Reviews, Tips and What's Happening from Kenny Jahng Around Livingston, Short Hills, Millburn, Summit, Madison, Chatham, East Hanover and West Orange NJ.
Have you ever heard the song, "Daddy taking me to the zoo, tomorrow..."
Well, the kids have been asking to go to Turtle Back Zoo to ride the train, feed the birds, ride a pony and more. But there are some other zoos in NJ too.
A great aquarium facility - watching the scuba divers interact with the audience through the huge glass tank was neat. Kids like the hippos, although the porcupines were afraid of them apparently. There's a neat glass tube you can walk through and see sharks swimming all around you. We pet some sting rays and sharks too. Our kids loved going to this one. We spent about 3 hours. Well worth the trip.
Adventure Aquarium features nearly 200,000 square feet of sea life and wildlife. Visitors will be in for an ADVENTURE as they visit the West African River Experience featuring hippopotamuses, crocodiles, porcupines and over 20 species of African birds in a free-flight aviary; surround themselves with sharks in a suspended 40-foot walk-through tunnel; explore the wonders of the deep sea in the Jules Verne Gallery; and even have an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to Swim with the Sharks.
This great zoo, located in Van Saun County Park, is home to a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, living in recreated habitats natural to each species. The grounds are well-maintained, and the animals well cared for -- important for you and me. Without zoos like this that participate in the Species Survival Plan, the world would be a much poorer place. This zoo has many different species of birds, some exotic and rare, such as the endangered Andean condor. Reptiles, likethe Red-footed Tortoise, the Green Iguana, Boa Constrictor, and American Alligator will be found here, as will mammalssuch as the Ferret, Opossum, Arctic Fox, American Bison, Mountain Lion, Golden Lion, Tamarin, and many, many others.
The Cape May County Park Zoo is located in the beautiful main county park in Cape May Court House. Near the New Jersey Shore and Historic Cape May. The Zoo has 200 species of animals and over 500 specimens from around the World and includes a reptile house and a free flight aviary. The zoo participates in several AZA species survival programs and has many endangered and threatened species. Admission is free. Shelters are available for family reunions, picnics or company outings. The park has a variety of gym equipment for children. Live Distance learning instructions and experiences can be brought into the classroom from the Cape May County Zoo. Open every day except Christmas, weather permitting. Park hours are 9:AM to Dusk. Summer Zoo hours are 10:00 AM to 4:45PM.
Jenkinson's Aquarium 300 Ocean Ave. Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742-3621 Tel: (732) 899-1659 Fax: (732) 899-1717
Haven't been to the Aquarium, but you may want to try going on a Friday when the amusement park is P.O.P. (pay one price) all you can ride for $15. Great deal if you're going to let you kids have some fun on the boardwalk rides.
Turtle Back Zoo 560 Northfield Ave. West Orange, NJ 07052 Tel: (973) 731-5800 Fax: (973) 731-1059
The highlights are the choo choo train ride, the aviary where you can feed birds in the palm of your hands literally, pony rides and the new playground.
Animals from all five continents can be found on the zoo's 20 acres of landscaped grounds. Eagles, wolves, penguins, monkeys and cougars are some of the many animals on display. Live animal demonstrations are offered in the amphitheater or education center. A petting zoo, pony rides, restaurant and a train ride are available April through October. Picnic facilities are available and parking is free. The zoo is ADA accessible.
Everyone is talking about Swine Flue these days. According to the Star Ledger, there are 5 to-be-confirmed cases within New Jersey. Here's what we got from our kids school this week:
Dear Parents;
As you are aware there have been several possible cases of Swine Flu reported in New Jersey. The NJ Department of Health has distributed the following information. These steps should be followed to prevent transmission of infections, such as influenza:
*Cover your coughs and sneezes *Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth *Wash hands frequently with soap, especially after coughing or sneezing *Stay home if you are sick, especially with a fever
If your child has a respiratory illness with fever, he/she should stay home until 24-48 hours after the fever is gone. It is important to seek medical care if symptoms worsen. Please contact us if your doctor suspects a case of swine influenza.
For further information please visit the Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/
When dealing with very young children, it is very important that home and school work together to teach and stress the importance of good hand washing. Hand washing is the single most important thing we can do to keep ourselves and our children healthy.
But if you're in search of a freebie for b-ball, then here's the SWEEEEET Deal of the Week. You can score up to 10 FREE tickets to the next NJ Nets Basketball game(s) -- any game they play at the IZOD center until Jan 20th!
For example, Aussie Dave wanted to score some tix to the January 5th 7:30 pm game against the Sacramento Kings -- $110 tickets for FREE. Could it be possible?
Yes, you can get them for free. Actually, you have to pay Ticketmaster their $0.75 convenience fee, but that's it!
And this is not just 1 free tickets. You can get up to 10 tickets per household. Here's how:
1) Go to the Ticketmaster page for the NJ Netsgame 2) Use the promo code: ONUS in the Paperfast Offer Coupon Code field 3) Select how many tickets you want (up to 10 per household)
You can continue through the shopping cart process to find the best available Free NJ Nets Basketball Tickets at the IZOD center.
And you're done --- SCORE! Free Tickets!
If you're successful, leave a comment below here to let us know which game you're intending to go watch.
Here are some of the games still available:
Tue, 02/03/09 07:30 PM
New Jersey Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks IZOD CENTER - East Rutherford
Fri, 02/20/09 08:00 PM
New Jersey Nets vs. Washington Wizards IZOD CENTER - East Rutherford
Mon, 02/23/09 07:30 PM
New Jersey Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers IZOD CENTER - East Rutherford
Mon, 03/30/09 07:30 PM
New Jersey Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks IZOD CENTER - East Rutherford
Mon, 04/13/09 07:30 PM
New Jersey Nets vs. Charlotte Bobcats IZOD CENTER - East Rutherford
Every morning they start with a huddle to meet each other before going full speed for 3 hours!
The part about The Little Gym that is particularly great is the staff - very attentive and you kids don't get lost in a typical "big" program. The setting is very intimate...
I also like them because of the flexibility -- because you can usually sign-up on a per-day basis, not a committment for the entire week which is great if you're planning to take a long weekend trip on either side of the school vacation week.
The kids like them because it isn't 3 hours of the same thing ... - these camps are always scheduled during the school vacation breaks and they include tons of physical activity, SNACKS and arts and crafts too. The perfect FUN thing to do when school is out.
The summer is just around the corner and you can feel it with the 80 degree temps this past week!
That means it's time to get ready to go to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ!
But at $59/ticket, that's a lot of cash to pony up just to get in the gates!
Here's one way to score a free ticket and do some good at the same time (6 hours to be exact!).
Six Flags Amusement Parks and The Girls Scouts of America have teamed up to provide free admission tickets for July 2008 to anyone that signs up to volunteer just 6 hours for mentoring with the local group.
This might be a great way to get the family involved in some good works and then connect it with a rewarding day at the Great Adventure theme park for free...
One of the reasons is that the sanitation pick-up guys are paid to go all the way to the back of the house and pick-up the garbage out of the garbage cans if you want. The original intent I believe is so that we don't have empty garbage cans lining the streets twice a week all over the pace. It's plain ugly - and people are willing to pay for this.
The only problem is that many people either don't know about this, or don't follow along. So our tax dollars are kind of going to waste to serve the few (or lazy or both).
There's a SURVEY right now that the Township of Livingston is holding online about this issue. Do your part and take the survey -- and/or stop putting your trash cans out at the curb, and tell the guys to go to your backyard and get the trash themselves -- don't feel guilty -- you've already paid for it!
Today, I'm meeting a friend at Atlanta Bread Company. The cafe/coffee house is in Madison, NJ actually.
Kind of like a Panera Bread, they serve coffee, desserts, and sandwiches, etc with a LOT of space for hanging out and meeting up with friends. I don't know if there's much of a differentiator between the two local bakery/coffee houses. Perhaps I'll find out today when I go.
I just looked-up the local "ABC" store and it looks like they offer free WiFi Internet connections to surf while you sip your coffee.
Downtown Madison, New Jersey has a ton of little shops and restaurants and Atlanta Bread Company is just one of them to explore.
