Back Roads, Charming Towns : Retirement, Relocation, Vacation : Back Roads, Charming Towns Blog : Vikki Grodner

        

NJ: Fran and I are both professional refugees of the B.C.  As two Jersey girls, when we decided to get together for lunch earlier this week, it made sense to find a midway point in our state to rendezvous. Due to the hour time difference between charming Middletown, her neck of the woods, and Basking Ridge, mine, we had to do a little research to find a location. To our good fortune, we discovered the perfect spot in the quaint and tasty Metuchen Inn (above).

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NY & NJ: When Alex went with his friend Sam to the Goldsmith
family lake house in Ithaca, New York a few summers ago, he
naturally enjoyed the seasonal pursuits of splashing, running and relaxing that such a location inspires. But one of the more surprising outcomes of his trip was a visit to the Corning Museum of Glass, a first-rate museum and educational center with one of the world’s premier collection of art and historical glass. Here Alex witnessed glass being blown, twisted and made into objects both artistic and functional, and even got to try his own hand at the art. A delicate crystalline flower in swirls of blue, yellow and white is an object of great pride that continues to evoke a smile and memories whenever it catches his eye.

While Corning may be a more recognized name for some in the annals of glass lore, glass production is equally indigenous to the small southern New Jersey community of Millville. And there, one will find the very special WheatonArts.

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NJ: We recently had reason to celebrate. Alex was accepted to his first-choice university for the fall of 2007 (Roll Tide!), so naturally we wanted to head to one of his favorite spots. In this case, the Minute Man Restaurant on Highway 202 in Bernardsville, NJ filled the bill.

From its caramel-colored, wood-slathered walls to the mile-high pies in the front case, a trip to the Minute Man is like a big, friendly hug.

     

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NJ: An electrical outage along the rails this morning meant that I was detoured on my way into the B.C. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, providing an excuse to take the walk I am usually too rushed to enjoy from the station to the office. The weather today was beautiful and the atmosphere was brisk.

But I am getting ahead of myself. First, before I could get to excuses for taking walks, I had the pleasure of enjoying a train station, reimagined on this particular morning as a charming town center. 

    

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NJ: Even on an overcast day, there is a glow permeating Wightman’s Farms in Harding.

Perhaps it results from the rush of activity brought on by youthful exuberance, perhaps it emanates from the brilliance of the season’s rich autumnal hues.

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NJ: As you watch the parade of people saunter by proudly with their latest acquisition – golf clubs, garden equipment, antiques, light fixtures – you know this must be a unique place. And you would be right. 

Twice a year the Visiting Nurses Association of Somerset Hills gives folks a chance to find their latest “must have” at their humongous rummage sale. Held at the Fairgrounds in Far Hills, New Jersey, this is the state’s oldest and largest sale of its kind.

Part of the fun of this sale is its charm. Run by volunteers who care passionately about the cause and realize that this sale draws attendees not just from the immediate area but also from as far as Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York City, the event is run with the precision and marketing savvy of a true retail establishment.

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PA: Travelling the Dutch Country of Pennsylvania on Highway 22 near Hershey, an unusual sign catches your eye around the borough of Shartlesville. “Roadside America Exit Here” it quietly beckons. Always a glutton for “out-of-the-ordinary” attractions, I found the allure too much to resist – I had to explore further. Pulling into the driveway and crossing the attraction's threshold, I had some initial reservations. After all, this was about as 1950s, Americana kitschy as it gets. And yet something made me stay.

 

Roadside America is the ultimate roadside tourist attraction. It is not a destination in and of itself (although for one family this was not the case – more on that later) but rather a diversion in one’s travels. And yet it is just this sort of place that truly showcases the creativity of some Americans.

(And down the road is Ina Stoudt's not-to-be-missed antique store, crammmed to several sets of rafters with antique and vintage furnishings, household decorative items, unique tchotchkes and eclectic vintage clothing.) 

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NJ: A place where animals lounged and basked in the sun in days past is a place where human beings love to hang out and live in the present. Basking Ridge, New Jersey is today’s featured “charming town.”

Located 36 miles west of New York City in central New Jersey, Basking Ridge is a combination of rural simplicity and small-town amenities with big-city proximity.

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VA: The pink low slung building with turquoise window frames blinking across its facade lazily co-exists with a horse pasture in Natural Bridge, Virginia. A King Kong gorilla statue keeps a watchful eye on the colorful outpost. And inside, you are welcomed by a bronze life-sized Elvis. You have arrived at the very original Pink Cadillac Diner.

                

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