Going Home: Part 4

 A few weeks ago my family and I embarked on a journey back to my home state of New Jersey. The best part of the trip in my opinion was taking my kids to some of my favorite places to eat in the Garden State. Of course we stopped by Cliff's Dairy Maid on Route 10 in Ledgewood, NJ. I used to love their Smurf ice cream, but this time around I got some double peanut butter fudge and it was AMAZING! The kids loved it, but the lack of a bathroom posed a problem for my son. 

There are no 7-11's near where we live, so we had to make a stop at the 7-11 in Panther Valley so the kids could get a taste of mixing all the flavors together in 1 cup! Also, I had been craving some good pizza from people who know how to make pizza! It is hard to find a good slice where we currently reside, so I had to order a "Garbage Pizza" from Dominic's in Blairstown, NJ. It was topped with pepperoni, sausage, meat balls, onions, peppers and onions. In addition to that I had to get some hoagies to fulfill my cravings!

Speaking of cravings, I took the family to White Castle for lunch one day during our trip. My daughter loves onions, so I knew she would enjoy the little steamed burgers of goodness. After we ate, I had the kids pose like the Beastie Boys in front of the restaurant. We were filled and moved on to the next destination. 

I have a friend who works at the M&M Mars factory in Hackettstown, NJ and he tried to get us a tour, but failed in doing so. I still wanted to show the kids where some of their favorite candies come from, so we stopped by and walked around the campus for a minute while taking in the wonderful aroma of chocolate being made.

This next spot has nothing to do with food, but my son wanted to go to a Gamestop for some reason, so we hit up the one in Ledgewood, NJ. As we were walking out, I had to show them Santana's Hair Salon which is owned by WWE legend Tito Santana. The kids and wife were not as impressed by this as I thought they would be.

The last stop before heading home was a 3 hour layover in Minneapolis. Since we had a ton of time to kill, the kids grabbed some McDonald's for lunch and we walked around the airport. We saw this cool Snoopy statue and visited the Prince store. Sadly they did not have the one Prince album for sale that I was looking for...the BATMAN movie soundtrack. Overall we had an AMAZING time going back home to my old stomping grounds, but unfortunately all good things must eventually come to an end. As we left, I started feeling homesick, because as this old picture that has been hanging in my Mom's house for as long as I can remember says...

Going Home: Part 3

A few weeks ago my family and I embarked on a journey back to my home state of New Jersey. After we hit up the Blairstown Diner on our second day back on the east coast, we took the kids to Footbridge Park. They really enjoyed seeing the different kinds of trees and we had some close foot races on the long bridge. With nothing on the agenda for that evening I decided to take the kids to Bel-Pike Lanes in Belvidere, NJ. Me and my friends would spend hours there bowling, playing pool and putting quarters into the arcade machines. Now the arcade has been transformed into a restaurant, but we still got in a few games of bowling. Notice how my son did not remove his Link hat during these trips. He practically lived in that thing during our vacation.

My parents live about an hour away from NYC and we couldn't pass up the chance to take the kids into the city for their first time. My wife was able to find us a hotel room about 2 blocks away from the Museum of Natural History. So after finding a parking garage and a short trip on the subway, we made it into NYC. 

We had watched the movie "Night at the Museum" to get the kids excited for this trip and when they saw the Easter Island Head on display all of them had to say "Give me Gum-gum" at least 100 times each. We got to see most of the museum that day, but due to an event they were closing early and we missed the ocean animals display. 

At least we did get to see what we all came for...Dinosaurs by the boat load! After the museum, we took a walk through central park and then hit the subway back to Jersey City to retrieve our car.

Of course we had to see the Statue of Liberty. Once again my wife did an excellent job of booking us ferry tickets that left from Jersey City. We stopped at Ellis Island first and took the tour while the kids participated in the Junior Rangers program so they could earn a Ranger badge. Then it was off to see Lady Liberty! Once again the kids did there Junior Ranger thing and we were able to take a tour of the Statue and visit the newly built museum on the island. It was great to see their reactions to how AWESOME the sight of this American icon was. Back in Jersey City we walked around the 9-11 "Empty Sky" monument. Then headed back to my parents place.

On our drive back, I took the kids past the Land of Make Believe amusement park in Hope, NJ. I really wish it was open when we were home, because the next time we visit I'm pretty sure the kids will be too old to enjoy it. My Dad was driving pretty fast, so forgive the crappiness of the picture above. While on this scenic drive, we also took the kids down one of the most haunted roads in the United States aka Shades of Death Road and Ghost Lake. Let me tell you, it is not scary at all in the daytime. For more info on this road check out the video below.

Going Home: Part 1

About two weeks ago my family and I embarked on a journey back to my home state of New Jersey. The first night we arrived we spent some time with my parents and my Mom made us a home cooked meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and a lasagna! It was delicious, but I was wanting to bring my kids to some of my favorite eating establishments from when I was growing up and the next day our first stop was the famous Blairstown Diner!

Of course this diner was famous for being one of the filming locations for the original Friday The 13th movie in 1980 and it has changed over the years, but basics stayed the same. It was a small, family owned restaurant that serves great diner food.

My kids and I looked over the menu and my twins ordered pancakes with blueberries and one with chocolate chips. My oldest daughter ordered a cheeseburger. They all enjoyed their meals and we still had enough leftovers for them to have another helping the next day for lunch.

I was torn between what I should order. When I used to come here with my dad over a decade ago, I would order the Cowboy Burger, but since I was in the Halloween mood I could not pass up the Jason Voorhees inspired fare and I went with...

THE SLASHER BURGER!!! This burger had cheeses, lettuce, tomato, pickles and a fried egg on top. I have had variations on this burger at other places before, but there is something to be said about the ambiance of a diner. It just seems to make everything taste better, especially when you visit one after 2am! 

I really enjoyed my meal much like the rest of the family and after a fun stop up the street at Footbridge park with the kids, we headed home. On the way I pointed out some other Friday The 13th locations to the kids. We passed by Hartung's General store on High Street in Hope, NJ.

And we also made time to swing by the gates of the old Moravian Cemetery on the corner of High Street and Mount Hermon Road. It had been almost ten years since I had been back home and I was soaking in every bit of it. I hope my kids enjoyed the trip as much as I did.

Back at my parent's house my brother mentioned if I had picked up one of the anniversary shirts they were selling at the diner. I must have missed them when I was there, but I said "It would have been cool to get one". My Dad said "Really?" and left the room only to come back with this shirt for me! Aren't Dads the best!

In other Jason related news, I finally found the Toony Terrors Jason Voorhees action figure at Walmart in the ITC in Flanders, NJ!!!

80s Commercials From The East Coast 2

I had such a great time finding these nostalgic commercials from my childhood on YouTube a few weeks ago, that I decided to do a second post! Once again these are the commercials that would run on our local stations when I was a kid living in New Jersey. Most of them ran in the Summer when us kids were home in the daytime to watch multiple hours of TV in between pick up basketball games and Nintendo marathons. Man these really take me back. Enjoy!!

Westchester County Fair in NY

Crazy Eddie: Beat The Heat Sale

Young People's Day Camp

Action Park

New Jersey Tourism Ad

Raceway Park

D'Agostino's Grocery Stores

80s Commercials from the East Coast

I had planned on a pretty cool post for this week, but with sick kids and the crazy weather I have been unable to get it written and onto the blog. Instead I decided to share some of my favorite local commercials that I used to see on TV in the 80s while living in the great state of New Jersey. If your from the tri-state area these should bring back some great memories. If not, I'm sure you can still enjoy the nostalgia of the spots. ENJOY!

Shop Rite: Can Can Sale

Land of Make Believe: Hope, NJ

Milford Plaza: Lullaby of Broadway

The Children's Aid Society

The Wiz: Home Entertainment Sale

Mount Airy Lodge

Retro Arcade: Jersey Devil!

Jersey Devil was an action/adventure game released in 1998 by Behaviour Interactive for the Playstation. I enjoyed this game when I first played it on one of those Playstation Magazine Demo Discs. When I found a used copy at GameStop, I immediately picked it up.

Being from NJ, I loved the history of this elusive cryptid! If you don't know the story of the Jersey Devil, here you go: "Mother Leeds had 12 children and, after finding she was pregnant for the 13th time, stated that this one would be the Devil. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the Devil himself. In 1735, born as a normal child, it changed to a creature with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, it killed the midwife before flying up the chimney, circling the villages, and heading toward the NJ Pine Barrens." This is what he was depicted as in a drawing from 1909!

A little different than the hero we got in 1998? Anyway, the game took place in Jersey City and the Jersey Devil must do battle with the mutant vegetables of Dr. Knarf. Dr. Knarf is using his killer cabbages and pumpkin ghouls in attempt to take over the world! It's up to you and the Jersey Devil to stop him!

This game is a lot of fun. It has colorful characters, a fun story to follow and I really like the way they depict Jersey City in the game.

It's just a little different than the one in real life. Wouldn't an HD remake be sweet?

For now all we have is this Playstation version from '98 and that's good enough for me. I'm gonna try to beat this classic video game this Halloween season! Enjoy this old commercial for the game and take a walk down PS1 Memory Lane with me!