New Jersey

Locations:            Passaic + Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
When:                   Thanksgiving week and early December
Miles traveled:     294
Price of gas:         $3.41 cash
Camping style:     Airbnb
High point:           Visiting Peter's Valley School of Craft
Low point:            Turnpike traffic
One thing learned: Book an extra day at when staying at Airbnb or hostels.  An extra day provides time for smaller tasks to be done, relax after exploring, and not feel rushed by afternoon check-in and morning check-out times.

Infinity Climber
    After staying with family in southern New Jersey for Thanksgiving, I visited Passaic for a day before continuing on to Connecticut.  The Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel is located in Passaic, and the Liberty Science Center is also not far away.  The Cathedral's current priest is a family friend and I wanted to attend their Sunday liturgy.  I was welcomed with a mini tour and a ringing of their five large bells, which can be heard around the city!  

   A short drive away, the Liberty Science Center has a variety of hands on exhibits exploring sound, sky scrapers, watersheds, bees and more.  Their Infinity Climber is a neat suspended climbing structure with multiple connected pathways.  Some paths require crawling, and some could be traversed upright. There is at least one intersection where someone could step on your head, but with a little patience this experience can be avoided.  I exercised patience.  Sock Skating was another area under utilized by adults.  Participants could "skate" in their socks around two centrally located snowmen.  The kids skating were having a blast, "running" around and falling down.  Being a little more daring, I took the opportunity to execute some simple spins that I do not have the skills to complete on ice skates. 

  A third area I found interesting at Liberty Science Center was called "Bees to Bots; The new high-tech world of bee science".  It talked about using prototype drones the size of bees to search for people in collapsed buildings, and supergluing trackers onto bees to learn more about their habits (Eric, perhaps this is something worth trying if you're ever bored :)

   I visited Peter's Valley School of Craft in December as I drove south towards Delaware.  The school is located in the beautiful Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and is well known for their workshops and artist residences. Only their gallery was open for the season, but it was nice to get a feel of the school's location.  As I left, I stopped to see Raymondskill Falls, the "tallest waterfall in the state"... of Pennsylvania.  I had been visiting multiple states and did not even know it!  


Note: There will be no new post next week out of respect for enjoying the holidays with family and friends.  Merry Christmas, happy New Year, and stay warm!
-Rebecca