New Jersey Baby Boomer

I haven’t spent much time introducing you to some of the finer places to spend time in New Jersey.

One of these places is the 30+ year old New Philharmonic of New Jersey, the picture is borrowed from their website. Their 2008-2009 season began last month at the fully accessible Dolan Performance Hall on the campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth close to the center of Morristown, NJ.

Along with the concerts scheduled this year, the New Philharmonic of New Jersey “is proud to honor two local champions of the arts. At [their] November 23 concert, [they] will honor Judith Wharton for her support of fine music and her work to foster a love of music in people of all ages. At [the] March 15 concert, [NPNJ] will honor the late Jerry Ben-Asher for his lifelong devotion to classical music”.

If you love classical music, and are local to, or will be visiting, the New Jersey area over the next several months, visit New Philharmonic of New Jersey’s website for schedules, cost and directions. Read the interesting link to their history.

As much as I love where I live in New Jersey, there are times when my husband and I get frustrated about certain things…like taxes, and such. We’ve even had moments when we’re ready to put a for sale sign out in front of our little lakefront cabin, but here we stay, so far anyway. It was nice to stumble on this article written by a travel consultant to remind me of the GOOD things about New Jersey.

Why New Jersey is the Best State to Live In

By: Frank Dalotto

Often the butt of jokes from visitors from neighboring states, and negative stereotyping from TV shows like the Sopranos, despite all of that, New Jersey continues to attract people looking for good paying jobs, quality health care and education, awesome leisure activities, and a great place to raise kids.

I am quick to acknowledge that New Jersey is not an inexpensive state to live in. The definition of best does not mean cheap or inexpensive.

While you may be paying more, New Jersey has the nation’s best state and municipal services contributing to an infrastructure that supports a safe environment and a variety of quality of life services.

As a wise old man once told me You get what you pay for.

The Top Five Reasons Why New Jersey is the Best State to Live In.

1. Health Care

By almost any measure, NJ is at the top of any list in states with the best healthcare. Ranked #1 in lowest (best) population under served by primary care physicians and ranked 7th in lowest infant mortality rate in 48 states. Source: AARP. Ranked 8th out of 50 states in number of Physicians/1000. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2004 2006 Data. And just across the river in NYC and Philadelphia, New Jersey residents have access to some of the best medical institutions and doctors in the world.

2. Low Crime Rate

Ranked 4th in property crime and 13th in violent crime out of 31 states east of the Mississippi River. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2004 2006 Data. And when you consider that New Jersey has the highest population density in the U.S., New Jersey is a very safe place to live and is a credit to the state and the municipalities in crime protection and law enforcement.

3. Student Education Grades K-12

New Jersey stands tall when it comes to education; New Jersey is Ranked #1 out of 50 states in Grade 8 to High School graduation rates; Source: National Board and Educational Testing Policy and Ranked #4 in the lowest (best) Student/Teacher ratio. Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics.

4. Entertainment

New Jersey is a Mecca for entertainment. Because of the states small size, world class entertainment is in easy reach of most New Jersey residents. There are major entertainment venues throughout the state as well as the hotel casinos, and the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, [Note from site owner: wasn’t too happy when Atlantic City became a Casino haven, a gaudy blemish on the otherwise beautiful Jersey Shore, but that’s just me.] New Jersey is a magnet for world class entertainment. New Jersey also has 2 NFL teams, a NBA team, and a NHL Team. And with New York City and Philadelphia, just across the river with Broadway shows and major entertainment venues, the entertainment options for New Jersey residents are unbeatable.

5. Geographic DiversityWith outstanding beaches like Wildwood [picture below at sunrise] being the best on the East Coast, beautiful hills and mountains in Northwest NJ [the area where we live also pictured], and quaint Victorian towns like Cape May, New Jersey’s diverse geography is easily accessible within an hour s drive from almost any place in the state. National Geographic magazine has called New Jersey America in Miniature.

Author Resource:-> Frank Dalotto is a freelance writer and travel consultant. His specialty is writing articles about New Jersey travel, including attractions, events, and restaurant reviews. Frank is the owner and editor of http://www.new-jersey-leisure-guide.com/ New Jersey Leisure Guide and a travel consultant for Leisure Travel Mart.

Article From Selling With Articles - Great Site with a Wide Range of Topics

When my husband and I were driving to our daughter’s apartment to celebrate birthdays this past weekend, we noticed that there are more motor cycles than usual on the highways, and commented to each other that the trend may be because of the high price of gas. Of course, it was also a sunny, beautiful day, so maybe it was just for fun!

I do know that for those of you who love to ride your Harley, and hate to leave it behind when you go on vacation, there is hope! Thanks to EagleRider, the pioneers of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle rental concept, you may just be able to plan Adventure Tours, like guided tours, or tours you plan yourself using a rented motorcycle when you vacation. Or maybe you have a destination you want to reach, and want to rent a Motorcycle to get there, and then leave it behind, there may be a way to do that.

Personally, my only motorcycle experience has been riding on the back of someone else’s bike, but my husband owned a motorcycle, and would love the Eaglerider concept. He’s an early-to-bed type of guy, so I’ll have to show him tomorrow…but if you’re reading this, why don’t you visit now and sign up for their newsletter to keep up with the latest.

Happy vacationing…enjoy the ride!

We have taken half of our vacation, as you already know if you follow this blog, and will be taking the other half in September, if all goes as planned…that meaning if we can afford it after they install our new septic system in the next month or so. Yes, we still have those in this rural part of NJ. As baby boomers who have raised their children, we can vacation off season and save, plus use sites like HotelsCombined.com to search for hotels with the best rates.

This site has a tool that you can use to compare hotel rates, and these days we are all looking for the best rate, aren’t we, because just driving to your destination can cost a lot with gas prices as they are. Getting back to that comparison tool…it actually searches 30 sites at once! This is an award-winning site, and well worth a look-see if you are planning a trip.

And when you go, have a great time!

Every year, one county to the west of us, the New Jersey State Fair takes place. It’s also known as the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show. This brings out for all to see the “Country” part of our State, highlighting the farming industry that still exists in many parts of the Garden State.  This includes our agriculture, (what better corn is there than Jersey Corn, and Jersey tomatoes are great as well) and farm animals. There are 4H Club exhibits with farm animals, horse shows, concerts, carnivals, lots of vendors, and so much more. It’s a great thing to do with your family. This has been going on annually for years, I remember taking my own children.

I’d suggest you take a look at the calendar of events (starts August 1st) as it develops over the coming weeks, there’s already a lot posted, and plan your day around the events you want to see. During times when there are no events, there are plenty of vendors, and if you and your children like rides, there’s the carnival. It’s a busy place, so chose your times to visit to suit your likes and dislikes. You can find out more by visiting the official website for the New Jersey State Fair.

Comment if you’ve ever been to the fair and let us know what your favorite attraction was.

Everyone who knows me well knows that I am notorious for getting lost. I don’t have a good sense of direction. For example, unless a route is VERY familiar, an embarrassingly high percentage of the time I’m sitting at an intersection, I will turn in the exact opposite direction from the way I should. My husband seems to have natural “GPS Tracking” in his brain, but not so for me. Another thing that would have been nice when my children were young teens, especially in this day and age, would have been a way to discreetly keep track of their whereabouts. I was surprised to see that this could be done by GPS as well.

My husband and I have talked often about getting GPS for me, and for him, as he thinks those kinds of things are fun even if he knows where he’s going. Because it is something that interests us, it was good to be given the opportunity to take a look at a site that offers tracking not only for personal use, but for businesses as well. For example, if you have something that is very valuable in route, you can know just where that item is at any given time with LiveViewGPS. You can keep track of a large fleet of vehicles through satellite tracking if you have a large business, or a single vehicle. Whatever your need, there is a GPS Tracking solution, much more than I can ever type here. I’m going back to visit the link in this post, if your curious, you should too. I’m really tired of getting lost.

When we went on our trip a bit over a week ago, from a distance, I was able to capture the Twin Lights that are situated in the Navesink Highlands. These historic lights were originally built in 1828, and then rebuilt of area brownstone in 1862. Today they are much like they were when rebuilt, but are no longer operating lighthouses.

Sitting about 200 feet above sea level, when in operation, one light remained stationary while the other flashed. The lights brought cargo and other ships safely into New York Harbor on the Atlantic Coast.

It was interesting to me to see two lights, as most of us are more accustomed to seeing just one. These were built with the light house keepers area, and rooms for storage built between, and connecting the two towers.

Twin Lights was decommissioned in 1949, then purchased by the State of New Jersey as a historic monument and is a museum today. If you visit, you can climb one of the towers and view the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy the exhibits showing the history while your there.