Today we are visiting Stokes State Park in New Jersey! This park had free artisan water and some hiking trails, I think. The trees were amazing! They twisted and turned and grew out of each other, it was like something you would see in a movie! It was an amazing trip and definitely worth it!
Stokes State Park
1 Coursen Rd.
Branchville, NJ 07826
GPS coordinates: 41.185348, -74.796163
Today, we are visiting the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial. This memorial was two long steel walls with names written on them. The names were the people who had connections with New Jersey who died when the Twin Towers came down. It had two metal beams that actually came from the fallen towers. This place was right across the river from New York City. It was very beautiful and we enjoyed our time there.
Empty Sky Memorial
1 Audrey Zapp Dr.
Jersey City, NJ 07305
GPS coordinates: 40.708199, -74.034564
Today, we are picking FRESH apples from an apple tree farm! Some of the apples were very perfect and then others weren’t so much, some of them were rotted, so we had to be careful on what we picked! Some of the trees were tiny but others were big, so some of them we had to climb or shake to get the apples off of. BUT, all in all, we had an amazing time and will do it again some day!
Hillcrest Orchard & Dairy
2 Davis Rd.
Branchville, NJ 07826
GPS coordinates: 41.166381, -74.682040
https://hillcrestfarmnj.com/
The food here was not the best, but it was okay. The people seemed friendly. I would give it a 2 out of 5, I don’t recommend it though. – Amber
Ellis Island was the gateway to the United States for over 12 million immigrants. It was the nation’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954.
For the majority of immigrants, Ellis Island truly was an “Island of Hope” – the first stop on their way to new opportunities and experiences in America. For the rest, it became the “Island of Tears” – a place where families were separated and individuals were denied entry into the United States.
Ellis Island is located in New York Harbor within the waters of New Jersey. Ellis Island is accessible by ferry from the states of New York and New Jersey. We visited from Jersey City, New Jersey because parking was free and it was easier to get to.
Although Ellis Island is separate from Liberty Island, it is part of the Statue Of Liberty National Monument.
Ellis Island
Jersey City, NJ 07305
GPS coordinates:
40.699019, -74.040061
Today we are visiting the Statue of Liberty. It was a little cold and raining, but nothing we couldn’t handle ;). We had so much fun exploring and learning new things, like that the Statue is run by New York but the island that the Statue stands on is in New Jersey waters!
DISCLAIMER: if you want to walk inside the Statue (like into the crown) you have to reserve your tickets MONTHS in advance……we did not, lesson learned.
