My Mobility Plan: My Mobility Plan is a tool created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help older adults remain active, safe, and independent as they age. The plan consists of three sections:

• Myself- How to stay independent by managing health and remaining mobile.
• My Home- How to stay safe at home which offers a checklist to ensure a safe environment
• My Neighborhood- A plan to ensure a person can continue to stay mobile around the community.

According to the CDC, older adults who make a plan are more likely to take action to protect their mobility and independence.

Why Have a My Mobility Plan?

• Falls and motor vehicle crashes, which are related to mobility, are the leading causes of injury and injury death in older adults.
• There are many negative outcomes for older adults if they stop driving or fall, including reductions in their health, social interaction, and the ability to get around.
• CDC developed this planning tool, using available scientific evidence, to help older adults plan for future mobility changes that might increase their risk for motor vehicle crashes and falls.
• Adult children or caregivers can also use this planning tool to help older parents, relatives, or friends.

To learn more, visit us online!

Our parks are for everyone. Our state, counties, and municipalities offer wonderful places for us to experience physical activity outdoors. These are spaces where children can play, wander, and imagine. Here are some tips on how you and your family can enjoy the outdoors and stay safe.

Senses make memories.

• Sight
• Sound
• Smell
• Touch
• Taste

Our senses allow us to experience and connect to places in ways that are personal and unique. When people imagine their own neighborhood, the distinctive features that remind them of home, can be different from their neighbors. One person thinks of the aroma of a restaurant around the corner, while a neighbor may be reminded of the sounds of children playing at the local playground.

Trails vary in size.  While enjoying the parks, trails, boardwalks, remember not to crowd each other. Give everyone enough space so they feel comfortable, and the only people within 6-feet from you are people that are in your household. Trails can have sections that are just narrow enough for a single person, and a variety of plants can cause discomfort, i.e. poison ivy. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings. Take advantage of a clearing if someone is approaching on a narrow trail.

Biking in Face Masks.  Masks and physical distancing has been effective in decreasing the spread of COVID-19. As the temperatures and humidity rise, wearing masks can become uncomfortable. When stopped, your breath will create a warmer environment within the mask. Thankfully, when riding a bike, you may find relief as the air is forced into the mask as you breathe and move forward. Bring a backup mask on humid days. In the coming weeks, as the humidity rises, it can become more challenging for moisture to evaporate and make it challenging to get enough oxygen.

Share the Trail. Our parks are for everyone and trail etiquette is essential. Everyone should feel welcome, comfortable, and not crowded. Imagine that our trails can be used similarly to roads. When traveling, keep to the right. Oncoming trail users would have space to move in the opposite direction, and people and bikes who are moving more quickly can pass on your left side. When passing other trail users, give them  warning by ringing your bike bell or by calling out, “Passing on the left.”

Masks, gloves, pet waste and other litter should not be left behind. If you are bringing food, or drinks to the park, pack up all of your garbage and dispose of them when you leave. This is what it means to “Carry in. Carry out.” Plastics are carried by stormwater and storm drains and can travel to other bodies of water.

Lastly, always check yourself, your children, and pets for ticks when you get home.

Be safe and enjoy your time outdoors.

It’s important for all members of the family to stay physically active. With the freedom to exercise in our neighborhoods, we can still enjoy the outdoors by walking, running, and riding bicycles. With fewer cars on the road, this could be the safest time to ride. In New York and other cities, people are choosing bicycles over buses and subway cars to maintain safe physical distance from other commuters. New Jersey recognizes bicycles as a healthy transportation option and has declared bicycle shops are an essential resource during this public health crisis.

Keep Middlesex Moving has reached out to the bike shops in, and around, Middlesex County to learn how they are continuing to serve their communities. Like the restaurants, supermarkets, and other establishments, local bike shops have tailored their operations to safely provide services while maintaining the precautions of 6 feet between their staff and their customers.

Bicycle repair and maintenance services are offered at each of our local shops. You can expect a shop to have curbside dropoff and pickup. Most stores are operating on an adjusted schedule, and business continues to ramp up as the weather continues to improve. Each store’s volume varies. Depending on the type of service you need on your bike, the wait can range from 1 to 14 days.

All of the shops offer retail sales online and over the phone. Customers can still purchase a bicycle, components, and accessories and arrange curbside pickup, however, many have closed their showrooms and are not offering test rides. It’s a good idea to see what’s offered at the shop via their website and to contact the shop directly with any questions.

To assist you and all of our local bike shops, KMM has compiled a Database of the shops in and around  Middlesex County. This resource provides each store’s modified hours, contact information, and retail operations.

Click here for the shops mapped.

 

The invention of the railroad in 1804 brought forth innovation, human expansion, and a new method of travel. Train travel helped change the course of human history in ways we couldn’t have imagined. From the B&O Railroad which was the first American company to be granted a charter to transport both freight and passengers, to the NYC subway system which has the most stations in the world, our nation is deeply dependent on this method of travel.

When we think of taking a bucket list vacation, train travel doesn’t usually come to mind. However, a rail company in Vancouver, BC has been offering bucket list-worthy trips of a lifetime across the Canadian Rockies since 1990. The Rocky Mountaineer Rail Company offers trips with breathtaking views of the Canadian Rockies, a mountain range between British Columbia and Alberta, that is home to five National Parks that were declared a UNSECO World Heritage Site-  Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho.

With full glass dome windows and gourmet meals worthy of world-class restaurants, this train trip will take your breath away. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this amazing trip from the comfort of your armchair!

From mid-March to mid-May, it’s Tulip Time in The Netherlands.  And the best place to see tulips is at Keukenhof Gardens.  The Keukenhof estate dates back to the 11th century.   The idea for using the English style gardens as a palette for spring-flowering bulbs was proposed flower merchants in 1949.  Keukenhof opened as a spring park the following year and attracted over 200,000 visitors. Now, each year millions of visitors from around the world tour Keukenhof.

In 2020, the 71^st anniversary year, the Gardens are closed but the staff has prepared a series of videos so that all can still enjoy Keukenhof – A World of Colours.

 

Other links to sights in The Netherlands

Geithorne – The Venice of the North

 

Delft

 

Windmills of Zaanse Schans

 

Closer to Home   Holland Ridge Farms, Cream Ridge, NJ

With the click of a button, you can experience travel, all from the comfort of your home.

KMM’s Armchair Travel is a weekly blog series that takes readers to all corners of the world with virtual tours and videos. For this week’s blog, we present Botanical Gardens – Orchid Show.

One of the oldest botanical gardens in North America, the United States Botanic Garden was established by Congress in 1820. We share with you a snip-it of their 2020 Orchid Show.

The New York Botanical Garden is a 250-acre oasis in the middle of the Big Apple. The historic, Victorian-style glasshouse provides a world tour of 11 distinct plant habitats, including tropical rain forest and desert environments of the Americas and Africa. We share with you a 25-minute video of the 2020 spring orchid exhibit.

Both gardens are expected to open to on May 1, 2020.