Twin Lights Light House

      Saturday, April 17, 2021: Located high on a hill, more than 200 feet above sea level, the Twin Lights State Historic Site, 2 Lighthouse Road, Highlands (732-872-1814) looked like a brownstone castle. In 1841, this was the first lighthouse to use Fresnel lights, but the current building dated back to 1862. From what others told me, the reason there have been two lights here was because ships out at sea wouldn’t confuse it with the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Among other things that happened there was that Marconi demonstrated the wireless telegraph in 1899. Although the main building was closed with its small museum and the entrance to climb the North Tower, due to covid-19, I did get a chance to observe the giant Fresnel light lens in the nearby former power plant. The staff opened the doors to this building, but they roped off anybody from entering the building. Nevertheless, I also got to see model-scaled sized power engines that once powered the lighthouse. Another nearby building had a life boat on display. Finally, I walked around the grounds of this building where signs outside provided pictures and text that explained the history of this lighthouse and its purpose. The best views from here showed the skyline of NYC! Be warned: Lighthouse Road was a very steep road. We had to put the car in second gear. In addition, the nearby towns of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands have some very interesting downtowns with different shops and other businesses. 

Johnson Park

 

Wednesday, April 7, 2021: Again, this was another place that I wrote about visiting virtually last year: Johnson Park, Johnson Park Road, Piscataway (732-745-3900). On the date above, however, I visited it in person. This 473-acre park contained picnic areas, playgrounds, and places to practice different sports, as well as a chance to observe nature, a replica of an 18th-century village, and a small zoo. After having a picnic lunch, I headed to the zoo first. Here, along an area of single and double chain-link fences, I looked at different farm and wild animals: chickens, guinea fowl, ring-nicked doves, ducks, geese, pigs, goats, alpacas, deer, horses, and a few other animals. The best part about this zoo was that it was free, and as a result, I saw a few families also looking at these animals. Later, it took a short drive, but I visited another section of this park: East Jersey Old Town Village. The collection of mostly reconstructed buildings resembled a village from the mid-1700s. Although these buildings stayed closed due to covid-19, I still enjoyed seeing the exteriors around the village green. Some of those buildings included a barracks, a tavern, and a blacksmith shop, as well as a wheelwright shop, a school house, a church, different houses, and an herb garden. During normal times, re-enactors demonstrated their trades, and other volunteers dressed as soldiers who did drills or played the fife and drums. Overall, this park made for a good outing no matter how active you wanted to be or if you just wanted to relax!