Formerly The Ramapo Meeting House was organized in 1785 and built in 1798
In 1713, a small group of eleven German Lutheran families settled at the “Island,” so named because of extensive marshlands surrounding high, dry land. They formed a congregation in 1715, and c. 1720 built a log church. Prior to 1739, they built a larger, frame church.
Dutch, French, English and Scottish settlers of the Reformed faith came to the Island about mid-century and attended church in Paramus, 10 miles distant. In 1785, they organized The Ramapo Dutch Reformed Congregation at Ramapough in Bergen County.
After the Revolutionary War (1776-1783), the first task of the new nation was to repair the damages of war and neglect. Neither the Lutheran nor the Reformed congregation at the Island had sufficient means to build a new church. In spite of having fought on opposing sides during the War, they agreed to jointly repair and use the old Lutheran church. The arrangement was so successful that in 1798, they agreed to build the present church together.
Construction began on June 4th, and was finished in November. The last items purchased were “one lock and two keys” on December 12, 1798. The two congregations shared the church for fifty years until 1848, when the Lutherans sold their interest and moved to Airmont, NY and established the present Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church.
As soon as its doors opened to the public in 1798, the new Ramapough Meeting House became the heart of the daily activities. Social gatherings and civic meetings were held here all week long, and personal and official notices were posted on the doors. But on the Sabbath (from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday) the building became a sacred place.
Ramapough – or Bellgrove, as it was called at this time – had four mills, several blacksmith shops, a general store, a stagecoach stop, and U.S. Post Office, one of the earliest in New Jersey (1797). The old Kings Highway of 1703 or Ramapough Road (Island Road) was part of the ancient 150-mile Albany Post Road from Paulus Hook (Jersey City) to Albany, NY. Dobbin & Tustin, est. 1797, ran a passenger and mail stage line on this road, right past the door of the Ramapough Meeting House.
In 1798, when pews and people were smaller, the Meeting House held 385 people. (Today, it holds 250). Though the old box-type pews are gone from the sanctuary, the gallery seats above still exist. The Island Church held an important place in the railroad hamlet of Mahwah throughout the 1800s. It was known simply as the Community Church until the 1950s, when suburbanization brought many other faiths to Mahwah.
One of the earliest public schools in the area, c. 1815, was operated on the church property until 1906, when the church sold land to the Township for the Commodore Perry School. In the cemetery is a roadbed of the old Kings Highway.
The Ramapo Reformed Church is the oldest public building in Mahwah, and a repository of more than 200 years of local and regional history. It is the older of only two remaining frame Federal-period churches in Bergen County, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The modern church sign
I walked through this quiet and reserved graveyard in search of ghosts from the past. The graveyard at the Ramapo Reformed Church, like many of these former Dutch churches, are steeped in memories of the past.
The historic graveyard in the back of the church
In the unique graveyard are the places of rest of many of the first families of Bergen County, NJ who not just shaped the county, but the State of New Jersey and the United States as well.
The oldest part of the graveyard surrounds the church
While the names Haring, Christie, Blauvelt, Demarest, Ramsey, Sutherland, Fox, Hopper, Van Ripper, DeBaun, Terhune and Tice may not similar to most people, to a generation of us were the names of farming families in Bergen County.
Their farms supplied us with fresh fruits and vegetables when in season and places for us to go during Halloween and Thanksgiving for our baked goods and much needed apple cider.
The 1980’s real estate boom put an end to many of these traditions but those names still live in the memories of an older generation. We see some of these traditions still hold tight at Demarest Farms in Hillsdale where hayrides and apple cider and fritters are still part of that experience.
For this trip though, I was in search of graves of our brave veterans of the American Revolution and in the faded tombstones surrounding the church, I found most of them.
The oldest part of the graveyard wraps itself around the church or faces the road, which at one time must have been a country lane.
Some of the oldest families from the community are buried closest to the church building
The graveyard is filled with family plots of most of the first families of the area once surrounded by old fences.
The graveyard is full of families and their memories. In some parts of the graveyard, family plots are organized by generations. To so the progression of mother and father to their children and grandchildren. The history of these families is in the rows of names and the intermarriages of all these families to one another.
The Fox family plot, where one of the members of the family was a veteran of the Civil War
Peter J. Ramsey was born on 23 November 1804, in Bergen, New Jersey, United States. He married Margaret Hopper in 1828, in Hohokus Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 10 May 1852, in Ramapo, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 47, and was buried in Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Family Search.org).
Closer to the church, I discovered the graves of our brave soldiers from the Revolutionary War whom I had been searching for.
The grave of John Suffern, who fought in the Revolutionary War and whose family the County of Suffern was named after
When John Suffern was born on 23 November 1741, in County Antrim, Ireland, his father, William Suffern, was 27 and his mother, Margaret Templeton, was 19. He married Mary Myers on 1 January 1766, in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Rockland, New York, United States in 1820 and Ramapo, Rockland, New York, United States in 1830. He died on 11 November 1836, in Suffern, Ramapo, Rockland, New York, United States, at the age of 94, and was buried in Ramapo Reformed Church Cemetery, Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).
The graves of John Suffern and his wife
The Christie family plot, where John and James Christie who fought in the war were buried
When John W Christie was born on 7 May 1754, in Schraalenburgh, Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, William James Christie, was 33 and his mother, Catalijntje Demarest, was 32. He married Annatie Hannah Brinkerhoff about 1773, in New Barbadoes Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 8 daughters. He died on 11 September 1815, in Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 61, and was buried in Bergenfield, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).
When James Willem Christie was born on 20 August 1744, in Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, William James Christie, was 24 and his mother, Catalijntje Demarest, was 22. He married Maria Banta about 1772, in Schraalenburgh, Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 23 July 1817, in Bergenfield, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 72 (Familysearch.org).
The grave of Lawrence Sutherland another Revolutionary War Veteran
When Lawrence Sutherland was born on 12 June 1763, in Harrington Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, his father, James Sutherland, was 21 and his mother, Marietje, was 19. He married Elizabeth Sutherland in 1786, in New Hampstead, Rockland, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 9 October 1846, in New Hampstead, Rockland, New York, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).
The Halloween decorations were not even put away, the weather was 80 degrees on Halloween night and as I walked to the restaurant after the parade, display people were decorating windows with wreathes and trees. Here comes Christmas ! Between Halloween and Christmas I never sit still. There is so much ground to cover between New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania covering events for the holidays for my blog. It was a lot of picture taking this holiday season and revamping older blogs with new pictures and updates on the events. Join me for my crazy holiday season.
The beautiful sunrise on the day after Thanksgiving to start the Christmas holiday season
The Friday after Thanksgiving, we had the Christmas tree drop off with the Men’s Association and then I worked a triple shift that Friday from 7:00am to 9:00pm. It was a long busy day . We sold over 50 trees that day and they kept coming.
The tree racks were filled and refilled during the day
We had not even been open ten minutes and we had our first sale
It was a beautiful day for the start of the sale
Fully set up for the sale
The members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association at the beginning of the sale
The first day it was non- stop business all day. Thanksgiving fell a week late this year and we lucked out with sunny but cool weather putting everyone in the Christmas mood. We just ran around and worked all morning, afternoon and evening selling , wrapping and tying trees to people’s cars and trucks. It was really a team effort.
Because I had plans on almost all weekends and weekday nights for the next two weeks, I worked the “Triple Shift”, which is Christmas tree drop off, then the morning shift from 10:00am-2:00pm, the afternoon shift 2:00pm-6:00pm and the evening shift the 6:00pm-9:00pm plus marching in the Hasbrouck Heights Christmas Parade with the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
We were open for business on one of our busiest opening days that I can remember. We all forgot that Thanksgiving came a week late this year and people were waiting for us to open
One of our new Executive Board Members wanted to put a float in the parade for publicity for the Christmas tree sale so we marched along with that. It was a long day. Thank God, we had bought pizza for lunch for the members and another member brought White Castle Hamburgers and Chicken Rings for us. We did not have to stop for meals. That brought its own challenges later on.
Fully open for business
It may have been a long day, but it was a productive day for us. By the end of the evening, we sold 51 trees and four stands, refilled everything as we went along and then marched in the parade and then returned to sell one more tree before we called it quits at 8:45pm. The temperatures did drop, and the parade was not as crowded as I thought it might be on an evening where everyone was off.
We turned the Christmas lights at dusk
Later in the evening is when the true spirit of the site comes to life. The Christmas lights come on and it really brings the spirit of Christmas home. It lets our customers know that we are open for business.
The Christmas tree lot the first weekend night of the sale
I think this festive environment is perfect for selling trees
We closed the lot for an hour so that the guys working that night could march in the town holidays parade with our float. We really had a nice time handing out candy canes to the kids and wishing everyone a happy holiday season.
The start of the Hasbrouck Heights Holiday Parade
The costumed Christmas characters
The Moonachie Fire Department displaying their lights
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association float in the parade
The parade concluded at the Circle for the Annual Tree Lighting ceremony. We did not stay for it as we had to head back to the lot for selling but I went back later to take pictures.
The Christmas trees lit on the Circle in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights
The museum has an extensive collection of firefighting memorabilia and equipment from different stages of the fire service. The museum is a must for firefighters and fire buffs.
The lighting display by the Circle
The historical Dollhouse on the Circle
The Hasbrouck Heights Firemen’s Park at the Circle decorated for the holidays
The bell at the Firemen’s Park
The Firemen’s Park display by the gazebo
The gazebo beautifully decorated by the town for the holidays
The sign welcome you to Hasbrouck Heights for the holiday season. When it comes to the holiday spirit of special events, house decorating and community involvement the residents of Hasbrouck Heights really bring the holiday spirit to life.
We headed back to the lot to finish out the evening selling for more trees and one stand. By the time we closed the lot for the evening, we had sold a record 51 trees and four stands in one day. It was a great way to start the sale. This was just the start of my holiday season in the never ending rush of activities.
The Christmas tree lot as we were closing for the evening
That Saturday, I decided to break a bad curse that I had experienced five years ago when visiting the historic Kearney House in Alpine. This is where I had the accident going down that cliff road at night. Though I said to myself that I would never enter that park again at night, I figured during the day would be okay.
The sad part was that I was the only guest for the first hour and a half of the opening. It was a chilly afternoon on Thanksgiving weekend but inside there was wonderful entertainment and hot cider to enjoy.
Enjoying the guitar playing and a cup of hot cider at the Kearney House
In between the entertainment and enjoying a few cups of the hot cider, I was able to tour the house again and take pictures. With the fireplaces going and glowing, it created a festive environment for relaxing during the holidays.
The Dining Room with the fireplace warming the room and hot cider to drink
Historic games to play
The fireplace glowing keeping the kitchen warm
Touring the upstairs bedroom gallery
The other bedroom and park system gallery
The old Attic bedrooms where Mrs. Kearney’s children used to sleep
After the tour was over, I stayed for an hour and enjoyed the music and the warm fire. It was a nice break from the holiday rush.
Enjoying the holiday music by the fireplace
I had to get back home but took the time to tour the park and houses grounds. It is an interesting historic site.
The herb garden
The house by the boat basin
The beautiful Fall foliage inside the park grounds. This was the last of the colors as the cold of winter was coming
In touring the Kearney House, I completing taking pictures of almost all the historical sites in Bergen County. The house is now closed for the season and will not open again until the end of April.
The next day I attended the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Holiday Party at the NJ State Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party of the residents. This is one of the biggest events that we run for the residents for the home and the residents love this event. They have a good meal at the home, wonderful entertainment and present for every resident. No resident should be forgotten during the holiday season.
My blog on the Christmas event at the NJ State Firemen’s Home:
We started our meeting with a very nice buffet lunch that all members and the staff at the home could enjoy before the entertainment started. It was a nice way to start the afternoon. Chef Prince prepared a feast of Baked Ziti, Chicken Piccata, salads, breads, deli sandwiches and Chocolate Cake from Rockland Bakery for dessert. Everyone loved it!
The buffet lunch
The buffet lunch
Then we headed in for the afternoon entertainment. We were treated to the entertainment of and Member Jerry Naylis’s family, who we are watching grow up before our eyes. Funny how time marches on.
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association with Santa and our pal, Wells
Jerry Naylis’s daughter and granddaughters in their group picture
Wells and I took our picture as well. He is such a great member
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association elected me President for 2025 which I humbly accepted. I felt very honored.
After the party was over and everyone headed home, I took a detour to visit Downtown Boonton, which is a few blocks from the home and saw all the decorations. The town looked very festive.
I then visited the town’s Santaland that was closing for the afternoon and took pictures around the park.
Santaland
Letters to Santa in Santaland
Santaland set up for visitors
Santa’s Headquarters in the Park
The decorations in the park
The other entrance to Santaland
The Gazebo in the Park lit for the holidays
The gazebo in the park at dusk before I left for the evening
I have to say one thing is that for a small town, Boonton does a beautiful job decorating the Downtown. The Main Street and the parks were very festive and put you in the holiday spirit.
The rest of the week was concentrating on the last quiz of the semester and getting ready for major projects. I also had another night of selling Christmas trees and did the weather turn quickly. It went from the 60’s to the 30’s very quickly.
After this week was over, it was time for a break. My students were very antsy due to their major project being due the next week. I do not know why everyone felt so uptight on such a fun project.
I could not wait until Friday morning when I could have a day off and just relax. I planned a trip down to South Jersey to take two Christmas House Walking Tours, one in Woodstown and Pinesboro on Friday and the other in Salem,NJ the next day.
This is my blog on the Pilesgrove-Woodstown Walking Tour on the Historical Society site:
I was not too sure what to expect so I dropped my luggage at the hotel first and got to Woodstown early. I had enough time for some lunch so I ate at the Creekside Inn, where the busses were leaving from. The food and service were excellent.
The entrance to the Creekside Inn right on the golf course off Downtown Woodstown
I sat down in the bar area that was decorated for the holidays and ordered lunch while planning the evening. The food and the service are excellent.
The Christmas tree by the buffet being set up for that evening
The food and the service were wonderful (see review on TripAdvisor). Not wanting to be loaded up for the tour I had a Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Tomatoes. It was delicious. They made it with sour dough bread and cooked it in butter so that the outside was crisp. The perfect comfort food on a cool afternoon.
My lunch at the Creekside Inn, the Grilled Cheese with bacon and tomatoes with a side salad and a Coke
It was a nice sized lunch
Yum!
It was perfect timing because just as I finished it was time to take the bus out to the homes in Pinesgrove. What a nicely planned tour.
The outside patio area where we caught the bus and Santa would join us later
Our first stop on the four house tour was the Seven Stars Tavern House, what was once an old Tavern between Woodstown and Bridgeton. It was so beautifully restored and decorated for the holidays.
The historic marker for the tavern
Our group starting the tour of the house
Our group talking with the owner of the Seven Stars Tavern
The former tavern area of the home
The decorations in the Living Room of the Seven Stars Tavern
The decorations in the Seven Star Tavern
The Christmas tree in the Dining Room
The Dining Room in the Seven Stars Tavern
After the tour of this former tavern, it was time to move onto the next three houses on the tour.
We started the next part of the tour at the farm.
The Farm in Pilesgrove
The Living Room at the house
The Dining Room at the house
The barn on the property
When we exited the house, we had time to walk the grounds which were so beautifully landscaped and maintained. I was trying to imagine what the grounds must look like in the Spring and Summer.
The bus then picked us up and took us to the next location which was the Figo Farm. That was a real treat as that home was so beautifully decorated and the hosts so welcoming to us.
The Figo Farm in Pilesgrove, NJ
The Figo Farm was more of a ‘gentlemen’s’ farm with small fields and an orchard with a stable in the back. The family who hosted the event could not have been more gracious to us. They welcomed us with home baked cookies and holiday greetings.
Welcoming us in their beautifully decorated kitchen
The aroma of freshly baked cookies was in the air
The beautiful warm living room where we had a talk on the history of the farm
While I talked inside with the host’s parent’s most of my group took a hay ride around the farm. I met them in the stables which were beautifully decorated for the holidays.
The stables at the back of the farm
The beautiful decorations in front of the barn
The beautiful tree by the barn
Our then took us to the last stop on the Pilesgrove tour which was ‘Morgan’s Folly’, a Federalist style farmhouse home, very big and elaborate for the time. It just started to get dark when we arrived.
The beautiful sunset on the farm fields
The ‘Morgan’s Folly’ home at the holiday
The Dining Room at ‘Morgan’s Folly’
The beautiful family Christmas tree
The ‘Morgan’s Folly’ house we were left at for over forty-five minutes and no bus came to pick us up. We found out later from the bus driver that one of the bus drivers got let go early and they forgot to pick us up. So we got back to the Inn about an hour late. No big deal. I got back to the meeting spot and vendors had set up and Santa was there.
I ended up having a long conversation with Santa and I asked why people were so rude today. He had been by himself and stood up and looked at me and said, ‘Some of it they learned at home listening to their parents and some of it they learned on their own.’ He told me though that you should look for the best in people. I thanked him and told him, ‘I still believe in you.’ That seemed to please him. I think we need to carry that holiday spirit with us always.
Myself with Santa
When I got back, it only left me about two and a half hours to tour homes in Woodstown so I got back on the bus and they drove us to Downtown Woodstown, which was beautifully decorated for the holiday.
Downtown Woodstown, NJ decorated for Christmas
Downtown Woodstown
The display windows were so nicely decorated for the holidays
The whole downtown residential area was so nicely decorated for the holidays
I had never been in Woodstown for Christmas. I had just passed through to look at the decorations. What a beautiful town to walk around. Since it was late, I wanted to visit as many homes as I could before 8:30pm. The event closed up at 9:00pm but I am sure that many people would be exhausted by that point with people walking through their homes.
The homes were so nicely decorated
Some houses were not open but the exteriors were on display. This one had a wonderful light show on the side of the house.
This was a delightful show
The first house I visited was the Bobbitt House, which had been owned by a former doctor. The fire places were lit that evening which was nice on a cool night and the whole house sparkled with lights and garland.
The Bobbitt House lit for Christmas
The house was decorated to the hilt
The rooms were all decorated for the holidays
The house was just magnificent and all the details were so perfect. The family that owned the house did such amazing work on the decorations. I then moved on to the next house.
This house was only open on porch to admire the decorations
The next house I visited was only open for view of the outside but the owner’s daughter was entertaining us on the porch. It was a really festive concert.
A wonderful version of ‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas’
I moved on to the Pilesgrove- Woodstown Historical Society for a quick tour and to admire the decorations. The docents were stationed around to help and there were refreshments in the kitchen area.
The Christmas tree at the Historical Society
The Doll and Toy collection
The old house was decorated with bows and garland
The Colonial kitchen was still the centerpiece and the heart of the house
It was getting late and I visited my last house of the evening, which had once been the home of the minister and his wife to the church next door. It now was owned by a designer who decorated it to the hilt for the holidays.
Every detail was in place to the home in Downtown Woodstown
The beautiful Living Room decorated for the holidays
The Christmas tree in the Living Room
The banister decorated for the holidays
What was nice about our host was how gracious she was with refreshments of hot cider, hot tea, cookies and chocolate. Unfortunately spending the day eating all these sweets was enough and I just needed a snack later.
While most of the homes were closing up for the evening, before I took the bus back to the car, I walked around the downtown where they had set up a market with all sorts of vendors. By this point, they were just starting to close up but I got to sample some of the wares.
The Christmas Mart in Downtown Woodstown, NJ
I took the bus back to the Inn and drove back to Salem for the evening. I got into bed early. I was so worn out from the cold and the running around that I spelt soundly that night. Still I got up early to watch the sun rise.
The sun rising from the view of the Meadow Room at the Inn at Salem River
I had a nice breakfast the morning at the Inn overlooking the Delaware Bay. It was not like the Summer or Fall when you could eat outside on the deck. It was so cold that I ate by the windows looking out with the heat on. Breakfast at the Inn with that view on a sunny morning is breathtaking.
Starting breakfast with this view is a treat
I always enjoy my breakfasts at the Inn
There was a whirlwind of activities that I had not planned. I had another Christmas walking tour of homes but this time in Downtown Salem, NJ but it did not start until the afternoon. What I did do was attend the Annual Christmas parade on the Main Street.
The start of the Magic of Christmas Parade
The start of the parade with costumed characters
The entertaining band
The costumed people in the parade
The Salem Fire Department adds to the spirit of the parade
The Parade Queen and her court waving to the crowd
Even this playful Christmas got into the spirit of the parade
After the parade was finished, I made my way to the Salem Fire Museum, which after five years of trying to visit was finally open. I talked with the firemen on duty and walked the whole museum. It is a unique look at the history of the fire service in both Salem and New Jersey.
The second floor gallery of living quarters and offices
The firehouse Christmas tree and rescue equipment
The I stopped next door to the Salem County Courthouse, which is the second oldest continuous used courthouse in the country. The courthouse was beautifully decorated inside and out.
The Salem County Courthouse at South Broadway decorated for the holidays
The entrance to the courthouse was so spirited
These historical buildings line Downtown Salem, NJ
The side of the Salem Courthouse was decorated for the holidays
The inside of the Courthouse has the original wooden chairs
I loved the tree in the corner
The tour guide said since the doors have opened, this building has been in continuous use for the City of Salem. If these walls could talk.
I crossed the street and visited the old main bank in town that is now an art store and school. They were preparing for an onslaught of children coming in for arts and crafts.
Then I moved on the antique store to check in with the formal part of the house tour, exploring the historic buildings of Market Street. My first stop was to check in at Royal Port Antiques at 13 Market Street.
Royal Port Antiques at 13 Market Street is always so nicely decorated for the holidays and has such interesting merchandise.
From the antique store, I worked my way down Market Street to many of the homes and churches that were open for the house tour. The first part of the tour was a Colonial military display along the river.
The Dutch cabin during the military display
The military display near the river right before a Christmas battle
The Gazebo decorated for the holidays
The decorations are whimsical
I started the tour of the Federalist homes and they were so beautifully decorated.
Downtown Salem, NJ decorated for the holidays
The first stop on the Yuletide tour at 40 Market Street
The house was so beautifully decorated and the host could not have been nicer. She talked extensively about the renovation and her little grandson was dressed in period costume greeting people.
The Dining Room decorated for the holidays
The fireplaces were lit in the Living Room and Dining Room giving it a warm feeling
Our host had wonderful refreshments in the kitchen waiting for us at the end of the tour
After this wonderful tour, I moved to the next house.
This house at 43 Market Street was next on the list
The foyer at 43 Market Street
The upstairs at 43 Market Street
The couple that owned this house put a massive amount of work into the renovation of this home and you could tell the amount of TLC that went into every detail. The whole house was so beautifully decorated.
I went inside St. John’s Episcopal Church for a tour of the Christmas decorations and listen to the traveling carolers. They stopped at most of the places I visited that afternoon.
The church opened their rectory to sell items for lunch and had a desserts available. After two days of non-stop Christmas cookies I was all cookied out. So I had a bowl of New England Clam Chowder with sourdough bread and talk about hitting the spot on a cold day. I was totally energized.
The excellent Clam Chowder I had for lunch
The Carolers came to the rectory as well
After a good lunch and a nice rest from all the walking, I moved on to explore the rest of Downtown Salem. The next stop was the Presbyterian Church with its musical performance.
The 1st Presbyterian Church at 88 Market Street is very impressive that afternoon
The carolers followed us around the downtown and performed in this church as well
What was nice about this Christmas walking tour was being able to see the inside of all these historical buildings and being able to see all the nooks and crannies of these old buildings.Just like the Woodstown tour the day before, the Salem County Historical Society was open too for touring.
I had seen all these exhibitions in the Summer when I was in town for the Firemen’s Convention, so I was not there long. My favorite section of the museum at the holidays is the ‘Keeping Room’, which is the original section of the home where the museum is housed.
I toured the museum for about forty-five minutes before I moved on to the next site. Take time to really tour the museum as it has so many interesting exhibitions and artifacts to see.
I next walked down Broadway to the Friends Meeting House, the center of the Quaker religion. The building was really old and smelled like wood and dust and creaked when you walked around it. I did not stay long.
The one part of the Meeting House that was cheerful and decorated for the holidays
I moved on to the last two homes of the tour as the afternoon moved on. The first house was no longer a home but an insurance company. The front of the building is the older part of the house and the back was the addition which was part of the old Masonic Lodge. It was a unique building.
The old house at 90 West Broadway is now an insurance company
The beauty of the main entrance room of the former home
This little doll in a sled was one of the members Grandmother’s toy
The home had been sold years ago and then became the Masonic Lodge which itself had closed years ago and the insurance company bought it for offices.
The last house I visited on the tour was a gorgeous Victorian in a rather sketchy neighborhood. The couple had lived there for years and said they never had a problem. I could see the huge potential if many of these houses were renovated.
The home at 24 Oak Street was the last house on my list that day
The owners had lived here for years and had renovated it to loving care. The landscaping was impressive even at the end of Fall. I would love to see what it is like in the Spring and Summer.
The woman who owned the home with her husband explained that she had hung all the wallpaper herself when she was younger. She did a beautiful job and the couple could not been more gracious in welcoming us into their home.
Their beautiful Living Room with elaborate wallpaper
Even the Kitchen was nicely decorated
We toured the house and got to see the gardens in the back which be impressive in warmer weather. The couple also had hot cider and cookies waiting for us at the end of the tour.
The last stop on the tour was where I would spending the night, the Barrett Plantation House B & B. I got to the B & B which was packed with cars out front. I was graciously welcomed by my hosts.
There was a fire going in the fireplace and music in the Parlor Room, which is where we would be served Breakfast the next morning. They even had a violinist who was in Revolutionary War garb playing songs from that period.
The Barrett Plantation House B & B at 203 Old Kings Highway
He beautiful decorations for the holidays at the entrance of the foyer
The Parlor where we relaxed when we finished the tour
The violinist who entertained us that evening not played the songs but explained the holiday entertainment of that period.
It was a very nice end of the tour. We just sat in front of the fire and talked with the violinist. He explained the songs he was playing and how people would entertain during that time. It was nice to just relax in a chair and be warm by the fire.
Since the couple at the B & B had to clean up after all the people touring through the rooms, I drove back downtown to attend the Christmas tree lighting ceremony
The County Courthouse decorated at night for the ceremony
The local elementary school provided the choir for the ceremony
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the ceremony by fire truck
The Parade Queen and Santa led the tree lighting ceremony that evening
The front of the Courthouse after the tree lighting ceremony
The ceremony was for only about forty five minutes with the kids singing two Christmas carols and the elected officials wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. It got really cold out at the end of the evening.
I made it back to the B & B and joined the owners and the other guests drinks and a hot Roast Beef sandwich with fresh Potato Salad by the fire. Now that was fun. We all talked about the tour and what a perfect day it was seeing all the decorations. After a nice evening by the fire, I just relaxed up in my room. I had to be on an early walking tour of the Alloways History Museum, which had been arranged for me.
I had an early morning tour of the Alloway History Museum at 49 Greenwich Street on the second floor of the Municipal Building. This tiny museum had been elusive to me and the owners of the B & B were able to arrange to get me in. The appointment was at 8:30am so everyone else slept in while I drove to Alloway, a tiny farming community just west of Salem.
For such a small museum, it packed with interesting artifacts and displays. I was impressed by their Native American collection and their community displays. Here is a small sampling of the collection you can see on my VisitingaMuseum.com blog:
The Native American artifact collection
The local community displays
The Schoolhouse and Education display
While everyone else slept in, I toured the museum and got a feel for the collection. It really is a ‘hidden gem’ and like the Salem Fire Museum should be open to the public more.
After the tour, I went back to the Barrett’s Plantation for breakfast with the other guests and we had a wonderful meal with lively conversation by a warm fire in the dining.
The beautiful breakfast room at the Barrett’s Plantation
Our gourmet breakfast started with fresh fruit with local honey, freshly squeezed orange juice and hot tea
The delicious fruit salad
The honey Amish Bread
The breakfast entree was the Sunday soufflé with a side of hash browns
We just relaxed and talked to our hosts and enjoyed the crackling fire. It was a nice way to end the two days of touring.
After breakfast was over, I relaxed in my room for a bit before I left for a day of touring around the community. I really loved my room and the way it had decorated for the holidays.
The Dickerson Suite I highly recommend
The decorations in the Dickerson Suite at the holidays
Before I packed up and left for the day, I took a tour around the B & B and the grounds. The couple who owns it did a wonderful job decorating for the holidays. Here are some of my favorite pictures.
The staircase and foyer
The outside of the Barrett’s Plantation decorated for the holidays
The sleigh on the porch
The holiday decorations
The grounds are so nicely landscaped and are a pleasure to walk around in all seasons
Before I left for the day, I went to visit the Pennsville Historical Society to see if the house was open to see their Christmas decorations. I lucked out and they were having their Annual Open House with a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The Church Landing Farm, the home of the Pennsville Historical Society
The Christmas Open House was an amazing event and it was a beautiful sunny day to be outside. I started my visit with meeting with Santa and Mrs. Claus. In this crazy political world we live in, it was nice to see that the Claus’s were so welcoming to everyone. It is nice to believe.
Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted me warmly that afternoon
Me with Santa getting some good advice at the holidays
I toured all the display sheds and the farmhouse which were all beautifully decorated for this holiday event. There were so many beautiful decorations that I can’t show them all here but look at my blog on the Pennsville Historical Society on my site, VisitingaMuseum.com. Here are some of my favorites from the tour around the house and ground:
The farmhouse on the day of the Open House
I took a full tour of the house and grounds and took so many pictures (see the blog above) of all the beautiful decorations throughout the property. Here are some of my favorite pictures.
This is from the amusement park shed
The decorations in the military shed
The front of the farmhouse decorated for the holidays
What I love when you come to the Pennsville Historical Society’s Church Landing Farmhouse is that it is so beautifully decorated for the holidays. The volunteers go above and beyond and the house is amazing.
The foyer to the home
The front Parlor
The Christmas tree in the Living Room
The upstairs bedroom
The decorations in the second bedroom
Even the upstairs bathroom was decorated
The little elf in the upstairs bathroom
The refreshments in the kitchen
I finished the tour of the house and headed down to the kitchen where the volunteers set the main table with every type of Christmas cookie you can imagine. One of the volunteers told me that every volunteer had baked a pound of cookies and they had an excess. After two full days of sweets, two were fine with me.
After some hot chocolate, I finished my tour of the grounds.
The little schoolhouse on the grounds was decorated for the holidays
The Gazebo decorated for the holidays overlooking the Delaware Bay
The Church Landing Farmhouse decorated for the holidays
After spending the early morning at the Open House, I had enough time before I went home to take a trip to Millville to see the decorations at their historical house. Unfortunately, the ladies who decorate the home that the Society owns next door had not decorated it yet so one of the volunteers took me to the Ward Mansion which they also run.
This was the home of the family that started the WaWa chain amongst other companies. The home had been decorated for their holiday party and they let me tour the home.
The Wood Mansion is part of the Millville Historical Society
The Living Room at the Wood Mansion decorated for the holidays
The Victorian Christmas tree in the Living Room
The Dining Room
The artifacts in the upstairs gallery
The Wood family tree to the branch that now runs WaWa
It was nice to take a personal tour of the home and see how the family lived in Victorian times. It seemed that the modern generation no longer wanted the home and left it to the historical society. After the tour was over, I took another tour of the historical society and then headed home. It had been a long and productive weekend.
The second week of December was presentation week for my students. I had for major presentations with all four of my classes plus a presentation to Ramsey Borough Hall. I had been teaching four classes at Bergen Community College and each of my classes had real clients this semester which I had never had before. So there were the demands of real clients and visits for the students to Closter, Bergenfield, Lyndhurst and Ramsey, NJ whose job it was to promote these great towns. I found out months later they were still asking me for things. That’s how real these projects are to people outside the classroom.
The first class to present their project was the Farm team presenting how they were going to promote the farm with all their specialty products and create a series of Special Events.
Me with my President and Senior Vice-President of Operations for the Farm Project
The Manager of the farm came to the presentation and gave his thoughts on our ideas and loved almost all of them. So I had my first happy client.
The next presentation I had was with my Marketing class and we were creating a Destination Tourism plan for the Borough of Bergenfield. We were showcasing the Bergenfield Museum, Cooper’s Pond Park and the South Church of Bergenfield’s historic cemetery.
We presented the project to the Board of the Bergenfield Museum and the publicity member of the Borough of Bergenfield. It was a brilliant presentation and everyone really liked it.
The Bergenfield Team after the Presentation
The next presentation was “It’s Razzling in Ramsey-Be a Tourist in your Own Town”, an extensive Destination Tourism plan for how to promote Ramsey, NJ for tourism. The students presented to me in the classroom first and then we presented to the Ramsey Borough Council. That was pretty amazing.
Me with my President and my Senior Vice-President of Operations
My last presentation for Thursday night was the presentation for the Lyndhurst Team for the Red Schoolhouse Museum. We presented the project that Thursday night to the Board of the museum. This presentation was put together in four weeks and it was a great presentation.
All the Presentations went and was impressed with all the students work. It took many weeks and a lot of touring of the locations but we presented to all the clients our best work. I was so drained by the end of the week that I went to bed early that evening.
I had another busy schedule the third weekend of December and that included more holiday tours and decorated homes. I had to run from Hope, NJ to Upstate New York, to attend one day events. All this while I was preparing the final exams for the next week. We had sold out of Christmas trees in two and a half weeks, so the was now behind us. We got ready for our annual Christmas stand party.
The party fell on Friday the 13th and I got in the car and left for Blairstown , NJ, where the opening scenes of the original film were shot. Going to Blairstown, NJ where the opening scenes were shot of the 1980 film has become a big thing. It was in October 13th, 2023 but in December 2025, it was Christmas all the way.
It was so cold out and so close to Christmas that there was not a sole in town. I was there for about an hour taking pictures on the holiday decorations rather than talking about Friday the 13th. I toured there and Hope, NJ and took pictures of all the decorations..
The decorations in Blairstown
The building that was the original diner that was in the opening scene. It is now a gift shop.
The cemetery gate where Annie gets dropped off in the middle of the scene
After I had toured both Hope and Blairstown, I double back to Blairstown for lunch. The Blairstown Diner for lunch and had a very good but expensive chicken sandwich off their ‘Friday the 13th menu.
I was coming back that Saturday night for the Moravian Christmas walking tour and would have loved to spend the night in the area but I had so much work to do at home that it was just easier to drive home than stay.
I was resting at home after the long ride home when the guys from the Men’s Association texted me telling me to get my butt to the party and to bring some dessert. So I changed clothes and played a platter of homemade cookies and went to the party for an hour. It ended up that after the long week of student presentations and running around, I needed the drink.
The guys on the Men’s Association enjoying a job well done at the end of the season
The tree stand the night of the party with one tree left
The next morning I was in a rush to finish my grading and the laundry as I had to be back in Hope, NJ for the walking tour and then the church services afterwards. It was going to be an hour trip back out there. Then the day after that, I would be up in Beacon, NY visiting more decorated houses.
I had been to the Moravian Christmas Lantern tour three years prior in 2021 but it had been so windy they could not put up the luminaries. This year they could.
Downtown Hope, NJ before the nightfall
The Presbyterian Church that used to be the old Moravian church where the candlelight service would take place that evening.
I liked the way everyone decorated their homes
Many of these old homes were decorated with wreathes and garland
As it grew darker, it grew colder and I was smart enough this year to take the earlier tour and leave time for dinner before church services.
The Hope Community Center where we started the tour
Inside the Hope Community Center, they set up a buffet where you could buy dinner and you could see their ‘Festival of Trees’ display the they used to display at the local hotel. They moved it back to the Community Center this year which was nicer to observe all these beautiful Christmas trees decorated by local groups.
The Community Center set for dinner and the tours
The beautifully decorated Christmas trees
The beautifully decorated tree
One tree was more impressive than another
Since I wisely chose a tour that would start at twilight and end when it got dark, I got to see the town in both perspectives. Either way, the town was fully decorated for the holidays and when the sun went down it was really beautiful.
The bridge coming into town
I got to walk around before my tour started while it was still light out and in the winter time the town is so picturesque.
All the homes in the downtown area were decorated for the holidays
The tour started at 5:00pm and we started to walk through this former Moravian community. During COVID, the town had been ‘discovered’ by New Yorkers and since my last tour in 2021, almost all the homes in town had been renovated and landscaped. The town was very impressive.
Our guide on the lantern tour
The tour took us to all the historical sites in Hope which included the church’s, manufacturing and old farms and mills. The temperature was dropping as it got darker and I felt bad for all the actors outside who had to stand there waiting for us.
Starting the tour at dusk
The historical buildings of Hope, NJ
The local elementary school entertained us on the tour
Then we toured the downtown, visiting historical buildings that are now banks and offices and visiting a live Nativity scene.
The bank was an old Meeting House at one time
The luminaries in the downtown
The luminaries downtown looking toward the church
The live Nativity performance
We rounded the downtown one more time to see all the historical homes and the beautiful light
After I returned to the Community Center, I stopped and had some dinner. The buffet had some heavy dishes and I decided on the Mac & Cheese which really warmed me up on this cool night. For dessert, I had a locally made Cider doughnut. What a nice way to end the tour.
The Community Center is a nice place to eat dinner after the tour
After dinner was over and I warmed I walked over to the Presbyterian Church for the traditional Moravian Candlelight Service. I had been here four years prior and had enjoyed the service with its engaging sermon and the beauty of the candles in the final part of the service.
The church was decorated in a secular fashion for the holidays
The service was very inspiring with a talk about family and what the purpose of the holiday really means. With all the pressure of the holidays in hand and finals week being the next week plus the posting of grades before I left for my mother’s for the holidays it was nice to just relax.
The end of the Candlelight service
Downtown Hope, NJ at the end of the church service
Having prepared all my exams and wrapped up the grades for the Team project, I was able to head to the Hudson River Valley to visit some decorated homes that I needed to revisit for my museum blog, VisitingaMuseum.com.
The first one was Mount Gulian in Beacon, which I had visited over the Summer and now needed pictures of the Christmas decorations. The other was Knox Headquarters Homestead, which I had visited several times between the Summer and the Halloween holidays. The decorations at both homes did not disappoint me.
Mount Gulian Historical site for the holidays
Since I had taken the formal tour of the house over the summer, the docent who led my tour then just gave me an overview of the Dutch holidays and explained the decorations.
The beautifully decorated front doors
The main staircase decorated for the holidays
While my tour guide finished with his first tour, I toured the house on my own.
I started in the basement looking at the Colonial kitchen, which is the only thing that survived the fire that burned this historical house to the ground in the 1930’s (the current house is a recreation of the original home).
The colonial kitchen decorated for the holidays
The decorations around the kitchen area
I made my way upstairs and continued the tour on my own.
The elegant Dining Room
The table was set for Christmas lunch
Then I toured the other rooms and made my way to the Library.
The Library was decorated with all sorts of garland and Christmas ornaments
The Library was decorated with all sorts of garland and wreaths
The old Parlor was set up for the upcoming Children’s tea
The old Parlor Room was set up and decorated for a Children’s Tea which was the week after Christmas but I still got to walk around and enjoy the decorations. The Christmas tree was elaborately decorated for the event.
The Christmas tree surrounded by pictures of the Order of Cinncinatti
I ended my tour when the next group of visitors arrived. While the tour guide greeted them, I took one last tour of the dining Room. It just a beautiful room.
The fireplace in the Dining Room with a picture of the last descendant who lived in the house as a baby over the fireplace
After the tour of Mount Gulian, I had time before my tour of the Knox Homestead to tour Downtown Beacon and have some lunch. The downtown really nicely decorated for the holidays.
Downtown Beacon decorated for the holidays
The snow had fallen the day before giving it the early Christmas look
The beauty of the mountain tops after the sun
The snow bound downtown
The beautiful falls downtown
Downtown Beacon is really a picturesque place with wonderful restaurants and shopping and interesting street art. It is a wonderful town to explore and window shop.
The beautiful decorations downtown
For lunch that afternoon, I ate at Noble Pie at 137 Main Street, a small restaurant specializing in homemade sweet and savory pies. What a treat. I had not had a piece of homemade pie in a long time and you can tell the care they have in their product in each bite.
It was a tough choice but I decided on the Homemade Chicken Pot Pie and the Apple Pie a la Mode with a big scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream with the ice cream from Del’s Ice Cream in Rhinebeck, NY.
The wonderful Chicken Pot Pie with a flaky buttery crust
The delicious Apple Pie a la Mode with Vanilla Ice Cream
The restaurant was nicely decorated was nicely decorated for the holidays
After a wonderful lunch and a full tour of the picturesque downtown on both sides, I headed down to the Christmas Open House at the Know Headquarters . I had wanted to go early because it was so cold and it got dark early.
The lights turned on before I left Beacon giving it more of a Christmas feel
I got to the Knox headquarters for their Christmas Open House just before nightfall so they were still setting up the outdoor lights. The house looked so picturesque with the snow on the trees and grounds.
All the rooms were decorated for the holidays with costumed actors talking about life in the house during the Revolutionary War Christmas era.
The Parlor decorated at Christmas
The spirit of the lady of the house
The decorations in the Parlor
The ghostly figure in the mirror in the decorated Dining Room
The Knox office in the house with a costumed soldier to explain the plan
The decorated stairs and bannisters for the holidays
The upstairs bedrooms were well appointed and decorated for the holidays
A soldier met us at the top of the stair and explored the war years to us
The Dining Room
The last room of the afternoon I visited was the Dining Room where the Dining Room table was decorated for the holidays. This had been a trend during that period where the top of the table was decorated to impress guests.
The whole Dining Room was beautifully decorated
The Army Captain explained what entertain was like during the war years for officers and soldiers
The outside of the home was lit with a bonfire and torches
The temperature really dropped that evening and it got cold! The poor actor who portrayed a soldier standing guard was really cold. He really knew what these men must have felt.
The soldier standing guard outside the homestead
The Knox Homestead when I left that evening
The torches that lit the property on a cold winters night
After the Open House was over, I had not realized how early it still was so I decided to take a detour and visit Kingston and Woodstock to see how those town’s were decorated for the holidays.
My first stop was Woodstock, where I had spent many relaxing Christmas’s after my father passed. I needed to clear my head and spending time in the mountains with some peace and quiet helped me tremendously. I found the town quaint and had an almost Currier & Ives feel about it. It still means a lot to me at the holidays.
I always love the Woodstock Christmas tree. It always looks so unusual
The Dutch Reformed Church where I spent many Christmas Eve’s
The manager scene outside the church
The retail district around the Green at the holidays
It was so cold out that no one was outside. The restaurants were pretty quiet that evening as I could see no one wanted to venture out. It was a big difference from four months prior when it was 60 degrees and sunny in the evening. I had the whole downtown to myself that evening.
The restaurant’s were decorated to the hilt. This used to be Joshua’s where I ate Christmas Eve the years I came here
I walked around the quiet Green admiring the Christmas tree and peeking in the business windows. I could not believe that Christmas was going to be next week.
The Village Green the week before Christmas
I finished my tour of Downtown Woodstock and it was still early so I headed to Kingston. I had missed the Snowflake Festival this year because I was in Salem and Woodstown for the Christmas Hour tours so I wanted to see how the town was decorated.
Kingston is always so nice at the holidays and I wanted to see how the town was decorated. It is another picturesque town.
Downtown Kingston ‘Stockage District’ with the snowflakes
I got to Kingston late in the evening around eight in the evening and for some reason Kingston likes to roll up its sleeves at 8:00pm. I walked around the downtown and had the streets to myself.
The Kingston Christmas tree in the ‘Stockage District‘
The Dutch Reformed Church at the holidays
I would have thought there would have been bells during the holidays and it was just very quiet in the evening around the church.
The Senate House barns
One last tour around the Downtown before things closed for the evening
The merchants compete for the best windows
The windows in Kingston could compete with any other town
It was a nice way to end the day walking around this beautifully decorated town enjoying all the wonderful lights and displays all to myself. I knew I needed the relaxing as Finals week was here and the last day of class was on Thursday night. I could not wait to be done with classes.
Finals week was a rough week for everyone being so close to the holidays. I could see that a large portion of my students had no desire to study for their finals and their grades reflected that .
The students that had taken the class work seriously did really well and an about a third of each of my classes struggled on a final that really was not hard. You just had to do that new fangled thing called ‘study’ I had to spend most of December 20th and 21st grading and posting grades That took time and I was glad that the semester ended. I could now relax for the next month. The semester would not begin again until the first third week of January.
The students that had taken the class work seriously did really well and an about a third of each of my classes struggled on a final that really was not hard. You just had to do that new fangled thing called ‘study’ I had to spend most of December 20th and 21st grading and posting grades That took time and I was glad that the semester ended. I could now relax for the next month. The semester would not begin again until thethird week of January.
December 20th and 21st grading and posting grades That took time and I was glad that the semester ended. I could now relax for the next month. The semester would not begin again until the third week of January.
I had to clean the house, finish my cookie baking for gifts and do all the laundry and pack. I was leaving for my mother’s for the holiday and then two days of work and rest in Cape May. There was a lot of picture taking and cultural sites to visit.
Decorations for the holidays in Murray Hill at the Union League Club at 38 East 37th Street
I was able to get into New York City just before Christmas and I will tell you there is nothing like Manhattan during the holidays.
Nothing says ‘Christmas’ more than Macy’s on West 34th Street, my home away from home for seven years of my life working as a Manager and then a Assistant Buyer. It still is an amazing Christmas store.
I explored the City and ran around Manhattan visiting as much as I could in a day. I would be leaving for my Mother’s on the morning of the 24th, so I wanted to get things done.
Macy’s Herald Square on the Broadway side of the first floor
My first stop was Macy’s to see their windows and to see how the stores were decorated. They really did a nice job on the inside of the store and their windows I thought were the most unique of all the department stores.
Macy’s Broadway Christmas windows
Macy’s Broadway windows
Macy’s Broadway windows
Macy’s Broadway windows
Passing Penn Station at Christmas
I walked around the Murray Hill neighborhood in Midtown enjoying all the holiday decorations on all the buildings.
I passed this tree outside one of the office buildings in Midtown
Gem Saloon in Murray Hill decorated for the holidays
Touring through Bryant Park during the holiday season is always a lot of fun. You always see such interesting vendors during the holiday season. The skating rink was packed with skaters and tourists filled both.
I continued to tour around Midtown, walking into stores and parks and admiring the decorations. After a long semester of classes and projects, it was nice to get my mind off work and school.
I continued the walk around Midtown up Park Avenue and passed the decorations at Grand Central Terminal. This is when you see the City at its best during the holidays.
My last stop before I left the City was an extremely crowded Rockefeller Center where every tourist from every walk of life was taking pictures from every direction. I had to elbow my way around the complex and I still got some wonderful pictures.
The Angels at Rockefeller Center at Christmas
The complex at Christmas time
The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center just known as the ‘Tree’ to us
After I left the skating rink, I walked around Saks Fifth Avenue. Their windows were not that exciting this year as they just featured clothing from the Couture floor. I could see under all the glitter that the store was having problems. I saw the cracks that I had seen at Macy’s years ago. We will see how this plays out.
The front of Saks Fifth Avenue at 611 Fifth Avenue minus their Lightshow and exciting windows
It was nice to just walk around the City and enjoy the decorations and get my mind off work. It was going to be a long day of getting ready for the holidays and then a trip to Cape May to just decompress.
Christmas Eve Day was a whirlwind of activity. I had to head to Downtown Hasbrouck Heights and pick up flowers for my cemetery visits, then head to Downtown Wood Ridge to Mills Bakery for doughnuts for my mother for breakfast Christmas Day. Then I visited my family before I left for my mother’s. It was a busy morning.
The store was so beautifully decorated inside and out
How magical the store looks inside for Christmas
The back of the store sells all sorts of Christmas treasures
This is where I buy all my flowers to pay my respects at the cemeteries and they always put a nice arrangement for me at a fair price. Plus I love looking at the decorations at the holidays.
Then it was off to Mills Bakery for pastries. The baked items at Mill’s are always fresh and the selection is wonderful.
Mills is always so nicely decorated at the holidays
The beautiful Christmas cakes at Mill’s
The holiday cookies at Mills always smile at you
The elegantly wrapped Gingerbread houses make the perfect gift
After I finished my shopping and made my visits the my family, I had a quick lunch at Bella Pizza on the Boulevard for a slice of pizza before I left for my mother’s. The Sicilian slice was really good and hit the spot for the long trip.
Bella Pizza at 197 Boulevard decorated for the holidays
The Sicilian Pizza is fantastic and did not affect my appetite for dinner
After lunch, it was the four hour trip to my Mother’s . Thank God the traffic was not bad. Once I left the Newark area, it was smooth sailing. Even when I had to make a stop at one of the rest stops, the new rest stops were nicely decorated.
On the way into Rehoboth Beach, there is a farm where I always admire the decorations. It may not be that elaborate, but there is just something about the way they decorate that I always admire.
The farm outside Rehoboth Beach
The pictures don’t reflect how truly beautiful the farm is decorated. I could not get the correct lighting
Since there was no room at the house, I stayed at the Hampton Inn Rehoboth Beach at 18826 Coastal Highway and I highly recommend the hotel at the holidays
The Hampton Inn Rehoboth Beach at 18826 Costal Highway at Christmas time
The hotel is really nice with a large lobby and Breakfast Room and an indoor pool. The hotel was nicely decorated for the holidays.
The lobby at Christmas time
The Christmas tree in the lobby
The Breakfast Room where meals are served in the morning
I met the rest of the family at my mother’s after I had settled in and then we left for Christmas Eve dinner, which she calls our ‘Jewish Christmas’ meal at Confucius Chinese Restaurant.
Confucius Chinese Restaurant at 57 Wilmington Avenue in downtown Rehoboth Beach
Dinner is always an experience at the restaurant offering some of the best Chinese food in Delaware.
We started the Christmas Eve meal with Salt & Pepper soft Shell crab
They serve the most amazing Duck Springrolls
The Pork & Chive Dumplings steamed or Fried are mouthwatering
The entrees here are top notch and the dishes that came out of the kitchen were excellent that evening. Even for a busy evening, one dish after another was amazing.
The Moo Shu Pork here is one of their specialities and one of our favorites to order. We had to get two orders just so everyone could have one.
The Kung Pao Chicken without peanuts is one my mother’s favorites
The Tang Lake Chicken is one of my favorites and I highly recommend it
The House Special Lo Mein is another favorite of mine
The House Fried Rice is one of the best I have tasted
We had to add some greens to the Christmas Eve dinner
It was a wonderful dinner and it was nice to catch up with my family. It is tough when all of us are scattered throughout the country. It is one of the few family meals we have during the year.
After dinner was over, we all met back at my mother’s house. Before I left Downtown Rehoboth Beach, I took a quick tour of the boardwalk and the town’s Christmas tree. It is always a nice site and very festive.
The Gazebo by the shore all lit up for the holidays
Christmas Eve in downtown is quiet and beautiful
I got back to the hotel that evening and slept soundly. All those weeks of final projects and running around caught up with me. There is something about the Hilton mattresses that give you the perfect night’s rest.
My perfect Hilton bedroom
Christmas morning was a whirlwind of activity. I had to meet my family for breakfast later in the morning and help with dinner at my mother’s before her guests arrive. Since I love breakfast, I started with an early morning meal at the hotel.
It was a very nice breakfast with a good assortment of hot and cold items. Since the howl was not that busy, I got to talk with other families, who like myself there was no room at the inn at their relatives home.
The Breakfast Room at the Hampton Inn
The Breakfast Room and Lobby at the hotel
The selection of hot and cold items makes a nice breakfast
Creating the perfect breakfast sandwich
The morning would be a whirlwind of activity as we had to finish last minute preparations at the house, getting appetizers in order and do some last minute preparations work and clean the kitchen. It would be a very nice morning and afternoon.the kitchen.
Helping my mom in the kitchen at Christmas has become a new tradition for my brothers and I . For years we were told to stay out but as my mom is getting older it is a lot of work so we all enjoy helping out. It has become a family affair.
The Dining Room set for Christmas dinner
The Dining Room table always looks so elegant
The decorations in the house
Simple but elegant
My mother kept it simple at Christmas and did not go overboard but the house always looks so nice at the holidays. The table was set so beautifully and my mother likes to keep the tradition of name cards, which is really nice.
My mother kept dinner simple this year and we had a lasagna with a salad and garlic bread . We were all working and was tough doing all fancier dishes we had cooked in the past . Still it was a nice meal.
We started with a simple meat and cheese anti pasta
The most amazing Christmas dinner Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Dressed Salad and roast pork
My mother hosting dinner with much pride. She is an excellent cook and host
It really was a nice Christmas Day. It gave us all a chance to be together with our mother and her friends and catch up with one another’s lives. My brothers and I did the clean up and helped with dessert.
Christmas dessert, my brother baked the cookies, my mother baked her wonderful apple pie and my sister in law brought a very rich Russian chocolate cake
My brothers and I with our mother at the end of the evening on Christmas Day
We really had a wonderful Christmas but like most holidays it zipped right by and the night was over. The next morning we met at our mothers for breakfast and each of went our own separate ways afterwards. I was heading to Cape May, NJ by ferry while my brothers both headed to New York City. I would meet up with them later in the week for lunch in Manhattan. My mother got some time to relax after we departed.
I love the trip over to Cape May from Lewis, DE. The ferry is always so nicely decorated for the holidays and even on Christmas Day a few years ago is always busy at the holidays.
The terminal and their restaurant inside are always so nicely decorated for the holidays
The ferry takes only an hour and a half compared to the five hour drive around southern New Jersey. On a beautiful sunny morning, the views are amazing.
The Lewes Terminal in the summer months
Getting ready to arrive
Cape May at Christmas time is one of the most magical places especially at night. The lights and sounds and music, plus the tours and the restaurants is the reason you will never be bored here. I took a ride through the back roads and made to the heart of downtown and to my hotel in no time Cape May in no time.
The Chalfonte Hotel where I normally stay when I am in Cape May was closed season (the hotel is not insulated) and I stayed at the Southern Quarters, the sister hotel next door. Somehow I keep getting the room on the top floor of the hotel and it holds a lot of memories for me because it’s where I first stayed when visiting Cape May.
The room at the top of the Southern Quarters has a great view of the neighborhood
I was finally able to relax and decompress for a few hours. I ended up sleeping for three hours. This trip to Cape May was about relaxing and picture taking for the blog so it would be another working vacation for the next two days. I would be spending a lot of time time visiting the Congress Hotel to revisit restaurants and take pictures of the decorations.
The front of the Congress Hotel was decorated to the hilt
The Congress Hotel at is decorated for their “Winter Wonderland” promotion at Christmas time. The hotel is a spectacular time to visit the hotel with the public rooms fully decorated and the lawn area in the back set up like a Christmas Village with a decorated tree, amusements, shops and refreshment stands. It was packed both nights I visited.
The beauty of the lobby at The Congress Hotel
The hotel sometimes reminds me of ‘The Overlook Hotel’ in the movie in the movie in ‘The Shining’
The Courtyard of the hotel
The Christmas tree on the lawn of The Congress Hotel
The Christmas tree by the shops
The Congress Hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels at Christmas time. Every inch of that hotel is decorated. Before I went to dinner, I walked the halls and the grounds. Most of the amusements were closed for the evening but I figured I would come back during the day to see the shops and what else was going on.
I revisited the Boiler Room Pizzeria in the basement of the Congress hotel for dinner as I had back in 2018 and in 2021. The food and service here is wonderful and the place was packed.
The pizzeria at the Boiler Room
Like I said, I was on a picture taking mission and had to eat the same things I ate six years earlier(which I did not mind) and I had a Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza, which was the meal I had at the hotel in Christmas Eve when I stayed at the hotel.
The lighting might have been a bit strange but the food was excellent The Caesar Salad was delicious and could have fed two people.
The Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza is a treat
The Boiler Room bar area was really busy at night
Even in the post Christmas, the whole hotel seemed mobbed. I would read later on that one guest of the hotel complained that there were so many outside visitors to the hotel that the registered guests couldn’t enjoy all the special things at the hotel. My feeling was tough! That is how the hotel makes money and I did not hear the hotel complaining about how many guests there. There were a lot spending money.
After dinner was over, I decided to walk around the downtown area and admire Washington Mall, which was nicely decorated for the holidays.
The Washington Mall is so festive
The Washington Mall at night
Even by the hotel, the light show continued as many of the B & B’s and businesses had heavily decorated for the holidays.
The Bed & Breakfasts were nicely decorated for the holidays
Cape May’s Downtown Square Park
The trees in the park were fully lit
The Gazebo in the park was an array of lights
The colorful Christmas tree in the gazebo
Downtown Cape May at night during the holiday
The unique Victorian Mansion on the walk back to the hotel
Even closed for the season The Chalfonte Hotel was decorated for the holidays
The next morning was a clear and sunny day. The temperature was nippy but not cold. I could not wait to start the day.
The view from my room at the top of the Southern Quarters
Since food service was closed for the season at the hotel, I walked down to Uncle Bill’s Pancake House, my go to spot every Summer and holiday season. Right after the New Year, they normally close until it gets warmer.
Uncle Bill’s is one of the best places at the shore to have breakfast
Decorated for the holidays
The Christmas Village at Uncle Bill’s
I love coming here for breakfast when I am in Cape May and they make the best French Toast, Scrambled eggs and Pancakes. I saw someone having the Pancake platter with scrambled eggs at the next table over and that is what I ordered.
The Pancakes and Sausage at Uncle Bill’s are cooked in Claire’s butter giving it a sumptuous taste and the pancakes an extra crispness
The pancakes and eggs here are excellent
After a great breakfast, I paid the bill and walked around Cape May. It was a warming day in the 40’s and downtown is a nice place to work off breakfast. I headed back over to The Congress Hotel to see what was happening in Santa’s Village. The hotel was in full swing with people taking rides on the trains and Merry go Round. They were ordering pretzels, hot chocolate and other holiday snacks at the snack bar. I just thought it was fun.
The Merry go Round at the Congress Hotel
The lines were long for families to rise the trains
The lobby was just as spectacular during the day as at night
After walking around the hotel grounds and tiring of the crowds, I went out to explore the community and investigate historical sites in the area. It took me to corners of Salem County that I had never seen before. There were some historical locations in Upper Cape May County that were still on my bucket list. I knew they were closed for the season but I wanted to know where they were located.
My first stop was the the JW Grady House which is in the middle of nowhere where.
The JW Gandy Farmstead at 26 Tyler Road in Oceanview, NJ
The JW Gandy Farmhouse was closed for the season and would not open again until the Spring
The next site I wanted to visit was the historic Tuckahoe Train Station. This Victorian Train Station was the hub of activity at the turn of the last century.
The Tuckahoe Train Station on Route 659 Railroad Avenue
Both historical sites were closed for the season and would not open again until the Spring do they would another trip to Cape May.
It was a lot of twists and turns to come to these remote sites and then I headed back to Cape May to walk around before dinner. I walked through the downtown again and walked through the park to see the Christmas tree again but during the day.
The Gazebo during the day
The Christmas tree was just as spectacular during the day
I relaxed at the hotel for the rest of the afternoon and then went to dinner in North Cape May to Viggiano’s on Sunset at 109 Sunset Boulevard in West Cape May. I had seen the recommendation on my Dining Club and had passed it many times and wanted to try it on this trip.
I really enjoyed my meal that evening. I keep it simple on the rather cool night. I started the meal with a bowl of the Wedding soup that contained tiny meatballs and kale that seriously warmed me up. The temperature had dropped that evening so it was the perfect appetizer for dinner.
The wedding soup at Viggiano’s
The delicious Wedding Soup
For the entree, I wanted something that was filling and could warm me up on this cool night and I picked the Spaghetti Carbonara, which was loaded. With butter, cream and cheese, which I had not had in a long time.
The Spaghetti Carbonara
The perfect comfort food on a cold night
After a wonderful dinner and a relaxing evening, I walked back to the hotel through town admiring the lights and decorations on all the homes and businesses around West Cape May and Downtown Cape May.
The decorations as you enter West Cape May
The decorations in West Cape May
The decorated homes and B & B’s by the hotel
I walked along the beach on the way back to the hotel and work off dinner. It was so quiet that evening. In the post-Christmas season, the nights were much quieter this time of year. By the time I got back to the hotel, I got ready for bed and fell asleep.
The next morning I packed up the car and then headed over to The Congress Hotel again but this time for breakfast at the Blue Pig. Like I said before, it was all about the pictures and I ordered the same thing I ordered back in 2018, the Eggs Blackstone with Orange Juice, Hot Tea and a side of Potatoes. It was just as good as it was six years prior.
I had not been back to the restaurant in seven years (there are always so many places I wanted to try between here and Wildwood) and it was a treat to come back. The prices were still pretty reasonable for the meal that you got and the food is excellent.
My breakfast at the Blue Pig Tavern
The Eggs Blackstone Poached eggs on top of Cheddar Cheese biscuits with spinach and bacon and tomatoes with Hollandaise Sauce and Hash-browns. Decadent and delicious. Breakfast and lunch.
The weather was really gloomy that morning so I checked out and headed home. My original plan was to stop in various shore towns to see what they were doing for the holidays but it started to downpour when I left Cape May and I figured I would stop in Point Pleasant and see what activities were happening on the Boardwalk.
I knew Santa was making a plunge at the aquarium so I stopped there . It really was a miserable day. Stopping at the Boardwalk though made it better.
The Sea of Lights event at Point Pleasant Beach Boardwalk
As festive as the Boardwalk was it never stopped raining. Not the most pleasant place to be in the rain
The Boardwalk was surprisingly busy for such a gloomy day because the show of shows was inside the aquarium itself with the beautiful “Sea of Lights”. I must have missed Santa (I met him along the way during my holiday adventures) but I was exhilarated by the display of twinkling lights inside the aquarium showcasing the exhibitions. Santa could not have done any better. What a show!
The ‘Sea of Lights’ at the Jenkinson Aquarium
The aquarium was spectacular that day with all the twinkling lights
I cut my trip short because of the weather. It was a misty day and I did not want to linger down the shore. I took a quick tour in downtown Point Pleasant where there were nice decorations dotting the street lamps and many of the merchants had interesting display windows. I still thought they did a better job decorating the downtown during Halloween.
Downtown Point Pleasant decorated for the holidays
Before I headed home, I took a quick trip to Bayhead, NJ and toured their decorated downtown. They had interesting and very clever decorations. Whether it was the Santa in front of the Bayhead Firehouse or the twinkling lights and garland along the bridges, Bayhead is a very picturesque town at the holidays.
Downtown Bayhead, NJ at the holidays
The downtown is filled with quirky little shops, interesting restaurants and a great bakery. In the summer months, the town is especially beautiful. The sounds of the waves and seagulls is nice on a late Summer afternoon. Unfortunately, it was a gloomy rainy day and not much fun to walk around. I headed home from here. Until the warmer months.
The Bayhead Chapel at 442 Main Avenue at Christmas time
Before I left Bayhead, I took a chance and stopped by the Bayhead Historical Society, which was open that afternoon and was still open when I got there. I got to see their display of a ‘Victorian Christmas’.
The Bayhead Historical Society in Bayhead, NJ at Christmas time
The “Victorian Christmas” at the Bayhead Historical Society
The “Victorian Christmas Tree” at the Bayhead Historical Society
The Historical Society is a ‘hidden gem’ in the area with an interesting “Historical Map” exhibition and outer buildings with nautical displays. The museum has limited hours so try to visit it on the weekends when it is open. Their “Victorian Christmas” display was really nice with the vintage decorations and antique ornaments that were displayed on the Christmas tree. Many of these ornaments once decorated the members mother’s and grandmother’s Christmas tress in the past and I thought fascinating to see generations of decorations on one tree. After my visit to the museum, I headed home into the gloomy rainy evening.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s when I returned home was filled with running around doing errands and laundry. I had been running the whole month and it gave me a chance to catch up. On the day before New Year’s Eve, I met my siblings for lunch at Jing Fong, a Dim Sum restaurant in Chinatown. This had been a former Dim Sum palace on Elizabeth Street but moved to its new location at 202 Centre Street after they lost their lease. The food is still spectacular.
The food was excellent and we had a variety of Dim Sum for our lunch that afternoon. The only bad part of this restaurant is that it has limited space and they need to turn the tables over quickly which is annoying when you want to sit and relax and talk after your meal is over. They are a bit rude of asking you to leave (this happens to everyone who dines there. Check the TripAdvisor reviews).
The Steamed Pork Buns
The Shrimp Spring Rolls were perfectly cooked
The Fried Pork Dumplings
The homemade Soup Dumplings will melt in your mouth
The Pork and Chive Dumplings
For dessert, we had the Egg Custards, a Portuguese tradition comes through Hong Kong
The menu is really interesting and the carts have all sorts of delicious goodies to choose from. The only problem with the restaurant is when they rush you out the door when you are finished. After lunch, we went up to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree. It was crowded but it still fun to see again.
I never get tired of seeing the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and it was spectacular this year. It was really impressive.
That evening we went to the Marriott Marquis for dinner at the second floor Broadway Lounge, where I had my graduation dinner many months before. My brother had really enjoyed it the year before and invited us to join him and his wife for dinner. The food and the views are amazing!
I had the most amazing Chicken sandwich for dinner that night. I tried to keep it simple since we had a big lunch. I ate the whole thing.
I highly recommend the Chicken Sandwich
Yum!
Before we left, my brothers and I took a family shot at the restaurant. It amazes me sometimes that we are still kids at heart even in our fifties.
My brothers and I at the Marriott Marquis after dinner
After dinner was over, we went our separate ways. One of my brothers headed home and my other had plans for the New Year’s celebrations. I had wanted to visit Philadelphia for the afternoon and checked on the Macy’s Philadelphia’s website and discovered that the Annual “Lightshow” and “Dickens Village” were still open and that December 31st was the last day the display would be open. I made the reservation for 2:00pm and off I went on a early train from Penn Station in Manhattan. Everything in and around Penn Station was still heavily decorated for the holidays. The whole station was quite the Christmas site.
I was only here for the morning before my trip to Philadelphia but it really is a beautiful building and what a food court! The place was so nicely decorated for the holidays with wreathes and garland all over and interesting decorations tucked here and there. This was another picture taking trip to update a blog I did on visiting Philadelphia during the holidays.
The trip on the Acela took about an hour and I got into Philly with plenty of time before the lightshow, so I went to have lunch at the Dutch Eating Place in Reading Market. I had wanted to go to Carmine’s Cheesesteaks, but Carmine had retired and closed his restaurant a couple of months before, so I went to my second favorite place and already knew what I wanted to order. The hot Turkey platter with extra gravy.
I can’t tell you how much I love Reading Terminal Market with its food stalls, colorful displays and especially the isles and isles of delicious food. I swear there is one good restaurant after another in the place and it is not a place for someone on a diet. The rule here is to indulge.
Rows of delicious baked goods just outside of Beiler’s bakery
The lines of people there on New Year’s Eve. This is the best place to ring in the New Year
The ultimate place to eat from them all and one of my personal favorites is the Dutch Eating House where really will enjoy some of the most Pennsylvania roof
After lunch was over (and trust me I was stuffed), I needed something sweet and I needed a doughnut so I walked across the aisle to Beiler’s Bakery.
Beilers Bakery has the most amazing treats
Beilers Bakery on one side and Beilers Doughnuts
The selection of great baked goods at Beilers Bakery
I can’t tell you how mouthwatering the bakery items are at Beilers. All the items are baked on premise at the Reading Market and the turnover is quick so everything is always so fresh. From buttery cookies and cakes to heavily iced doughnuts, the selection is extensive and all the toppings and fillings are freshly made and the doughnuts are made right in front of you.
The doughnuts are freshly made, iced and filled right on the spot and sold just as quick
The selection of doughnuts are so mouthwatering and delicious
The Glazed Doughnuts and Lemon Filled were the best on this trip
The Lemon Iced and filled is just the best
There’s nothing like a Beilers Glazed Doughnut
After a wonderful lunch and an even more wonderful dessert it was off to Macy’s for the light show. My appointment to see the Dickens Village was not until two o’clock so I got to see the show both before and after the show. I took one more walk around The Reading Market before I left.
I always love the excitement of the Market
I thought I would have time to stop at Bassett’s for ice cream but maybe the next trip
Macy’s was just around the corner from the Market and I have to say I love the Macy’s here is just so beautiful and classic. I still have a hard time calling it Macy’s considering it was the old Wanamaker’s store since its inception. This beautiful grand dame of the department store industry was so much nicer when it was Wanamaker’s.
Macy’s Center City Philadelphia-The old Wanamaker’s Department Store
The Windows at Macy’s Philadelphia were nicely decorated similar to the windows in Manhattan
The Macy’s Windows based on the New York windows
Window Two at Macy’s Philadelphia
Window Three at Macy’s Philadelphia
Window Four at Macy’s Philadelphia
There were beautiful restaurants, luxury departments and it was always nicely decorated for the holidays. Macy’s does a nice job, but it was a different store in the 80’s and early 90’s. I still see traces of the old store in the movie “Mannequin” when it was still Wanamaker’s.
The movie trailer for “Mannequin” was shot at the store in 1986
The famous opening scene that was shot in front of the old Wanamaker Department Store
My favorite song from the movie “Mannequin”
The movie “Mannequin”
I can still see traces of the old store here and there. It was beautifully decorated for the holidays and it was really pretty in the store. The displays were very colorful and the main rotunda was so festive. It was not the same as the old Wanamaker’s but more like a Macy’s store in New York.
The Rotunda of Macy’s Philadelphia (former Wanamaker’s)
The beauty of the Rotunda decorated during the holidays
The decorations in the Fine Jewelry Department
The Eagle in the Rotunda
The Women’s Accessories Department during Christmas
The Men’s Department during Christmas
The decorations of the main floor
I have seen the light show about five times now and I know I can see the whole thing on YouTube, but it is still fun to see it live in the store and hear the organist play the famous pipe organ. It really is an exciting show. I love the music and I love the way they display the story line. Julie Andrews does a nice job narrating the story.
The start of the show that takes place every two hours
The start of the show with the Introduction
The start of Part One of the show
The video of Part One:
The video of the start of the show with a scene from ‘The Nutcracker’
The second part of the show with the clocks
The Video of Part Two:
The video of the Clock Show and Snow falling
The Sleigh Ride and the Snow Falling
The visit from Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
Video of Part Three:
Taking a Train trip to a Winter Wonderland
Welcoming Frosty the Snowman
Welcoming the Snowfall
Video of Part Four:
The Finale with the sounds of the organ is always a treat
One of the reasons I came down to Macy’s Philadelphia not just to see the windows, see the Lightshow but I made a reservation to see the Dickens Village, which was a relic of Strawbridge & Clothier created in 1984 by the former rival of Wanamaker’s.
The Macy’s Dickens Village is now located on the Third Floor of the store which was the old Executive Offices
The start of the tour of the “Dickens Tour”
The start of the “Dickens Tour”
The Dickens display with Charles Dickens narrating
The Dickens display with Scrooge confronted by members of the Charities
The Dickens display The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Dickens display of Fuzzywink’s Party scene
The Dickens display Meeting Ghost of Christmas Present
The Dickens display Nephew Fred’s Party
The Dickens display Scrooge meeting the Ghost of Christmas Future
The Dickens display The end of the story with a Revelation by Scrooge
The Dickens Village is a lot of fun to walk through and it is a fun way to learn the story and understand the lessons about the story. It is nice to see that Macy’s is keeping these traditions going (for now). After seeing the Lightshow and walking through Dickens Village and walking around the store to see the decorations and what the store looks like, I walked around the downtown. I swear, it has not changed much since my last visit. Most of Market Street is still as dumpy as it ever was in the past. They really need to build more housing downtown to bring more people to the downtown. I found out when I got home a few days later in the New Year that Macy’s will be closing this store in March 2025.
The closing of Macy’s Downtown Philadelphia-For the second time since Wanamaker’s closed
On my way back to the train station, I stopped in the Christmas Village by City Hall and stopped to see the Christmas tree. This was the last day of the Christmas Village as well. Most of the stores were closed by this point but a lot of food vendors were open and the skating rink was really busy in the late afternoon.
During the holiday season, I also like to see the light show at Macy’s (which I still call Wanamaker’s) and visit the tree at City Hall. Philadelphia has its own magic at holidays. There is such a beautiful holiday market that surrounds City Hall with all sorts of artisan crafted foods and handmade products. There was a slew of singers, actors and musicians that were entertaining the public.
Downtown Philadelphia’s Christmas Market in 2024
The City Hall Christmas Tree may not be as big as the one in New York but no less nice. It was beautifully decorated and at twilight, covered with colorful lights. A lot of people were taking pictures around it or were getting ready to skate around the makeshift skating rink. It is not Rockefeller Center, but the affect was just as nice, and it really did put me in the Christmas spirit.
The Christmas tree by City Hall in Center City Philadelphia
The beautiful downtown Christmas tree with Downtown Philadelphia in the distance
After touring the Christmas Market, I left to take the train home. I did not want to get caught in the Manhattan traffic of New Year’s Eve. The train station was beautifully decorated with lights, wreaths and a huge tree and it was nice to just sit back and relax until the train came. On the way back, the city was all lite in front of me. The boat houses on the river were lit with Christmas lights and boats passed by lit up as well.
The Christmas tree in Penn Station in Penn Station in Philadelphia
The tree was truly beautiful at the end of the Christmas season
When I got back to Manhattan, I made my way out the back door of the station and headed up Eighth Avenue to get home. I did not want to deal with all the nonsense of Times Square on this cold night. The Hudson Yards were so beautifully decorate for the holidays with the white lights with the backdrop of the buildings.
The Hudson Yards on New Year’s Eve
It was surprisingly quiet at the Hudson Yards at 6:00pm.
I just wanted to get out of Manhattan before it too crazy in Times Square. I celebrated New Year’s Eve in a quiet way. The privacy of my Living Room watching the ball drop at Midnight. I had fallen asleep on the bed and woke up around 11:50pm and almost missed it.
It had been a productive December for me with travels all over the Tri-State area, classes concluding and now three weeks off to relax before the Spring semester began. The weekend after New Year’s Day I spent travelling to light shows at the Bronx Zoo and The Brooklyn Botanical Garden on the last weekend before the Epiphany. There was a lot going on this last weekend and I rushed to everything. It was a great weekend.
My blog on the Lightshows during the holiday season of 2024:
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
I had done a blog promoting the farms (what is left of them) in Bergen County and thought this might be an interesting subject to research further. Farms are destination not just for walking around but for shopping, dining and for entertaining.
I chose Old Schraalenburgh Farm because of the beauty of the farm during the various seasons, the quality of the food and dining options and the location of the farm in comparison from the other larger farms like Alba and Demarest, who have bigger options such as apple picking and hayrides.
Old Schraalenburgh and Farm Stand at 110 Schraalenburgh Road in Closter, NJ:
I talked with their manager one day after class and he seemed intrigued by the idea of new promotions for the farm stand and restaurant. So I put the proposal together, presented the project to the students and then I arranged the Team Field Trip and then we visited as a class.
The Proposal for the project “The Farms of Bergen County, NJ: Visiting Old Schraalenburgh Farm and Farm Stand”:
On a sunny October afternoon, we spent class time touring the farm with the manager of the farm. It was the first time some of the students had had a field trip like this before for a business project.
Our Team visit to the farm in early October
Our host and partner in the project, Manager of the farm Nick Griepenburg, explaining the workings of the farm
Explaining the growing season at the farm and the honeybee business
Visiting the honeybee hives and the honey business on the farm that supplies fresh honey to baked items and for sale in jars on the farm
Visiting the chicken coops which supply eggs for baked goods and fresh eggs sold in the farm store
The Teams feeding the chickens on the farm and hearing about how they supply items sold on the farm
The Team on the Farm
The Team at the end of the tour
After the tour, we went took our Team picture for the Paramus Team working with the farm. This helps the Student Consultants create their own memories of the project and is part of their resume building.
Our group shot at the farm
After the tour, I took the Student Consultants to lunch at Pompilio’s Pizzeria at 223 Westwood Avenue in Downtown Westwood, NJ for a pizza lunch and time for them to get to know each other. These are always successful meals and gives everyone a chance to talk.
Pompilio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant at 223 Westwood Avenue in Westwood, NJ
Team Two having lunch together and creating their game plan for the project
Team Three enjoying a pizza lunch together
This is how we create Team Building and getting the Student Consultants to get to know one another. It is an important part of the project. We break bread with one another and it is how we start the Team project. It was a nice afternoon over good food and conversation and how we are going to market this wonderful farm to foreign and domestic visitors.
Now four Teams will compete with one another to create a Digital Marketing Campaign, Special Events and promoting their wonderful bakery, restaurant, ice cream and flower businesses. Each Team will create a new logo, a commercial for the farm and develop three holiday events to bring families to the farm.
What was good about the project is that is that I hope it helps build their bakery, jelly and ice cream businesses as well.
Their ‘cottage’ businesses during Valentine’s Day
The homemade ice cream business
The homemade jelly business
One event is “Spring in the Air”, will promote the flower gardens and the floral business. They will create an event entitled “The Bunny Visits” with an Easter Egg Hunt on the farm with candy souvenirs. Another event is “The Spirits of Halloween”, for families looking for Fall events like Hay Rides, Corn Mazes and a Haunted Barn event. They will create a special Halloween menu from the Farm’s restaurant list for visitors. It will also promote the pumpkin and apple business.
The last event in development for the Teams is a winter event entitled “Mr. and Mrs. Snowball Arrive”, a secular event enjoyed by all families. This event will open the holiday season on the farm.
After the tour was over, the students spent the next five weeks creating their game plans and putting their creativity to good use developing commercials and shooting them on the farm, formulating logos to rebrand the farm and figuring out how to bring more traffic to the farm.
The student presented the project to myself and to Nick, the manager of the farm who helped me judge the presentations. It really was a great afternoon of new ideas and new ways of looking at the business.
The Corporate Website for the Farm Division of the Paramus Team:
For Quiz Four, I developed the Holiday project to build comrade and prepare the students for their formal presentation. The students are requested by Corporate to create a Holiday menu, an invitation and a holiday greeting in English and Spanish. They have forty-five minutes to create all this and it is always fun to watch how it all comes together.
The PowerPoint presentation on the Holiday Project:
The video on the Holiday Project:
The Presentation Day December 11th, 2024:
I have to admit I was a little nervous about the Presentation to the Farm that morning. Nick , the manager of the farm showed up on time as well as several parents and friends of the students showed up to watch as well. It ended up being a very fine Presentation with not too many hiccups and I was very proud of the students for all their hard work on the project. Since much of the work was done ahead of time, there was time to fine tune the project before the Presentation and that made a difference.
What I liked about the Presentation was the at the Introduction was done in English and Arabic with my Introduction in English and Spanish. About six languages were spoken during the Presentation and I saw some students confidence rise when they spoke in their native tongue. This gave the Presentation a more International appeal and I hope for that when people watch these videos all over the world in the future.
Me with my SVP of Operations Moamen Abdallah and President Gianna Cantatore after the presentation
The Corporate shot of me with the Paramus Farm Team after the Presentation
What I liked about the projects that this Team created is that they are so workable and can be adapted quickly with not a lot of expenses. Since the farm has all the products the Teams used either to raise money or use as refreshments, its a win win for the farm.
I found Nick, the Manager of the farm, to be very open to the student’s suggestions and it gave him many new ways of looking at the farm. After the Presentation was over, there was time for a Question & Answer session where Nick made some really good points. The students did an excellent job creating menus for the restaurant, interesting ideas on promoting the ice cream, bakery and honey businesses and general merchandising and packaging ideas to promote all the wonderful merchandise sold at the farm. It really was an afternoon of creative Marketing and all of this was done in five weeks.
What was the best part of this project was that I felt we made a real contribution in promoting this wonderful farm for domestic and foreign tourism and hope it has an impact in the farm’s future.
Now you have to go and try their farm burger!
Yum!
The Farm during the Christmas holidays after the project was over December 2024:
The outside of the farm decorated for Christmas
The decorations were very festive
The outside of the farm at the holidays
The inside of the Farm Stand Restaurant during the holidays
The delicious looking holiday pies at the farm stand
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Spring 2024 Executive Team for the “Bergen 250: Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm” project.
In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
This semester I thought back to our project last semester on the Bergen County Historical Society and the success it was and how impressed both myself and the Executive Board of the Bergen County Historical Society both were that evening.
The Project “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “Touring at the Bergen County Historical Society”:
I think a lot of these historical sites do not get the attention they deserve and with the 250 Anniversary of the Revolutionary War happening in two years, these wonderful sites needed to be showcased. They needed to dusted off, revamped and a fresh perspective was needed to tell their story. This is where the project for the “The Bergen 250: Tourism at the Garretson Forge & Farm” came from.
The project “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “Bergen 250-Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm”:
That and the tour the former President gave me during the holiday season when I begged to see the Christmas decorations for the Sinterklaas celebrations were still up. I needed pictures for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” and “MywalkinManhattan.com”.
My blog on Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm on VisitingaMuseum.com:
When I toured the home during the holidays, I approached them on using the home as a future project and she seemed to like the idea. This is where the partnership for the project came from.
Our first visit to the site was on “Pea Day” in March 2024 for an extra credit assignment to start the project off so that the students could see the grounds and experience the farm and its attributes.
Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fair Lawn, NJ for “Pea Day”
Visiting the farm house and gardens on “Pea Day”
The volunteers planting at the Garretson Forge & Farm on “Pea Day”.
Observing the Master Gardeners and Volunteers on “Pea Day”.
The students coming in on their day off to attend “Pea Day”
Everyone took turns getting their hands dirty on “Pea Day”
We also had a special field trip to the Garretson Forge & Farm on class day so that everyone could tour the farm and the farmhouse. Outside “Pea Day”, it was the first time anyone in my class had ever visited the site.
We started the tour on a rather gloomy night. We had just had a rain storm but that did not stop our visit. Our whole class attended the trip (it is a mandatory part of both the project and the class) and it was a interesting tour for all of us.
Our host was the President of the Friends group that helps raise money for the site. We started the tour after the rain storm with a trip through the barns to see some of the old farm equipment. The were some interesting artifacts that included farm plows and horse drawn articles to carriages and sleds.
Then we toured the gardens where the volunteers had just finished the plantings of the summer fruits and vegetables. The President explained that the fruits and vegetables that were grown here were donated to a soup kitchen in Paterson. I thought this was a great idea.
Then were toured the farmhouse, which I had just been to for a private tour during the holidays. The kitchen was set up for a harvest meal now and I explained to some of the students how food was cooked back then in the hearth.
Then we toured the small museum and looked at the family tree, where generations of Garretson’s had lived. Our last stop on the tour of the farmhouse was the main living room where the Sinterklass event was held and many of the talks on domestic life on the farm.
This is where we concluded the tour and many students asked questions about life at that period of time. After the tour was over, I took the students out to dinner as part of their Team Building. It is important for the students to get to know one another.
The start of the tour near the barns.
Our tour of the grounds, the barns and life on the farm.
The grounds near the second barn. Touring the gardens at twilightTour of the kitchen.
Discussing the expression “Sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite” and where it came from.
Discussion on the second floor.
The second floor had been added on years later.
Discussion on farm living.
Discussing the furnishings and how the farmhouse ran as a farm and a home.
Continuing our discussion of life on the farm.
Talking about life on the farm.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. tour of the site.
Our group shot with President of the Garretson Forge & Farm April Barth.
After the tour was over, I took my class to Bella Vita Pizzeria in Fair Lawn, NJ for their first Corporate dinner and Team building exercise. The dinner was wonderful, and the pizza was excellent. It really warmed us up after a cold night of touring and the students seemed to enjoy getting to know each other over a hot pizza dinner.
Bella Vita Pizzeria at 1761 River Rd A, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410:
My Teams dining together at a “Corporate” pizza dinner.
The company Team dining together that night.
The aspect of dining together is an important part of the Team Building exercise and you can tell by the pictures that my students enjoyed it.
The next few weeks were preparing the project for the presentation. We had a visit from Vivian Davis, who I had known for years from working in the Division of Disability Services when she was one of our speakers. She now was running the “Bergen 250: The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County” and we had incorporated part of this in the project. I had given her a copy of the project and she came into the class to discuss what she was planning and the significance of the Revolutionary War had on the towns in Bergen County. It was a real history lesson on some of the towns in Bergen County and some of the historical homes and sites in Bergen County.
This project was a bit more intense than my morning class. While they designed the rigors of the Bergen Room Bistro, my evening class was putting together an entire game plan of Revolutionary War events for the ‘Bergen 250’.
I had the students working on an Independence Day event, a Children’s Walking tour of the property, a Mid Summer dinner with a Revolutionary War themed dinner, a continuation of the Sinterklaas event that would extend visiting the decorations in the house another two weekends and then a new Digital Marketing campaign for the site with a commercials and posters.
The night of the presentation on April 24th, it all came to life. The students each showed the PowerPoints with their ideas, menus and commercials to promote the site. They really had some interesting ideas.
Finishing the evening with my Student Consultants was great. The students were so excited to finish and I have to admit it was quite the journey for me too. It was a lot of work (and money) to pull this event off but it went by well. The Board of the Garretson Forge & Farm really seemed to enjoy it and asked lots of questions.
Vivian Davis, who is running the “Bergen 250″ asked the most important question of the night, if I was to run all of these events, would your age group come?” This got the students thinking and one said, “We are a busy group with college and work. If you want our age group to come, you are going to have to cater to things we like.” I thought that was fair and gave her something to think about as well.
We then took our Board picture. I am always so proud of my Student Executive Consultants. They come dressed for work.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. “Bergen 250″: Garretson Forge & Farm” Executive Team.
I want to thank my President of the Team Project, President TJ Fischer and SVP of Operations Camila Alvarado and the entire Team of Vice-Presidents, Team Leaders and Team Members for tackling this very difficult and very detailed job of promoting this wonderful historical site with such detail.
The questions on the project were excellent and direct and audience was very impressed by how thorough the project was done that evening. To all my Student Consultants, you did an excellent job!
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 Bergenfield Museum recently, a museum that I have to admit I never knew existed and I know almost all the museum in Bergen County and was surprised what an informative museum it was not just showcasing the history of Bergenfield but of Bergen County. Room by room the museum is filled with displays on the history of the town, and it has progressed through the last two hundred years.
The Bergenfield Museum at 100 Cooper Street
The museum is located in the back of Cooper Park towards the back of the pond. The museum is part of a complex of barns that were once small manufacturing companies owned by the families that owned the house. The…
Don’t miss the “Pathways to History” event each May in Morris County, NJ. You can see a lot of the county’s historical sites in a two-day period.
The Florham Park Historical Society’s “Little Red Schoolhouse” Museum is full of artifacts of the town’s rural past. There is even a small classroom set up to show children that times have not changed that much.
The classroom set up is still similar modern classrooms
I visited the “Little Red Schoolhouse” Museum in Florham Park as part of the Morris County’s “Pathways to History” event that is held every May. This interesting little museum showcases the town’s historical collection of items from the 1800’s and 1900’s dealing with all aspects of town life.
In the back there is a small classroom set up keeping with the theme of the building. This lets students who are visiting the building of their counterpart’s early education with desks, ink wells and chalk boards that have not changed that much over the years.
Not much has changed in the modern classroom over the years
Old Hook Farm Farmhouse Homestead at 650 Old Hook Road
One of the nice things about Bergen County, NJ is the small farms that remain in the area showcasing our Counties agricultural past. There are only about six left and located mostly up in the upper parts of Bergen County where the bulk of the farms were located up until the 1980’s. Land prices and development have made some disappear and with others a lack of an heir to continue the tradition on going forward.
The entrance to Old Hook Farm
The Old Hook Farm is a throwback to a combination of the old-fashioned General Store and Farm Stand that used to dot small towns in Bergen County. The outside of the store has a greenhouse full of decorative plants for both the house and for the gardens. In the Holiday months, the greenhouse is filled with hot house flowers for the holidays and outside there are Christmas trees, wreaths and other holiday decorations for sale. When it snows, it looks like a picture out of Currier & Ives.
The flowers and decorative products of the greenhouse
During the Fall months, the farm was ablaze with colors in the background while the front of the greenhouse was filled with gourds, pumpkins and corns of different colors. There were all sorts of Halloween related merchandise for decorating the inside and outside of the house.
Blogger Justin Watrel in front of the Fall display of products at Old Hook Farm
The inside of the Farmers Market has all sorts of fresh produce with seasonal fruits and vegetables, freshly baked pies, cakes and scones and loaves of bread from a local vendor.
The fresh produce is beautifully displayed in the inside of the market
The old fashioned feel of Old Hook Farm
There are candies from Conrad’s in Westwood, NJ (see blog on that store on this site), milk from a local dairy farm with no artificial ingredients, gluten free products and a lot of non-GMO grocery products and all natural snacks. There is an array of grocery items that are good for you.
The refrigerated cases are filled with all natural dairy products like ice cream, eggs and milk
There are natural cleaners for the home and cleaning supplies that are good for the environment. There is a small section of cosmetic and home products that are all natural.
The Old Hook Farm is a place of sights and smells and the beauty of the seasons in the trees and woods that surround the picturesque acreage. It is also a nice place to stock up on gifts and farm products for any social visit. It is special place especially during the holiday seasons.
History of the Old Hook Farm:
(From the Farm’s website)
The town of Emerson did not exist during the Native American origin. The name ‘Old Hook’ on the east side of the town came from the Dutch word ‘Hoek’ meaning ‘angle’ or ‘corner’. The angle of the land was created by the three connecting water ways, the Hackensack River, the Pascack Brook and the Musquapsink Brook. The first person to make their home here was William Rutan, who settled on a parcel of land just west of today’s ‘Old Hook Farm’ sometime around 1748 (Emerson Town History).
The fields behind the farm stand
The current ‘Old Hook Farm’ was bought by current owner, Bruce Marek’s grandfather in 1925 as a weekend getaway. He rented the farm and the farm house to a local resident for 35 years and the family had a large garden on the property until about 1948. Then his father took over the land and cleared the fields and had Soil Conservation come in and do contours and started to grow in the greenhouse. When his father died in 1973, he took over the farm and within eight years, reopened the garden store and started to experiment and grow organic crops (Bruce Marek’s interview with ‘Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network’).
Here it is Father’s Day and the Summer Equinox again and I have reached Day Two Hundred. I have walked much more than half the Island of Manhattan, neighborhood’s in the surrounding boroughs, and historical towns and destinations in New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania and beyond. It is hard to believe that I have come this far and that I have been doing this for six years. It does take a lot of work to really see these neighborhoods in detail and research all the wonderful things to do and see. This is best part of the blog is sharing it with all of you!
I have recently completed another walk down the entire length of Broadway for the fifth time (Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine: Walking the Entire Length of Broadway) and a second walk around the perimeter of Manhattan (Day One Hundred and Sixty Seven: The Great Saunter Walk), the 32 mile walk that felt much better this time (being in better shape for walking by exploring Kips Bay, Rose Hill, NoMAD, Koreatown, Midtown South, Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen and Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton before this year’s walk. If you had read the blogs from last summer the City had just opened up on June 10th, 2020 but with the riots and security reasons, I did not enter the City again until June 15th, 2020). I wanted to update both blogs with new things to see and things that I might have missed, which was a lot.
I love walking through the new Riverside Park on my way uptown for “The Great Saunter Walk”. I started at West 23rd Street this year.
The Core of Manhattan and the Perimeter of Manhattan:
Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine: Walking the Length of Broadway from 242nd Street to the Bowling Green:
As I am finishing my walk of the streets of Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton between 10th and 12th Avenues, I am also revisiting neighborhoods that I have walked before adding new restaurants, stores and artworks to the blogs. So much changes but then again you notice things you did not see on the first few trips to that section of Manhattan.
In all my time walking around Manhattan, I never realized that is was itself an ‘open-air museum’ with lots of artwork along all the streets and parks and with that, I have also credited all the artists with their bios and a little history of their careers as well. Even the ‘street tagging’ has gotten interesting again and you really have to look along the walls to admire the ‘taggers’ work.
Don’t miss the Tom Otterness Playground on West 42nd Street. He gives new meaning to the word “Jungle Gym” in his park in Hell’s Kitchen
With the COVID pandemic slowing (it is not over everyone and I still carry two masks and sanitizer with me just in case), the City is opening back up and with the last of the graduations behind us for this year, more people are wondering the streets of the five boroughs and it looks like people are moving back in with more restaurants and hotels reopening. By September, we will hopefully see the Theater District (one neighborhood I will not walk until it reopens for a fair view of it) reopen and the shows start again.
Since last June, most of the bigger museums have reopened but this time only with timed tickets and limits on the people who are attending the shows. This has made for a better experience. If you plan on visiting the museums more than a few times, I would suggest becoming a member and saving the money on the entrance fee. Plus a lot of the museums really need the membership income.
Look over my sister blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” for ideas of small museums and historical sites that I am revisiting:
I have also been taking many trips up to the Hudson River Valley on outdoor walking tours, patio lectures and farmers market visits. Just driving through these small towns will give you a touch of nostalgia and a wanting for the past. Trust me, all that turn of the last century architecture and quaint storefronts are being brought back to life from the displaced ‘Brooklynites”, who have scattered all over the Tri-State area and are bringing their creativity to small towns in four states, New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Here and there tucked into these small downtowns, old Victorian homes and storefronts are being renovated and reviving communities that needed support to their downtown cores.
Downtown Catskill, NY was interesting to visit recently
So as I update my long walks around the Island of Manhattan and to the small towns in the Hudson River Valley, I hope everyone has a chance to read my older blogs starting with Day One in Marble Hill in June of 2015 and walk your way through Manhattan with me. COVID has changed so much all over the City but has not ruined the true hearts of New Yorkers and especially the Manhattanites I see everywhere.
Everyone is watching the City heal and will watch it go through a rebirth again. Trust me, it looks far better now then it did in the 1970’s and 80’s when I was growing up and the times I worked in Manhattan. You did not want to see West 34th Street in 1988 when I started at R.H. Macy.
I am also now on my sixth pair of sneakers since starting ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’.
Lastly to my father, Warren George Watrel, whom this blog is dedicated to I want to wish a very Happy Father’s Day! I miss our walks around Manhattan at this time of year but I always feel you in spirit!
I love you Dad and Happy Father’s Day!
Blogger Justin Watrel with his father, Warren Watrel in 2013
mywalkinmanhattan 