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.

Alstede Farms, NJ

Alstede Farms is a great place with many things to do and see. It is organic and sustainable. We were able to feed the funniest and friendliest donkey, chickens, rabbits, and a very gentle horse. We picked our own blueberries, though it was too hot in the open sun and there weren't many ripe ones yet. Picking our own peaches went better. The kids got to climb on a giant hay stack.  They also got to ride on a tractor hay ride, which I think they liked the most. At the end we sat down in a shady spot and enjoyed some donuts and apple cider. Overall I would say that even though it was about 95 degrees outside that day the trip was a success.  There are also a few state parks nearby with wonderful and cool hiking trails. 

Here is the website for the farm: http://alstedefarms.com/ with address and hours.

And a few photos:

 

 

Panderosa Park in Scotch Plains

Hooray, finally a water spray ground in Central Jersey, that is not too far from us! The best part: it is free!
Panderosa Park is brand new, just opened in 2012, right off Cooper Road in Scotch Plains.  It is a beautiful playground with water spraying out of many fountains.  So much fun for the kids to play with.
Most parents take chairs and sit on the grass under the shade of trees, watching thier kiddies have fun.  Many bring a picnic lunch to enjoy.  It is a beautiful place to spend the day.

Have to give a heads up! If your kid wants to play in the water please bring or wear shoes that can get wet and be comfy.  The ground heats up like crazy, even on the mild days.  It is all that rubber.  My kids burned their feet the first time they went, and now we know better.  It is still a great place, just need to be aware of this one small detail!

Build-A-Bear



When my neice came over for a few weeks in the summer I figured that the perfect place to take her would be Build-A-Bear.  Sounds like a great place to take a kid, right?  That's what I figured too.  I went online, found a location next to us, even got a coupon in the mail for $10.00 off.  Awesome! I was ready. 
There are really two main things you would need to note about this place.  Number one is that even my two jaded boys seemed to have fun with it.  The girl was beside herself.  This was her dream come true.  Thing two is that it is really EXPENSIVE! The $10.00 coupon didn't even make a dent in it.  Just stuffing your animals isn't that much, but the clothing, shoes and accessories really kicked me in with three kids.
They boys were simple enough. They just got a dog and a bear, stuffed them, put glasses on them and that's that. The girly girl wanted all the pretty dresses, that cost as much as my root canal. We wound up getting out my sewing machine and making a lot of bear dresses at home. It was fun, she learned something new, and her bear was the best dressed bear in the state.

Fireworks on July 4th

Every year we try to get out and go to see the fireworks in NYC on the Hudson River.  We drive out to Hoboken, NJ, and try to find a spot on the waterfront.

On the way there (and often back), the traffic is always without mercy. It took a good 40 minutes or more to go on a stretch that takes about 5 minutes normally. Walking would've been faster. My husband dropped us off and then went to look for parking. When kids and I finally get there, the crowed is unmeasurable and there is no place to go to the bathroom. We try to find a decent sized spot on the grass, and settle in.

There we are: sweaty, tired, with whining children and hurting feet from the walk. All of that vanished the moment the fireworks started. I only have one word: spectacular. My older one was bouncing up and down with joy the entire 30 minutes. The little one had cotton fluff in his ears from the noise, and just sat there with his mouth open wide. We all loved it. It was most definately worth all the trouble. A picture is worth a thousand words though, so here are a few from the times we went.

 

 

 

 



Strawberry Picking and Hacklebarney State Park

When we went to pick strawberries for the very first time in our lives I randomly picked a farm from NJ list of farms. Just pointed a finger to a place on a page. It turned out to be Donaldson Farms in Hackettstown, NJ, http://www.donaldsonfarms.net/.

Luckily for us, the place was amazingly beautiful, with rows and rows of strawberries. The store inside was nice also. There were a few goats in the shed and a 'pump it yourself' underground well. My kids ran ahead when they saw the animals, and by the time my hubby and I walked slowly over to them, the little one was having a deep and meaningful conversation with one of the goats. :) The strawberries were delicious as well.

After the farm we went to find a good place to sit down and have a picnic. We drove around for a bit, enjoyed some of the sights in the area. Wound up landing in Hacklebarney State Park, http://www.stateparks.com/hacklebarney.html. After the picnic we decided to take a little hike. In Hacklebarney there are a few decent sized rivers creating multiple waterfalls on their way down. My kids really loved skipping across the waterfalls on the giant boulders. Luckily we came home with all our faces intact.

The delicious strawberries we picked:

Hacklebarney State Park:

Spruce Run and Round Valley, NJ

We love camping! My husband and I used to go with friends before we were married. Then, after we were married, it was with our nephews when they were young, then with our nephews and their friends. After that it was our nephews, their friends and our kids.  Now for quite a few years it is just us and our two kids, even though friends and nephews make a brief entrance once in a while, it is mostly just us.  However, no matter who we go with, it's always relaxing and fun.

 Usually, when I say "camping", people think "no showers, pooping in the brush, and eating wild caught, possibly raw fish".  It is not what I mean by camping.  Over the years we have tried several places in NJ. Found out that we love Spruce Run. It is clean, family friendly, has a playground, beach with a beautiful lake, rangers that help you in time of need (like when you're being chased by a rabid gopher), decent bathrooms, and a good crowd of familes with kids. Our kids usually make a few friends and hang out with them either on the playground, or running back and forth.  One year we brought bikes with us, and they really enjoyed riding around the park.  Especially the older one, who was able to go off on his own. On the same lake you can rent a boat (they have several different kinds) and enjoy a nice boat ride, or go fishing.  It is a wonderful place to take the kids for a few days and get away from all the electronic devices, and just enjoy the nature. 

We have looked in to other places. Most of them are farther away, and more expensive. Most of the time we decide not to bother, and stick to the place we know and love. Can't be blamed for it, because this is what it looks like:

 

 

 



It is not an expensive place to go camping, but you do need to make reservations ahead of time.  If you are just starting out camping, this is a great place to start.  You do need to read their rules and follow them. 

Here is the website for their information: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/spruce.html

This past year we decided on not going overnight, but that doesn't stop us from coming to the beach and enjoying a swim.  Keep in mind that there is a small fee per car to go into the park.  Look at their website for more information!

Near Spruce Run there is another great state park: Round Valley.  Similar to Spruce Run it has a lake, playgrounds, food stand, bathrooms and showers.  There is also hiking trails, and camping.  As I understand, camping in Round Valley is for a more adventurous spirit.  They also have an information page right here: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/round.html
We never made it camping there, but it is a fun place to come and splash in the lake, build a few sandcasltes, enjoy a churro and a hike.

The place has been labeled the Bermuda Triangle of NJ, read more here: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/njs_bermuda_triangle_mystery_s.html .

 

Both places are very easy to get to from Rt. 22 or Rt. 78!