It makes sense that the Garden State would have it’s share of Botanical Gardens, doesn’t it? Gardens are bursting at the seams (as if gardens can do that) with flowers and greenery thanks to the abundance of snow in the winter and rain in the summer. The flowers are spectacular, I am trying to capture some of them in picture before they are gone until next year, some I am thinning and selling on ebay, but mostly, I’m just enjoying them.
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:
This coming weekend is the annual Quick Chek Festival of Balloons in Readington, New Jersey, and a couple weekends later in very early August is the Warren County Farmer’s Fair Balloon Festival.
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.
Last year my husband and I started Geocaching, we aren’t out there every weekend like some enthusiasts, but enjoy our times when we do go out. It’s great exercise and not an expensive hobby. All you need is a hiking or biking GPS (not the kind that you use in your car) and a way to find “caches” in your area. You can find more information, and see what we do visit a page I put together called “Geocaching Baby Boomers” (I have new pictures that I have to add, but there are some there), and you can find out more about Geocaching at the MAIN site, geocaching.com.
Here are some pages devoted just to Geocaching in New Jersey:
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!
A wee little town in Camden County is going green today, not necessarily in the ecological sense of the word. Gloucester City is about 50% Irish, and so today, St. Patrick’s Day, is a special day of remembering the wonderful heritage of the descendants of family members who came to the United States from Ireland.
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.
It was such a treat to attend the very first air show not far from our home at the Greenwood Lake Airport here in my home town, West Milford, New Jersey. I have always loved air shows…we’ve traveled miles and stayed over night in hotels to visit some, so having one so close by was an extra blessing.
We were there on Saturday, September 26, 2009, and probably the best day as it rained and was very overcast on Sunday. This is an airport that we brought our children to when they were young to watch the small planes take off. Now they are adults…it’s also a place we occasionally visit for a weekend lunch at their restaurant. Always so quiet and peaceful, nestled in an area surrounded by trees, but last Saturday, the crowds were amazing to see. Parking was up in the parking lot for the old Jungle Habitat, and was handled with great efficiency by our local police dept. and what I believe were members of a unit of the air national guard…correct me in comment if you happen to stop by and read this and I’m wrong.
I have always loved planes, this going back I’m sure to having a grandfather who was a Navy man and a retired US Air Force Captain. Then there was my own Dad who was an electrical engineer all of his working years in the aeronautics division of a large company…designing parts for planes, including an invention or two, as well as designing parts for the space program when that became important to our Nation. So I guess you could say it’s in my blood. The funny part is that I prefer my feet to be on the ground, not in a plane…but there’s no greater sound to me than the rush of a powerful military jet flying low overhead, and nothing more fun than watching extremely skilled pilots make smaller sized planes do things I never imagined possible.
I’m including a couple pictures here, and plan to devote some more time, pictures and detail to the air show through another venue soon, I’ll link to it here when it’s done. You’ll also want to visit http://www.greenwoodlakeairshow.com – I hope this is the first of what will become an annual event.
Just noticed that my son added some pictures to his facebook page, stop by and take a look, he’s a better photographer than I am.
It would be a beautiful day to be down at the jersey shore today and it’s a beautiful day here as well, so for now I’ll settle for sitting on my deck watching the children play in the lake.
The picture below is taken on the beach at Lavalette, a sunrise shot, as I’ve said before, my favorite times to be on the beach are when the sun is rising and when the sun is setting…or a full moon is over the ocean. When walking along the beach, in many areas you can walk through a few different towns or boroughs, such is the case with Lavalette.
The “Jersey Shore beach Vacation” season will be starting at the end of this month, a favorite time of year for those of us that love the beach. There’s hardly a place in NJ that isn’t within a reasonable distance from one of our beautiful beaches. We are in the very northernmost part of New Jersey, but have made trips down to Wildwood, NJ which is at the bottom of the state, and is always worth the trip!
If you are planning a vacation or trip to the Jersey Shore this year, and will be near Wildwood, New Jersey, please do plan to attend one or more of the FREE concerts offered at Morey’s Piers taking place from June through August. Many of the top Radio Disney artists will be performing. Morey’s Piers is a fun place for the whole family, if you are in need of a place to stay, this link will provide you with some Wildwood New Jersey motels in the area.
You’ll find more information at any of the fun links in this post.
Here are more Christmas events to enjoy in New Jersey…continuing the theme of the previous post.
Cape May, all the way at the opposite end of NJ from where we live has a lot to offer:
Dec. 12, 19-20 Enjoy the Lamplighter Christmas Tour – Self-guided, tour 5 beautiful B&B’s and Inns. They are beautiful, too! Adults – $15, Children – $7.50 Tickets at the booth at Washington Street Mall.
Dec. 11-12 Cape May Candlelight Hospitality Nights – Merchants offer treats to holiday shoppers throughout Town. For more information, call 609-884-9565
Dec. 13 Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour – Another self-guided tour of Victorian Inns, homes, churches and more all decorated in beautiful holiday splendor. $22 for adults, and $11 for children. There is a free shuttle service. Call 609-884-5508 for more information.
Dec. 13 – Ocean City will have it’s Christmas Parade on Asbury Ave, complete with Santa Claus. This will be at 7:30 pm. from 6th to 11th Street.
