Exploring Hasbrouck Heights to find the best ghosts, ghouls, witches and things that go bump in the night took up much of my last two weeks as I finished my papers at NYU and then as the weather started to finally cool go searching for the best decorated house for our Men’s Association’s Third Annual Best Halloween Decorated House Contest.
That meant al lot of driving around town looking at lawns for the best decorations and for the most creativity. Hasbrouck Heights, NJ is the perfect place to come haunting for a good time with our Window Painting Contest downtown, decorated dollhouse and the Circle and the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Third Annual Halloween House Decorating Contest.
The Historic Dollhouse on the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ.
The Hasbrouck Heights Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest.
As I told the guys on the committee, anyone can put up inflatables but to really decorate a home similar to the caliber as Christmas takes some talent. There may have been a bit less than last year but the people who did decorate went all out. It took about a week and a half but we announced our winners for both the House Decorating Contest and the Merchant Decorating Contest.
Heights Flower Shoppe in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights was the winner for a second year in a row.
Here is our press release on the event:
The Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest 2023
By Justin Watrel
Halloween has come to Hasbrouck Heights and the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association has picked the winners in the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest. We traveled every road in town both during the day and at night to find the best ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night on people’s lawns and houses, showing off the creativity of the residents of Hasbrouck Heights on Halloween night. The contest was under the direction of Chairman and Executive Board member Justin Watrel.
Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Halloween House Decorating Contest.
The winners of the House Decorating Contest were Frank and Mary Rose Blunda at 510 Henry Street.
Frank Blunda with Chairman Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
The Blunda’s have been runner-up for the last two years and had ‘upped their game’ with new decorations and designing their lawn to be more of an ‘open haunted house.’
This year’s winner was 510 Henry Street. The Blunda’s upped their game this year after being runners up for the last two years.
The Blunda’s do not just decorate, their decorations invite you into the the display to admire and enjoy it.
When told they had won, Mrs. Blunda said, “I thought you were going to tell us we were runners up again” but the committee informed her and her husband, Frank, the master mind behind each year’s creative show, that they had won. “I added some extra things this year,” Frank Blunda said. “You should see the way we have lit the house at night. We have a lot of fun with this.” The Blunda’s have done an excellent job with decorating each year and have made the town proud with their creativity. It is an award well earned.
510 Henry Street at night
510 Henry Street in Hasbrouck Heights at night.
The Blunda’s decorations at night.
The two runners up this year were 36 Hamilton Avenue and 42 Central Avenue. The boarded-up windows and Mad Scientist display of the lawn at 36 Hamilton Avenue is the creative genius of residents Alex and Laura Pena.
Alex Pena in front of 26 Hamilton Avenue
“I love decorating the house for Halloween,” Alex Pena said. “This year I added more things to give it the look it has. I try to find a creative way to display all the skeletons and pieces I have.”
36 Hamilton Avenue was runner up in 2023.
36 Hamilton Avenue was looked like a haunted house.
The house has the appearance of a home abandoned except for the ghoulish residents on the lawn getting their final goodbyes. The walkways, roof and door awning were covered with skeletons welcoming you to this haunted abode.
The Mad Scientist display at 36 Hamilton Avenue.
The Chief of the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department Chief Joseph Rinke and his wife Lisa at 42 Central Avenue were the other runners-up in the contest. The roof and sides of the house have skeletons climbing and crawling their way into the house.
42 Central Avenue was another Runner up for the House decorating contest.
Ghosts and ghouls greet you from the walkway to the entrance of the house. When you enter, the entire house is decorated to the hilt with decorations in every room and even a spider display in the bathtub.
“Our daughter was born on Halloween so we like to entertain and have the house decorated for Halloween,” Lisa Rinke said of all the wonderful decorations around the house. “My husband spent a lot of time clasping skeletons around the house.” It showed in the way the skeleton army wanted to enter the home.
Joe and Lisa Rinke’s house at 42 Central Avenue had a skeleton army all over the house.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Joe and Lisa Rinke the Runners Up at 42 Central Avenue.
The Rinke family with their award.
The Merchants did their share of decorating along the Boulevard. This year’s winner for the Merchant category is the winner for the second year, Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek. Heights Flower Shoppe always does an excellent job not just with their windows but inside and outside the store as well.
Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard won for the Second year in row.
Shoppers are greeted at 209 Boulevard with Mr. Pumpkin Head and various ghosts welcoming you into the story which was decorated to the hilt with interesting Halloween decorations, candy, and beautiful flowers to welcome guests to a Halloween feast.
Two time Merchant Division winner Ray Vorisek with Chairman Justin Watrel at Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard.
“I love decorating the store for the holidays,” Ray Vorisek said. “The staff and I have a lot of fun during the holidays.” We are so proud of Mr. Vorisek and his staff for the excellent job they do each year with all the holidays especially between Halloween and Christmas.
Owner of Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek in front of his award winning windows.
The inside of Heights Flower Shop at Halloween
The Runner Up this year was Mimi and Jose Rodriguez at Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard. Their creative display of a skeleton girl walking her skeleton dog was pure genius and built on the logo of the store.
Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard was the Runner up for the Merchant Window Decorating Contest.
“The logo is my wife walking her dog,” Jose Rodriguez said. “My wife built on that.” Mimi Rodriguez was just as surprised by being runner up. “We thought this was a great way to decorate the store for Halloween and we had fun with it.” It was a clever way to incorporate the logo of the store with the design of the windows.
Owner Mimi Rodriguez with Chairman Justin Watrel in front of her windows.
There were many great houses with Halloween decorations to choose from but we awarded Honorary Mention to 115 Ottawa Avenue for their continued creative decorations including the madman being electrocuted in the front yard and lavish displays by 82 Woodside Avenue and 253 Henry Street, both previous winners of the contest in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique owners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of the their award winning window.
Winners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of their business.
Owner Scott Varicario decorates to the hilt every year with ghosts, ghouls and witches and things that go bump in the night all over the lawn at 253 Henry Street. Things crawl, reach and grab while they climb up trees and cover the yard.
253 Henry Street was the winner in 2021 and Runner up in 2022 and 2023.
Owner Scott Varicario always does an excellent job with decorating his house.
253 Henry Street is an excellent display that shows the spirit of Halloween.
“I love decorating for Halloween,” Scott Varicario said when we handed him the Honorary Mention to his creative efforts.
253 Henry Street
Last year’s winners, Matt and Lisa Fiduccia at 82 Woodside Avenue also showed off their creative efforts with a display on their front yard that always changes and has creatures popping out from here and there. There is always a rivalry between these two winners to show their love of the Halloween spirit.
82 Woodside Avenue was the winner in 2022 and the Runner up in 2023.
82 Woodside Avenue in all it gory!
A special Honorary Runner Up was given to 115 Ottawa Avenue owner Dennis Hall for his excellent displays over the last two years. Mr. Hall was very touched by the Honorary Award and said, “I didn’t even finish decorating this year. There is a lot more I will add in the future.”
115 Ottawa Avenue (Special Honorary award)
Honorary Runners-Up and Honorary Mention to Dennis and Aidan Hall of 115 Ottawa Avenue.
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association wants to congratulate all the winners and the many homes that we visited. A special Honorary Mention to the following:
446 Burton Avenue
108 Central Avenue
237 Madison Avenue
417 Madison Avenue
308 Lawrence Avenue
84 Lawrence Avenue
116 Bell Avenue
123 Washington Place
103 Hamilton Avenue
103 Hamilton Avenue trees
94 Wood Street
143 Kipp Avenue
Bill O’Shea’s at 231 Boulevard windows at Halloween.
It has been hard since the Summer ended. I have a full load of classes at my college and being a full time student at NYU, it does not allow for much time to explore the City the way I want to on a daily basis. My walks now extend to and from Port Authority to the NYU campus on West 4th Street. I see a lot trust me and I have some of the most fantastic pictures of the brownstone neighborhoods of Chelsea and Greenwich Village but finishing the Theater District and Times Square is where I want to go to finish up that part of the City.
I will get back to my walk in Times Square soon.
It has been hard on Times Square with all the immigration coming into Manhattan and asylum seekers being housed in hotels in this area puts the police on guard again in this section of Manhattan and its tough to walk around and take pictures. I will probably have to wait until the Christmas break to walk this section of the City.
Halloween decorations in Greenwich Village.
Meanwhile, Halloween is here and it means all the running around from the City to the Hudson River Valley for events such as festivals, cemetery walks and haunted house visits. It also means all the Halloween events in Hasbrouck Heights including me running around town for the Third Annual “Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest” which has been growing every year. All of this happening while I am giving Midterms for my students and taking Midterms at NYU. I do not get much sleep in both October and December.
The Hasbrouck Heights Merchant Window Painting Contest was even delayed because of rain in 2023.
I had rained most every weekend of the month of October so that put a damper into the football games up at Yale in New Have with Cornell and Rutgers in New Brunswick with Michigan State. Cornell won the game in a torrent of rain and managed to break a six year drought against Yale. I missed not going up but the whole weekend was a washout. Rutgers was a complete disaster for Michigan State which is having one of its worst seasons on record. We lost our coach and it has been a spiral of lost opportunities and disappointments. Welcome to my sophomore year at Michigan State. We lost by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in another rain storm. It keeps raining all the time.
The beginnings of Halloween in the Village the second week of October.
As the month has progressed the leaves finally started to change colors and we finally started to see the signs of Fall. As I walked through the brownstone blocks on my way to class at NYU, I started to see the beginnings of Halloween. People are really decorating this year in the Village. There is a real beauty to the Village when the Fall arrives and the homes are adorned with skeletons, ghosts and pumpkins. There are things that go bump in the night as well. It is really a thing of beauty.
Halloween means running around too. From place to another I like to experience different sites in the City, the Hudson River Valley and in New Jersey. As the leaves changed colors it made it even more spectacular but it much later in the month than usual. All that rain changed everything.
Store windows got very creative in Manhattan.
I went to Blairstown and Hope, New Jersey for Friday the 13th for the afternoon on October 13th and that is an experience. The weather finally broke and it was a sunny, spectacular day and the moment my online class was over, I bolted out of the house and headed to Blairstown where the original 1980 film was shot over forty years ago. Only the first twenty minutes of the opening of the film was shot in both Blairstown and Hope but people would be elbowing each other to get the picture in.
Downtown Blairstown, NJ on Friday the 13th
My blog on visiting Blairstown and Hope, NJ on Friday the 13th:
I got to Blairstown around 11:00am and I thought I would never get a parking spot. I parked at the edge of the downtown and walked around. Talk about perfect timing as people really had not arrived in town yet so it was perfect for picture taking. That would not be the case later in the afternoon when it really got busy. People were taking walking tours and there were two sold out showings of the original “Friday the 13th” film.
The Water Building on October 13th, 2023 is the most popular place to take pictures.
The famous walkway under the Water Building where Annie walked through.
The scenes where the towns of Blairstown and Hope, NJ were shot.
It is a fascinating experience to see all these fans of the original film running around to the locations where the opening scenes had taken place. All of the merchants had Friday the 13th merchandise and were also stocked for Halloween and Christmas. It was such a beautiful day outside it looked it was going to be a busy afternoon for everyone.
The Blairstown Diner was much easier to get into on January 13th early this year but on October 13th the lines were out the door all day. The food is really good here.
The Blairstown Diner at 55 NJ Route 94 is always busy on Friday the 13th
I was looking for a late morning snack having gotten up so early for class and then getting on the road after class was over for the long drive. The Blairstown Diner was packed and had a line twenty deep as well as the coffee shop in the downtown area was also extremely busy that morning. So I walked around the downtown area and Blairstown does not have a lot of options for dining or at least a lot at that time of the morning.
Dale’s Market at 66 NJ 94 is a great place for breakfast and lunch to go.
While I was walking around I found Dale’s Market at 66 NJ 94 and they have an amazing prepared food section with hot food and sandwiches to go. I got their ‘Deputy’ breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, hash browns and hot sauce and took it to the park across the street for a morning picnic by the river. That was better than any restaurant.
That amazing breakfast sandwich “The Deputy” at Dale’s Market
Footbridge Park in Downtown Blairstown, NJ is a great place to have a picnic and relax from the crowds on Friday the 13th.
After walking around the downtown and seeing that the crowds were getting larger in Blairstown, I drove over to Hope, NJ to visit the Hope Historical Society Museum. I made an appointment at 1:30pm to see the inside of the museum and take pictures. The museum is rarely open so I had to take that opportunity when it came. It is a nice little museum that you should not miss.
The unique Hope Historical Society at 323 High Street in Downtown Hope, NJ
The museum was open for a tour that afternoon so I got in to take some interior shots. The museum misses out without having a special ‘Friday the 13th’ exhibition inside the museum but they do have private tours by appointment.
The inside of the Hope Historical Society
The inside of the Hope Historical Society
After visiting the museum, I headed off the to the Moravian Cemetery, which was really busy that afternoon with people traveling from all distances to take pictures in front the sign made famous by ‘Friday the 13th”.
The famous sign from the film “Friday the 13th”.
What I got a kick out of was that the man who ran the cemetery was outside making himself available for picture taking and was selling cemetery dirt for $10.00 a jar. The irony is that people were buying it and making donations to help renovate the church. I thought that was very clever.
Selling cemetery dirt on Friday the 13th was a brilliant idea.
Before I Ieft Hope for the afternoon, I stopped for some dessert at Humpty Juniors in Colombia, NJ right down the road from Hope and had a sundae. It was a nice way to end the day of touring. As I drove through Hope on my way back to Route 80 to go home, the town got a lot more crowded with people taking pictures and stopping to film the town. It really amazed me how serious some of these fans took these shots of the town.
Humpty Juniors at 72 Route 46 West in Colombia, NJ
The Banana Cream Pie sundae at Humpty Juniors is outstanding.
The next weekend brought even more scares and delights when after finishing an extremely busy week of classes lead to me the Merchant’s House in New York City for a haunted house walking tour and back up to the Hudson River Valley to explore the Clermont Estate for their haunted house tour. Both were sold out and the crowds coming in and out at that time of the evening were pretty amazing.
The week before both of these tours was extremely stressful with three papers and two presentations at NYU and then at Bergen Community College I had to give three quizzes and two major projects. I was burnt out by the end of the week and needed to see a ghost or something that bumped in the night to distract me. I have never had so much coming at me at once.
On a rather gloomy Friday night, I headed into the City for a Candlelight (more of a flashlight) tour of the Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street for a tour of the house in the dark hoping to see a ghost. I had already toured the entire house on my own over the summer so I knew the house quite well and I had not seen or heard anything.
The Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street does look a little creepy at night.
We met in the main parlor of the house at 8:00pm for our tour where they had an exhibition on spiritualism and death during the Victorian Age. That was very interesting the view that the Victorians had of handling death. It was very proper and ritualistic.
The exhibition on death and spiritualism
The darkened Parlor the night of the tour.
We walked through all the floors of the house and I did not see one ghost. There were actors dressed as various characters throughout the home (I did not know why they would want to be alone in the dark in a house that was known to be haunted but that was there deal) but with the exception with one woman coming to grab us, they kept still.
The Merchant House I have felt in the three times I have visited had a very welcoming feel to it. Like the family was happy so many people wanted to visit it. I never heard or saw anything and even at the end of the tour we were asked if we felt anything but no one answered. I guess we did not more than have a good time walking through the dark with a flash light and have a good time listening to the docent talk about the family history.
Trust me when I say that these tours sell out fast both last year and this year so book early. It is really worth the trip to walk through an old house on a gloomy night with safety in numbers. If we HAD seen something, we would have had each other to protect ourselves.
The Treadwell family supposedly haunts the floors of the Merchant House.
Later that weekend, I visited Downtown Boonton, NJ after a Bergen County Firemen’s Home Meeting and Entertainment Afternoon event and walked the downtown to see what was going on for Halloween.
The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association October Event:
The downtown was decorated with all sorts of characters, ghosts, ghouls, monsters and things that went bump in the night. The Boonton Downtown Association always does a great job decorating for the Halloween holidays.
Downtown Boonton, NJ has a unique and funky vibe to it as it as the creative types are moving into town.
One of the creepy downtown figures.
This looked like a cross between Jason and the Phantom of the Opera.
This friendly welcomed me in Downtown Boonton, NJ.
This alien creature greeted me near the library.
Downtown Boonton, NJ is so beautiful during any season.
After a long week of classes and my online Hotel Sales & Marketing class on Friday morning by Zoom were finally over and papers done, up I went to the Hudson River Valley to visit my next ‘haunted house’ tour at the Clermont Estate in Germantown, NY, the home of the Livingston family.
I have visited the Clermont Estate many times before COVID but now that it has finally reopened they are having all the special events that were once extremely popular including the Halloween tour which they had not hosted since 2019. The house was amazing and decorated for a Victorian Halloween.
I was able to get up to Germantown while it was still light out after morning classes and was able to explore Downtown Germantown before the tour of Clermont. It is such a pretty little town but I can tell getting more expensive by the quality of shopping, restaurants and little inns that are in the downtown. I could tell that the sonic boom of COVID (people moving up from the city and changing all these little Hudson River towns), changed this town from a localized front to a quirky and expensive little community. Even the local grocery store was very nice in quality but very expensive.
The downtown Germantown shopping area.
The historical section of Germantown, NY.
The historic home just off Downtown Germantown.
After I toured Germantown, I had enough time once I got to the Clermont estate to tour the grounds and take pictures to update my blog. Things really did change from summer to fall. Most of the gardens were all dead now, the leaves were turning golden brown, yellow and red and it was a bit chiller outside. It was still fun to explore the grounds and watch the parks people lit the pumpkins. I had plenty of time to explore the estate before it got dark.
I walked along the river paths and passed groups of people taking pictures, past the ruins of the old Robert Livingston home that was destroyed by fire and then toured the gardens that were now in their fall transition. The estate was no less elegant and it looked beautiful in the autumn.
I made my way to the Visitors Center where the staff had fresh apple cider and cider doughnuts for all the people touring the estate that night and classic candies like tootsie rolls and Mary Janes for us to enjoy for early ‘trick or treating’. We all had a nice time watching the videos of the house and looking at the displays in what was once the old stables. Then our tour took place and we were led to the mansion.
The Ghost Tour took us on a tour through the house to meet the costumed characters throughout the mansion. The mansion was decorated for the Halloween and with the lights dimmed, it gave the house an eerie appearance to it.
When I arrived at the Clermont Estate, the house loomed in the distance in its it glories with the golden colors of autumn. It was so breathtaking along the Hudson River Valley with hues of gold, red and orange.
Jack-a Lanterns lined the pathways and lit the way to the house when it got dark. The tours started at dusk with pumpkins lit giving it a spooky start to the evening.
Before the tour started, we were greeted in the Visitors Center with fresh Apple Cider Doughnuts and Apple Cider from a local farm in Kingston, NY.
We were also treated to old fashioned Halloween candy with Mary Janes, Tootsie Rolls and other treats.
We started our tour at 7:00pm at twilight just as it was getting dark with the lanterns lit and the house waiting in the distance. It gave the start of the tour an eerie look to it and the affect brought out the best of Halloween.
The hallway was decorated for Halloween.
First we met an embittered Robert Livingston (who over acted) and acted like a jerk when I filmed him performing.
We stopped in the haunted Living Room to talk to the maid.
We met the ghost of Janet Livingston Montgomery in the Parlor. She talked about her time in the house and how life was back then.
Then it was off to the Dining Room to meet the last inhabitant of the house, Janet Livingston.
Margaret Beekman Livingston guarding the Dining Room.
On the way to the kitchen, we met Captain Kidd, the Livingston children and the last owners of the house on the way out the back door to end the tour. The whole tour took less than an hour.
We exited the house through the kitchen and out the door to a moon lit night with jack-a-lanterns taking us back to the Visitors Center. I loved this picture because it really did look like we were leaving a haunted house. We made it back up to the Visitors Center before the last group left on their tour. I got to go to the bathroom before they closed for the evening. The parking lot was pitch black and I had to use my cellphone to find my car. It was a two hour trip home that evening.
The week in between the Haunted House tours and pre-Halloween weekend was sheer insanity with papers due, midterms at both colleges, grading and a lot of running around. I swear for the entire month of October I never sat still. It was long nights where I was up until 2:00am every night barely getting five hours of sleep. I know that is the life of the graduation student but it got to be too much for me. Work and school were getting to me.
Halloween on West 10th Street.
That week I had to judge the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest which is in its third successful year. I had to drive every street in Hasbrouck Heights trying to find the most perfectly decorated house. I did not want to see access more than I wanted to see creativity. Having inflatables to me is cheating. It does not take much to inflate something. It was the people with the decorations on the house, the lighting and the props that make up how a house stands out in the contest. People who have fun and show other residents the true spirit of the holidays.
In the Merchant category that created the previous year, I look to the whole package of the business. Is it decorated inside and out? Does it have a window that is more than just props but a theme to it? How creative is the approach to the windows? I have to say that there was not many choices this year as many merchants did not decorate their windows this year. Most wait until Christmas to show their creativity. I am hoping the more exposure of this contest gets the more people will be more competitive at Halloween as well.
While that was going on and I walked the Boulevard looking for the perfect windows, the elementary school kids were painting the downtown merchants windows for the Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest. Those kids were really creative and here are some of the artworks I saw that afternoon:
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
Some of them were just fun.
Ghosts and Ghouls scare and delight.
Many spooky returns
The one on the right was my personal favorite.
Spooky creatures.
Spooky trees.
Ghosts haunting the way to Hasbrouck Heights.
A Halloween surprise.
More Ghost and ghouls
Chucky returns.
The rains returned on Sunday and through most of the week until the weekend before Halloween where we had a eighty one degree day that Saturday. Talk about brilliant weather and everyone really freaked out and ran around in shorts. The Saturday morning before Halloween I presented the winners of the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights. I have never seen people so excited to receive an award which was well deserved. Here is the press release that we sent to the papers:
My blog on the ‘Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest’:
The Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest 2023
By Justin Watrel
Halloween has come to Hasbrouck Heights and the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association has picked the winners in the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest. We traveled every road in town both during the day and at night to find the best ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night on people’s lawns and houses, showing off the creativity of the residents of Hasbrouck Heights on Halloween night. The contest was under the direction of Chairman and Executive Board member Justin Watrel.
Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Halloween House Decorating Contest.
The winners of the House Decorating Contest were Frank and Mary Rose Blunda at 510 Henry Street.
Frank Blunda with Chairman Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
The Blunda’s have been runner-up for the last two years and had ‘upped their game’ with new decorations and designing their lawn to be more of an ‘open haunted house.’
This year’s winner was 510 Henry Street. The Blunda’s upped their game this year after being runners up for the last two years.
The Blunda’s do not just decorate, their decorations invite you into the the display to admire and enjoy it.
When told they had won, Mrs. Blunda said, “I thought you were going to tell us we were runners up again” but the committee informed her and her husband, Frank, the master mind behind each year’s creative show, that they had won. “I added some extra things this year,” Frank Blunda said. “You should see the way we have lit the house at night. We have a lot of fun with this.” The Blunda’s have done an excellent job with decorating each year and have made the town proud with their creativity. It is an award well earned.
510 Henry Street at night
510 Henry Street in Hasbrouck Heights at night.
The Blunda’s decorations at night.
The two runners up this year were 36 Hamilton Avenue and 42 Central Avenue. The boarded-up windows and Mad Scientist display of the lawn at 36 Hamilton Avenue is the creative genius of residents Alex and Laura Pena.
Alex Pena in front of 26 Hamilton Avenue
“I love decorating the house for Halloween,” Alex Pena said. “This year I added more things to give it the look it has. I try to find a creative way to display all the skeletons and pieces I have.”
36 Hamilton Avenue was runner up in 2023.
36 Hamilton Avenue was looked like a haunted house.
The house has the appearance of a home abandoned except for the ghoulish residents on the lawn getting their final goodbyes. The walkways, roof and door awning were covered with skeletons welcoming you to this haunted abode.
The Mad Scientist display at 36 Hamilton Avenue.
The Chief of the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department Chief Joseph Rinke and his wife Lisa at 42 Central Avenue were the other runners-up in the contest. The roof and sides of the house have skeletons climbing and crawling their way into the house.
42 Central Avenue was another Runner up for the House decorating contest.
Ghosts and ghouls greet you from the walkway to the entrance of the house. When you enter, the entire house is decorated to the hilt with decorations in every room and even a spider display in the bathtub.
“Our daughter was born on Halloween so we like to entertain and have the house decorated for Halloween,” Lisa Rinke said of all the wonderful decorations around the house. “My husband spent a lot of time clasping skeletons around the house.” It showed in the way the skeleton army wanted to enter the home.
Joe and Lisa Rinke’s house at 42 Central Avenue had a skeleton army all over the house.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Joe and Lisa Rinke the Runners Up at 42 Central Avenue.
The Rinke family with their award.
The Merchants did their share of decorating along the Boulevard. This year’s winner for the Merchant category is the winner for the second year, Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek. Heights Flower Shoppe always does an excellent job not just with their windows but inside and outside the store as well.
Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard won for the Second year in row.
Shoppers are greeted at 209 Boulevard with Mr. Pumpkin Head and various ghosts welcoming you into the story which was decorated to the hilt with interesting Halloween decorations, candy, and beautiful flowers to welcome guests to a Halloween feast.
Two time Merchant Division winner Ray Vorisek with Chairman Justin Watrel at Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard.
“I love decorating the store for the holidays,” Ray Vorisek said. “The staff and I have a lot of fun during the holidays.” We are so proud of Mr. Vorisek and his staff for the excellent job they do each year with all the holidays especially between Halloween and Christmas.
Owner of Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek in front of his award winning windows.
The inside of Heights Flower Shop at Halloween
The Runner Up this year was Mimi and Jose Rodriguez at Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard. Their creative display of a skeleton girl walking her skeleton dog was pure genius and built on the logo of the store.
Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard was the Runner up for the Merchant Window Decorating Contest.
“The logo is my wife walking her dog,” Jose Rodriguez said. “My wife built on that.” Mimi Rodriguez was just as surprised by being runner up. “We thought this was a great way to decorate the store for Halloween and we had fun with it.” It was a clever way to incorporate the logo of the store with the design of the windows.
Owner Mimi Rodriguez with Chairman Justin Watrel in front of her windows.
There were many great houses with Halloween decorations to choose from but we awarded Honorary Mention to 115 Ottawa Avenue for their continued creative decorations including the madman being electrocuted in the front yard and lavish displays by 82 Woodside Avenue and 253 Henry Street, both previous winners of the contest in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique owners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of the their award winning window.
Winners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of their business.
Owner Scott Varicario decorates to the hilt every year with ghosts, ghouls and witches and things that go bump in the night all over the lawn at 253 Henry Street. Things crawl, reach and grab while they climb up trees and cover the yard.
253 Henry Street was the winner in 2021 and Runner up in 2022 and 2023.
Owner Scott Varicario always does an excellent job with decorating his house.
253 Henry Street is an excellent display that shows the spirit of Halloween.
“I love decorating for Halloween,” Scott Varicario said when we handed him the Honorary Mention to his creative efforts.
253 Henry Street
Last year’s winners, Matt and Lisa Fiduccia at 82 Woodside Avenue also showed off their creative efforts with a display on their front yard that always changes and has creatures popping out from here and there. There is always a rivalry between these two winners to show their love of the Halloween spirit.
82 Woodside Avenue was the winner in 2022 and the Runner up in 2023.
82 Woodside Avenue in all it gory!
A special Honorary Runner Up was given to 115 Ottawa Avenue owner Dennis Hall for his excellent displays over the last two years. Mr. Hall was very touched by the Honorary Award and said, “I didn’t even finish decorating this year. There is a lot more I will add in the future.”
115 Ottawa Avenue (Special Honorary award)
Honorary Runners-Up and Honorary Mention to Dennis and Aidan Hall of 115 Ottawa Avenue.
Everyone was so happy to win their awards and even to be mentioned that it made all the hard work worth. I never worked so hard on an event before but the people who won were really touched by the whole event and I could tell put a lot of hard work into creating the ‘works of art’ on their lawns and I was so proud of their work.
After I handed out all the awards and took pictures for the papers, I was off to Coney Island to go to Luna Park for a class project on experiencing the park as a tourist for my Customer Relationship Management class. No one could believe the weather that Saturday. It was clear and sunny and 81 degrees. It felt like a summer day on the Boardwalk.
Luna Park in Coney Island on a strange 80 degree day.
Our Research Paper for our Customer Relationship Management class:
We rode the Cyclone roller coaster, road the historic Carousel and then had lunch in the park at Luna Park’s pizzeria. The pizza was good but not the best I had ever eaten. They did a nice job with it and the service was very friendly. We got to spend most of the afternoon touring the park and talking with the staff getting their take on the park.
The Harvest Festival at Luna Park
The Halloween Harvest Festival
Luna Park was packed on this sunny warm late October afternoon.
We enjoyed lunch at the pizzeria.
The Luna Park Midway.
Our first ride was the Cyclone which I had not been on in years.
Our next ride that we experienced was the historic carousel which went around four times.
After we rode the only real ‘adult’ rides, we talked with the staff about the upcoming “Frost Festival” for the holidays when the park would be open through Christmas. This was a first for the amusement park and would extend tourism through Coney Island into the holiday season. The park staff seemed to like the fact that they had employment through the holiday season.
The Luna Park Boardwalk entrance.
After our walk through both Luna Park and Geno’s Wonderwheel Park, we went off to explore the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk was packed with people riding bikes and scooters, dancing on the Boardwalk and people were sunbathing all over the beach. Some people were swimming which I thought was crazy. The water must have been too cold.
The Boardwalk in Coney Island on that late October day.
We walked from the amusement section of Coney Island down to Brighton and Manhattan Beaches where the demographics and mood of the Boardwalk change immediately once you pass the Aquarium. It is more families and locals sitting the on Boardwalk in their chairs socializing with one another.
The amazing sunset on the Boardwalk that everyone stopped for to watch.
Even though it was eighty degrees out and getting darker it never fell below seventy degrees while we were there exploring the island and I was perfectly comfortable walking around in shorts and a sweatshirt. I was even hot with this and had gotten a tan that afternoon. The sunset was amazing on the beach and people just stopped to look.
The Boardwalk at twilight
The full moon at the end of the Boardwalk.
The parks lit at night.
Luna Park at 7:00pm at night was like a fantasy land of lights.
The amusements were busy when we finally left the parks around 7:30pm and I said good bye to my classmate and headed into Chinatown in Manhattan for a snack. I was getting hungry after all that walking and even Chinatown was busy on this warm evening. I just think the weather had people grasping onto what was left of the summer and enjoying it while they could.
I headed to Wonton Noodle Garden again for dinner. As the evening cooled, there was nothing better than a Cantonese Wonton Soup with Barbecue Pork, Wontons and Egg Noodles with a side of Fried Wontons. That was the best dinner and a great way to end the evening and a wonderful day. This is what a research paper should be all about. Being in the trenches and exploring it as a group.
The delicious ‘cure all’ Cantonese Wonton Soup with Barbecue Pork, Wontons and Egg Noodles.
The Fried Wontons here are delicious.
I had taken my students the next day to the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society for a extra credit field trip for an afternoon of exploring the museum. Talk about a change in weather in one day. We went from sunny, clear and warm to gloomy, raining and a drop of about twenty degrees. It was still warm but seasonally warm at sixty degrees. I was not sure how the students would react to the museum but it seemed to be an eye opener to most of them. They had never been here before.
The Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society “Museum at the Station” at 176 Rock Road during a nice day in Glen Rock, NJ.
We spent about two hours at the museum on a very rainy afternoon. The historical society ladies explained the museum and its collection to the students and the Mayor of Glen Rock joined us after the town’s Trunk or Treat event was over. Mayor Kristine Morieko spent time with my students getting to know them and supporting a project I was doing to create a Marketing plan for tourism to the town. It was a great afternoon of networking for the students and getting to know the town of Glen Rock. I got to see the museum on one of the rare days it was open and got to see the George Wolfe exhibition of the local cartoonist’s work.
The “George Wolfe” exhibition at the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society Museum.
On the night before Halloween, I got to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a Private Members Night. It was after a very long day of classes and running around over the weekend so it was a welcome distraction. I love these Private Members Nights. It is fun to wander around the galleries and just take my time with visiting.
The Met logo for the ‘Halloween at the Met-Private Members Night’
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Private Members Night was the night before Halloween, known as ‘Mischief Night’, where more tricks than treats are part of the fun. The museum has these private nights so that members can enjoy the museum on their without the huge crowds that come during the day. These events are so popular now and they have adjusted the hours to 7:00pm-10:00pm where working people can now enjoy the evening.
The Met lit at night for the Private Members Night did look a little spooky but a festive environment was inside waiting for us. A giant house of mystery awaiting us with treasures inside.
The lines started to fill as we entered the museum at 7:30pm. I got there after my Digital Marketing class at NYU was over. All the tricks and treats of the museum were open to members who entered the front door if they dared!
The very festive entrance of The Met at the information booth represented the coming of fall and the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays.
The beautiful Fall arrangements in The Met’s nooks. It really made the night festive.
The first exhibition that I visited was “The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630” and the exhibition held some of the most exquisite art of the collection. Beautiful decorative objects with the detailed work in the permanent collection. These treasures were gathered in one spot to show their true beauty.
The sign for ‘The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630’ exhibition
The craftsmanship of these objects were some of the most sophisticated of the era and royals competed to have the most beautiful objects adorn their homes. Some of the objects were pulled from the permanent collection and are different parts of the museum but when housed together they really make a statement of the quality and precise workmanship. These objects made a statement of the owners and who they were in society.
One of the most detailed pieces of the show was “Diana and the Stag”. The craftsmanship of the piece was amazing and it is such a beautiful piece.
The silver Diana and the Stag art object.
The next room I went to was the Wrightman Wing down the stairs to see Vertigo of Color” Matisse, Derain and the Origins of Fauvism. All these beautiful and bright colors in paintings from the French coastline.
The Vertigo of Color Exhibition in the Wrightman Wing of the Met.
My favorite piece and the painting that stood out the most was ‘Open Window Collioure’ by Henri Matisse. It was the most beautiful painting of the show.
“Open Window Collioure” is one of the most vibrant paintings in the show.
The other painting that really stood out in the exhibition was by artist Andre Derain.
The Andre Derain Painting “The Faubourg of Collioure”
The sign for the painting.
My next stop was the “Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200-400 CE” exhibition on the second floor. The display of Indian art was from all over the world and displayed some of the most unusual icons. The exhibition the immense craftsmanship of these early artists.
The entrance to the “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India 200 BCE-400 CE” exhibition.
The Railroad Panels of the exhibition
The Railing pillars of the exhibition.
The Railing pillar sign.
Statuary from the exhibition.
The Pillar Abacus with elephants venerating the Ramagrama stupa.
The Elephant Pillar sign.
When we left the museum that night into the darkness that would become Halloween the next day, the museum employees wished us a good evening and gave us this sweet treat, a chocolate pumpkin that we were all munching on as we left the museum. It was the perfect way to end the evening. This is why I love the Met and have been coming here since 1973 and a member since 1993. It is a place of magic!
The delicious “Treat” we got when we left The Met that evening. The museum knows how to treat its members!
After the haunted night at the museum was over, I walked along the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan enjoying the decorations in preparation for Halloween the next day. Families really decorated their homes and the stores and brownstones were decked out for the Halloween holidays. This is becoming just as big as Christmas. Here are some of the great decorations that I saw that night.
Most of the these pictures were taken in the East 80’s and 70’s along the side streets between Madison Avenue and Third Avenue as I explored the neighborhood looking for the best haunts. People were really creative this Halloween.
Walking around the Upper East Side on Halloween week.
Halloween windows at a Park Avenue Florist during Halloween week.
Halloween decorations on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The next night was Halloween night and the Annual Halloween Parade that was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. My professor called class that night because she was sick and that meant getting to the parade route at 4:00pm. This meant meeting up with ‘cousin’ Mark Schuyler (our families married into one another 150 years ago so it makes us tenth cousins by marriage) and guarding the performers gate. I swear we hear every excuse from people trying to sneak in to watch the parade from they live here to they have reservations to a restaurant inside.
Guarding the gate: “Cousins” Mark Schuyler and Justin Watrel
The parade went by really well. The weather cooperated and it was in the high 50’s so it was a crisp but warm night at the parade. It was nice to see the crowds coming back to the parade again. COVID really effected the parade and in 2020 there was no parade. When it came back in 2021 (finally), it was nice to see people again.
Puppet rehearsal on Dominick Street and Sixth Avenue.
We stood at the gate, talked to tourists visiting the City for the parade and directing them to where they could march in it (it is at Canal Street where you will stand with hundreds of other costumed revelers ready to march up Sixth Avenue. People were having a ball. The parade is always exciting.
Excitement builds as the Ghostbusters enter the parade.
When we closed the gate at 8:00pm, I got to watch the parade from where it begins at Dominick Street and Sixth Avenue. This is where the magic is created and you see all the floats go uptown. I am not sure why people keep trying to sneak into the parade from here because it is not the greatest place to see the parade. You can see all the performers but it is better to go uptown on Sixth Avenue and enjoy it from there.
Patrons ready to enter the parade.
One of the best marshal costumes at the parade.
I watched the parade floats pass by me and now I could see why people fight to get onto the floats. Everyone on the floats looked like they were having a blast. People in costume were dancing and singing to mostly disco music on the floats as they passed by to head up Sixth Avenue. In between, hundreds of people marched in costume uptown. It made for an exciting parade.
The floats prepare to head up Sixth Avenue.
Floats heading uptown with everyone having a good time.
The bees entering the parade.
The floats entering the parade.
People getting ready to enter the parade to head uptown.
I left the parade around 9:30pm as it got cooler to head to dinner with other members of the parade staff. I could not believe how crazy busy the City was below 23rd Street. Every fast food, pizzeria and bar was packed with people. All the way to the restaurant, costumed people filled all the restaurants and bars much to the delight of every business owner around the parade route.
The irony of the whole evening was that when I left the restaurant that evening for home I passed a West Elm that was completely decorated for Christmas! As I looked at the Christmas trees, ghost, ghouls and things that bump in the night passed me drunk. God, these holidays are getting blurred. They are not even waiting until Thanksgiving to get the Christmas displays up. That was an interesting way to end Halloween night. That was until I got back to Hasbrouck Heights and the bus passed a house with a Christmas tree up.
Halloween would not be complete without a trip to the Pumpkin Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor at Croton-on-the-Hudson. I lucked out and it was another mild night in the 50’s when I arrived at 7:00pm.
I stopped for dinner at Dong Happy Garden at 440 Riverside Avenue #440 for dinner like I usually do before I go to the Blaze. Their food is always delicious. I swear that I have never had a bad meal there. As it cooled, I was in the mood for some Wonton Soup. The chicken broth was rich in chicken and ginger flavor and the wontons were plentiful. It was the perfect start to dinner.
The Wonton Soup at Dong Happy Garden at 440 Riverside Avenue #440 is excellent.
For dinner I am trying to lay off the fried foods and had the Beef with Broccoli, which is excellent here. The beef is plentiful and very tender, marinading in Hunan and Soy sauce and loaded with fresh broccoli. They have a nice place to sit while you are eating here, better than most take out places I go to and I highly recommend it before heading in for the grand show of hundreds of pumpkins.
My dinner on a cool night, Beef and Broccoli with Pork Fried Rice and an egg roll and a Coke.
The Beef and Broccoli is so good here!
After a good dinner it was off to the Blaze. For some reason, I did not see as many pumpkins as I normally do. It might have been because it was the second to last weekend of the show and they have been gearing the show down for the end of the season.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor.
The Van Cortland Manor at 500 South Riverside Avenue is always packed this time of the year. The night I went it was not different. I had never come to the show at 7:00pm and it was busier than usual. When you go to the 8:00pm, you have the estate to yourself.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Blaze in 2023.
There were a lot of the same displays in years past with pumpkin Ferris wheels, a pumpkin carousel, a pumpkin art gallery and city scenes. This year there were a series of pumpkin characters in a circus scene, flying through the air and acting silly. There were headless horseman displays and wondering through the maze. The illuminated Albany Post Road at night is really amazing at night.
You are greeted by Pumpkin Ghouls when you enter the Blaze.
Greeted by creatively carved pumpkins.
Some of the carvers did an amazing job with it.
My favorite group of pumpkins.
Passing the Pumpkin Church
Entering the Pumpkin Blaze that evening is like entering a surreal Halloweenland with lights and decorations all over the place. You really have to take your time to walk through the displays and see the details that are being shown.
Walking through the Pumpkin Art Museum.
Walking through the maze of the Blaze.
The decorated old Albany Post Road with pumpkins called the ‘Infinity Road”. The eerie road leads to no where but is actually the road that once led to Albany and where the Van Cortlandts had their pub and ferry building.
The Haunted Jellyfish as I entered the Tappan Boo Bridge
Walking through the lit tunnel with other patrons.
Crossing the bridge near the jellyfish.
The Van Cortlandt Manor lightshow. The manor will be closed for another year for renovations but still the light show is amazing.
Walking through the pumpkin cemetery across from the mansion.
Exiting the Blaze for the evening.
The spider web towards the entrance.
The Pumpkin figure as I left the Blaze that evening.
I was at the Blaze that evening for about an hour. It really was a nice walk. The crowds were not as heavy as they normally are but once Halloween is over, the place is busy but not as busy are before. Still it was another enjoyable way to end the Halloween season.
Again the irony was as I was driving home that night as I passed through Tarrytown and Sleepy Hallow, I saw the Christmas lights and decorations up. Goodbye Halloween and Hello Christmas!
The Lyndhurst Historical Society at 400 Riverside Avenue
The Lyndhurst Historical Society is an interesting look into the early history of both the town of Lyndhurst, NJ and Bergen County. The museum shows how we moved from the agricultural era to the modern era in just one generation. The growth of the county really accelerated after the Civil War into the 1920’s.
Lyndhurst Schoolhouse grounds
The Lyndhurst Schoolhouse historic marker
A child’s statue in the gardens on the grounds of the museum.
The building itself is built on the original 1804 school house that was torn down for the newer one built in 1893. The unique part of the museum’s history is that the building was used as a…
The Carlstadt Historical Firehouse Museum at Division & Sixth Street
The Carlstadt Historical Firehouse Museum is run by the Carlstadt Historical Society houses a remarkable collection that includes archival photographs, written documents, new articles, clothing and other items that bring the borough’s colorful history to life. You can find everything from 1930’s era school pennants to early 20th Century fife and drum corps uniforms to a vintage breathalyzer used by the police department. The collection is housed on two floors of the town’s old firehouse from 1907.
The museum’s Pipe & Drum Corps display on the Second Floor Gallery
The first floor of the museum is dedicated to the War effort with memorabilia from residents who fought in WWI and WWII, articles…
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Executive Board with HHMA “Member of the Year” Ron Tagliabue at the Annual HHMA “Man of the Year” Awards Dinner on April 21st, 2023
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association met for their Annual Dinner on Friday, April 21st, 2023, at Segovia Steakhouse and Seafood in Little Ferry, NJ. It was a wonderful evening out especially since the pandemic put a damper on previous year’s festivities.
We were honoring our “Man of the Year”, a member who has contributed a lot to the Hasbrouck Heights Community and our “Member of the Year”, a dedicated member of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association who represents the best of the organization.
It was a wonderful evening of good food and wonderful drinks under a relaxing and warm Friday night. The food at Segovia’s is always wonderful and the selection was excellent. We started off with a wonderful appetizer platter that included chorizo, calamari and tiny empanada. The members dined on fresh salad, a pasta dish and for the entrees, we had steak, paella and for dessert, we had a wonderful, iced cake that was the perfect way to end the meal.
The delicious Salmon everyone enjoyed.
The delicious paella that was one of our entrees.
The marvelous beef entree that was served to us.
We ended dinner with a marvelous, iced cake that everyone enjoyed.
The HHMA Executive Board under the direction of President Steve Palladino met earlier in the month to decide who this year’s “Member of the Year” would be to represent the organization. The Board unanimously voted for long time member, Ron Tagliabue.
HHMA Member Ron Tagliabue winning “Member of the Year” for the organization.
Ron Tagliabue has been a member of the HHMA for over twenty years, has assisted in many special events and fundraisers and sold his share of Christmas trees, our major fundraiser which the community looks forward to every year to decorate their homes. He even served as Santa’s representative at our annual “Visit Santa at the Christmas tree stand”, a festive pre-COVID event we hope to bring back soon. After twenty years with the HHMA, he has been a dedicated and loyal member of the organization.
Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association “Member of the Year” Ron Tagliabue
Our “Man of the Year” who the Executive Board felt best gave back to the Hasbrouck Heights Community we looked no further than our own member, Steve Feuss. Steve owns IDesign Creative Services LLC. Steve has done so much for both our organization and many others in town.
Steve does so much for our town in way of providing services at discounts and participating in all sorts of programs that the town sponsors. He is also very involved with the Hasbrouck Heights Chamber of Commerce and gives back so much to the Hasbrouck Heights community.
HHMA “Man of the Year” member Steve Feuss of IDesign Creative Services LLC with the HHMA Executive Board
“Man of the Year” Steve Feuss with his wife, father and daughter at the dinner
Both members were very touched by the awards and the Executive Board could not be happier with both men’s participation in the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. It was a wonderful dinner and all the members and their spouses had such a wonderful time. Thank you to all the members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association that give so much back to our town!
Members and their spouses enjoying dinner at Segovia Steak & Seafood in Little Ferry, NJ
I do not know where time went. One day I am cutting the lawn in 70-degree weather and the next day it is 32 degrees, and everyone is freezing. The weather has been going up and down like a yoyo and everyone is getting sick right before the holidays. Every other day the weather was changing, and this is the way the temperature would be every day for the month of December. One day it is Spring or Fall and the next everyone is bundling up.
Don’t be fooled by all the pictures and activities. There were a lot of late nights, a lot of driving and a lot of arranging to pull the holidays off this year. Teaching three classes and taking four classes in Grad school on top of volunteer work that I was committed to and getting ready for the holidays and all its expectations I had a lot of nights where I did not go to bed until two in the morning. I would study on busses and in hotel rooms and I never worked like this before in my life. Still it was a Merry Christmas and I consider myself a lucky person to see all these wonderful things.
All I did was run in and out of New York City every week for classes and work. There were so many historical sites that I wanted to visit over the holidays to update previously blogs that every moment of my day was taken up with touring. Still, I enjoyed taking my time to walk to school through Greenwich Village. The residents and merchants here know how to celebrate the holidays.
Christmas in Greenwich Village. I saw this home after class and I knew Santa was on his way
Walking past the train station on the way back to Port Authority was even festive.
With Grad School taking up so much of my time and I just finished all my presentations at Bergen Community College where I work (please see all three Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. projects), it’s now the final project for Grad School and getting ready for the holidays that are taking up my time. It is only two more weeks.
Thanksgiving with my cousins and aunt at the Lambertville Inn
Christmas started for me right after Thanksgiving with my family when the next day we had Christmas Tree delivery for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. We had 390 Christmas Trees delivery and we emptied the truck in one hour. By 10:30am, we sold our first Christmas tree and by the end of the first weekend, we sold 134 trees and 8 stands. We just missed last year’s numbers. It had rained most of Sunday so we missed that afternoon and evening of that day.
Christmas Tree drop off is right after Thanksgiving at 8:00am the next morning
The guys on the Men’s Association after we finished tagging and unloading the trees
Friday was a busy day selling. It often amazes me how many trees sell that first weekend. Last year we sold out in 11 days and people were disappointed that they had to wait. Many said that this year, they arrived early to get the tree they wanted. Even with the rain on Sunday, we did very well and were anticipating another get year (we sold out by December 9th on the morning shift).
My blog on Christmas tree drop off for the Men’s Association:
I knew it was Christmas when my neighbors set out all their decorations
The next evening after Thanksgiving was the Annual Parade and Tree Lighting ceremony in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights. Since we were opening the tree stand and I was on leave from the fire department this year, I did not go. Instead I stayed at the tree stand that evening and sold trees on my first split shift. We sold 44 trees on the first day of sales.
The Christmas Tree at the Circle in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
The Gazebo at the Firemen’s Circle Memorial in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
I have to admit, Thanksgiving weekend and the subsequent week were all about grad school. We would be wrapping up classes in two weeks (classes ended on December 14th) and I had three major papers due, one for each class. With the exception of my Data Analytics class, I had one partner on each paper I really did not know if I could count on so there would be a lot of extra work to do.
Heights Bar & Grill at 163 Boulevard became a place to relax and unwind with a pizza and a drink
Heights Bar & Grill was very festive during the holidays
My post birthday dinner became my pre Christmas/post class dinner
The next weekend was Sinterklaas weekend, and I knew I had to be in Rhinebeck and then Boonton, NJ for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party that I committed to last month. When you’re on all the Executive Boards of these organizations, you have to be there.
Still on the way back and forth to classes starting from mid-November until classes ended, I enjoyed my walks from the Port Authority to the NYU campus in the Village to admire all the decorations, display windows and Christmas tree setups all over the Village. Even before Christmas started, this section of the City is very traditional ‘Old New York’ and when it is all ready for the holidays it puts you in the Christmas spirit.
Christmas in Greenwich Village really kept my spirits up between classes
Selling Christmas trees in New York City was not difference from us but in prices.
The window displays in the Greenwich Village stores and boutiques were really creative. I loved walking all the side streets to discover what shop owner did that was so different from the others and these are some of my favorites. They really cheered me up as the pressure of the assignments built up.
Window display in the Village after they changed from Halloween to Christmas
Window display in the Village
Window display in the Village
Christmas display inside and outside at Greenwich Village store
More Christmas trees for sale on lower Seventh Avenue
The Washington Square Park Christmas tree was so beautiful both during the day and night. It was so nice to pass every evening I was coming back from class. It really put me in the holiday spirit especially when I was stressed out on my last three research papers of the semester. I took the time to just walk around the park and enjoy the cool air.
The Washington Square Park Christmas tree by day
The Washington Square Park Christmas tree at night
In between classes and work, I had to decorate and get my own house ready for the holidays. I have never worked so hard trying to pull off the holidays with so much going on in my life. Still I thought the house looked very nice. I decorated both the living room and dining room and it looked really festive. It was too bad there was no time for entertaining. That and the fact that everyone else was so busy, it made it impossible to do anything.
I keep it simple but elegant in my house
For years, I used to have a Christmas dinner but with everyone’s schedules and COVID still around, I am finding more and more people don’t want to get together. Again my schedule was no better this December. Still I worked my own “Santa” magic with other things I did for friends, neighbors and family.
From December 1st to the 31st, my feet never touched the ground. From unloading trees for the Men’s Association to watching the ball drop to completing three major projects for my job at Bergen Community College to the three major papers at school, my laptop followed me everywhere and was prominent in each of my hotel rooms as a worked on every business trip for my work with this blog. Who says that life is boring? The fun began as it does every year with Sinterklaas weekend in Rhinebeck.
My blog on Sinterklaas/ The Snowflake Festival weekend in Rhinebeck Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Six:
I had to plan Sinterklaas weekend like D-Day. I had a major presentation on the Metaverse when I returned back on the next Monday night so I had to finish the framework for the paper the Friday night before the parade. I was visiting the Culinary Institute of American to interview one of my old chefs at the college but I was not able to get in touch with him.
Still I was able to leave a message for an appointment and then tour the campus. I forgot how beautiful the campus is and I never saw it during Christmas time. I had been on my Externship my first year at the CIA so I never experienced the holidays at the CIA.
Roth Hall decorated for Christmas
The Christmas tree in the outside courtyard
I did not have any plans that Friday evening and I looked at the papers and saw that there was a Snowflake Festival in Downtown Kingston, NY. So that evening after a nice nap at the hotel, I headed there for the evening. It was just what the doctor ordered. It was a cool but not cold evening full of activities and lots of Christmas decorations and a festive environment.
Downtown Kingston, NY the night of the Snowflake Festival
It was a nice evening of Christmas activities, horse drawn carriage rides, visiting the firehouse, beautifully decorated windows of the local merchants and people just having a good time amidst COVID problems and a bad economy. People ‘needed a little Christmas now’ (Please read the blog below on the Snowflake Festival and the Sinterklaas Parade).
The line to see Santa was impossibly long. I think everyone needed him this year.
The Christmas tree in Downtown Kingston, NY
My homebase for the weekend was the Quality Inn Hotel in Hyde Park, which is becoming a tradition with me. I love the location and the comfortable beds. If you get a room facing the field to the right, you can see the stonewall that lines the property. Plus, they have the best fresh waffle station every morning.
The Quality Inn Hyde Park at 4142 Albany Post Road
Sinterklaas morning was a really gloomy day. Even if the weather outside that morning was gloomy, the spirit of Sinterklaas was in full swing inside the Beekman Arms Hotel for the Opening Ceremony.
The Opening Ceremony at Sinterklaas with Founder Jeanne Fleming and the Pocket Lady
The animal being celebrated this year was the porcupine and this was his home in the courtyard in Downtown Rhinebeck. This wise woman told us his tale.
The “Into the Light” show at the local church
The parade is the highlight of the evening and we lucked out that night as the weather broke by the afternoon. The sun started to come out and it was a much nicer evening with a cool but not cold feel and you could see the stars out on this clear evening. The parade is always exciting especially as we walk down the hill into Downtown Rhinebeck.
The parade begins at the Starr Library
The serpents are always a big hit at the parade
The stars always lead the parade down the hill
I marched at the end of the parade so all I saw was everyone’s backs. The crowds were not the same because of the weather that morning but they were still pretty large once we got into the core of downtown. Because of the weather earlier in the day, I could tell we had a more local crowd which was nice because Downtown Rhinebeck can only handle so many people.
All the characters come together at the closing ceremony
I swear that this parade like selling Christmas trees goes by faster and faster every year. I come to Rhinebeck in the Spring and the Summer and it just seems like I am counting the weeks until it starts all over again. After the parade was over, I stopped at Village Pizza for a few slices with the last of the parade stragglers. There were maybe three families eating a late dinner. By the time I warmed up and finished my pizza I walked around the downtown one more time. It was so quiet and peaceful with the exception of the saxaphone player who plays downtown at night. You would have never known there was a parade that night.
My review on TripAdvisor on Village Pizza in Rhinebeck, NY:
After a very sound sleep, I ate breakfast and enjoyed the waffle bar. Then I headed down to Boonton, NJ for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party that we were hosting at the home. Again, the year seems to go by fast.
The Executive Board the day of the party (I’m third to the right)
Because of COVID, the party is more subdued and families are still not allowed back with any great crowds. Still we had a DJ and Jerry Naylis’s daughter and granddaughters entertained the residents of the home. We really had a nice afternoon.
The Naylis family entertaining the residents
After the party was over, a few of us went the Columbia Inn for dinner. There was only a small group of us this year because again many of the guys were worried about COVID and large crowds. Still we toasted in the holiday season and after dinner, it was right back home to do my homework for school and classwork for my students. It would be never ending for the next three weeks.
The week between Sinterklaas and the next weekend of the Mills Mansion Party and exploring the decorated mansions to update my blogs for work, classes in both schools took a frenzy of activity on. I had to finish papers on the Metaverse and complete my White Paper on the Travel Industry and we started our paper on Mapping the Rockaways. I don’t think I ever went to bed before 2:00am every night for the next three weeks.
The “Dining on the Metaverse” paper required me to run around and interview chefs on the what their thoughts were on the Metaverse. I first went to the Ivy Inn in Hasbrouck Heights and talked with the Chef/Owner Jack. His thoughts on the Metaverse in dining were pretty strong and I needed a second interview so back to the Culinary Institute of America I went to talk to my former Chef at the college. He just happened to reach out to me that week so I stopped in to see him late on Friday.
The Ivy Inn at 268 Terrace Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ decorated for the holidays
I had an offer to revisit the Brinckerhoff Homestead the next afternoon before they ran a Afternoon Tea fundraiser to take pictures of the home decorated for Christmas for work and was able to get a last minute invitation acceptance for the Mills Mansion fundraiser, I decided to spend the night again at the Marriott in Fishkill, NY. It would be another long weekend of running around. So I booked a room at the Marriott Courtyard Fishkill, where I had stayed twice before and it would be close to all the sites and headed Upstate.
The Marriott Courtyard Fishkill at 17 Westage Drive & Route 9
I got up to the CIA before 4:30pm and walked around campus and enjoyed the Christmas lights again. The campus was starting to wind down for the holidays as the students would be leaving for break in a week and a half but the restaurants were busy with weekend reservations and by 4:30pm, I stated my interview on “Dining on the Metaverse” with the last chef I had before I graduated in 1998. I had not seen the guy in almost 25 years. Still he was just as nice as he was when I had him as an instructor and we had a good interview for almost two hours.
The campus was at twilight and it showed its true beauty next to the Hudson River.
The Culinary Institute of America at sunset
The Christmas tree lit at the Culinary Institute of America
We had our interview and it was nice talking with a Instructor that I had a lot of respect for years ago. It was nice of him to meet me after almost 25 years.
My TripAdvisor review on my lunch at the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe:
We bullshitted for the first hour and knowing that I had to be at the Mills Mansion by 6:30pm (the party was only going to 8:30pm), we had to get down to business. We spent the next hour talking about the effects of dining on the Metaverse and what it could do to the business in the future. His thoughts were pretty much the same as the Ivy Inn but it was an engaging conversation and I was able to take notes and write that section of the paper before I left for the weekend. Then it was off to the Mills Mansion for the Masquerade Cocktail Party fundraiser. That got my mind off a lot.
I had not been to a fundraiser here for the holidays since 2018 (COVID and work stopped me from going in the past) and it was a last minute thing I was able to attend. The President of the Friends of the Mills Mansion graciously let me come since it was sold out. I did not get there until almost 7:15pm by the time I left the CIA and got to Staatsburg and then had to park all the way down the hill.
The entrance to Staatsburgh, The Mills Mansion at 75 Mills Mansion Drive the night of the party
I was not too keen on wearing a mask since I had to wear glasses but I still had a nice time. The band was excellent and the singer wore an outfit that looked like it was from the early 1920’s. The food was wonderful and they had nice passed appetizers and wine and champagne to drink. The mansion’s Dining Room was decked out with masks and everyone was dressed to the nines. I had not seen people so dressed up in years. It was so impressive to see how elegant the evening was like something out of the mid-1980’s. No one had dressed up this much in years and it made the whole event feel so festive and special.
The band with the singer with the 1920’s outfit
I was able to catch up to people I had not seen in two years (since the last Afternoon Tea lecture in February of 2020 right before the shutdown) and we had a nice time talking about what had been happening over the last two years. It was a nice evening to get my mind off school and work. I slept so soundly that night when I got back to the hotel.
It was a very elegant party that night
The Mill’s would have been proud of this party
The day after the interview and the party, off I went early in the morning to visit the decorated mansions and take the tours. The Brinckerhoff House was my first stop and I would not be there long because they had a fundraiser at 1:00pm and I promised to be there, take the pictures and leave because they would be busy for the rest of the afternoon. The house looked just as pleasant as it did when I visited it over the summer but the nice part was the fireplaces were going giving that house that winter smell of firewood and pine.
The Brinckerhoff House at 68 North Kensington Drive at Christmas
The house was set up and decorated for an Afternoon Tea fundraiser
The Christmas tree at the Brinckerhoff house
I only stayed for about an half hour as volunteers were showing up to assist with the event and then I was off to my next house which was the Vanderbilt Mansion. This was a big weekend for the decorated homes and I figured I should visit them since I would not have time in the future.
The Vanderbilt tour was booked solid as people had the same idea that I had. I got on the 1:00pm tour and off we went to tour the mansion. I had been there many times before but never to see the Christmas decorations. When I had visited back in 2019, they were taking the decorations down when I got there. By the time we left, most everything on one side of the house was gone. Today though, the mansion was in its full glory.
The Vanderbilt Mansion at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park
The house was tastefully but not over-decorated as Fredrick Vanderbilt and his wife never used the home for Christmas. They were in Manhattan for the Christmas and the beginning of the social season that would last from Christmas to about Easter when everyone would head to their Spring homes in the country or in Florida.
The entrance hall to the Vanderbilt Mansion
The Dining Room set for a formal Christmas dinner
The Living Room with the family Christmas tree
The full tour of the mansion was very interesting and you got to hear the stories of Fredrick and the last years of his life. He simplified matters, sold all his other homes and moved here until he passed away. He wife had died and he stopped the social swirl and concentrated on his job with the railroad.
After the tour was over, the tour guide told me that FDR Estate was having a big Open House that day and that I should head over before they closed at 5:00pm. Myself and pretty much everyone on my tour headed over to Springwood, the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Springwood Mansion at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, NY
The first floor was decorated as it would have been for FDR and his family’s last Christmas when he was alive. The decorations were taken from old pictures of the house the year that he passed.
The entrance hall of Springwood decorated for Christmas
The library decorated for FDR’s last Christmas
The Dining Room was set for Christmas supper
The mansion again like the Vanderbilt Mansion was tastefully decorated but not overdone. The library had a tree with decorations and the many presents that the large extended family would have opened that day. The Dining Room was set for the family dinner with a children’s table in the back. It would have been a nice family affair.
We got to tour the rest of the house and head back to the Visitors Center for Hot Chocolate and cookies that they set up in the snack shop. That evening around 6:00pm, the Bard College music department was putting on a recital but I had to leave right after the tour as I had a tone of assignments and homework that I had to do for both colleges. At least I was finally able to see both mansions in their full glory at Christmas.
As I left the Vanderbilt and Roosevelt mansions, I passed Downtown Hyde Park, NY which has a small downtown with about two blocks of historical buildings and admired the lights and how the businesses decorated the lights and buildings. I stopped to take a picture of their Christmas tree which was ablaze with lights on this snowy night. It really did look like Christmas.
Downtown Hyde Park, NY
The Hyde Park, NY Christmas tree a block from downtown
I got home early that night to finish my papers on the Metaverse and my White Page on the visitors we had to our Travel Trends class. It was an uphill battle that night and on Monday for both presentations. We got a “B+” on the Metaverse paper and an “A” on the White Page and in both classes I got an “A”. The Mapping project would go on until December 22nd. It would take five revisions and a lot of late nights. We were able to pull out a “B+” on the Mapping paper of the Rockaways right as my own classes were ending.
That last week of school Monday classes ended and after the Tuesday class my classmates wanted to go for an evening of Karaoke. I had papers to grade when I got home so I declined and took a walk up to see the tree and clear my head before heading home.
Christmas in New York City is always a pleasure and with the City opened back up to tourism, it made it exciting again. The anticipation of Christmas in Manhattan is something to experience if you have never done it before. It all started for me when I declined a karaoke night with my classmates and went to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. I just needed a walk after my Data Analytics class. It had been a rough semester. Just seeing the tree put me in the Christmas spirit.
The Tree as we call it in Rockefeller Center December 2022
I walked around Midtown along Fifth Avenue, looking at Saks Fifth Avenue’s windows, admiring the lights and looking at the skyline. I forgot how beautiful this area of the City is at night. It was a mild Tuesday night when I was walking around and there were not too many people around. the tourists had not arrived in full swing yet. Being a Tuesday night, it was relaxing being able to walk around the Rockefeller Center area without the crowds.
The side streets were particularly elegant
West 58th Street in its glory
The Plaza Hotel in all its glory that night
I saw this playful sculpture along with others on Fifth Avenue but it was near my old haunt FAO Schwarz
This was the best display window at Bergdorf-Goodman on Fifth Avenue
Still what stood out to me on that glorious evening was the beauty of Midtown Manhattan at night. Even though it was still early in the evening, it might have well been 11:00pm because the streets were so quiet that evening. This is why I love Manhattan.
The beauty of Midtown Manhattan at night
The Plaza Hotel and Bergdorf-Goodman shined that evening
This little trip to Midtown after class really cheered me up. It had been a long semester and I needed this little Christmas break from school. It really put me into the holiday spirit. On my way back to Port Authority to head home, I passed the New York Public Library on my way through Bryant Park to see the Christmas Village
Outside the New York Public Library where the lions were decorated for the holidays.
As the school year ended at Bergen Community College and classes were wrapping up, I was getting tired of giving the traditional quizzes so for Quiz Four I gave all three classes from Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. The students were asked by Corporate to arrange the company Christmas Party. They were asked to create the Invitation, the menu with an appetizer, main dish, dessert and a signature drink.
Then were asked to create a Christmas Corporate message and two classes were asked to create an original Christmas song. It is amazing what a group of students can accomplish in an hour. Everyone in all three classes got an “A” and I did not have to drag home quizzes to grade. I will remember this quiz in the future.
The Paramus Business 101 Team’s idea for the Corporate Christmas Event
The Marketing 201 Team’s Ideas for the Corporate Christmas Event
The original Christmas song from the Marketing 201 Team for the Corporate Christmas Party
The ideas that the students came up with in ONE HOUR were just fantastic. This is why I love being a College Professor when you can get this type of creativity out of your students.
This Christmas message won the competition from my Business 101 Lyndhurst Team
As we put the revisions to the Mapping paper for my Data Analytics class and I prepared the final exams for my students and graded my other classes work, I planned another trip to the Hudson River Valley to visit the rest of the decorated mansions on my list and update all my blogs for work. This was a long and very productive weekend. It would be capped off with a last minute Historical Christmas concert at the Bergen County Historical Society. I had not been to one of these in three years.
The Marriott Courtyard Fishkill is where the adventure began. I revisited Staatsburgh (The Mills Mansion) and Wilderstein and then on Saturday I went to the Meiser Homestead in Wappinger Falls for their Holiday Open House. I had to time everything perfectly because I had to be in Manhattan for a Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall at 8:00pm. I timed everything perfectly.
The Marriott Courtyard Fishkill was decorated nicely for Christmas
The Marriott did a nice job decorating the hotel for the holidays
I started my trip on a snowy Friday afternoon (it was funny that the weather was just cloudy down by us) and I made it for my 11:00am appointment to see Staatsburgh. I had been to the Mills Mansion fundraiser the week before but the whole house was not open that evening and I had only been there for an hour. Now I was able to tour the house at my leisure. I was even interviewed for the local papers by a woman who was doing an article on the decorated mansions of the area.
I returned to Staatsburgh on snowy cold afternoon so the mansion was pretty quiet for touring. There were only two people on the walking tour of the mansion that afternoon. The roads up to Hyde Park were not the best.
Staatsburgh-The Mills Mansion at 75 Mills Mansion Drive on that snowy afternoon
It was nice to tour the house in peace and quiet. The party the week before had been a lot of fun but you could not see the rest of the house. All the rooms were so beautifully decorated, and the Dining Room was decorated to the hilt with masks, the theme of the party the week before. Since there was only two of us touring around, I got interviewed by the local paper by a reporter doing the same thing I was doing, visiting these beautiful homes. Visit my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com to see all my stories on my visits to these beautiful mansions.
My last stop that evening was to Woodstock, NY. I had planned to come this year for the parade but with my brother coming in for Christmas that changed my plans. I figured this was the last time I was going to be able to come up before the holidays. So I braved the slush and snow and drove the long roads up to Woodstock. It never disappoints me.
The Village Square at Woodstock, NY during the holidays
The Woodstock, NY Christmas tree is always interesting
After dinner, I slept so soundly at the hotel again. The Marriott Courtyard in Fishkill, NY is in the perfect location with Route 84 and the mountains right behind it. Easy to get to the highway home but still the best views when you wake up.
The amazing view from my hotel room at the back of the hotel facing the mountains
I had to rush to go on the 10:30am tour of Locust Grove, the former home of Samuel Morse, that I wanted to photograph before I left for the Meiser Homestead. There was not time to eat this morning. Thank God I had some baked goods in the hotel room.
The Christmas tree in the formal Living Room in the Tower section of the home
The Dining Room at Locust Grove at Christmas
The Billiards Room at Locust Grove at Christmas
I toured the whole house in our private tour at 10:30am. There were so many people on the tour, they called a special docent in to run the tour and we had the house to ourselves. Ehtel lead the tour and we took time to enjoy each room. Then it was off the Meiser Homestead for their Open House.
The Mesier Homestead at 2 Spring Street in Wappingers Falls, NY
The Foyer at the Meiser Homestead decked out for the holidays
The Living Room with the Christmas tree
The Dining Room set for Christmas lunch
Downtown Wappingers Falls during Christmas
The Wappingers Falls Christmas tree in the downtown
After I returned home from the Meiser Homestead Open House, it was change clothes again and into the City I went. I did not have much time to do anything in the evenings when classes were going on at NYU so after the semester was over and my third class was finished for the semester at Bergen Community College, I got a last minute ticket to see NY Pops at Carnegie Hall with singer Ingrid Michaelson. What a concert!
I had not been to Carnegie Hall since 2019 in pre-COVID and this always is a tough concert to buy tickets for but I snagged a Saturday night ticket in Row H on the aisle (I have long legs) and it was fate.
The entrance to Carnegie Hall at 57th and Seventh Avenue on the night of the concert. Our concert is to the left.
The inside of Carnegie Hall decorated for the holidays. The crowds were getting settled into the theater.
The stage at Carnegie Hall decorated for Christmas
The excitement built when I entered the hall and it was all decked out for Christmas. It was a site to see. The surprising part was how casual everyone was dressed for the evening. I was really thrown by this especially at the holidays. My seatmate was also dressed to the nines and she made the same comment. She introduced herself and I thought it was funny that a recently married woman would come to the show by herself but there we were acting like two single people.
The beauty of the stage that night just as the NY Pops members started to come on to the stage
Ingrid Michaelson and her fellow singers on stage
The whole concert was amazing and Ingrid Michaelson was fantastic that evening. What I thought was funny was the end of these concerts end with a sing along with Santa on stage and that did not happen this time. She ended the show with one of her signature songs. Maybe her Friday night concert had that. Even though, the concert was excellent and I shared the two songs below that were my favorite from the show.
This was my favorite song from the concert “Christmas Valentine” a new classic. This was written by both Ingrid Michaelson and Jason Mraz who performed it that night on stage.
The other great song from the concert was “Christmas Time is Here”:
“Christmas Time is Here” by Ingrid Michaelson
Even though it was a almost a two hour concert, it just seemed to end very quickly. After the concert was over, I just exploring the area around Lincoln Center. What a beautiful evening it was right before Christmas. People were talking in the local parks, admiring the Christmas lights in trees all over the neighborhood. Christmas tree stands were running in full force as people were decorating their homes on top of the their busy schedules.
Christmas tree sales by Carnegie Hall
For both lunch and dinner I returned to Amore Pizza cafe at 370 West 59th Street, which is down the road from Carnegie Hall. I swear that their food is the best.
I stopped in for a slice of Meat Lovers Pizza which was more than enough before the show and after the show I was still hungry. I went back and had a Chicken Parmesan Hero, which was good but it had been made from chopped fried chicken breasts instead of a freshly fried breast. It was good but not as good as the pizza was that night. After dinner, I just walked around Midtown and down Fifth Avenue admiring the windows.
The Meat Lovers Pizza at Amore Pizza Cafe is excellent
The weekend was not finished yet as I had an early morning walking tour of the Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow and then I had a Christmas concert at the Bergen County Historical Society in River Edge. Since I had to extend my leave with the fire department, I missed the first “Santa Around Town” in eighteen years. This on top of the fact that I was supposed to run it. With my work and college schedule, I had to ‘cry uncle’ and give it up which really disappointed me. I had some really good plans for it. In the end only thirteen guys showed up out of fifty and they had a fire call before the event ended. Thank God it was just a block chimney.
I left for the last day walking tour of the Philipsburg Manor before the house closed for the season. I was on the last walking tour of the house. Since the house was not insulated and the weather gets bad for the winter, the house will not open again until April. So I was hoping to get some picture taking in and see the decorations. The house was not decorated for the holidays but still the tour was interesting.
The Philipsburg Manor house 381 North Broadway in Sleepy Hollow, NY
The tour was about an hour and we had indoor and outdoor activities that we got involved with cooking hardtack, touring the house and grounds and helping in the barn beating out the wheat seed. When the actors who worked at the site (who must have been freezing their butts off because it was cold that morning) told us and demonstrated the work that had been done on the estate, this was hard work! This was a working farm and business transport spot, not where a family lived and entertained. When Mr. Philips was on property, he was here for business and nothing else. The staff ran this farm.
Us making Hardtack at the outdoor oven
Our visit to the barn where were loosening the wheat seeds. This poor woman was out there all morning in the cold!
The tour was about an hour and I thought that the house would have had some Dutch Christmas decorations but again the tour guides and historians said that the house for business and visiting not for the day in day out lives of the family. Still it was interesting. After our tour finished, I toured the gift shop and then headed home to get ready for the concert.
The Bergen County Historical Society at New Bridge Landing brought back their indoor concerts for Christmas including opening the Blackhorse Pub (The Campbell-Christie House) for dinner before and after the concerts. It was so nice to come to this again. The crowds were a little light at the second concert at 7:45pm on a Sunday night but it made it more fun that we could still socially distance from each other and there was plenty of space to spread out.
I started the evening early at the pub eating my dinner before the concert. The pub had a limited but very nice menu based on what foods that may have been served at the time period (with a modern twist of course). There was Shepard’s Pie, a Ploughman’s Plate, Onion Pie, Trifle and Dutch Cookies and desserts on the menu..
The Campbell-Christie House at 1209 Main Street in River Edge, NJ at the Bergen County Historical Society
The Campbell-Christie House was used as the “Blackhorse Tavern” for the evening where pub food could be ordered for dinner. It was really beautiful that night with all the tables a glow from the candles and the room decorated with holly, garland and wreaths for the holidays.
The Blackhorse Tavern for dinner
After dinner was over, I had plenty of time to explore the gift shop and wonder around the property to see the other decorations. The other buildings on the property were closed that evening but still decorated so I followed the lantern filled pathway and looked at the decorations.
Before the second concert that evening that I would be attending at 7:45pm I wondered around the museum part of the Steuben House where the concerts were taking place. The exhibits were set up with a holiday/Christmas theme in mind. One display was on a candy maker who once had a store in Downtown Hackensack.
Bogert’s Candy Shop in Downtown Hackensack closed in 1934
Decorating the house both during the Revolutionary War and during the Victorian Age was a very extensive affair of preparing the house for entertainment. Garland, holly and pine would have been important to decorate with but it was the Christmas ornaments of the Victorian age and trimming trees with ornaments that would have made the tree very festive.
There were also displays on entertaining during that time period and soldiers lives while the war was going on and what would be needed. It could be lonely at the holidays.
We started to settle in as the second concert was about to start. The room was decorated for the holidays with a combination of Victorian and Revolutionary decorations.
The ballroom at the Steuben House
We were then treated to a concert by the great Linda Russell whose interpretations of Revolutionary Christmas songs is well known. We had a hour long concert of favorite songs, talks about the times and a history of the music itself. She shared with us her insights towards the holidays of New Jersey versus New England and their Puritan ways. Thank God we knew how to party then too.
Linda Russell (to the far left) and her group entertained us for the evening with songs, talks, a few jokes and a wonderful night of excellent music.
“I saw Three Ships Sail In” my favorite song from Linda Russell
We were entertained for about an hour and got time during the intermission to talk with the musicians who shared their experiences with us and about the musical equipment that they were using that evening. It was an interesting talk and a wonderful concert. I highly recommend visiting the Bergen County Historical Society during this time of the year. They do a nice job with this concert and the site is so beautifully decorated for the Christmas holiday season.
Before my the last day of classes at Bergen Community College on December 22nd, I made one last trip into the City before I left for my mother’s. The house had to get cleaned and the laundry had to get done and I got all my errands done before I left. I just wanted to walk around and get my mind off both colleges. It had been a long semester and I was burnt out. The City could not have been more beautiful.
Christmas on Park Avenue
Park Avenue was lined with Christmas trees lighting up before it got dark
Homes on the Upper East Side were beautifully decorated for the holidays
Homes on the Upper East Side were decorated so nicely and some blocks there seemed to be a competition for whose house was nicer.
I went to Rockefeller Center one more time to see the tree and it was like a madhouse so I just looked at it from across the street and continued walking around the Upper East Side down to the Cornell Club where I relaxed for a bit before I went home. People would start taking their decorations down after the holidays and I wanted to take one more glimpse of the neighborhoods before that happened.
The Empire State Building from the Flatiron District
Christmas Eve morning, I visit the cemeteries and pay my respects to my family before I leave for my mother’s. I think it’s important to pay your respects. After fighting the crowds at Mills Bakery on Christmas Eve morning to get a Seven Layer Cake and breakfast cakes and doughnuts for the next day, I left for Rehoboth Beach. I swear the roads were really quiet and it was the first time that I got down to my mom’s in three and a half hours.
Mills Bakery at 275 Valley Boulevard in Wood Ridge, NJ had the most festive cakes, pies and cookies for the holidays
I had just seen my mother in September after the Firemen’s Convention but this was the first time since 2019 that we had spent Christmas together. COVID has really wreaked havoc on the holidays.
Christmas Eve and Day were spent at my mom’s which we have not done since the pandemic. It kept us away and it was strange not having a family get together for three years. It was nice to get together as a family again. On Christmas Eve, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and the place was a madhouse.
Confucius Chinese Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE
My review on TripAdvisor of Confucius Chinese Restaurant:
Even with all the crowds, it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the meal and not have to do anything. I slept so soundly that night knowing that I did not have to be anywhere for a month.
My mother really decorated the house beautifully.
The House at Christmas.
Jane set the table so elegantly.
Cooking this year like in 2019 is now a family affair. My Mom relinquish some control of the kitchen over the last couple of years as dinner was getting to be too much for her to do alone so we all help now. My brother and I coordinate the schedules and plan the menu with my mom and we each did part of the meal and cooked it. This is what the Team work produced:
The Appetizers and Desserts being prepped for dinner:
Mom should be hired by Nancy Meyers to do visuals for her films.
The Potato Croquettes that I prepared for dinner, the Broccoli Casserole and the homemade Apple Pie my mother prepared for dinner (my mom makes the best pies).
We were all getting ready to cook our portion of Christmas Dinner.
My mother preparing the Sauteed String Beans
Me preparing the Potato Croquettes (which by the way were a big hit I think I look like a French Chef).
My brother getting the Roast carved before the start of dinner.
My Mother with the final Christmas dinner that was the Team effort
Christmas Dinner 2022 and everyone loved it! The dinner was Roast Fresh Park, Potato Croquettes, Apple Sauce, Broccoli Souffle and Sauteed String Beans.
The Desserts were Homemade Apple Pie and a Seven Layer Cake that I brought from Mills Bakery. My brother also made all the Christmas cookies.
My family on Christmas Day after dinner (minus my younger brother and his kids).
We had such a nice time with my mother and her friends at dinner and it was a nice quiet and mellow Christmas. It was what I needed after a long school year.
The day after Christmas while my brother headed to New York City, I took the ferry from Lewes to Cape May to spend the night and admire all the decorations all over town. I only spent one night in Cape May but with how relaxing, beautiful and quiet it was that evening I felt like I had been there for a week. I always say in my blogs that the only town to rival Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas is Cape May, NJ.
I took the ferry the next day from Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ and thank God the weather was nice. We had really light waves and the trip went by really quick. We got into Cape May in a little over an hour and a half. Since I did not have to check into my hotel and it was getting late, I decided to head over to Sunset Beach and watch the sun set. That really relaxed me. In any weather, I swear the beach is always full of people doing the same thing. It was relatively warm that day and when I got to the park, people were playing miniature golf at the little range they have there. I thought that was amusing.
The sunset was fantastic! The weather had really cleared that evening and the colors were so entrancing.
The sun preparing to set that night
The hues at Sunset Beach make this place very special
I just stayed until it got a bit dark and then I headed to the hotel. I stay at the Chalfonte in the winter time in their Souther Quarters (the regular hotel is not insulted and closed until May) and I always enjoy the rooms with their cheery shabbiness and the way the place is always decorated for the holidays. You have to like these old hotels.
The Southern Quarters at the Chalfonte Hotel at 301 Howard Street
I have been coming to the hotel for Christmas for the last several years and last year when COVID again shut things down for Christmas, I stayed here while visiting my younger brother in Rehoboth Beach when he came for a visit. I love Cape May at Christmastime.
The hotel has that festive home away from home feeling with poinsettias around the hotel, Christmas candies and chocolates at the front door and Christmas lights around the building.
I like the shabby chic of the place
My room was really nice and the bed was so comfortable
The room has just been renovated but still had a water spot on the ceiling. That is the charm of the Chalfonte. It reminds you that it is an old hotel. I ventured out to the downtown and the Washington Mall that evening to see the true magic of what makes Cape May a Christmas town. All the lights, trees and decorations make sure that Santa does not miss this town.
The town square with it’s Christmas tree in the bandstand and white lights all over the little part are whimsical and magically as you walk through them. It always reminds me of “Whoville” in the “Grinch that stole Christmas”.
Cape May Town Square at Christmas
The bandstand and Christmas tree are amazing at night
The Cape May Christmas tree
I spent a good part of the my evening admiring the lights of downtown and of Washington Mall which is the downtown section of Cape May. The whole neighborhood was ablaze with lights, decorations and beautiful Christmas displays in the windows. Cape May knows how to decorate for the holidays.
The Washington Mall at night
The Washington Mall in Cape May decorated for the holidays
Our Lady of the Star Sea Church at 525 Washington Street in Downtown Cape May
After a long walk picture taking everything in the downtown from every angle (I have pictures that I ended up using for other sites), I went back to the room to relax. I just sunk into the pillows and went out like a light. I woke up two hours later and got to bed. I slept so soundly again.
The next morning was rested and ready to go. I had my usual post-Christmas game plan. I started with breakfast at the Mad Batter, a local well known restaurant in Cape May and the food is always excellent. I have eaten here several times and I highly recommend it.
The food and the service are always very good. That morning there seemed to be only one waitress on the floor and I swear that this woman handled the dining room like a pro. The service was flawless and she never panicked.
The Bacon and Cheese Omelet with home fries was outstanding
After breakfast was over, I gathered my things at the hotel and dropped off my keys and then spent the afternoon visiting historical sites. Most everything I was surprised were closed so I took exterior shots to update my blogs.
While walking downtown, I saw that Our Lady of the Star Sea, the Catholic Church in the Washington Mall was having service at 11:00am. Since I did not go to church services on Christmas Eve or Day, I went in for the post-Christmas services. I was surprised how crowded they were that morning. I found out that a young new priest has just come from the seminary and started that day. I found him very inspirational and very enthusiastic.
The church was so beautifully decorated for the holidays
Our Lady Star of the Sea for the Christmas holiday season
After church services were over, I toured around Cape May. I had a noon time appointment at the Physick Mansion to see their Christmas decorations so I stopped at a few of the museum around the downtown area but again all closed.
The Physick Mansion tour at the holidays I have taken many times and it is one of the nicest homes decorated for the holidays. Many people would not have decorated every nook and cranny of the house the way this is but like Locust Grove, it gives you an idea of how the Victorians celebrated the holidays.
The decorations were amazing and the house was decked to the hilt for the Christmas holidays. We got to tour the entire house and every room has such festive garland and Christmas trees. The family seemed to know how to celebrate the holidays.
The Living Room at the Physick Estate
The Dining Room
The Parlor with the ‘Tabletop’ Tree in the corner
We went room by room with the tour guide explaining how the family would prepare for Christmas and the preparations that would have to be done by the staff for guests and for the family dinner. There would be many trips to Philadelphia department stores for gifts for the family. You felt on the tour that the family had just left for the day.
After the tour, I headed over to West Cape May to see the Cape May Lighthouse and was surprised that it was open that day. With everything else being closed, it was a treat to be able to climb it again. The drive in was nice as people decorated their homes nicely and being a warm day around 50 degrees (Christmas just seems to be getting warmer), I drove around for a bit to admire them.
The entrance to the Borough of Cape May Point decked for the holidays
The outdoor Christmas display in West Cape May
The Cape May Lighthouse and grounds were really busy with visitors and being such a warm day many were walking on the beach or admiring the park. Several passed me as I climbed the lighthouse which I had not done in a few years. The view on this clear sunny day was great.
The views from the top were so clear and beautiful and being so clear you could see the entire surrounding community.
The view from the top of the Cape May Lighthouse
After climbing up and back down, I passed more people who I could not believe were complaining on how hard it was to walk it. I got up in about ten minutes with a couple of stops and then was back down again once reaching the top. It is not that hard and is well worth the trip up.
Watching the time, I wanted to visit the farms in the area but Rea Farm was closed for the season so I headed to Beach Plum Farm, which has become quite the tourist stop since my first trip to Cape May. It is such a picturesque farm but it looks very planned. When I first started coming here is was a more local farm. Now it looks like a gourmet shop and it has gotten more expensive.
The entrance to Beach Plum Farm at 140 Stevens Street
I toured around the gift shop and admired the beautiful displays of gourmet foods. The place was almost empty as I could see that they must have had a very good Christmas. There was some serious restocking that needed to be done.
The wonderful gourmet items at Beach Plum Farm
I ended my afternoon feeding the chickens before I left the farm. God they were so excited to see me. I just had a little feed and they ran all around me like groupies. I guess this is how the farm feeds them. It was the best quarter I spent on the trip.
The chickens were a very excited bunch that afternoon
Before I left Cape May that day for home, I visited Sunset Beach one more time to enjoy the weather. The beach was pretty crowded again as everyone waited to see the sun set again on Cape May. Like I said before, you can see this a hundred times but it is never boring.
Sunset Beach on a warmish sunny day attracts a lot of visitors
From Sunset Beach, I headed home. I stopped for a quick slice of pizza on the way and then I had to leave Cape May (until the next time). There was a lot to do and I had places that I wanted to visit before the holidays were over. I could not believe how much work I got done on this two day trip to Cape May. I got to see a lot.
In the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I made another trip around the City. Since I did not have to return to classes until the end of January, I was able to take my time and explore around campus and the Village. Christmas was still in full swing.
Christmas in Greenwich Village
Decorations in one of the pocket parks on Greenwich Street
Homes decked out for the holidays
Townhouses decked out for the holidays
I also made a special trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Christmas tree and decorations before the museum took them down after the Epiphany. I love seeing them every year. It still is a big attraction at the museum and you have to visit it before that first weekend in January is over.
The Metropolitan Museum of at at 1000 Fifth Avenue:
My last holiday event before school started again was Epiphany services at the Reformed Church of Paramus and visiting my father for his birthday. It can be sobering but I try to still celebrate his life and going to this church puts me into the Christmas spirit.
The Paramus Reformed Church in Ridgewood, NJ
Christmas services at the Paramus Reformed Church
The Paramus Reformed Church’s decorations by Route 17 are always tasteful
After services were over, I stayed and joined the other parishioners for Tea and snacks after the service and talked with other parishioners. It was nice to sit back after a long holiday season and just relax. After services were over, I went to pay respects to my father for his birthday (which is the reason why I come here for church as its on the way home). The cemetery was filled to the brim with wreaths and grave blankets so even though it was a cemetery, there was still a festive feel to the fact that so many people paid their respects to their families.
My aunt took me out on the last day of the Epiphany weekend for my combination birthday/Christmas present dinner to the Ivy Inn. What a nice evening we had and it was the perfect way to end the holiday season. The Chef/ Owner was not there that day but we were able to discuss with the staff the paper I wrote on the Metaverse. They seemed amused by it all (see my review on dinner on my TripAdvisor review above by the Metaverse paper story).
The Ivy Inn decorated for Christmas
The beauty of the dining room decorated for the holidays
The delicious salad I started with
The delicious Penne with Sundried Tomatoes and Sweet Sausage that I had that evening
My aunt and I shared this wonderful Zeppoles with Chocolate and Raspberry sauces
It was a magical evening with good food and company in a festive environment. I really needed this with all the running around with school, work, blogging and research that I had done from Thanksgiving to the Epiphany. It was a lot for one person to pull off and somehow I managed it all. I am lucky that I have supportive friends and family.
I had the entire month of January to relax before the whole thing began again for Spring Semester and that is all I wanted to do. It didn’t quite happen that way but I finally got time to myself which I needed.
My work for my blogs took me all over New York and New Jersey, visiting small towns, admiring Christmas decorations and supporting many community events. Please visit my other blogs DiningonaShoeStringin NYC@Wordpress.com, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com and VisitingaMuseum.com to see all the updates, more detailed stories on the mansions and events and all my updated pictures.
I got my final grades by the end of the semester and it was straight “A”‘s. This was the first time in my life I ever did that! Don’t even ask me how I pulled this all off!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The Empire State Building from the NoMAD section of Manhattan just off Broadway
I visited the Fort Lee Museum at the Judge Moor House today to see the exhibition on Palisades Park Amusement Park and to see the history of the early film industry. Silent films started in Fort Lee long before they moved Los Angeles.
It was interesting to see how many silent screen stars started in Fort Lee including Mae Marsh, Lillian and Dorothy Gish and Mabel Normad and wherethe movies were shot. The museum shows how the industry grew and the studios that were created in town.
Exhibitions at the museum
The Palisade Park exhibition was on the progression of the growth of the amusement industry in North Jersey and exhibited many artifacts from the old park. There…
*Note: There is no delivery and no Credit Cards-Cash Only(Note: Since COVID the prices have gone up one or two dollars).
There is not a bad thing to say about Barcelona’s Restaurant and Bar. It is classic North Jersey restaurant that has not changed over time. I once took my mother there for dinner and she said that it not changed since she was a teenager. This type of time warp has not affected the food or the prices or the service. All are still terrific.
The waiters here are such characters. It is so casual that you feel like you have known them for years. Most of the staff has been there for many years and they always treat you nicely.
mywalkinmanhattan 