Summer Bucket List

Summer is over, lets tally this up:

This summer there are so many places I would like to go to with my kids, I decided to make a list.  For someone who is not a list person, this is my second list in a week, weird stuff... 

I think that there are too many places, that, in fact, we won't make it to all of them.  We will, however, make it to some, and that's ok with me. 

Here is my summer bucket list:

1.  Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit, NJ      http://reeves-reedarboretum.org/
Never made it there.  Hoping to do it in the spring this year.  It is a shame, as it is really close to home. 

2.  Land Of Make Believe in Hope, NJ http://www.lomb.com/
YES.  Made it, Loved it!

3.  Rafting on Delaware River, probably with Indian Head Canoes.
YES.  Great time!!!

4.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
NOPE.  We did make it to the Empire State Building and the Statue Of Liberty though, so that counts.

5.  Bushkill Falls in PA, http://www.visitbushkillfalls.com/
NO.  But we went to the Ringing Rocks State Park with friends.  More to come later.

6.  NJ Grounds For Sculpture  http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/
NO.  Actually, I went for the tickets at the library and someone checked them out five seconds before me. Next time.  It is going to happen soon!!

The rest of them are a no at the moment, but we did have some other wonderful trips that I didn't anticipate, so there.  We are still planning to do all these places really soon, so stay tuned!

7.  Space Farm Zoo, Sussex, NJ

8.  The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, http://www.stickleymuseum.org/

9.  Museum of Early Trades and Crafts: http://www.metc.org/

10. Montclair Art Museum www.montclairartmuseum.org

11.  Bowman Hill Tower and Flower Preserve in Bucks County, PA.  http://www.bhwp.org/

12.  Thomas Edison Memorial Park, in West Orange, NJ. http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm

Some of the places that we have been to, I would like to come back to this year for another visit.  Places like Six Flags, Longwood Gardens,  Turtleback Zoo, and Bergen County Zoo, New Hope, Howell's Living History Farm and Liberty Science Center are among the few. We would also like to go to the NJ Beaches at least once a week.  This year we like Sandy Hook.  Lakes are a good place to go also.

Mercer Museum, Doylestown, PA

This spring the kids and I took a trip to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA.  For my two boys a fun museum is a difficult thing to find.  They love The Museum of Natural History, but are somewhat warm to art museums, no matter how much I like them.  The Mercer Museum really hit the spot for them.  We came not knowing what to expect and found it to be a fascinating place with so much to explore.

When you first come you see a beautiful building, and right outside you can find machinery in the shed that was used in the pre-industrial age. 

When you buy tickets, they tell you to go on an elevator and go up to the 6th floor.  What you don't expect is for the elevator to open on top of a roof landing out in fresh air.  We were surprised in a very good way by that.

 

 

Once you are up there you go through a small archway to a tiny red door.   It is all very exciting, especially for two boys who like everything even remotely magical.

 

 

After you go through the tiny red door, you find yourself in a castle that houses thousands of artifacts.  Thousands!! Spanning quite a few centuries.  It is absolutely amazing.  The castle has a very real feel to it.  It is stone and cement, and not heated, so if you are there in the colder months, keep your hats on.  It is exciting to explore, especially on the top, with small passageways and spiral staircases, small secret rooms.  Amazing.  There are many of the larger items on the top, including gallows, and caskets, carriages, bikes, all kinds of neat stuff. 

 

After you explore the top level you will notice that the path descends in a spiral around the castle walls.  In the center is more large stuff hanging, like boats, and carriages, and along the sides are small rooms that showcase different categories of items, from sewing clothing, making and preserving foods, clockwork, things a doctor would use, toys, weapons.  You name it.  It is all very fascinating.  All the while there are small nooks and crannies, and little rooms on the sides you can explore. 







 

Also, at the front desk the really nice lady gave my kids an activity.  They get a sheet with some pictures of animals and while they explore they have to find the animals around the castle and stamp the paper when they found one.  It was especially fun for my younger one. 

 

Eventually, and slowly we made our way down to the bottom, where you come out to a great central hall.

 

 

Also, be sure to stop by the library.  It really does look like something out of Harry Potter.  It is also the only room that is heated. I thought it was amazing!

 

Here is a bit from the Henry Mercer Museum website about the museum and what it is:

"By 1897 handmade objects were being discarded in favor of new machine-made goods. Historian and archaeologist Henry Mercer (1856-1930) recognized the need to collect and preserve the outmoded material of daily life in America before it was swept away by the Industrial Revolution. Mercer gathered almost 30,000 items ranging from hand tools to horse-drawn vehicles and assembled this encyclopedic collection in a system of his own devising. To enhance the collection's educational value, and to share it with the public, Mercer decided to design and build a museum to display the artifacts.

In 1916, Mercer erected a 6-story concrete castle. The towering central atrium of the Museum was used to hang the largest objects such as a whale boat, stage coach and Conestoga wagon. On each level surrounding the court, smaller exhibits were installed in a warren of alcoves, niches and rooms according to Mercer's classifications -- healing arts, tinsmithing, dairying, illumination and so on. The end result of the building is a unique interior that is both logical and provocative. It requires the visitor to view objects in a new way."

retrieved from http://www.mercermuseum.org/about-the-museums/mission-and-history-mercer/ on 5/23/2013

 

"The Mercer Museum is a history museum of everyday life in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Henry Mercer (1856-1930) gathered the collection and constructed the Museum.The collection of some 40,000 objects documents the lives and tasks of early Americans through the tools that met their needs and wants prior to the Industrial Revolution, or about 1850. Visitors can choose their own paths through the Museum. Most of the 55 exhibit rooms and alcoves display the tools or products of an early American craft, trade or occupation. Other rooms show categories of objects such as lighting devices or architectural hardware."

retrieved from http://www.mercermuseum.org/visit-us/mercer-museum-guide/ on 5/23/2013

You can find more historical information, as well as prices, hours and directions on their website:
http://www.mercermuseum.org/

Henry Mercer was also known for his tile work, and it is evident throughout the museum.  It is beautiful and amazing to see.

 

Our next stop is Fonthill Castle. 





The Castle of Doylestown

A friend recommended this place and we were so lucky to be able to go there. This playground is an amazing eight story castle, with twists, turns, tunnels, windows and the longest winding slide ever. The structure is immense and the photo doesn't do it justice. You really have to be there to believe how big it is. You can get lost in the maze inside the casle. The boys went in together, and I went in after them. I didn't even see them in there. The slide is great! On a beautiful summerry day this was perfect. Oh, and it was free. :) 

The castle is located in Doylestown, PA.  However, right at this moment it is under constructions.  They are cleaning, rebuilding and making the playing space even bigger.  Here is the website for the township.  It has updated information on when this place will be open to public again, and on the stages of rebuilding.  Plus, some interesting info on how this playground came to be! 
http://www.doylestownrec.com/info/facilities/details.aspx?FacilityID=12833

It is a gem, and I highly recommend visiting it, once it is fixed, of course!

Giggleberry Fair, PA

Last week the kids and I were headed to Bucks County, PA, to run some errands.  To make this routine trip more fun for them I like to pick a cool place to visit in that neighborhood.  Some place that we haven't been to before.  This time I chose Giggleberry Fair on friend's recommendation. 

Giggleberry Fair is located in Peddler's Village, PA.  On it's own Peddler's Village has many shops, outlets, restaurants and much more to explore.  There are some truly outstanding stores there.  To see their full list of shops, visit: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/shop/ . Be sure to check out the Village Toy & Doll Shoppe if you are there with your kids!

This time we were there just to visit Giggleberry Fair.  It was a weekday, so not crowded at all.  Giggleberry Fair has a wonderful restored Carousel.  It has quite a long history, and you can read about it right here: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/grand_carousel.aspx The carousel is beautiful, and even my all too grown up almost twelve year old enjoyed riding on it.  Because it wasn't crowded, we were able to go on quite a few times. 

For children aged 6 and under there is the Giggles Discovers! area and it looks to be a lot of fun. http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/giggles_discovers.aspx We took a peek, but my 6 year old wanted to do what his older brother was doing, which was the arcade and the Giggleberry Mountain. Giggleberry Mountain is a large obsticle course and maze.  It has six floors, and a ton of foam berries (balls) that you can shoot, put into a 'berry fountain', vacuum, throw at each other. I enjoyed the Giggleberry Mountain as much as my boys. Though the website states that it is designed for children aged 6 -12, I stayed on the ground, filling the fountain with the balls and shooting it at my kids. Also, obsessively vacuuming the 'berries' of the floor, that was just my 'cleaning mommy' self taking over.

Here is the website for Giggleberry Mountain: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/giggleberry-mountain.aspx 

The arcade there is clean, and the folks working at the place very accomodating.  The machines swallowed our coins a few times, and once we spoke up it was taken care of right away.  There is someone there ready to assist, and you don't have to be running around, looking for a person to help you. The games at the arcade were good for the younger kid, and for the older one.  There was also a giant touch screen Fruit Ninja game for the ultimate Fruit Ninja in our household, mommy. 

If you get hungry, they have a menu of food available.  Mostly it's the usual pizza, french fries and chicken fingers.  We didn't eat there, but it's available. 

Overall the kids enjoyed it very much.  The little one keeps asking to come back there soon.  We easily spend two hours there.  They also have specials, different activities, and you can celebrate your kid's birthday there. 

When we got there, we paid $12.99 per kid for the Child Activity Package.  It gets access to Giggleberry Mountain, giggles Discovers! and unlimited Carousel rides. I felt that it was a good price for all the activities there.  To see all the pricing and information please go to their site here: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/prices_information_contact.aspx

The Carousel was so pretty, I took some more photos. Here they are!

 



My youngest picked Giggleberry Fair as his birthday destination.  Thursday is a double day.  They double the amount of tickets you win in the arcade.  He had a blast, and since daddy won the jackpot with tickets both him and his brother wound up winning a nice toy there. :)

New Hope, PA & Lambertville, NJ

New Hope, PA and Lambertville, NJ.

We haven't gone away on vacation for more then a few years. Between little kids, finances, dog, house, grandparents it is just difficult. We do, however, have a favorite local spot to which we go every few months to get away. It's the Lambertville NJ - New Hope PA area. Everything we would want to find while vacationing we have found there in abundance. There are quaint, and sometimes plain weird little shops there, many sell unusual things that are kid friendly.

 

There are good places to eat, we're especially fond of The Landing, especially when it's warm and you can sit outside right on top of the beautiful Delaware river. The food is continental, but good. It's priced from moderately and up. Like everything else they have a website: http://www.landingrestaurant.com/home.php

Recently we also tried "Mother's Restaurant". It is actually right next door to The Landing.  The food was good and the prices also moderate to up.  In the cold months it's a good place to go, nice and cozy, and you can sit by their big windows and look out on the street. 

For dessert, Nina's Waffles has the best waffles you have ever tried, and really delicious ice cream: http://www.buckshappening.com/ninas-waffles-ice-cream .  I recently found out that they close the store after New Years and until March or April. It is best to call ahead and make sure they are open during those months.

 

There is hiking, canoeing, rafting, duck feeding, historical sites, farms, good coffee, great scenery and so many other fun things. So every so often we ditch responsibilities and go away to a mini-vacation to relax, even if it is just for a day.

For shopping there is Laser Illusions, especially if you have kids: it's one of a kind! http://www.cityfos.com/Lazer-Illusions-859097.print.htm
Three Cranes is good in New Hope is Good. 
There is Sojourner if you're crafty: it's on the Lambertville side: http://www.sojourner.biz/, and a whole stretch of other stores that are interesting.

Right outside of New Hope there is Washington Crossing State Park, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve: http://www.bhwp.org/.

Birchwood Farms http://www.birchwoodfarmdairy.com/ (which has really great diary products, and the best Vanilla Ice Cream in the world) is a short drive away. It is also an amazingly clean farm, that treats their animals like family.

French Town is nearby.  They have bike rentals available and you can go riding a bike on the trail along Delaware all the way to New Hope.  It is a lot of fun.  You can also visit the Golden Nugget flea market on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays if you're into that kind of thing: http://www.gnmarket.com/.

A short twenty minute drive you will find Peddlers Village with all the shops and activities that it has to offer. I find that Peddlers Village is a separate trip on it's own.  If you are there make sure to stop by the Giggleberry Fair with your kiddies. You can find more information on Peddler's Village on their website: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/   There is Howell's Living History Farm nearby on the Jersey side: http://www.howellfarm.org/ . 

In New Hope there is also the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad that takes you through the Buck's county beautiful countryside and has different trips available. https://www.newhoperailroad.com/

There are many more things to do in that area, and I will put them all on this blog very soon!

If you're in need of a vacation, even if it is just for one day, come down to New Hope!

Ringing Rocks State Park, PA

Ringing Rocks State Park in PA is definately an interesting place to visit. The reason it is called Ringing Rocks is if you hit a rock with a hammer or another rock it makes a ringing sound, almost like a bell, but to me it sounded more like pots and pans being hit with a spoon (something my kids loved to do as toddlers).  My boys were laughing that this could be a place of a true "Rock" concert.  The field of rocks is quite large, and fun to climb on. There are quite a few theories for how and why this field formed, and where the rocks came from. 

This is a great website for the information: http://www.davidhanauer.com/buckscounty/ringingrocks/  Towards the end it also mentions the first ever "Rock" concert with the rocks from this park.

The enitre experience was really weird and fun.  It was an interesting (and a bit creepy) experience for all. Hopping across giant boulders while hitting them with hammers is fun anytime.
Here is some more info about the place:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ringing-rocks-park-upper-black-eddy
http://rockpiles.blogspot.com/2007/05/ringing-rocks-upper-black-eddy.html
After we hopped on rocks we took a nice hike down to the waterfalls, which happen to be the largest waterfalls in Bucks County.

If you decide to head down there, definately don't forget the hammers, and comfy shoes to climb the rocks in.

Also, right across Delaware is French town with many places to shop and eat. We especially like this place: http://twobuttons.com/ It is a large store with friendly owners and many interesting things.  It is right off Rt. 29 going South from French Town.  There is a restaurant/bakery in the same parking lot with good food. It is called Lovin' Oven: http://www.lovinovenfrenchtown.com/

And another picture of the waterfalls, apparently we were there when it was really dry: