Tag: hiking

Tuckerton Seaport Museum 120 West Main Street Tuckerton, NJ 08087

Tuckerton Seaport Museum 120 West Main Street Tuckerton, NJ 08087

Tuckerton Seaport Museum

120 West Main Street

Tuckerton, NJ 08087

(609) 296-8868

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Open: Sunday-Wednesday 10:00am-4:00pm/Thursday-Friday Closed/Saturday 10:00am-4:00 pm

Admission: Based on tours arranged during the season. Please check the website.

My TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g46876-d271270-r1033440153-Tuckerton_Seaport-Tuckerton_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Tuckerton Museum and the Seaport at 120 West Main Street in Tuckerton, NJ

The entrance to the complex from Route 9

The entrance to the Tuckerton Seaport complex on a sunny Saturday morning

The complex was once a bustling fishing and shipping area that has now been preserved as a cultural site with tours, a series of restaurants and a museum.

The Mission of the Museum:

(from the Tuckerton Seaport Museum website)

Our mission at the Tuckerton Seaport is to preserve, present and interpret the rich maritime history, artistry, heritage and environment of the Jersey shore and the unique contributions of its baymen.

The dock area by the coffee shop

The artwork by the parking lot and coffee shop

I walked over to the main building which served as both the gift shop and museum. It was funny that the gift shop took both the first two front rooms of the museum. I had to look behind shirts to see the displays.

The docks and touring boats by the museum

The Seaport Tuckerton Museum at 120 West Main Street

The History of the Complex:

(from the Tuckerton Museum website)

Originally launched as the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen’s Museum, the Tuckerton Seaport has evolved over the past twenty-two years into a community museum and community center occupying 40 acres located along historic Tuckerton Creek in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Tuckerton Seaport benefits from a prime location at the center of the Jersey shore, easily accessible via Exit 58 on the Garden State Parkway. Tuckerton Seaport works as a coastal cultural center to bring folklife traditions of the past and present to life through programs on land and water.

The museum was just opening up as I arrived and the staff was busy getting everything ready so I just walked around the museum. It is an interesting museum on New Jersey’s nautical past and the growth of the shipping and trading that went on in the turn of the last century. The museum also showed the bustling fishing industry that still exists today.

The Giant Chicken greets you at the door

The Giant Chicken was a road stop symbol of the White Way Farm Market and a tourist attraction

I thought it was rather cute and could see why people stopped

The view from the front porch of the museum was spectacular on this sunny day

The exhibit at the museum ‘Museum in the Making’, which is a through look at Tuckerton, its past and its contributions to the growth of New Jersey

The first room also served as a bustling gift shop with the main attraction this carving of the ‘Jersey Devil’

A display of Duck Decoys

A collection of woodcarvings of fisherman

The popular businesses that once lined Route 9 up and down the shore area

Displaying life down the shore in that era with quilting and sewing

The display of wood carvings and artwork on the first floor

The artworks made of driftwood by local artists

The driftwood art display on the first floor

The rooms both on the first and second floor were displayed by themes of Lenape Indian life at the shore, the Dutch and English traders, growth of shore farming, shipping and trade and fishing industries and the development of tourism in the area with steamships and the railroads.

The first room in the museum is a detailed look at the life of the Lenape and the froth of the fishing industry

The early life at the Jersey shore

The Native American display

The first part of the early development of Tuckerton started as the fishing and hunting grounds of the Native Americans until the settlement of the Dutch

The history of the Lenape

The arrival of the Europeans started the bustling shipping and trade industries that supplied the home country

With the growth of industry and farming many people started businesses to supply the population

Some started popular businesses that lasted over a century

E. Walter Parsons Jr. had a very successful fishing business that was in the family until 1984

With the rich soil in the area, local farmers worked the land providing fruits and vegetables for the growing population

Early farming equipment on display

The second floor galleries depicted the developing life at the shore with creating of modern life saving for the shipping and fishing industries and with coming of railroads, the bustling tourism industry with the change of leisure travel after the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution.

The second floor rail transportation display

The second floor display on shipwrecks off the Jersey coast

The development of modern Life Saving procedures

With storms at sea and affecting life in the area, as it still does today, there was a growth and development of modern Live-saving procedures and rescue methods.

The Life Saving exhibit

The use of the Lyle Gun in rescues

The series of pulleys and wenches are still used today in different forms. They had to create a safe way to rescue people not just from storms but accidents as well.

The Life Saving and Rescue display

Rescue display

The railroad made its way to the Jersey shore bringing tourists from both New York and Philadelphia and bustling North Jersey. This opened the area up to tourism as leisure travel grew at the end of the nineteenth century.

One example of a visiting tourist was the Cinderella Cramer display with long distance travel to the shore.

The first female passenger of the Tuckerton Railroad

Getting the rail ticket

Tourism developing at the Jersey shore

The Cinderella Cramer display representing that eras travels to the shore with Victorian standards and use of steamer trunks

Packing the steamer trunks for the long journey

Artifacts from the shore

Life at the shore still had its perils as it does today with storms affecting development and shifting shore lines

The lighthouse light display

The museum once served as a beacon for shipping and the top level served as a lookout. Today you can walk upstairs and enjoy the views.

Traveling up the tower stairs

On this beautiful sunny and clear morning that I visited, the views were spectacular.

The view of the port area of the complex

The view of the inlet and Lake Pohatcong across from Route 9

My video of the views from the top of the lookout

The Tuckerton Seaport Museum tour was a very thorough look at the community and its development over the last three hundred years. The exhibits showed the progress the community has made and where it is headed in the future as the shore communities keep changing.

With the economy, the rise of AI, climate change and overall population growth toward the shore, it will be interesting to see the changes of the future.

Leaving the museum complex at the end of the trip

Tuckerton has an interesting past as a shipping and fishing destination and now you can tour the buildings and see what life was like back then and there it is moving in to the future today.

Bethany Beach Nature Center 807 Garfield Parkway Bethany Beach, DE 19930

Bethany Beach Nature Center 807 Garfield Parkway Bethany Beach, DE 19930

Bethany Beach Nature Center

807 Garfield Parkway

Bethany Beach, DE 19930

(302) 537-7680

https://www.townofbethanybeach.com/397/Nature-Center

https://visitsoutherndelaware.com/listing/bethany-beach-nature-center

Open: Sunday-Monday Closed/Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-3:00pm/Saturday 10:00am-12:00pm

Admission: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33997-d1632695-Reviews-Bethany_Beach_Nature_Center-Bethany_Beach_Delaware.html

The front of the Bethany Beach Nature Center

The Nature Center sign

The wonderful little natural preserve is the perfect getaway on a sunny day. With something for the whole family, there are nature paths, gardens, aquatic tanks to view and even a butterfly area, the preserve is a nice way to spend the afternoon.

The front of the historic Addy Cottage

The historic Addy Cottage building

The Addy Cottage historic marker

The history of the Addy houses

The cottage where the Nature Center is located is an example of early beach homes in the community. Once a series of homes by the same family , this is the last surviving home in the series.

The History of the Bethany Nature Center:

(from the center’s website)

The Addy Cottage houses the Bethany Beach Nature Center.  It was built circa 1903 by John Addy, one of the Pittsburgh Six that founded Bethany Beach.  Located on the 26 acre Delaware land conservation trust, the property was originally owned by the heirs of the Natter Family.  

In 2001 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation, and the Town of Bethany Beach successfully funded the acquisition of this natural land to be preserved for all future generations in Bethany Beach.

The inside of the Nature Center

The inside of the nature center is perfect for children and families with interactive games and playthings plus fish and turtle tanks.

The fish display

The Box turtle display

The Box turtle display

Finding this Baby Terrapin turtle hiding in the display

The Box Turtle display

The Box Turtle display

The Red Eared Slider Turtle display

The Aquatic display of marine life in the community

The highlight of the visit on a beautiful sunny afternoon is the half a mile long Baldwin Trail into the marshes.

The entrance to the Baldwin Tral

The dedication sign

The pathways as part of the trails

The Garden of Native Plants was in full bloom at the end of the summer and I started my walk of the Nature Center here.

The Garden of Native Plants

The entrance to the Gardens

The gardens were still in full bloom when I visited and offered a sanctuary for insects and birds who were flying all over the place. There were areas to sit under the shade and paths to walk down to admire the gardens.

The center of the garden

The gardens in bloom toward the end of the summer

A view of the gardens from the back

I then continued down the path and toured the area by the wetlands. The back trails took you to the marshes.

The sign for the wetlands

The pathway into the Wetlands

The wetlands were very picturesque with the marshes glistening in the light. The trees still reflected a summer not quite over.

The entrance to the wetlands

The pathway to the pools

The beauty of the pools

After I left the pools, I headed to the back of the Wetlands area, to the woods and marshes.

The pathways to the back of the marshes

The marshes

The Hard Surface runoff

The back paths were dense with trees and brush but you could still hear the running of water and the birds calling.

The paths to the back part of the natural preserve

The natural preserve

It was such a beautiful day

The fresh water marshes

The fresh water marshes

The fresh water marshes

The very back of the fresh water marshes

Heading back to the Visitors Center

When I headed back to the Natural Preserve, I visited the other part of the gardens again.

People were reading books and relaxing

Visiting the Butterfly Gardens

The flowers were in full bloom

The gardens in the back of the Nature Center

Off to the side of the property, the catch basin was planted as a Butterfly Garden. The area was full of flowers and plants to attract butterflies and other insects.

The Rain Garden

The Rain Garden in bloom

Then it just so happened that a butterfly flew in the gardens. He just sat there not doing anything and I actually yelled at him to open up so I could take a picture of him.

The butterfly flew into the gardens

He listened and opened up and after I showed him the picture he flew away. Everyone is a critique.

The Nature Preserve is the perfect place to just walk around and just relax. When the weather is beautiful, there is nothing like it. Take time to walk the paths and enjoy the surrounding environment. You will surprised what small creature might pop up.

Video on touring the Nature Center:

Visiting the Nature Center:

Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary 11400 3rd Avenue Stone Harbor, NJ 08247

Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary 11400 3rd Avenue Stone Harbor, NJ 08247

Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary

11400 3rd Avenue

Stone Harbor, NJ 08247

(609) 368-5102

https://www.facebook.com/p/Stone-Harbor-Bird-Sanctuary-100064916130839/

Home

Open:Sunday-Saturday 24 Hours

Admission: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

The sign welcoming you

The History of the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary:

(from the park’s website)

The Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary is a wonderfully preserved microcosm of what the barrier islands of New Jersey looked like hundreds of years ago.  As you walk along Sanctuary paths, it is easy to imagine the Lenni-Lenape Indians wandering through the maritime forest, crossing wind swept sand dunes, past groves of white cedar, birch, pine, holly and sassafras trees, taking time to drink water from a spring fed freshwater pond and then, fishing in the salt water meadows surrounded by herons and songbirds.

As early as the 1870’s and 1880’s, the Sanctuary area was recognized as a “veritable paradise of birds” for ornithologists.  The primary attractions were Little Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons and egrets.  Once the 96th Street Bridge opened in 1911, those who wanted to study, hunt or collect the eggs of birds no longer had to walk across four miles of marsh.  Easy access to the heronry was a boon to birders but also a threat to birds whose plumes and eggs were valued.

In 1941, the Stone Harbor Bird Club was organized in the home of Lillian R. Leuallen.  The Bird Club was renamed in 1946 as the Witmer Stone Club to honor Witmer Stone, one of the first ornithologists to document birds in the Sanctuary area.  With considerable foresight, the Witmer Stone Club proposed early in 1947 that the Borough of Stone Harbor establish a “sanctuary”.  In October of 1947, the Borough Council passed Ordinance #208 which preserved 31 acres of land as a wildlife sanctuary.  Subsequent to expert study in 1961 which demonstrated that no birds were nesting on the beach side sanctuary acreage, the Stone Harbor Borough Council sold ten acres to the east of Second Avenue.  The remaining 21 acres bounded by Second Avenue to the East, Third Avenue to the West, 111th Street to the North and area between 116th and 117th on the South represents the Sanctuary as we know it today.  The Sanctuary remains one of the few bird sanctuaries in the world that are completely within municipal boundaries.

One can’t overstate the foresight and commitment of the residents and Borough officials to conservation as well as the preservation of open space and wildlife in 1947, 1961 and every year since.  This commitment was reinforced by the United States Park Service in 1965 when it designated the Sanctuary as a National Natural Landmark.

Over the years, the Sanctuary has been home to thousands of birds and visited by more than a million people representing all fifty states and most countries in the world.  It has been estimated that Sanctuary visitors spend more than $5 million each year, locally. Although some like the New York Times in 1960 glorify the Sanctuary, referring to it as “The Everglades of New Jersey”, Stone Harbor residents think of the Sanctuary as a symbol of the character of this quiet, single family town which respects the nature and wildlife that surrounds them while placing a premium on livability, aesthetics and serenity.

The front of the sanctuary from 3rd Avenue

I took a walk when I was in Stone Harbor through the town’s Bird Sanctuary to hopefully view some rare birds. While I did not see much, I heard a lot of singing and scrawling as I walked the path through the trees.

The front gardens in the sanctuary

The gardens were still in bloom in the late Summer and many colorful wildflowers attracted all sorts of butterflies and other insects.

The sign greeting you about the experience

The front path of the sanctuary

You head over the bridge to the paths that take you into the woods

Walking down the pathways through the woods

The path takes you into a deep wooded area in the middle of the town and by the time you get to the middle of the path, you can hear the mating calls of many birds. It’s funny to note that we are a couple of blocks from the shore.

Walking through the pathways

Reaching the middle of the beach woods

The middle of the bird sanctuary noisy with bird calls

Walking back through the pathways through the roads

Touring through the Bird Sanctuary does not take a long time, but offers relief from a busy shore town.

Video on the park:

Hamden Covered Bridge Park Route 10 Hamden, NY 13782

Hamden Covered Bridge Park Route 10 Hamden, NY 13782

Hamden Covered Bridge Park

Route 10

Hamden, NY 13782

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamden_Bridge

Hamden

Open: Sunday-Saturday 24 Hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Hamden Covered Bridge

I was driving through Hamden on my way to Ithaca and had just left Delhi and wanted to travel through the back roads of the state. I came across the Hamden Covered bridge while driving down the highway. I had never seen one that looked like this and had to stop to see this interesting bridge.

The historic sign

The History of the Covered Bridge:

(From the New York State Covered Bridge Society)

The Hamden Covered Bridge is one of six covered bridges still standing in Delaware County. It is one of three bridges owned and maintained by Delaware County; the other three bridges are
privately owned.

Built by Robert Murray in 1859, this 128-foot-long, single span structure incorporates the Long truss design patented on March 6, 1830 by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen H. Long of Hopkinton, New Hampshire. It is New York’s only covered bridge that incorporates a pure Long truss design, unassisted by an arch or Queen post truss and is rare to northeastern covered bridges. The Hamden Covered Bridge is one of three covered crossings that still carry traffic across branches of the Delaware River. A contract to construct the bridge was signed between Mr. Murray and the Town of Hamden on April 27, 1859, for the sum of $1,000.

The beautiful little park that surrounds it

The little park does not have the best parking (as I had to park by the side of the highway) but this is a beautiful and picturesque little park. I loved walking through the gardens and taking a break from all the driving. Its a nice place to take a rest.

The beautifully landscaped park

The signage tells the story of the town, the rail system Upstate and the communities that was affected by it.

The history of the Bridge and the surrounding area

The history of the town

I had never walked through a old covered bridge before and found it fascinating. I loved the architecture and the history behind it. I imagined all the horses and wagons and cars that must have traveled through it over the years.

Touring the bridge

I want to share my tour of the bridge with all of you so you can see how magnificent this little historical bridge. It is amazing and nice to see a part of our history.

My walking tour of the inside of the bridge

The inside of the bridge

Take your time to take this walk through the bridge.

The historic sign

The beauty of the road trip down Route 10

The surrounding around Route 10 is just breathtaking in the summer and I can imagine what this is like during the Fall foliage. I took my time to drive down Route 10. It is just so beautiful to drive down and stop and take pictures.

Driving down Route 10

Driving down Route 10 is worth the trip

A better look at the lakes and rivers

The views are amazing