Johnson's Locust Hall Farm

Fall is the most beautiful time of year in NJ! With the autumnal palette beginning to sweep across the leaves, it also marks the time to return to our annual pumpkin-picking tradition. Heather and I drove to our favorite local spot, Johnson’s Locust Hall Farm. We started out with apple picking, quickly filling a half-peck with Red and Golden Delicious, Empire, and Fuji varieties. Next, we found three pumpkins — little, large, and middling in size — to decorate our living room for a harvest festival. After conquering the corn maze and snipping a bouquet of sunflowers, we settled down to some country music and lunch. The visit would, of course, be incomplete without a ride on the hay wagon, so we duly boarded for a circuit around the pond. If this is our last fall in the U.S., I will truly miss these days out!

Collegeville Soccer

This Saturday we maintained our yearly tradition of catching up with our old IAS neighbours to watch their daughter play in college soccer. We drove down to Collegeville, via the quaint village of Doylestown, where we grabbed a bite and drink at the Troubles End Brewery. The match was great quality…the weather, less so! The rain clouds, which had held off for so long, decided to focus their attention on us during the 90 minutes of game time. Thanks to our last minute purchase of thrift shop waterproofs (forgetting our own back home) and Olive Garden bags for mats, our spirits were not dampened. Swarthmore produced a great performance to get the 3-1 away win!

Paddling the Delaware

This weekend was NJ Fall at its finest! Seizing the sunny weather, we hired a kayak and launched from Upper Black Eddy, PA on the banks of the Delaware. We had the river to ourselves as we paddled downstream – although the flow did most of the work. A little dip to cool off midway before continuing past some very mild rapids. On our way we saw a juvenile bald eagle, still waiting for its patriotic white plumage to come through. We soon passed under the Frenchtown bridge and made shore at Tinicum State park to end our little adventure.