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A Spooktacular New Jersey Day Trip (with a bit of Pennsylvania!)
Our family had such a spooktacular state-hopping daytrip yesterday that I just had to share the itinerary. It involved furry monsters, a historical state park (that actually spans two states) and a ghost tour. Not only did we enjoy our stops, but the ride was just beautiful with the fall foliage. If you're looking for a day trip that combines the best of fall with the best of Halloween, read on!
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Our travel time was just over an hour each way, but we managed to hit up three awesome New Jersey and Pennsylvania autumn hotspots. We visited Sesame Place for The Count's Halloween Spooktacular, Washington Crossing State Park (NJ side) and Washington Crossing Historic Park (PA side), and New Hope, Pennsylvania.
We started our day with a beautiful drive down Routes 31 and 29 in Northwestern, New Jersey. The foliage and farms we passed along the way made our trip seem quick and there were plenty of places to stop along the way, but we had a special stop in mind. We took a short break at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey. It's a beautiful spot for a picnic and history lesson all in one.
Washington Crossing State Park
Hours: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm daily
Free After Labor Day until Memorial Day
(609) 737-0623
Next we headed to Sesame Place for the Count's Halloween Spooktacular! During The Spooktacular, which runs through October 28th, families are encouraged to come dressed in costume as they enjoy Sesame Place, which is decked out with Halloween decor. Enjoy trick-or-treating throughout the park and a family–friendly hayride with everyone’s favorite Sesame Street friends. In addition to the park’s Spooktacular-focused attractions, Sesame Place’s dozen dry rides are also open for guests to enjoy. Children 2 and under are free. Cuteness abounded everywhere with little ones in costume accompanied by their favorite furry monsters! Next weekend is Grover's Birthday Bash (October 13 and 14) followed by Abby Cadabby's Fairy Pumpkin Party (October 20 and 21) with another Halloween Party hosted by the Count (October 29 and 30). Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but we're also looking forward to A Very Furry Christmas during December weekends!)
Sesame Place
The park is open weekends only 9/8 through 10/28. Sesame Place is open for A Very Furry Christmas event on select dates beginning 11/17/12 through 12/31/12. Visit their website for pricing and more details.
We had such a great time at Sesame Place in Pennsylvania that we decided to take our time getting home. We accidentally found Pennsylvania's answer to New Jersey's Washington Crossing State Park, Washington Crossing Historic Park. They are redoing their visitor center and have some great upcoming reenactments coming up. Check their website for more details.
Washington Crossing Historic Park
Free, but some tours charge a fee
215-493-4076
We ended our day in New Hope, Pennsylvania, the perfect spooky ending to a spooktacular day. The ambiance of New Hope, heightened by the Halloween decorations and people-watching of characters of all kinds, was a great end to the day. There are so many activities in New Hope for kids from ice cream and river rides to ghost tours. We bought tickets for our older kiddos for a special ghost tour later this month.
No, we aren't as accomplished or historical as George Washington, but after a day of history, beauty and Halloween fun, we felt pretty special crossing the Delaware that night back to New Jersey.
Places featured in this article:
Washington Crossing State Park
Sesame Place
Washington Crossing Historic Park
First and foremost Erica Hartman is a proud wife and mother of 2 little girls, Proud New Jerseyean, Google Certified Trainer/Teacher, technology integration consultant, shopaholic and proud New Jerseyean, P90X grad and mommy blogger @elh
Erica is a Google Certified Teacher/Trainer and an Educational Computer Specialist for the Morris School District. Prior to she was a 6th Grade Connections/Language Arts Teacher in Sparta, New Jersey for nine years. She was also a technology professional development instructor for the Sparta Township School District. In 2007 she completed her Master’s in Technology Education from New Jersey City University and a Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teaching at the University of Wisconsin.
Besides being a Google Certified Teacher, she is also a certified Trainer for the New Jersey Governor’s Internet Safety Initiative. Her professional presentations include the New Jersey Middle School Association Annual Conference, the Annual Turning on Learning Advance at Montclair State University, the Annual New Jersey Association for Educational Technology Conference at Georgian Court University, the NJEA Convention and the International Online Conference.
Erica also consults for the Center for Mathematics, Science and Computer Education at Rutgers University, Computer Using Educators, EdTechTeam and has presented at the Google Teacher Academy in Chicago, New York, and Boulder. Finally, Erica is also an instructor for both the Google Workshops for Educators and Administrators. Follow her blog at theitclassroom.blogspot.com.
You can also follow Erica on Google+.
