Bumble Bee on Lamb’s Ear Flower in my garden (Copyright 2011)

We happen to live not to far from the botanical garden designated as our State botanical garden, the New Jersey Botanical Gardens (NJBG).

Here are some more botanical gardens and other garden spots and events in New Jersey:

Rutgers Gardens
Camden Children’s Garden
Sayen Park Botanical Garden (Hamilton, NJ)
McFaul Environmental Center (Wyckoff, NJ)

In fact, in my search, I found a site that has a long list of gardens to visit in New Jersey, please visit New Jersey Garden Traveler.

Visiting botanical gardens in New Jersey are perfect ideas to add to your weekend outing, vacation or “staycation” schedule.

I had fun putting together a page about fall foliage in New Jersey, and it has many links to places you can go to hike, drive or walk all over the State, as well as a few videos to enjoy.

Please click “Colorful Fall Foliage in New Jersey“, I hope you will find it to be a helpful resource if you are planning to travel in the New Jersey area to view the colors.

Here is one taken of the ocean, a sea gull decided to pass by while the picture was being taken.  To see the picture before this one, visit this link at Memories & Nostalgia, to go to the next picture, visit this link at Weeds and Seeds Swap.

I have been to the Quick Chek event, but have yet to go to the Warren County, New Jersey event.

For more information about both of these events, plus videos and a slide-show that I put together, please visit New Jersey Hot Air Balloon Festivals.

It is really a pleasure to be able to write about something that is close to home for me…literally and figuratively.  I have a brother who is disabled, or physically handicapped…unable to do things that you and I may take for granted.   In his case, it is more than just a physical condition, but for many who are simply unable to walk, or get in and out of a car or van, NMEDA has excellent, easy-to-use solutions for you.  I was so impressed looking at the vehicles and seeing what they were capable of doing…not all of them are alike, there are different solutions for different needs.   I looked at the drop-down menus under the categories along the top of the site, and visited a few links, and got the feeling that this was a very supportive organization.

The next thing that I wanted to know was whether or not there were dealers in New Jersey that provided these vehicles, and so put my zip code in, a relatively rural, out-of-the-way part of New Jersey.  I found 2 within a reasonable driving distance…1/2 – 1 hour away, in Fairfield, Saddle Brook; others in New York; and one near where I grew up before moving to this area, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

If there are that many locations in my area, I’m sure you’ll find them in your area, too. Visit and check, and if you have a moment, let us know what your closest location is in a comment.

Here are some pages devoted just to Geocaching in New Jersey:

• Geocaching in New Jersey (at geocaching.com)
• Northern New Jersey Cachers
• Central Jersey Geocaching
• South Jersey Geocaching (not sure how active this one is?)

Here’s a video put together by the North Jersey group…you don’t have to see snakes, get scratched up, and some of the other delightful things you’ll see here, because when you use geocaching.com to find and upload caches in areas you want to explore, you can set parameters ahead of time to avoid whatever you’d like to avoid. It REALLY IS a LOT of fun!

Pictured below is Big Spring in Missouri. According to Wikipedia, where I obtained this photo, it is “one of the largest in the United States, discharges 276 million gallons of water per day into Current River in Missouri”. I’m not sure how close this is to Branson, but it gives me a good idea of the beauty that can be found in the State.

I know that after all the times I’ve seen information about Branson, Missouri online, I want to go…we’ve traveled through Missouri, but never stopped for an extended time.

Personally, I’m a big fan of natural things, the beauty of nature and the outdoors, but there are many things to do in Branson and the Branson area…I’d like to focus now on things to do within a reasonable driving distance from Branson…they include:

• Fine dining at wonderful restaurants in the area, or you can take advantage of the eateries at two hotels I’d like to suggest, Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and Hilton Branson Convention Center.
• Theaters and music, Branson is known for its entertainment, there are 49 live entertainment theaters!
• Shops and Boutiques to satisfy your urge to shop
• The River Walk
• Championship Golf Courses
• Theme Parks and Museums
• The annual Branson Tri-Lakes Building and Home Show
• The NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament
• Silver Dollar City’s Family Spring Break Day
• Young Christian’s Weekend
• Boat Shows
• AND MUCH MORE!

As “baby boomers”, we don’t have little ones to plan into our travels anymore, I miss that sometimes, but maybe it would be fun to take advantage of the “Romance Package” available until October 25th, 2010 at this typing.

You golfers might like the golf package which includes unlimited golfing for two, accommodations, and shuttle service.

To find all packages, click on the “specials and packages” links when you visit the sites using links above.

Have you been to Branson? I would be fun to hear your experiences in a comment.

In fact there are plans in the works to make an Irish village on the Delaware River waterfront. Funding is a little challenging right now, but hopes and dreams don’t die, so I’m sure one day this fun little destination will become a reality.

A Schooner called the “North Wind” has already been purchased, and will be coming out of dry dock in April, it’s a great educational experience for students, and provides day trips and more…click here for more info about North Wind.