Chol Hamoed this year is Thursday, April 17; Friday, April 18 until sundown; Motzei Shabbos April 19 and Sunday, April 20 until sundown. Not much time to travel but perfect for an outing close to home. If the weather cooperates, try a park or a zoo. Rain? An indoor fun center will make you smile. Well, it will make the kids smile and if they’re happy, you’re happy. The following destinations are within a 60-mile radius of Bergen County. Here are some suggestions, both old favorites and new possibilities, to fast-track your Chol Hamoed planning.
NEW JERSEY
Bogota Golf Center
30 Cross Street, Bogota, NJ 07603, 201/489-2400
www.bogotagolfcenter.com
Play three sports under one roof. Bogota Golf has an 18-hole mini golf course; Bank Shot Basketball, where you take two shots at 24 stations; and batting cages. Call for hours and pricing.
Liberty Science Center
Liberty State Park, 222 Jersey City Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07305, 201/200-1000
http://lsc.org
More like an interactive fun center than a museum, Liberty Science Center has exhibits that educate and entertain kids and adults. The Imax Dome is a 400-seat theater with a domed 88-foot screen, showing films that combine historical and scientific content with stunning visuals. The center is open weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and weekends until 5:00 pm. Call for current exhibits and pricing.
Camp Iliff
301 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rockaway Mall, Rockaway, NJ 07866
1-973/383-7231 www.campiliff.com
Camp Iliff has a three-level indoor soft playground, mini-roller rink, rock-climbing wall and mini-theater plus a game room with tokens for purchase. With its mall location, you can shop before and after. Open daily but call or check website for hours. Admission is $8 per child weekdays and $10 per child weekends. Parents free.
Space Farms Zoo & Museum
218 County Route 519, Sussex, NJ 07461, 973/875-5800
www.SpaceFarms.com
A ride to the country is always fun and the trip is really worth it when you visit Space Farms. View more than 500 animals including lions, tigers, kangaroos, monkeys and bears. The museum contains more than 50,000 artifacts, including 50 antique cars, motorcycles, farm implements, early American tools, dolls, clocks, tractors, horse-drawn sleighs and Native American artifacts. Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekends until 6. Admission (not including tax) is $10.50 for kids 3-12, $15 for adults 13-65 and $14 for seniors.
Van Saun County Park
216 Forest Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652, 201/262-3771
http://www.co.bergen.nj.us
At Van Saun Park, you can let your kids swing on the monkey bars in the playground and then visit the monkeys in the zoo. Other animals include mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, amphibians and invertebrates native to North and South America. The zoo is open daily 10 am to 4:30 pm.
Fort Lee Historic Park
Hudson Terrace, south of George Washington Bridge, 201/461-1776
Interested in the history of the American Revolution? No need to visit Lexington and Concord. The most important battles took place right here in New Jersey. The Fort Lee Historic Park is a 33-acre cliff-top park with scenic overlooks, a reconstructed Revolutionary War encampment and a Visitor Center. Recreated facilities include a blockhouse and 18th-century soldiers’ and officers’ huts with a well, woodshed and baking ovens. The Visitor Center is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4:45 pm. History enthusiasts can make a day of visiting sites from Newbridge Road in Teaneck through New York State. Get a complete itinerary at http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute9w/default.htm
Englewood Picnic Area
Englewood Cliffs park entrance via Dyckman Hill Road (continuation of Palisade Avenue)
201/568-1328 http://www.njpalisades.org/englewoodPicnic.html
Take a beautiful stroll by the Hudson River and bring a picnic lunch or snack. There is a small children’s playground and access to hiking trails.
NCSY Six Flags Great Adventure Day, Thursday, April 17
1 Six Flags Boulevard , Jackson, NJ 08527
New Jersey NCSY Chol Hamoed Outing 201/862-0250
www.ncsygreatadventure.com
Now a Chol Hamoed classic, NCSY brings you a full day in the park with kosher for Pesach food available for purchase (no outside food allowed). Yaakov Shwekey will perform at 5:30 pm. Got teenagers? You can take a family outing and they can still pretend they don’t know you. Teens can sign up to go by bus at www.newjersey.ncsy.org. To purchase advance tickets for $40.00 call NCSY, or purchase at gate for $45.00. It’s a little over our 60 mile cut-off but too good not to include.
NEW YORK STATE
Museum Village
1010 State Route 17M, Monroe, NY 10950
1-845/782-8248
Museum Village educates visitors about work and life in the 19th century through a recreation of areas that were typical of the times. The exhibits explore and interpret rural life and examine the evolution of industry and technology. “You can shop in a 130-year-old general store, see a real Mastodon skeleton, make a candle, step inside a 200-year-old log cabin, sit in a one-room schoolhouse and watch a broom being made. All that and be home in time for dinner!” Open weekends 11:00 am to 4:00 pm with tours at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm. $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors and children 4 – 12.
New York Mets
Citi Field, 12301 Roosevelt Ave, Corona, NY 11368
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com
The Mets play the Braves on Sunday, April 20th at 1:10 pm. Bring the family, bring snacks and be home for candle lighting at 7:22 pm. A Chol Hamoed home-run.
By Bracha Schwartz
