BIG CITY GETAWAY

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BIG CITY GETAWAY

SuSSex county harveSt, honey & garlic FeStival A DeliciouS colliSion of flAvoRS

Many of you know that Backroads Central calls the farmlands and forests of northwest New Jersey home. We like it here. Comfortable, open, great roads and an abundance of fresh foods – especially come the fall. This year’s Festival was, like most other planned gatherings, cancelled but last October we heard that the annual Sussex County Harvest, Honey & Garlic Festival was to be held that coming weekend at the Fairgrounds in Augusta, New Jersey – a way too short ride from the barn. So, we made it a bit longer but did eventually make our way down the long circular drive past the spraying lake fountain and to the parking lot – hidden from view from the road above. Wow, they have themselves a decent crowd, I thought. Lucky for us they are very good about motorcycles and we put them off on a convenient piece of grass. Admission to this event is free; and if you love fresh harvest of all kinds, crave garlic, and go yummy over honey? Well, this festival is for you. The grounds have a number of large and long barns – three were full today. One Honey. One Garlic. And one for everything else. A fourth had stuff for kids – face and pumpkin painting, kids crafts, and a hayride. We saw Shira’s friend, Monica, from Orchard View Lavender Farm as well as Springhouse Creamery and some folks selling seriously hard pickles.

daytrip ideas to get out of the daily grind

The honey barn had its share of bees and honey products and it was amazing to see just how different one honey can be from another. Along the garlic side of things, we found many varieties of the smelly rose proving that Dracula doesn’t stand a chance in the Garden State. We ended up buying some black garlic balsamic along with some horseradish root that became the beginnings of a bountiful crop.

Did you know it was said that the Delphic Oracle once told Apollo that the horseradish was worth its weight in gold? If this keeps growing as it does, we’ll be rich in a few years. If you love garlic this is the place to be. The variety is staggering and the prices more than fair. It was Jimmy ’s Mushrooms that really got us as they had ‘shrooms we had never even dreamt of, and his way of describing how ’d he cook these up was very enticing – especially since it was way past lunchtime by now. We bought enough for dinner that night and on the way home had stopped at the butcher shop and grabbed a porterhouse and a T-bone steak for our imminent incredible dinner. Crossing over to another barn there were a number of tables addressing New Jersey environmental issues – including water and animal conservation among other issues facing this part of the Garden State. A woman from the local Avian Wildlife Center had what I thought at first was a stuffed Harris Hawk. Then it moved, turning its head toward us and letting out this very hawkish cry. Amazing. We had flown Harris hawks in Vermont years ago with our mom. It is a favorite memory now. There were also a few crafts vendors selling wares – some wonderful, some not. This weekend there was also the Ramapo Kennel Club Dog Show right next door and it was easy enough to end our visit walking around the show seeing all the dogs big and small and watching their owners and handlers. Now here is a…unique bunch. The Sussex County Harvest, Honey & Garlic Festival will be back next October, so check the web for the actual date. By the way… the steak and mushrooms were amazing!

Fall in New Jersey brings many fun activities to which you can ride your bike. Some might require a mounting of side bags and top case to bring home the booty such as apple or pumpkin picking, but others will bring you to a spot to park the bike and take a stroll, whether it’s finding your way through a corn maze or haunted house or viewing the creativity of the town with their scarecrow displays. Branchville NJ is bringing back the spirit of the season with their 5th annual Scarecrow Contest. While others are shying away from celebrating some holiday traditions, the borough council of Branchville unanimously approved the event following a brief presentation by organizer Jeanne Heinke. Every year since the contest’s founding in 2016, Branchville residents and businesses have displayed their creativity by placing a pumpkin-headed scarecrow on their property and constructing elaborate scenes surrounding the figures. Around Halloween, a panel of judges visits each display and picks winners to be awarded prizes. The Branchville contest was developed after Heinke and her husband saw a similar display during a trip to a Massachusetts town. More than 80 homes and businesses participated in the inaugural event, with more than 200 taking part last year. We have made it a point to try and visit each display, as maps are given out (most likely they will be downloadable this year) to more easily find them. It is truly amazing to see the creativity coming from all walks –Frankford school kids to pharmacies, banks to pizza parlors. These are typically ready for viewing around the third week of October but stay up at least until Halloween or as long as the pumpkin head last. Over the years we’ ve seen every day professions such as athletes, police, fire fighters, hospital workers and farmers. Many of the local businesses will reflect themselves in their scarecrows, such as the post office and pizza parlor. Of course there are any number of cartoon characters and movie/tv stars. Last year we saw the whole cast of the Wizard of

Oz as well as the folks from the Addams Family. SpongeBob and crew showed up as did Garfield the Cat. It’s fun to take a spin through the neighborhood and see who and what you can spot. There are several spots to grab a bite to eat: Yellow Cottage on 206 for a delicious sandwich and homemade soup, Fran’s Kitchen at George’s Wine Shop serves up some super quiches and other lunch favorites, A&G Pizza is right in town and Riviera Maya has some very tasty Mexican dishes, also on Route 206, north of downtown Branchville. In addition to our local scarecrows, Ewing, NJ, will have an All Around Town Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt running through Oct. 29. Cranford will host their Scarecrow Stroll thru Nov. 1 with over 100 wild and crazy scarecrows throughout downtown. Vineland will host a Scarecrow Competition, with their scarecrows situated on frames and mounted on downtown lamp posts on Landis Avenue. Enjoy this spooky time of year and watch out for those ghost, demons and other supernatural creatures. Sam and Dean can’t watch everyone’s backs.

JoSePh aMbler inn 1005 horShaM rd, north WaleS, Pa 19454 215-362-7500 • josephamblerinn.com

Time and again we will get an email or phone call with a reader or friend who is looking for a great getaway – some place special, some place romantic, some place great. But within a few hours of New York or Philly – thank you very much. God forbid we travel for romance? Nope, they all want it quick and easy. We will usually mention the Catskills or Berkshires for the Big Apple people – and maybe hideaways along the Chesapeake for the Philadelphia crowd. But this month we have an inn that covers them both. And, with style! Located just north and west of Philly and a few more hours from New York, you will find the Joseph Ambler Inn.

The Joseph Ambler was to be our final stop in our COVID-canceled Backroads Grand Tour. But kaka happened and Plan As jumped down the alphabet numerous times. But, on a beautiful afternoon in mid-September, we rolled off the larger road of US 202 and onto Horsham Road, hooking a quick left up the drive to the inn. Pictures cannot do this place justice. Five meticulously restored buildings, nestled within twelve acres of manicured gardens and rolling meadows, provided us with “oh boy ” moments. Shira looked at me, I looked at her and neither of us had to say… “Wow!” The Joseph Ambler has history and we did a little research to see how a place as wonderful as the Joseph Ambler Inn is still here. You see back in the day the King of England, Charlie, owed some money to the father of this guy William Penn. To clean up the debt he gave William a monstrous chunk of land in the New World … thus the name Pennsylvania (but, you know this, right?) Eventually, this led to the Phillies, but I don’t want to talk about it. Ol’ Billy enticed others to settle the land on the outskirts of Philadelphia and Quaker immigrants from Wales, like Pierce, Morgan, and Ambler, were among the first to embark on the adventure.

500 acres were originally bought by a man named Pierce and eventually some of that land was sold to Joseph Ambler who set about building a two-room, two-story farmhouse that his family lived in for nearly 100 years. Joseph Ambler’s profession as a wheelwright inspired the use of the carriage in the inn’s logo. Over the years other families owned the property and additional buildings were built. In 1983 Richard Allman purchased the 12-acre farm and began its transition, opening a modest bed & breakfast with 15 guest rooms in the Farmhouse and Corybeck cottage. The John Roberts House, built in 1794, was saved from developers by Mr. Allman, moved two miles to the grounds of the Inn, and painstakingly restored. How fitting that the initials John Roberts carved into the stone of both the Barn and the John Roberts House now face each other on the property, bringing the history of these families back together. We left the iron horses to cool in the lot as we made our masked way to secure our room. We followed the sign stating ‘hotel guest enter here’ but, along with this history is the knowledge that back then, buildings were built a bit differently and they can be a bit confusing and rambling. With the can-do attitude of true explorers, undaunted our heroes continued up the stairs, down the narrow hallways, back down the stairs, through the opulent private dining room and back out a door just yards from where we entered and to the front desk. Lost? No. Never. The Inn has 52 comfortable guest rooms spread throughout five historic buildings. Each room has been thoughtfully decorated and has its own unique charm and personality. We took the key to the room up the stairs and along the narrow hallway we just had strolled down, and opened the door to a magnificent room. Comfortable, different, with a flavor and flair that said old, but in that wonderful young way. Shira wanted to take the bathroom home with her. We showered – Shira twice – and strolled around the grounds until we felt at home. We took our seats for dinner, enjoying a neatly poured Basil Hayden, and took in the fairly large crowd for a Thursday evening. The food was outstanding and the service could not have been better. A few hours later we continued our walk around the grounds, showing off the two motorcycles to a couple of boys who were to be matching ring bearers the next afternoon; this is a great place for special events - weddings, reunions or an overnight escape on the motorcycles. The Joseph Ambler Inn is a true gem and will certainly be a starting or ending point for a future Backroads Rally – Stay tuned. But, in the meantime escape to the past yourself and enjoy a night at the Joseph Ambler Inn.