The users group usually tries for four events a year. The spring and fall are buddy shoots. The summer is usually all different things, but we could make it a buddy shoot as well. For the winter, we hope to have a holiday party, perhaps for the whole club.
Below is a first cut of suggested buddy shoots locations. Which ones are you interested in attending? Which ones would you add?
PLEASE NOTE: I will collect your preference in the meeting on Thursday.
Philadelphia Zoo
oldest U.S. zoo, 1300+ animals,
Distance: 71 miles (from the Colts Neck Reformed Church)
Costs: $16 + $20 per car parking
Alternatives:
Bronx Zoo $19.95 (free on Wednesday)+ parking $15
Central Park Zoo $12 ($9 senior) – combine with Central Park street photography?
Walk in the Central Park
Nature photography, animal photography, people photography—your choice!
Meet at 72nd street C subway stop, and walk by the Strawberry Fields (John Lennon Imagine memorial), Bethesda Terrace at the Lake (Angel of the Waters), the Boathouse, the Mall, then see polar bears&sea lions at the CP Zoo, or the skating ring if in winter.
Distance: public transportation to 72st subway stop C
Costs: free (zoo is $12/$9 seniors)
Website: www.centralparknyc.org/
Morris Canal: Waterloo Village
A restored canal town with remains of an inclined plane (an engineering marvel in 1820), a guard lock, a watered section of the canal, a canal store, and other period buildings (30 total). The Canal Society of New Jersey maintains a museum in the village.
Distance: 76 miles
Costs: free (unless scheduled events)
potentially: Morris Canal Plane 9W visit, climb into the restored tunnel to see a turbine; east of Phillipsburg/Easton (Crayola Museum) 74 miles
http://morriscanal.org/plane_9w_tour.htm
http://morriscanal.org/Signage/Plane%209%20West%20Brochure.pdf
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Main St.& Lakeside Avenue, West Orange; a ranger-led tour of Edison’s Glenmont estate house and the laboratory complex (We – Su 9:30 – 5). Turning ideas into inventions: the heavy machine shop, the precision shop, the very first recording studio, the photo department…Note: Glenmont residence does not have an elevator or railings; no photography inside.
Distance: 44 miles
Cost: $10 or free for Senior National Parks Pass holder (+ 3 add’l people?)
Castle Williams Tour, Governors Island
A National Park Ranger-led tour (free!) includes a visit to the roof of the fortress with excellent views of New York harbor; includes Staten Island Ferry (free!) and the Governors Island Ferry
Distance: 41 miles to Staten Island Ferry
Costs: SI bridge toll $9.75 off-peak, Governors Isl. Ferry $2 return trip ($1 seniors)
Moravian Pottery & Tile Works, Doylestown, PA
A working museum, demonstrating a production of traditional tiles (some on sales in museum’s store). Visit downtown Doylestown, the seat of Bucks County (New Hope on steroids), and travel alongside the scenic Delaware River.
Distance: 62 miles
Costs: $5/4, but free parking
Optional sites nearby:
Mercer Museum : $14/12, limits photography
Fonthill Castle: prohibits photography:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fonthill-castle-doylestown
Sunrise over Manhattan
Meet at Jersey City waterfront or the Liberty State Park, the site of Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial, to photograph the sun rising over the World Trade Center and other downtown Manhattan skyscrapers.
Distance: 44 miles
Costs: free
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/liberty.html
Fall Foliage Frenchtown & Delaware River Scenic Byway
A small town on the banks of the Delaware River, upstream from New Hope/Lambertville. Small-town & river photo opportunities, with several eating places to choose for lunch. Afterwards, cross the river into PA’s Buck’s county, stop for photos at the Uhlerstown covered bridge, and then follow a scenic Rt 32 south alongside the river and the Delaware Canal towpath, passing Point Pleasant (PA)/Tohickon Creek, through New Hope and Washington Crossing Park (lots of history there) to I95 for a trip back home.
An optional stop on the way to Frenchtown is the Bulls Island State Park, the beginning of the Delaware/Raritan Canal and a small footbridge above the river into PA. Beautiful fall river scenery for those who can spend more time.
Distance: 70 miles
Costs: free
http://www.dandrcanal.com/pdf/Delaware-River-Scenic-Byway-map-10-11.pdf
Island Beach State Park
Lots of interesting plants growing in a mile stretch of sand that grows nowhere else. Drive to the end and you can see Barnegat light house across the way.
Distance: 40 miles
Costs: $5 off-season
http://www.islandbeachnj.org/Recreation/hiking.html
Bridges
Outerbridge Crossing from Perth Amboy waterfront — 25 miles
Verazzano Bridge from Staten Island/Fort Wadsworth – 40 miles, tolls
George Wahington Bridge from Fort Lee – 55 miles, tolls
Medford, NJ
Medford is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering 1,100,000 acres (450,000 ha), that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation’s first National Reserve. Part of the township is included in the state-designated Pinelands Are The lake/park area has a red mill and a church built from logs.
Distance: 58 miles
D R A F T 9/10/2015
Disclaimer: the distances are from Colts Neck’s meeting place, the prices may be inaccurate