We always head to NJ the day after Christmas to have our family holiday celebration at my parents’ house.  Since we usually spend a few days, we try to find some sort of day trip to get the kids out of the house at some point.  This year since weather was relatively mild, we were able to go on an outdoor adventure.  Outdoor (non-snow) winter activities are tough to find in the NJ area but I had seen pictures online of the Great Swamp and thought it might be worth exploring. Some 11,000 years ago, Great Lake Passaic was formed …

When I stumbled across Lakota Wolf Preserve as an interesting outing for my animal-loving kids, I wanted to find another activity in the area to make the 2+ hour trip from my parents’ house worthwhile.  There isn’t much else nearby in NJ but just across the border in Pennsylvania are the Pocono Mountains.  Some quick research on Trip Advisor and I zeroed in on Bushkill Falls as a great option. Bushkill Falls calls itself “The Niagara of Pennsylvania”.  While that may be a bit of a stretch, it is home to a series of 8 scenic waterfalls, including a beautiful …

Located in Farmingdale NJ, Allaire Village is a living history museum representing life in the early 19th century industrial community known as Howell Works.  One of several businesses owned by James P. Allaire, Howell Works produced pig iron which was shipped to NY for use in the production of steamship engines and boilers.  A self-sustaining village was built to support the business and its 400 workers and residents.  Thirteen of the original buildings still stand today and are open to the public.  Through education and reenactment, the Historic Village at Allaire portrays life in Industrial America. The Visitor Center is …

Both my boys read and loved the book From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a story of two siblings who run away from home to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  So when we started talking about which museum to visit in New York City, the decision was quick and unanimous.  They both wanted to go to the Met and were excited to see if they could recognize different rooms and works of art from the book.  It’s rare that the boys agree on something like this (and indeed, my oldest briefly changed his choice …

Spyscape did not make our list of “things to do with kids in NYC”.  In fact, we had never even heard of it.  But when we exited the Newark Airport, my 10 year old spotted a huge billboard for it.  Immediately the badgering began.  “What’s Spyscape?  It sounds cool.  Can we go there?  Can I look up Spyscape on your phone?  Can we go tomorrow?”  And so it continued until we determined what it was, that it was indeed cool, and that we probably couldn’t go tomorrow but would try to fit it in on Sunday.  (Remember my earlier comment …

Central Park is an oasis in the middle of New York City, and the Central Park Zoo is one of many hidden gems inside it.  At only 6.5 acres, it is a tiny part of the 843 acre park.  But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in quality.  It is well worth the hour or two it takes to explore.  It is especially great for young kids, as the small size makes it manageable to see all the animals and less overwhelming for little ones. We had been once before with the boys about 5 years ago, …

I grew up just 50 miles outside of NYC but visited surprisingly infrequently.  Somehow having the city only a short train ride away actually seemed to make me less likely to go.  I figured it would always be there.  But the strange thing about things that will always be there is that you rarely motivate yourself to actually take advantage of them.  I took day trips here and there to visit my siblings who lived and/or worked there but I had never actually spent a weekend or more there. But kids have a strange way of motivating you to see …