Category: Travels With Kids

Our Visit To Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum

Summer 2018

NYC

Living so close to NYC, I am ashamed to say that I have never been to Intrepid until now. Sure, I drove by it countless times, and saw the ship from the outside. I never imagined that it would be so much fun to visit. Of course, we went with friends, and that makes everything ten times more fun. Not only that, but we all took public transport in. I am adamant that my kids know how to get around NYC on public transportation. Hoping that if you can figure your way around NYC, you can figure it out in other places as well.

Hiking Trails Historic Landmarks

Hiking The Columbia Trail

A friend suggested this hike, and off we went with a group of parents and kids. This was such an interesting hike to take. You walk past gnome and fairy houses, an iron forge, and abandoned house, a museum aptly titled “THE SOLITUDE MUSEUM”, and you end up at an awesomely huge dam.

Free Places To Visit Hiking Trails Historic Landmarks Nature and Science Centers Quaint Towns State Parks

Our Visit To Batsto Village

This spring we found ourselves in Hammonton NJ. From us this is quite a distance. We were there for an appointment to buy some blueberry bushes, but wound up getting there 2 hours early. What can I say, we needed something to do in the meantime. As we drove, I spotted the Batsto Village sign, I remember someone leaving an awesome comment on our Free NJ Destinations page about how awesome Batsto Village is, so we made a turn. I am so glad we did.

Hiking Trails Nature and Science Centers

Our Visit To Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Our Visit To Great Swam National Wildlife Refuge

We have been to the Environmental Education Center, and we frequent the Raptor Trust, so it was quite surprising that it took us so long to get to the Great Swamp.

As you can see from the photos, we were there on a bright and sunny day in early spring, or whatever you can call spring in NJ, around late March-early April.

Historic Landmarks Museums

Our Visit To Rutgers Geology Museum

This is not our first visit to the Rutgers Geology Museum, last one was about 6 years ago, and in the years since it has not changed much. It is still a wonderful place to stop at with your kids. We were visiting the wonderful Zimmerli Museum on the same morning (Zimmerli is right across the street from the Geology Museum).

Farms and Pick Your Own Free Places To Visit Hiking Trails

Hiking Stairway To Heaven

I have read one of the articles describing the best places to hike in NJ, and Stairway To Heaven jumped out at me right away. Located in Vernon, it is quite far from where I live. Thankfully, I have a friend who grew up in this area and was willing to take us, newbies, hiking Stairway To Heaven trail.

Hiking Trails Historic Landmarks Water Parks

Our Visit To Highlands Natural Pool

Another beautiful place from my bucket list checked off this summer! On our visit to Highlands Natural Pool, we enjoyed swimming in a pool made from stream fed waters that run off the mountains of the Norvin Green State Forest. My friend will swear to you that the water in the pool have magical healing qualities. That when you come to this place you will forget what is troubling you, and just enjoy where you are right now. When you dive into the water it envelops you in it’s wonderful velvety coolness.

When you get to the pool, you park a little distance away and take a stroll over a small stream filled with dragonflies. As you walk up to the pool, you will see hiking trails going off into the State Forest. I hear the hiking there is quite impressive.

As you walk up to a pool, there is a row of restrooms on the left, a little concession stand on your right, and a few lovely people collecting the entrance fees. The fees that you can expect to pay are not significant, especially during the week.

There are umbrellas, and chairs available inside. However, if you are coming in the afternoon, and especially if there is a class trip, expect to sit on your towel. Considering that we were there under both of those circumstances, and were lucky to get a table. Running along the pool fence there is a beautiful butterfly garden.

This Olympic sized pool is subdivided into two sections. The first section has a zero entry incline, and is designed for the younger group of kids. The parents and the kids all splash and cool off there. If my kids were young, I’d sit in that water all day with them. There are salamanders everywhere to be seen.

The second area is deeper, and is meant for those who passed the swimming test, or those who are over 18. My 10 year old came very close to passing the test, but at the end got too tired. Maybe next time. There will be a next time. Plenty of kids were there, swimming, diving off a diving board and having a great time!

While this swimming season is nearing it’s end, I do hope you will save this spot for your next summer.

The pool has a fantastic history to it. I hope you take the time and read about it. You can also find more information on their website: Highlands Natural Pool.

While you are visiting the Highlands Natural Pool, keep in mind that you are only 10 minutes from the NJ Botanical Garden, and I highly recommend you visit them as well.

Beautiful Gardens Free Places To Visit Historic Landmarks

Our Visit To Van Vleck Gardens and Kip’s Castle

It was early morning on a Saturday that I yanked my husband out of bed and ran to the car before the kids or grandparents woke up. Taking a quick cup of coffee to go with us we dashed for the car. The plan: to go ‘garden hopping’ first thing in the morning.

We drove to Montclair, and within about 2 hours visited the Presby Memorial Garden, Van Vleck House and Gardens and Kip’s Castle. All three locations are about within a mile of each other, so it is easy to visit them all in the same trip. One of the things I liked about these places is that they are so close together, and each one is just big enough to have fun exploring, but small enough to see all of it in one visit. This way, if I brought my grandmother up there, she would still have a great time without getting too tired.

First stop was Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. I have written about Presby Memorial Iris Gardens before. The trick with this place is about going there when the irises are in bloom: late May to early June. We were there in the first week of June, and it was as beautiful as ever.

Right after the Iris Gardens we drove a few blocks back down the street and visited the Van Vleck Gardens. There is a nature center, and the historical house, which we didn’t stop at. The gardens are a beautiful and magic filled place. There is ample parking, and the grounds themselves are not very big. We walked around there for about 40 minutes, exploring every nook and cranny. The house is beautiful, and fun to explore on the outside. I think late spring was a good time to visit, as azaleas and wisteria were in bloom. They also have all sorts of programs available to kids and adults. In fact, during our visit, there was a nice group of youngsters enjoying a program. Here are a few photos:

After visiting the Van Vleck house we headed over to Kip’s Castle. It is only about half a mile away by car. I saw a sign that there are tours of the castle Tuesday to Friday, 12 pm to 3 pm. Unfortunately we were there way too early to attend a tour (something I would like to do in the future). The castle itself is a pretty fun thing to see in the middle of New Jersey. The grounds were a nice place to explore and take a walk. Plus the views of NYC are magnificent.

I should mention that all three places were completely free. Presby Iris Gardens and Van Vleck both accept donations.

We enjoyed our garden hopping excursion so much that within the same week I returned. This time with my mom. We did the same three places. We were greeted by a tiny baby deer that was hiding in the flowers and jumped out right at us. Good thing my camera was on and ready to go!

Amusement Parks Indoor Activities and Playgrounds Water Parks

Our Visit To Great Wolf Lodge

Scotrun, PA

May 2017

I have been looking at Great Wolf Lodge for years while the kids were growing up. It is quite pricey, and since we generally prefer to swim under an open sky, I have never taken that leap to purchase the stay and tickets there. This year, an opportunity came up where several friends and I were able to share a room with a significant discount. We decided that it was too good to pass up, and went. Here is more about our visit to Great Wolf Lodge in Poconos, PA.

The water park itself was actually quite fun. We have attended other indoor water amusement parks, and this one blew them all out of the water. There were ample water slides with increasing adrenaline factor. Some were easier than others. My youngest usually needs a slow introduction to the rides, something easy and fun for him to work up his bravery for the ‘big boy’ slides. There is a lovely wave pool, the lazy river, and a nice area for the smallest visitors. That was definitely there. The teens enjoyed themselves in the water. You can read more about their rides, other information and make reservations through their website.

The water park was clean, and well maintained. The employees were attentive to everyone’s needs. It generally felt like a very safe environment. The water did not smell overwhelmingly with chlorine (something that I don’t like about indoor pools). Technically it is not a ‘day trip’ as you do have to stay over night in order to get tickets for the water park.

Another note is we brought our own food: snacks, fruit and sandwiches. There is a microwave and a coffee maker (bring coffee and filters) in the room. There is also a mini fridge. Food on the premises is very expensive, so we brought a cooler filled with snacks with us and a few large bottles of water. The rooms were clean, and there was a balcony.

Due to the time of the year that we came in (late spring), the outdoor pool and rope climbing course were closed, but they looked like a lot of fun!

We spent one night there, and for the water park alone that was plenty of time. I was on a budget, so we did not play any additional game or arcade while on our visit to Great Wolf Lodge. One full day was plenty of time to get enough swimming in.

However, if you are staying in the area for a prolonged period of time there is a lot to explore there. In the winter there is Shawnee Mountain, in the spring, summer and fall, there is Quiet Valley Historical Farm. There is also the Lakota Wolf Preserve, which we have visited recently. You can read about our visit to Lakota Wolf Preserve. There are also many excellent hikes, including the Buttermilk Falls. Canoeing, tubing and rafting up and down Delaware River is also a lot of fun. After exploring all day, you could come back and do a bit more splashing and swimming.

Hiking Trails Nature and Science Centers Zoos and Animals

Our Visit to Lakota Wolf Preserve

We went for a second time! It was just as much fun as the first. We enjoyed the wolves, and being among them in such a magical way. The hosts were as knowledgeable as ever and the kids enjoyed themselves. We went with a group, and it was considerably more people then when we just went with a tour of strangers. Still, the place was large enough to accommodate everyone.

Here are a few photos of our most recent visit:

From our May 2017 visit

I have been meaning to visit this place for years. Over the years, friends said many wonderful things about it, and have longed to visit it. However, it is far from where I live, and even though I visit that area relatively often, it is usually on Mondays, just the one day a week that Lakota Wolf Preserve is closed to visitors.

When the chance came up to stop by there in the morning I jumped right on it. I was determined to make it there and am so happy that we did. We got to see how wonderfully magical it is.

The tours are from Tuesday to Sunday, one is at 10:30 am and the second one is at 4 pm. You have to come 30 minutes prior to register, and the weekday tours require a prior reservation (which was easy to do). The tour cost is affordable (as of 2017 it was $15.00 for adults, and $7.00 for kids under 11).

When you go to the Lakota Wolf Preserve Website, you see that it is recommended you see the wolves from fall to spring, and that in the summertime they shed a lot of fur. We visited in mid-May. The weather was just perfect, not too hot, as a matter of fact the spring this year was rather cool. The wolves looked fantastic, and it was cool enough to enjoy the outdoors.

When we first got there, there is a little office, gift shop and bathroom building, with a lovely front lawn. After I had signed up, the kids explored the shop, and then just hung out in the front waiting for a shuttle. There was plenty around to entertain them for a bit.

I am not a zoo person, and this most definitely is not a zoo. The wolves have plenty of natural ground to live and play in, and are much loved. They look healthy and very happy!

Once the shuttle came, and drove us about a mile up hill, we were at the preserve.

At first we got to listen and learn about the wolves. There is so much to know, and it is amazing! I can’t imagine getting this sort of experience anywhere else. We also got to learn about the two bobcats and foxes that reside on the premises. The foxes were so much fun to watch. They are just like you would imagine a fox to be from stories or cartoons. Running around with their egg and hiding it in different spots.

After the tour was over, we chose to hike back down a beautiful hiking trail, and head out.

The kids and I were so impressed with the deep knowledge and understanding that the owners of the preserve have, and that they are willing to share and educate us about these amazing animals. We walked away knowing more than we had ever imagined there was to know about wolves, foxes and bobcats.

The preserve also offers photography tours, and even though they are expensive, one day I would like to do one. First, you will not be able to see wolves like this in their natural habitat anywhere else, and second, I want to support these folks and what they do.

I highly recommend a visit there, with kids or without. We enjoyed our visit to Lakota Wolf Preserve tremendously. The kids were very impressed, and it turned out to be their favorite part of our little weekend getaway.