Tag Archives: nj

Hiking Six Mile Run Park

March 8, 2019 By in hiking Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment
Hiking Six Mile Run Park

Earlier in the week, I found myself at Six Mile Run Park. I’ve wanted to explore it for a while now, but the timing never works out. Even though it was cold, I decided it would be a fun opportunity and I could leave if I got too cold.  There are a few trails: blue, red, and orange. We stuck to mostly the blue trail. Because of the weather, and it was slightly snowy there weren’t any mountain bikers or horses out.

Six mile run park

The blue trail actually had a few stream crossings but I wore my Goretex Brooks Cascadia, and my feet stayed dry. The path includes several stream crossings, but they should not present problems.  The blue trail is about 4 miles long. We did most of it as well as some of the red trail.

There are a lot of downed trees.  We saw huge uprooted trees, some of which must have been over 100 years old.

Six mile run park

The red trail was unique in that it had plenty of open fields. If you have a dog, it would be an excellent spot to relax.  The red trail is more rugged and challenging than the blue trail but nothing too intense or anything like the Palisades.

Six mile run park

We skipped the orange trail all together because the weather seemed like it could turn for the worst (spoiler, it started pouring rain about 15 minutes after we left). The orange trail is only about a mile long and looked as though it would probably be muddy with the storm.

Six mile run park

In all, it was an enjoyable hike. We spent about 2 hours out there; my guess is just under 5 miles. After that, it was time for a nature nap. I think it would also be a great spot to run, similarly to the Manasquan Reservoir. 

You can see more hikes here.

Questions for you:

Do you like hiking? Where is your favorite spot to hike near you? 

Hiking Jockey Hollow (Morristown)

February 28, 2018 By in hiking Tags: , , , , ,
Hiking Jockey Hollow (Morristown)

It’s been a few months since my last hike.   With my husband deployed, and a busy schedule, I didn’t make it hiking.  Plus, I’m not hiking in zero degrees.  Anyway, as many readers and people know, I enjoy hiking as much as running.

Jockey Hollow is a large park located near Morristown.  Morristown, NJ has a sizeable military presence. Situated in Jockey Hollow park itself, the Wick House is named after Henry Wick.  It’s a 1,400-acre farm covered by forest.  A large number of trees attracted Washington’s army to the area as a winter encampment site because they needed logs to build cabins for shelter and wood to burn for heating and cooking.

The location is now open to the public and is furnished to portray its use as a general’s headquarters which is what brought us there. My husband enjoys seeing all of the different sites and spots that NJ has to offer.

Even with about a foot of snow on the ground, the trail is relatively easy to follow.  It was about 6.5 miles, and with stops and taking our time, it took about 3 hours.  It felt more of an easy stroll versus a rigorous hike up a side of a mountain.  There were a few people with children as well as dogs, but the trail itself is quiet.  I could see myself running there if we lived locally.

When we arrived at the trail, the cloud and tree cover made it much chillier than anticipated.  We started hiking on the road, and when we met the trail, it was time to hike through the snow.

hiking jockey hollow morristown

The trail went around a small frozen lake.  hiking jockey hollow morristown

Then we crossed another main road and had a few small climbs as well.

hiking jockey hollow morristown

hiking jockey hollow morristown

As we were hiking, it got warmer (around 35) some of the snow began melting, and it got swampy.  In case you wondered, I do all of my hiking in the Brooks Cascadia, a trail running shoe.  So far, it’s worked well. At the end, we stopped and paused for some good snow yoga…or snowga as it is also called.

hiking jockey hollow morristown

(Just kidding, of course, I’m not a yoga person, and I am as flexible as the tinman)

hiking jockey hollow morristown

The Jockey Hollow hike took us about 3 hours for 6.5 miles.  We stopped, and enjoyed the sights and didn’t rush through.  It’s a reasonably comfortable, scenic hike, and even in the snow, we saw several pets and families.

Questions for you:

Do you like hiking?

Are there any historical spots in your area?

Crystal Lake Diner

October 18, 2014 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

I feel somewhat weird posting this. I have had the Crystal Lake Diner review typed up for a while but haven’t posted it. Sadly now you are unable to go to this gem in Haddon Township because it burned down in early June.  It’s really a shame because this was a good diner.  It happened in the middle of the night so thankfully no one was hurt or injured.

Article about the Crystal Lake Diner burning down

crystal lake diner

 

Source

Tim and I went to the Crystal lake Diner earlier in the year. We had been picking up furniture in the area and wanted to (of course) try a new diner. After a quick google search we found the Crystal Lake Diner.  It was within a mile of where we were so we just headed up there.

The diner was located on a large hill. We worried the emergency break might fail but if people park safely in San Francisco we figured we were fine.

Atmosphere: B
The outdoor atmosphere was a normal, large building. It was nothing that welcomes you or pulls you into the building except it says “diner”. If I hadn’t googled it, we probably would have driven right by.

The inside of the Crystal Lake diner was a typical diner. It had booths, tables and a bar running the length of the restaurant. I can’t say it was the most cleanly diner I have been too but it wasn’t awful.  It was a normal diner. It was what most states expect out of a diner. It wasn’t a pimped out diner but it wasn’t grimy either.

Coffee: B
The coffee was good. While they did not have whipped cream, they did use large mugs and didn’t charge for retails. It tasted like that burnt diner flavor that most people associate with diners.  I didn’t take a photo because my phone was going to die soon and I needed to “save it” for tweeting.  Just kidding but I did want to at least get a photo of the meal.

Food: A
I was honestly extremely surprised by my food at the Crystal Lake diner. By the general atmosphere, I had gone with a “this food will be okay but probably not great” mentality. My salad was really good and I have no complaints. I ordered the Greek Salad with chicken and pita bread. It was a standard Greek salad but the dressing was pretty thick. I think that’s what I enjoyed the most.  I would classify the Crystal Lake Diner as a hidden gem, “hole in the wall” type of place in Haddon Township. Based on the atmosphere, you might drive right on by. Crystal Lake Diner Salad

Cost: $
For one coffee and two meals, the cost was 28 dollars. That’s not bad and the food was delicious and filling so I have no complaints.

Overall Impression:
I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the Crystal Lake Diner. I have no complaints and rather enjoyed my food. I would have loved to come back but sadly due to the fire it’s obviously closed. I hope one day they reopen!  Living in NJ for a year and talking with locals recently, this was a favorite diner in the area.  I wish it wouldn’t have burned down but I am thankful no one was hurt or injured.

RIP: Crystal Lake Diner, NJ lost a great place.

Park Nine Diner

September 27, 2014 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , 9 Comments

This week the owner of the website, NJ isn’t boring and I went to try a new diner. A quick introduction but I found the website after someone mentioned a website that has a complete list of diners in NJ! While I utilize website the most for diners, it’s really opened my eyes to how much we have going on in the state of New Jersey. Our state isn’t just home to 90 in the right lane drivers and people down to GTL. If you live in New Jersey or want to see what’s going on in our state I highly recommend checking her website out.

We decided to meet up at the Park Nine diner in Freehold, NJ. The diner is located in the heart of an intersection that made it complicated to get too. Prime location to see!

Atmosphere: A
The outside atmosphere was cute. It is an irregular shaped building with plenty of room to park. The inside has been redone rather recently. I’m not exactly sure when but it’s modern. It was cute, clean and I have no complaints. There were plenty of booths and tables. It actually wasn’t crowded at all.

Coffee: B
I ordered coffee with whipped cream. It came in a small mug. I never have an issue if it comes in a small mug but a small mug that I can’t get refills with, I do. The coffee was good (nothing to write home about but not bad). I would have given it an A if I had been able to get more. The Park Nine diner had fairly good coffee and my only complaint is that I would have liked more.

IMG_0083-1.JPG

Food: C
The menu wasn’t as big as most diners actually. (I don’t know if I have actually written that about a diner?) It wasn’t a small menu by any means but it didn’t have the biggest selection. It had a few seafood options, a couple of salads, a few (not many) breakfast options and a few other random things.

I ordered the Greek salad with salmon. This wasn’t my favorite Greek salad. It almost felt like they took some greens, added some feta and a few olives and onions and called it a day. The Salmon was good though, I felt like I could have prepared a salad like this in my own house though.

IMG_0084.JPG

Price: $$
My salad and coffee was 18. While I felt satisfied, I didn’t feel as if it merited being an 18 dollar meal.

Would I come back? Overall thoughts:
It’s not too far from my house and it’s not bad. I wouldn’t seek it out but it was pretty good and the price wasn’t terrible. It’s a good central Jersey diner.

Questions for you:
Have you ever been to New Jersey?
What is something cool to do in your state?

%d bloggers like this: