheets. Can you go buy those at Target? Nope. You have a couple options. To save money, just buy a fitted cot sheet, and use your own top sheet and pillowcase. You can buy fitted cot sheets for $8-10 each.

If you want the softer jersey knit sheets with fun designs (which of course my kids did), you can either buy the fitted sheet and pillowcase, or for another $10 you also get the top sheet. While my kids took a ton of stuff from the house, we splurged on the sheets, buying them matching sheet sets. I did a lot of internet searching, and the cheapest I found (for the same products) was at Trunk Outlet, where I saved $5/set over the other cheapest sites. I did have to pay shipping, which was around $12 for 4 sets of sheets. The package arrived in two days, even choosing the slowest shipping.

If you don’t want jersey knit, the sheets are cheaper. I found this cotton cot sheet set on Amazon for $25.

Comforter: I don’t remember bringing a comforter to camp when I was young (only sheets/blanket), but now the kids do. Much to Continue reading “How to Save Money on Overnight Camp Supplies”

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Day Trip: Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

If you can manage to find the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Basking Ridge, NJ, you’ll have a great time there. We’ve been twice now, to different sections. The swamp is one of more than 500 wildlife refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. You’ll find about 8 miles of marked trails, though there’s 3,660 acres of off-trail hiking.

Last weekend we hit the boardwalk area (note: there were restrooms but no water fountain or garbage can). You’ll find maps at the trailhead/parking lot. The wildlife observation center is on New Vernon Road (aka Long Hill Road – depending on the address).

I regretted not bringing my better SLR camera with its telephoto lens. In the hour or so we walked on the boardwalks, we spotted baby and adult turtles, lots of birds, dragonflies, chipmunks, though there are a ton more animals we didn’t see.

If you stand still long enough, you’ll see lots of animals in here

Continue reading “Day Trip: Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge”

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Treat of the Day: Little Scoops Ice Cream

This is the first of what will probably be many ice cream posts this summer – I have a big list of places I want to go! We went to Little Scoops in Cranford on the last day of school. We won a certificate for 5 free sundaes from a tricky tray (thanks, Little Scoops!) and thought that was perfect day to cash it in. Plus it turned out to be 250 degrees outside, and Little Scoops had air conditioning. Yay!!!

What we loved about Little Scoops wasn’t the ice cream (I’ll get into that later). It was the atmosphere and the staff. It looks like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and the staff (including the owner, who came over to say hi) could not have been nicer.

 

Continue reading “Treat of the Day: Little Scoops Ice Cream”

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