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Armchair Traveler- A bucket list railroad trip from Vancouver to Banff

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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!

Armchair Travels – The Netherlands

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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 71st 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

Learning How to Ride a Bike

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Learning how to ride a bike is a rite of passage. Teaching someone to ride a bike is another.  The event is ingrained in our memory and in some cases documented on video or photo for prosperity.  If you are planning to teach your child how to ride a bike, here are tips to help make the milestone safe, memorable, and hopefully successful!

  1. Find a space to practice – The best place to teach a child to learn to ride a bike is a flat, paved surface with limited traffic and few obstructions. The child won’t be able to balance when moving at a snail’s pace, so encourage them to move speedily. A long driveway, empty parking lot, cul de sac, or street with limited traffic may work well.
  2. Equipment Check – Start by checking and adjusting your child’s equipment. Make sure bike helmets fit properly and inspect the bike.  Remove the training wheels AND  remove the pedals. (Pedals do not follow “righty-tighty/lefty-loosey.”) Adjust the saddle (bike seat) height so that it is level and low enough for the child to place his/her heels firmly on the ground with knees slightly bent.  It’s helpful if your child is wearing long pants and closed-toe shoes.
  3. Practice without Pedals – With these adjustments, the child can scoot and push him/herself around the space until they can glide for a distance without placing their feet on the ground. Make a game of it. Place cones or toys on the ground so your child knows where to turn. Once the child is confidently scooting and balancing through turns, they are ready to reattach the pedals.
  4. Practice with pedals – This will take many tries and athletic shoes are recommended. With pedals attached, children need assistance with the starting. Without over stabilizing the child, parents may have to hold the center of the handlebars, or underneath the rear of the saddle and walk or jog as the child begins to pedal. At the moment the child reaches the speed to balance on their own, let go!
  5. Power Position -When the child practices to start the bike, it’s a good idea to prepare them for real-world conditions. Imagine you’re going to cross an intersection, the child should be ready to pedal across when conditions are safe. Set the cranks for the power position with one pedal up and forward at a One-O’Clock position. From a stop, the child can push the pedal down and begin to pedal across the intersection. Children’s bikes are often equipped with with a coaster brake, so the rear wheel must roll forward or be lifted to reset the pedal position
  6. Braking – Before taking them on the sidewalk, road or path, play a few games to help them practice using their brakes. Begin with the child pedaling as you walk or jog next to them. Narrate a story, “Let’s imagine you’re riding in the park and a squirrel jumps into your path!” As they understand how their brakes work and feel, they also get an idea of when to use them. Another game/exercise is to place an object, toy or line with sidewalk chalk on the pavement and encourage them to stop with their front tire on the line.

Most importantly, Smile and Breathe.  Consider that new learners will hold incredibly tightly to their handlebars, so their hands might even hurt after a few minutes. Children’s bike saddles often do not offer great support for sensitive areas. Limit your sessions to 2 hours max with short breaks off the bike to stretch and to gather themselves to begin again. It can take more than several attempts until they get it. Their minds need time to digest all of this in the background. With this, you’ll know when is a good time to stop for the day.

Oh and don’t forget to have someone grab a camera…

Armchair Travels – Botanical Gardens

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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.

 

 

 

My Town – 3rd Grade Bookmark Contest

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UPDATE: The deadline for submission is May 1, 2020.  You may also scan and email the bookmark to programs@kmm.org. We ask that you mail the original copy at a later date.

Open to all third graders in Middlesex County, KMM is tasking children to create a bookmark showing themselves walking or biking at a place that makes their town such an amazing place to grow up.

Bookmark Entry Rules:

  • The design must include original artwork in color.
  • The design must be submitted using this entry form.
  • One entry per student.
  • The winner will receive a $100 gift card from Provident Bank. The winning bookmark will be printed and distributed to schools in Middlesex County.
  • Entries become the property of Keep Middlesex Moving.
  • Entries must be submitted by April 15, 2020

3rd grade Bookmark Entry 2020

Armchair Travels – Museums

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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.  This week, we bring you three tours of the most popular museums in the world.  So sit back and enjoy tours of  Versailles, The Louvre, and The Smithsonian.

 

 

 

Have you visited these museums in person?  Please share your photos and memories with us at programs@kmm.org.

Spring Ahead – Daylight Savings Time Safety Tips

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Hello, more sunshine and daylight!  This Sunday, we will move the clocks ahead one hour.  Along with the extra daylight and sunshine can also bring sleepy, tired folks.  Here are some tips to help you prepare and adjust to the change.

  1. Prepare – Beginning two or three days before daylight savings, head to bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier.  This will allow your body to ease into the change in time.
  2. Don’t hit snooze – Resist hitting the snooze button on your alarm in the first few days.  Staying on your regular schedule will help tremendously in getting through the week.
  3. Avoid Afternoon Caffeine – By Monday afternoon, chances are you will be feeling sluggish and tired.  Fight the urge to have that afternoon cup of coffee.  Instead, have a glass or two of water and if possible, walk outside and soak in the sunshine and fresh air.
  4. Take a late-day walk – Given we have more sunshine, consider taking a walk after dinner.  Not only will it help digest your meal, but it will also help you fall asleep later in the evening.
  5. Be Smart – Despite taking all of these precautions, you may still be tired.  If so, do not operate any machinery including a vehicle or bicycle.  It’s best to just bite the bullet and take a long nap.  Driving, biking – operating any type of machinery – while drowsy is not safe.

Legislation (A-4819), now Law

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In an effort to facilitate increased demand for energy-efficient vehicles in New Jersey as the market expands, legislation to establish new goals and incentives that support the use of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) was signed into law by the Governor on Friday. The measure is sponsored by Assembly Democrats Daniel Benson, Nancy Pinkin and James Kennedy.

The legislation (A-4819), now law, establishes new goals for the use of plug-in electric EVs, and establishes incentive programs regarding the use of light-duty plug-in EVs and in-home charging equipment. It pertains to a “light-duty vehicle” which under the law includes, but is not limited to, any vehicle commonly referred to as a car, minivan, sport utility vehicle, cross-over, or pick-up truck.

“Our goal is to get more electric vehicles on the road, which in turn will result in less greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, more local jobs to put the charging infrastructure in place, and cleaner air for our communities,” said Benson (D-Mercer, Middlesex), chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee. “For a cleaner, healthier State, this law puts forth strong attainable goals to increase the number of electric vehicles and charging stations in New Jersey.”
Among the new State goals established by the law:

  • At least 330,000 of registered light-duty vehicles in the State are to be plug-in electric vehicles by December 31, 2025, and at least 2 million by December 31, 2035;
  • At least 85% of all new light-duty vehicles sold in the State are to be plug-in electric vehicles by December 31, 2040;
  • At least 400 DC Fast Chargers to be available for public use at no fewer than 200 charging locations in the State by December 31, 2025;
  • At least 15% of all multi-family residential properties in the State are to be equipped with Electric Vehicle service equipment (EVSE) for the routine charging of plug-in electric vehicles by residents by December 31, 2025; and
  • At least 10% of new bus purchases made by NJ Transit are to be zero-emission buses by December 31, 2024, 50% by December 31, 2026, and 100% by December 31, 2032.

“It is estimated that 75 billion miles are traveled on New Jersey roads every year in vehicles fueled by gasoline and diesel,” said Pinkin (D-Middlesex), chair of the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee. “By promoting the use of electric vehicles under these goals, we can help make New Jersey air cleaner which would be a huge win for the environment and public health. With the climate crises we are seeing across the world, it is imperative that we move to reduce our carbon footprint as quickly as possible.”

Under the provisions of the law, the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is tasked with establishing and implementing incentive programs for the purchase or lease of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles; and purchase and installation of in-home electric vehicle charging equipment.

In the first year of the incentive program for electric vehicles, the amount of the incentive is to equal $25 per mile of EPA-rated electric-only range up to a maximum of $5,000 per eligible vehicle. For in-home charging equipment, individuals will be eligible to receive one-time payments of no more than $500 per person.

“Incentivizing the switch to electric vehicles will not only help save money and reduce emissions but will be critical in laying the foundation for a self-sustaining market in the long term,” said Kennedy (D-Middlesex, Somerset, Union). “This law equips us to build on year-to-year successes.”

The law also provides for the creation of the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Incentive Fund administered by the BPU to be used solely for disbursements under the light-duty plug-in electric vehicle and in-home electric vehicle charging equipment incentive programs. It further requires that no less than $30 million in annual disbursements from the fund be made available under the programs.

Additionally, the Department of Environmental Protection will develop and implement a public education program to provide consumers information regarding the availability and benefits of plug-in electric vehicles, the new State goals and availability of incentives.

The law was given final legislative approval 65-9 in the full Assembly and 27-12 in the Senate in January 2020. It will take effect immediately.

This article is shared from NJ Democrats 

Fall Safety Tip Series

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As the air turns cooler and leaves fall from the trees, it’s important to keep a few important fall safety tips in mind. This is why we have created our Fall Season Safety Tip Series! Our five blogs will cover the most important things to focus on during this year’s Fall season. We will cover the topics:

  1. Pedestrian Safety
  2. Driving Safety
  3. Weather
  4. Fire Use
  5. Lawn Maintenance

Make sure you stay connected with our KMM Website as well as our social media platforms to stay connected and informed! We will be posting a blog each week for the rest of the Fall.

Pollution Solution

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Recently, NASA announced the earth’s temperature has risen 1.8 degrees since the late 19th century. It’s a big deal because scientists believe a 2-degree increase would result in melting ice caps, rising sea levels, warmer oceans, more hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires.  All of this is due to the increase of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane which are produced by humans and emitted into the air.  So what can we do about this?

EDUCATION.  KMM is sponsoring a bookmark drawing contest to all 5th graders in Middlesex County. Students are encouraged to create a bookmark illustrating the theme of Pollution Solutions.  Some examples include:

  • Plant a tree
  • Grow your own garden
  • Start to compost
  • Use a rake instead of a leaf blower
  • Turn off all lights when not in use
  • Fill up the dishwasher
  • Recycle and Reuse paper
  • Avoid plastic bags, straws, and utensils

To participate, 5th-grade students from Middlesex County must design an original piece (bookmark) artwork in color and must be submitted using the entry form included in this post.  We ask just one entry per student and all entries must be submitted by April 15, 2019. The winner will receive a $100 gift card from Magyar Bank. The winning bookmark will be printed and distributed to schools in Middlesex County.

For more information, download the info sheet provided.   Best wishes to all participants!

KMM 2019 Bookmark Contest 5th grade Entry Sheet

KMM 2019 Bookmark Contest 5th grade Info Sheet