Tyler Arboretum

      Tuesday, April 18, 2023: For the first time in four years, I had taken more than one trip to Pennsylvania within a year. Therefore, I decided to visit a certain attraction in Delaware County, PA: the Tyler Arboretum, 515 Painter Road, Media (610-566-9134). (The last PA trip was a month ago to the Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham.) After I arrived on this 650 acres of plants, trees, and gardens, as well as hiking trails, some buildings, and other attractions, I had forgotten about the elevation—especially on hilly grounds! Soon I was getting tired and a bit out of breath. Nevertheless, the colorful flowers in bloom and the woodlands made it worthwhile. Later, I rested as I ate a picnic lunch. Afterward, I once again walked the grounds, but on the second walk, I took my time and walked slowly. Among the walks that impressed me the most was the Story Walk with its views of some interesting buildings in amongst the landscape and trees, and a produce garden. The other impressive walk was the Native Woodland Walk where I imagined that much of PA might have looked to William Penn. Another area included the Scenic Loop that displayed its share of attractions, including the large rhododendron garden, a maze, meadows, and other things to see, both natural and human made. Overall, I would suggest you wear your most comfortable walking shoes, hold onto the map of this place because they don’t have too many signs, and most of all: take it slowly, especially if you live closer to sea level.   

Village on High

      Friday, April 14, 2023: After being at the Vineland Flea Market earlier that day, I headed to another shopping area in another town in Cumberland County, New Jersey: Millville. In this case, I didn’t expect bargains because Village on High, 501 North High Street (856-765-0404) included close to a dozen shops, and inside those cottages, the vendors sold art, jewelry, and accessories, as well as candles, soaps, and other boutique merchandise. I mostly browsed and bought a smoothie at the vegan café. While in this village, I felt as though I was in a museum area looking at art in different forms--except that this art was for sale! Anyway, I was glad that I looked around, but I’d most likely do most of my buying at flea and farmers’ markets. 

Vineland Flea Market

     Friday, April 14, 2023: I’ve been a sucker for flea and farmers’ markets! Therefore, I decided to check out the Vineland Flea Market, 2896 South Delsea Drive (Route 47), Vineland (Cumberland County), New Jersey (856-362-5393). Although I was there on a weekday and saw about a dozen tables occupied with vendors selling everything from produce to antiques to pure junk, some of the people there informed me that on the weekends, especially in the afternoon, almost all of the tables were usually occupied. Altogether, this place had around seven rows of pavilions containing dozens or more tables each—and that’s not counting the outside tables and food trucks. Nevertheless, the few tables I saw had a variety of merchandise: produce, furniture, and household items, as well as clothes, jewelry, and other stuff too numerous to mention. Therefore, I ended up buying a few things. Get here early if you want a good parking spot, and if you want to be a vendor, get in touch with them.      

Gibbon House

      Thursday, April 13, 2023: During the latter part of the 1600s and into the 1700s, Greenwich (pronounced “green-witch” not “gren-ish” as in Greenwich, England or Greenwich Village, New York City) in Cumberland County, New Jersey was a very busy port town along the Cohansey River off of Delaware Bay. Years later, due to other forms of transportation, Greenwich, NJ lost a lot of its population. Currently it has been a mostly quiet town containing a sizeable number of buildings dating back to the 18th- and 19th-centuries. The Cumberland County Historical Society has owned a few of the attractions that have been opened to the public in this town. After seeing Wheaton Art Center in Millville, I headed to the headquarters for the Cumberland County Historical Society in the Gibbon House, 960 Ye Greate Street, Greenwich (856-455-4055). Here, I met a very enthusiastic guide who explained the history of the area and about this 1730 house as she showed us the different rooms inside. The ground floor included the following rooms furnished with items and furniture from the 1700s and 1800s: hallway, parlor, dining room, and a kitchen with a walk-in fireplace. On the upper floor, I noticed the master bedroom and other rooms with different exhibits. One of the rooms contained one of the largest collections of Ware rushed-seated chairs, and other rooms exhibited toys, clothing from the 18th- and 19th-centuries, as well as tools used in different crafts, including spinning & weaving, and other things donated by people living nearby. On the grounds, I glanced at a red barn from 1930 and a 1650 granary. Overall, I learned quite a bit about this area of Cumberland County!   

WheatonArts

      Thursday, April 13, 2023: Since I last visited here in the early 2000s, this place was known as Wheaton Village. Nowadays, those in power renamed this place Wheaton Arts, 1000 Village Drive, Millville (Cumberland County), New Jersey (856-825-6800). Upon arrival, I entered my favorite place in this village: The Museum of American Glass. In a Victorian-gingerbread interior, this museum exhibited American-made glass in both fine and decorative arts from the 18th century into the 21st century. When I was there, I looked at two special presentations: works by glass artist Amber Cowan and the history of Wheaton as a tourist attraction. In the first special exhibit area, Amber Cowan made fine art out of broken glass and glass scrapes by melting and sometimes glassblowing into different shapes. Many of her artworks looked very elaborate and colorful! The other special area, via text and pictures, covered the 50 years of Wheaton as a glassmaking area and a favorite attraction in NJ.  Therefore, the next place I entered, the Glass Studio, glass makers demonstrated glassblowing and other techniques in their quest to make different items: pitchers, paperweights, and other, mostly, decorative and practical glass items. Meanwhile, a guide explained to us what each glassworker was doing in detail. This building was a copy of the 1888 Wheaton Glass Factory, and in another section, other glassworkers were using flame work to make smaller glass objects: beads, marbles, jewelry, etc. The final section in this building showed potters making their share of items with clay: pots, pitchers, plates, cups, and so on. On the other side of the village street, I viewed the Down Jersey Folk Life Center that presented temporary exhibits about the different kinds of people who lived in Southern NJ. When I was there, I saw costumes from the Latino cultures. The rest of this side of the street included stores where you didn’t need an admission ticket to enter: an arts & crafts gallery, a paperweight shop, and an old-fashioned (circa early 20th century) general store. At certain times of the year, Wheaton plays host to special events, but no matter what time of year, it is worth your while to visit.     

Adventure Aquarium

      Tuesday, April 4, 2023: The last time I was here was in 2000 when this place was called the New Jersey State Aquarium. Back then, the exhibits mainly focused on sea life off the NJ Coast. In 2005, those in power renovated and expanded the aquarium. They also renamed it Adventure Aquarium, 1 Riverside Drive, Camden (Camden County), NJ (844-474-3474). While this wasn’t the largest aquarium I’ve ever been to (compare to the one in Baltimore, Maryland), it has been the largest in NJ, and it took me about three hours to see! I arrived in time for an early lunch before I toured this place. (Lunch was expensive, but if you are on a budget, you can get your hand stamped for re-entry and eat elsewhere. Some people brought their own food and ate it in their cars.) After lunch, I entered the newer area that presented one of their main attractions: two hippos. Another popular section in this area displayed one of the largest collections of sharks as well as rays and of course, several fish. Then I walked over to the older part of the aquarium where I saw a simulation of a tropical storm in a South American jungle while the tank underneath exhibited piranhas. Later, it was a more cute experience for me when I was looking at a simulated beach and water tank for the little blue Australian Penguins. The rest of this section showed plenty of different kinds of fish from around the world and reptiles: turtles, an alligator, a caiman, and lizards. In the next zone, I watched stingrays, and just outside, at Penguin Island, I glanced at African Penguins moving about. Upstairs in yet another zone, I noticed different frogs, and in different parts of the aquarium lived some parrots and a few other kinds of birds. Additionally, this aquarium showed 3-D films having to do with marine life, some touch exhibits, and a play area for children, as well as a virtual-reality sea dive (for an extra charge), daily feeding of the animals, and talks by the staff. Meanwhile, Adventure Aquarium provided plenty of text, pictures, and videos helping to explain more about the sea life they presented. Overall, this place proved to be both educational and entertaining.