By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer
Published September 25, 2005
[Times photos: Scott Keeler]
Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania marks the spot where George Washington crossed the icy Delaware River in December 1776.
Fall colors are reflected in the south branch of the Raritan River in Clinton, N.J.
Weekend hay rides are part of the fall experience at Wightman's Farms in Morristown, N.J.
Scary pumpkins, all in a row, on Maple Avenue in Basking Ridge, N.J., a Colonial era town that erupts in fall colors during October.
There's only so much togetherness a family can take in a small New Jersey condo.
I love my in-laws, who have treated me like an original cast member since Day One. But the walls close in quickly on 1,000 square feet, four adults and one boy, age 9.
Take me for a drive, I say. (Though maybe it comes out more like "Get me out of here.") I need to breathe crisp fall air and see jack-o-lanterns that haven't imploded in moldy heaps.
It's October. I want leaves, glorious leaves. Not green palm fronds or live oaks, but maples and birch, lit in crimson, amber and terra cotta. Bring on the golden delicious colors.
New England isn't the only place with a stunning show of fall. New Jersey, more often thought of in shades industrial gray, blazes in late October.
Just an hour's train ride west of Manhattan, in hilly Somerset County, the commuters wear country duds on the weekends. Levis, Orvis vests and Wellington boots are more fashionable than power suits for hay rides.
We pass a row of carved pumpkins sitting on a wide wood fence on the way to Wightman's Farms in Morristown. The carver takes them off the fence at night to prevent smashing pumpkins. At Wightman's, warm apple cider washes down powdered-sugar doughnuts. The parking lot is crowded with Subaru Outback wagons, good snow cars.
Now we're pointed west on Interstate 78 to Clinton, the sweetest village in the Garden State if you want my opinion. The Raritan River slips gently over a 200-foot-wide waterfall that separates two old grist mills. One has been turned into the Hunterdon Historical Museum.
Can't we live here?
Come back in March when you're sliding all over the road, my husband answers.
We head farther south, to the spot where George Washington crossed the Delaware River in 1776, marching into Trenton for the battle that some say was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. We're in Pennsylvania now, at Washington Crossing Historic Park.
The leaves on the trees bleed into those on the ground, and the kids kicking them around don't really care much about George Washington. Not on a Saturday with no school.
They are breathing fall. And so am I, rejuvenated for my return to the family.
IF YOU GO
- Wightman's Farms: hay rides, corn maze, produce stand with refreshments, U-pick apple orchards, picnic area. Fall events run through Halloween. 1111 Mount Kimble Road, Morristown, N.J.; 973 425-0840; www.wightmansfarms.com
- Washington Crossing Historical Park: colonial buildings and visitor center, with walking trails along the Delaware River, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, Pa.; 215 493-4076; www.ushistory.org/washingtoncrossing
- Clinton, N.J.: shopping, restaurants and the scenic Raritan River just off Interstate 78 in Hunterdon County; www.clintonnj.com
HELP FOR LEAF PEEPERS
These sites will help you determine the best time for foliage tours. In general, the color parade begins in the far north - Vermont, Maine, Minnesota - and continues south across the country.
- Yankee magazine hosts www.yankeefoliage.com a site focused on the nation's best-known fall color region.
- The Foliage Network, www.foliagenetwork.com has 567 spotters in three regions who give twice-weekly reports on color progression.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (www.fs.fed.us/news/fallcolors) has an extensive listing of autumnal changes across the country; toll-free 1-800-354-4595.
