Mitsuwa Japanese Market, Hoboken, NJ

Mitsuwa Japanese Market is located in Hoboken, NJ.  My husband and I enjoyed it! It is not your usual supermarket, but is filled with many different shops with Japanese food.  The food is delicious. Of course my kids managed to find something that looked suspiciously like a giant cream puff. They enjoyed it!  Not a whole lot of Sushi, which is a good thing, but more warm foods, like soups and stews. It was really delicious and differen and a whole new experience for our kids and us.
Parking was tough though, we had to circle a few times before finding a spot.
Here is their site with directions, specials and hours: 

http://www.mitsuwa.com/tenpo/newj/eindex.html

Hillview Farms Peach Picking

Every year we make it to Hillview Farms in Gillette for some peach picking. They are not far from us and it makes for a nice fall day there. Expect to do lots of walking, especially uphill! The peaches this year were delicious (the year before they were badly damaged by hail). 

 

This farm is not commercial, so don't expect too many hay rides, or mazes, or other kids entertainment. Come on a weekday to avoid crowds. They do have their produce in the little store, and I think pies in the fall. There are awesome views as you go up to pick. We always have a good time there. They have chickens, roosters and peacocks running around the farm. My kids and their friends got in trouble for chasing the chickens. The roosters actually ganged up against the kids and tried to scare them with wings and feathers, and loud noises.

 

I couldn't find a website for them, but here is the address and the phone number:

 

Address: 223 Meyersville Rd, Gillette, NJ 07933

    Phone:(908) 647-0957

 

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!

Franklin Mineral Museum

Franklin Mineral Museum is another entertaining place.  We got to go to the quarry, pick rocks and stick them under a uv light and see them glow. Wound up coming home with a giant bag of rocks.  Now they are in the place of honor in the basement, except we don't own a UV light, and thus can't look at the beautiful colors. 

We also got to see so many specimen inside the museum, and a recreation of the mine.  Also, for an addition price you can try prospecting. Which we didn't, because the kids were pretty tired at that point.  The boys seemed to have a rather good time with all of it.  They enjoyed the gift shop as well, though if your little one wants a miner's cap with a light, don't buy it there.  We made the mistake of getting it, and one broke the same day, and the other one didn't work at all to begin with.  They have a variety of other rock related items you can get there.

Their schedule changes through out the year, so make sure to check the website for information:
http://www.franklinmineralmuseum.com/

Okemo Mountain, Ludlow, VT

Usually we go to Okemo Mountain in the winter when ever we can afford to both financially and physically.  Some of us snowboard and some go sledding and enjoy the pool.  This time we decided to go for a three day getaway in the summer time. We went to Jackson Gore so we can enjoy the Adventure Zone they have there in the summer time. 

Adventure Zone was good, we had a nice time, but I do wish they would include more tickets for the rollercoaster with the stay.  We had to purchase separate tickets after our fun passes expired.  The kids enjoyed the pool and all the mountain activities. We got to go on a rollercoaster that takes you to the top of Okemo, and then you roll down in a car. That was a lot of fun. The little guy kept wanting to go again and again. The big guy and I got to launch off 45 feet in the air and land on an air bag. Feels like you're falling off a third story building. All your innards go in your throat. I still can't believe I did it.

We bought a package with different tickets for all the activities.  The one we enjoyed the most was the roller coaster down the mountain ride.  If we ever go again I would opt out of the package and just buy a bunch of individual tickets for that ride, and not do other ones at all.

On the way back we stopped by the Vermont Country Store, The Christmas Store and the Village Store accross the street.  They were all great, we enjoy them every time we are in the area. We also made it to the outlets in Manchester, it was as fun as shopping can be with boys.

Here is the site for the Vermont Country Store: http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/
And the one for Okemo Adventrue Zone: http://www.okemo.com/jgrealestate/container.aspx?nav=recreation&page=summer

 

 

Kid Street Playground, Bridgewater, NJ

Kid Street Playground in Bridgewater NJ was recommended by a friend.  We wound up there on a really hot day (think a l00+ degrees) and the playground is so well shaded that it actually felt about 15 degrees cooler there.  Aside from that it is a well thought through playground with lots of fun things to do for the kids.  It isn't just the plain slide and swings, but much more!
It was one of the best and biggest playgrounds we have ever been to. The playground is complete with a ship, a car, giant slides, and most importantly rope swings and a zip line. We had a blast there.  Even the older one loved it, and that says a lot!

 http://www.njplaygrounds.com/1154/kidstreet-bridgewater-nj/

Watchung Reservation

Trailside Nature Center and Watchung Reservation is a wonderful place to visit with your family!  The Nature Center is a free museum. The kids, especially the younger ones will have a blast there.  Since we live nearby we come here often, and my kids still enjoy it.  They also offer classes at a very good rate, and my kids loved it when they were little and a bit older.  You can also celebrate your kids' birthdays there at a reasonable price, or schedule a class for a group.  Throughout the year they have many activities, fun events, fairs and performances.  You would have to check their website for the schedule.

Here is the website with their info, including hours and directions:
http://ucnj.org/community/parks-community-renewal/parks-facilities/trailside-beta/ 

When you are at the Trailside Center make sure to pick up a map with hiking trails.  Watchung Reservation has many wonderful hiking trails to explore, a lake to waddle in, turtles to find, frogs to catch and many more things to entertain you. There is also a brand new playground that was built this year for kids to run and play in.

We love hiking and do it often. Watchung Reservation has got to be one of our favorite places to hike.  There is an abundance of trails, you can enjoy a long hike or just go down to the lake and back up for a short hike.  There are many trails and getting lost is a possibility, so make sure to pick up the map of trails at the Nature Center!  Everytime we go we pick a different trail, and come back with different treasures. There is a lake you can skip rocks in, and a stream you have to cross by skipping from rock to rock, and a small dam with a waterfall, trees with giant roots where you can catch tiny baby frogs, trees you can climb on, an old cemetery you can pass through, and a deserted village.   We have spotted box turtles, snapping turtles, and one time stepped into a snake den, where a water snake was in the middle of eating a giant toad. We also have seen an albino deer, he was completely white, and absolutely awesome. 

Here are a few photos I took while hiking there:

 

 

 

 

Deserted Village in Watchung Reservation is a great hiking destination located in the Watchung Reservation.
There is a long history to this place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feltville_Historic_District

You can park in the parking lot, or hike. It was a long hike, especially with little kids, a little more then an hour from the Nature Center starting point. Last time we went it was with a few good friends. It helps going with good company.  Behind the village we came down the steep slope, a bit off trail, and into a shady ravine with a stream. That is where most of the fun was to be had. All the kids promptly took their shoes off, and were splashing barefoot through the stream.  There were some fallen trees accross the ravine that everyone had fun climbing, and some big rocks you could go on accross the stream also.  Everyone had so much fun!

Here are a few photos of the Deserted Village and the stream below it.

 

 

 If you love horses, the Watchung Stable is adjacent and a short ride away.

 

 It truly is an amazing place, with so many things to do and see.