Often when non-locals think of New Jersey, they think Sopranos, they think strip malls, they think of one big suburb of New York City and in some cases they’d be right. But there is much more to the Garden State than meets the uninitiated eye. Just scratch a tiny bit beneath the surface and you will find a beautiful state full of dense woodlands where deer frolic (until they are hit by speeding SUVs), charming, quaint colonial towns centered on greens and mainstreets, and miles and miles of sandy beached coastline.
One of my favorite places in New Jersey has always been the attractive town of Princeton. Originally a stagecoach stop between the equidistant cities of New York and Philadelphia, today’s Princeton is a vibrant small city chock full of historic sites, diverse eateries, lots of green space, and magnificent mansions.
Of course, the most famous thing in town is the eponymous University. Founded in 1746, Princeton University is one of the eight Ivy League universities in the United States. A walk around campus will not disappoint – Gothic architecture, arched doorways, stained glass windows, and the apropos ivy-covered buildings abound. Some notable alums? James Madison, Aaron Burr, Jr, Ralph Nader, Donald Rumsfeld, Brooke Sheilds, Jimmy Stewart and F. Scott Fitzgerald. And let’s not forget famous Princetonians like good old Albert Einstein, Mary Chapin Carpenter, architect Michael Graves, professor and mathematician John Nash, Jr. (portrayed by Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind), actor Christopher Reeve, and President Woodrow Wilson.
A stroll around the compact downtown is a nice way to pass an afternoon. Shops, cafes, and bars line Nassau street and Palmer Square. We stopped for a “beer flight” at the local cavernous Triumph Brewing Company. Princeton’s dining scene runs the gamut from independent cafes, the eclectic Asian cuisine to fine dining. We ducked into lively Mediterra which oddly had Mediterranean cuisine. If you ever happen to be around New Jersey, or want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of New York City, don’t miss an afternoon in Princeton, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Mob rules. Get a group together and get bulk discount rates for cool stuff. But what if you don’t have your own gang or posse? No worries Groupon takes care of all that for you.
Groupon is a website with daily deals too good not to pounce on. From teeth whitening to spa days to dinner deals at your favorite restaurant, Groupon offers discounts from about 50-70% off normal prices.
And Groupon is growing – they are now in almost 20 cities across the US and hope to be in 30 by year’s end.
The Chicago-based company has sold nearly 500,000 groupons, saving consumers about $23 million according to Andrew Mason, the company’s founder.
That is beginning to translate into big money for Groupon. It makes money by taking a percentage of each groupon it sells, and Mason says the cut hovers around 50 percent.
“It’s really exploded in a way that, if I stop and think about it, kind of freaks me out a little bit,” Mason says.
Why am I writing about it? Simply because I signed up, thinks it’s a very cool idea, and am easily entertained by neat, new stuff…plus it really works and you can save a wad of cash!
Check them out, if not for their good deals, at least for their sharp and witty prose. Each day’s write up can be pretty entertaining.
The Definition: Leaf peeping is an autumn activity in areas where foliage changes colors. Leaf peepers are those who participate in photographing and viewing the fall foliage.
I have always loved autumn. And autumn and New England go together like peanut butter and jelly or Tom and Jerry or me and oxygen. So, now that I was back on the east coast, I figured I might as well take advantage of the amazing color and light show going on just north of me. It may not be a psychedelic as a Pink Floyd Laser show, but it’s pretty damn cool.
New England is the northeastern most area of the United States and is basically comprised of six states: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. When you think of this region, you think rolling green hills, white clapboard churches, coastal fishing villages, clam chowder and leafy college campuses. It doesn’t disappoint. And the autumn season here couldn’t be a better time to go and enjoy nature’s final fling before the snowy northeast winter sets in (of course that is really pretty too, but damn cold).
Catching fall foliage at its peak can be a challenge as different weather patterns, temperatures, latitude, altitude, and length of daylight can all affect it. Typically the colors are most vibrant from late September to early to mid October – this shifts a bit of course depending on how far north or south you are. If you are far north in Maine…the colors will turn earlier and likewise if you are down in Massachusetts or Connecticut, the best time will be a little later. Go early and see the colors mixed in with greens, go later and see the colorful confetti on back lanes and in streams.
But what exactly causes these flaming reds, bright oranges and golden yellows to come out? Why do leaves change color at all? After a little research, I have found that it has to do with the slow down and eventual cessation of chlorophyll production. In summer, the chlorophyll gives leaves their rich green hue. But as cool temps set in and the daylight hours decrease, less chlorophyll is produced which allows the other ingredients in leaves – carotenoids and anthocyanins (are these real words?) – to get their chance to be unmasked and shine through.
Our route from New Jersey would take us through the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut, the Mohawk Trail (MA 2) in the northern Berkshires of Massachusetts, a lovely stop in Hanover, New Hampshire – the home of Dartmouth University, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and up to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine.
Here are some highlights:
Hanover
This cute, quintessential New England town is most known as the home to Dartmouth College which was established in 1769 and is one of nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. With a total enrollment of 5,848, Dartmouth is the smallest school in the Ivy League. The main street of town is lined with cute cafes and shops and leads right into the wide college ‘green’ where students lie in the grass or pass the time tossing Frisbees about. For lunch, we tried Lou’s, a Darmouth institution since 1947 and Hanover’s oldest establishment, but as still one of the most popular joints, the wait was too long. We ended up at Molly’s, a wood-paneled bar-slash-restaurant adorned with black and white photos and menus inside old LP covers.
The White Mountains
The vast White Mountains cover one quarter of New Hampshire with New England’s most rugged mountains. There is no shortage of activities from camping to hiking to skiing to canoeing. I flew through the air above the tree tops on my second Zipline course with Alpine Adventures since my first one in Costa Rica. We sailed over the red and yellow treetops on five different lines from platforms ranging in height between 15ft and 65 ft. It’s an exhilarating and free feeling that always makes me giddy with laughter.
To come down from our zipline rush, we hiked the easy two-mile Gorge Trail in Franconia Notch State Park. The Flume Gorge is a natural wonder shaped over time by a wild stream that cuts through the granite to form a natural cleft with towering granite walls that rise 90 feet above.
The Kancamagus Scenic Highway (Rt. 112) – During my research, this winding road probably came up the most and is the hardest to pronounce. Locals call it the Kanc. But unlike a bad Canker sore in your mouth, this road was quite pleasant and really a beautiful scene from beginning to end. It wasn’t paved until 1964 and cuts through the White Mountains from west to east. It only takes about an hour or so, even with requisite photo stops.
Acadia National Park – Surprisingly Acadia is the only national park in New England and said to be the nation’s second most visited national park after Yellowstone. The most popular part of Acadia is on Mt Desert Island just outside of Victorian mansion-lined Bar Harbor. Admission to the park is $20 per vehicle. We drove the scenic and serene 20-mile Park Loop Road that circumnavigates the northeastern section of Mt Desert Island including a stop at the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in the park at 1530 feet.
There’s still time…jump in your car and road trip it up to New England! Then stick around for ski season.
Often when non-locals think of New Jersey, they think Sopranos, they think strip malls, they think of one big suburb of New York City and in some cases they’d be right. But there is much more to the Garden State than meets the uninitiated eye. Just scratch a tiny bit beneath the surface and you will find a beautiful state full of dense woodlands where deer frolic (until they are hit by speeding SUVs), charming, quaint colonial towns centered on greens and mainstreets, and miles and miles of sandy beached coastline.
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