Tag: nj

Six mile run park
hiking

Hiking Six Mile Run Park

Hollie

Hiking Six Mile Run Park  (Somerset County)

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 Six Mile Run Park if I got too cold.  At Six Mile Run Park, there are a few fun trails: blue, red, orange and white trail.

At Six Mile Run Park, there is a large parking area. You can see the Millstone River and Six Mile Run Reservoir Site. We stuck to mostly the blue hiking 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 at Six Mile Run Park, includes several stream crossings, but they should not present problems.  The blue trail at Six Mile Run Park is about 4 miles long. We did most of it as well as some of the red trail.

At Six Mile Run Park, 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 at Six Mile Run Park 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

At 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, Six Mile Run Park was an enjoyable hike. We spent about 2 hours out at Six Mile Run Park and my guess hiked about 5 miles. After that, it was time for a nature nap. I think it would also be a great spot for trail runs, 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? Have you been to Six Mile Run Park? 

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hiking jockey hollow morristown
hiking

Hiking Jockey Hollow National Historic Park (Morristown)

Hollie

Jockey Hollow National Historic Park (Morristown, NJ)

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 National Historic Park is a large park located near Morristown.  Morristown, NJ has a sizeable military presence. Situated in Jockey Hollow National Historic 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 in Jockey Hollow National Historic Park spots that NJ has to offer.

Even with about a foot of snow on the ground, the Jockey Hollow National Historic Park 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.  At the Jockey Hollow National Historic Park, 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 Jockey Hollow National Historical Park, 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 through Jockey Hollow National Historical Park, and had a few small climbs as well.

hiking jockey hollow morristown

hiking jockey hollow morristown

As we were hiking Jockey Hollow National Historical Par,k 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 the Jockey Hollow National Historical Park, 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 National Historical Park hike took us about 3 hours for 6.5 miles.  We stopped, and enjoyed the sights of Jockey Hollow National Historical Park and didn’t rush through.  Jockey Hollow National Historical Park is 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?

Diners

Crystal Lake Diner (Haddon Township)

Hollie

Crystal Lake Diner (Haddon Township)

I feel somewhat weird posting this. I have had the Crystal Lake Diner review typed up for a while but haven’t posted it. There was a fire that left the diner in South Jersey unopened for over a year. 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

Update: Crystal Lake Diner (Revisited): The Crystal Lake Diner was rebuilt, and you can now go again.

Tim and I went earlier in the year. We were 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 okay.

Crystal Lake Diner Atmosphere: B
The outdoor atmosphere of the Crystal Lake Diner is 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 typical diner. It was what most states expect out of a diner.

Crystal Lake Diner Coffee: B
The coffee at the Crystal Lake Diner is 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.”

Crystal Lake Diner 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. They are well known for their breakfasts and mini meals.

My salad at the Crystal Lake Diner was excellent, 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.

Overall Impression
I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the Crystal Lake Diner. I have no complaints and rather enjoyed my food. I’m glad you can come back again.

You can see all of the diner reviews here.

Questions for you:

What is your favorite salad topping?

How often does your phone die?

Diners

Park Nine Diner (Freehold Township)

Hollie

Park Nine Diner (Freehold Township, NJ)

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 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 Park Nine Diner is located in the heart of an intersection that made it complicated to get too. Prime location to see!

Park Nine Diner 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 wasn’t crowded at all.

Park Nine Diner 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 Park Nine Diner had reasonably good coffee, and my only complaint is that I would have liked more.

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Park Nine Diner Food: C
The menu at the Park Nine Diner wasn’t as big as most diners. (I don’t know if I have written that about a diner?) There are a breakfast including omelets served with home fries and toast, bagels or English muffins, pancakes, few seafood options, a couple of salads and salad bar, sandwiches, and a few dinner options too.

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. It wasn’t great food but it was edible.

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Park Nine Diner Price: $$
My salad and coffee was 18.

Would I come back to the Park Nine Diner (Freehold Township)? 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 an excellent central Jersey diner. If you are looking for the perfect diner experience, the Park Nine Diner (Freehold Township) is a good stop.

You can see all diner reviews here.

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