Tri State Trips 2009-2010

Read more about Stickley and the Stickley sites in New Jersey and New York in my online article on the Suite101 website.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010 brought us back to the area we explored the previous year (scroll below), with a few additional sites. 

26 November 2010

Finally a chance to explore the interior of Craftsman Farms.  During the holidays they have special events and decorate the place for Christmas, so it’s a good time to visit.  We stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn in Parsippany, which had good service, nice rooms and was an excellent value. 

Dinner at Casa Bella restaurant on Route 46 West in Denville.  Good veal dishes and friendly service, but tables a bit cramped.  Stopped for some by at one of NJ’s many diners, Paul’s Family Diner at 320 Route 46 East in Mountain Lakes.  It’s open 24 hours with all baking donwe on the Premises with very friendly service.  We had carrot cake and pumpkin cheesecake to go.

27 November 2010

Went to the Newark Museum (yes, there is an art museum in Newark!) for the Gustav Stickley exhibit, well worth the trip.  Aside from the excellent exhibit, a highlight of the museum is The Ballantine House, former home of the brewery millionaires.  It has been marvelously restored, and at Christmas has all the halls decked out with boughs of holly!  It is a beautiful Victorian mansion, fully furnished and well interpreted. 

There is a movement to bring more business to the downtown area, and tax incentives have been given for businesses to open up there.  We had lunch at a local Korean place and were happy to support the economic zone.

Labor Day Weekend 2009 took us to a few neighboring states to visit friends and family and to see some new sites.

5 September 2009

Despite looking multiple times at the website for The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Parsippany, NJ, I never once saw/noticed that it would be closed Labor Day weekend.  I am certain that 3 days before we left and printed out directions that the Events Calendar made no mention of this fact.  So imagine the disappoint to pull up the gate and see a “Closed for the Holiday” sign.  Why do we always have this terrible timing (e.g. the one week of the year the Corvette Factory Tour in Bowling Green, KY is closed?  The one day of the week in summer that Boeing Factory in Seattle, WA doesn’t have construction?)??  This cloud, however, had a silver lining.  The beautiful grounds were open, and we had them to ourselves almost the entire we were there, and the plentiful windows are such that we were able to peer inside them from all 4 sides.  We therefore bypassed the $7 each admission fee and only missed the 2 rooms on the 2^nd floor of the museum building, plus we were able to look into some outbuildings that are normally closed to the public but that are nevertheless furnished with fine Stickley pieces.

Not seeing anything authentically local in the area we stopped for lunch at Fuddruckers on Route 46E in Parsippany, not having eaten at a Fuddruckers in years.  I had an ostrich burger, sort of tasty but a bit dry due to the leanness of the meat ($9.39, including their thick cut fries).  They seemed not to be bothered that my wife isn’t a child and let her have a kids meal.  The fun of Fuddruckers is that you can add all the toppings (lettuce, onions, and a wide variety of sauces and condiments) yourself just to your liking.

Onwards to Morristown, where poor signage for the National Historical Park led us to a fine thrift shop, The Bargain Box, on Mount Kemble Road, which aptly describes itself as “A Thrift Boutique with a Touch of Class.”  Classy and boutique-y indeed, with an excellent book selection and nice clothes and linens and which benefits the Morristown Memorial Hospital.

The National Historical Park is large and has several areas.

We first visited Washington’s Headquarters, which is north of the town green.  George Washington was headquartered here from 1779-80 in what was at the time the grandest house in town.  Currently the home has received stimulus money, and all the furniture was boxed up, so we decided not to take a tour at this time.  Instead we drove south of the green to the Jockey Hollow Encampment Area, where thousands of Continental Army soldiers were encamped in cold and simple accommodations.  A Visitor’s Center has a sample army hut, and behind the center is the Wick House, which was the headquarters of General Arthur St. Clair.  The Wick House had a costumed interpreter who didn’t much seem to like her government gig, but it did add to the character of the place.  Also on the house grounds is a garden, perhaps an heirloom garden?, with many herbs and vegetables growing and very well marked.

The entire park is wooded and well maintained with many walking trails.  We did not have time to visit some of the archaelogical excavation trails or Fort Nonsense, but it would be very nice to return, particularly after the restoration of the Headquarters.

We drove on to the Sheraton Meadowlands, which is right across the road from Giants Stadium.  The room was an odd shape, but clean and comfortable with the usual Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed.  The swimming pool wasn’t too inviting, so we passed on that.  We headed out for dinner in search of nothing in particular and by a stroke of luck stumbled upon the Tick Tock Diner, on Route 3 in Clifton, NJ.  Really, what trip to New Jersey would be complete without a meal at a diner served by a waitress with giant Jersey hair??!  Eggs with potatoes and toast was only $3.95, and we should have stuck with breakfast because the Positano Panino (mozzarella, basil, prosciutto, and tomato) was mediocre.  The diner has been featured on the Food Network and has its own in-house bakery, and the coconut custard pie did not disappoint.

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6 September

We had a relaxing night in the hotel and leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant, where our waitress Anna lived up to the high standard for Sheraton restaurant breakfast staff that we have come to expect.  It’s very easy to drive into NYC from the hotel, though finding the onramp that leads to the Lincoln Tunnel can be a bit tricky.  Traffic was reasonable, and being a holiday weekend we easily found street parking right across from our friends’ apartment in the West Village.  We walked around Bleecker Street and decided to stand in line to pick up some famous cupcakes for my brother’s 30^th birthday from Magnolia Bakery.  The cupcakes are small, but they are delicious and the $2.50-$3 price tag is manageable.  We also splurged on a banana pudding for $5.50 at the suggestion of our fellow queuer.  Something was filming inside while we were there, so perhaps you’ll see us on the Food Network yet.  The original Bleecker Street location still allows you to self-serve your cupcakes into their little white boxes with holes but out to hold the cakes properly in place.

The bakery had a guest role on Sex and The City in the episode where Carrie meets Aidan for the first time and is included in the Sex and City Tour of New York City.

There is a blog for everything, of course, and here’s a cupcake blog if you’re so inclined: http://www.cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com.  And here’s a very recent article on NYC bakeries, which includes Magnolia:  http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/16/nyc/

Met up with friends for lunch at Jane Street Tavern (Tavern on Jane). http://www.tavernonjane.com

They have a very good and affordable brunch, prix fixe at $14, which includes a drink and a muffin/bread basket.  Friendly and efficient service in a nice atmosphere.

Sad to leave the city, but a party to attend in Connecticut, so back to family fun in CT for the rest of the weekend.