Some of my Autumn thoughts!

John and I will be traveling to NJ next month to visit my parents and my sister and we hope some of the beautiful Autumn leaves will still be beautiful when we get there. I thought I would share some of the pictures of a few of the lakes in their Autumn splendor that I grew up around. Most of you know I lived in northwestern NJ until 6 years ago when I moved here to Charlotte, NC. Most people when the conjure up pictures of NJ think Newark International Airport (now known as Liberty), gas tank farms, city, the Sopranos, people who say "I'm from Jersey (in a Jersey City type accent)", Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey Shore and the list goes on and on. I grew up in a County called Sussex County, which is farmland. It has been developed now but when I was growing up there were alot of farms, cows and horses in the fields, farmers on tractors, hay and crops being grown, etc. My favorite season besides Spring was the Autumn. There are alot of lakes in Sussex County. The colors of the leaves in the Autumn there are just gorgeous! When you are around these lakes in the Autumn you can smell woodsmoke from fireplaces in the houses around the lakes, go to farmstands around the lakes and buy NJ grown apples, pumpkins, mums, etc. It is a wonderful time of year to be in Sussex County and I know I sound like a infomercial for Sussex County, but it is a beautiful, scenic place! Hope you enjoy the pictures!


Swartswood Lake is in Stillwater, NJ. There is also Little Swartswood Lake, which is just as lovely.


This is Lake Mohawk in Sparta, NJ. This is a man-made lake. Farmland used to be where it is now. There is a boardwalk on one side of the lake with some shops and restaurants. Eating outside and looking at this Lake is just spectacular!


Scenic Lake is in Vernon, NJ. This quiet and serene lake is about 1 hour from NYC. What a difference from the city hustle and bustle!


Lake Hopatcong is huge! My grandfather used to take us to an island there called Bertrand's Island. It had a small amusement park on it. It kind of reminded you of being in another era when you went there. It certainly was like the amusement parks of today. There was a huge ferris wheel there and you could see the Lake for miles! This Lake is deep spring-fed lake formed by glaciers. This Lake used to fed water to The Morris Canal, which allowed trade, visits, etc. in the area to be possible in the 1800's. There is alot of history here.


Culver's Lake is located in Frankford Twp., NJ. The Lake is 585 acres. This is a real popular boating lake. There was a famous resort hotel built near there called The Culvermere Hotel. It was built in 1892. Open from June 15 to September 15. At that time it accommodated 125 guests at rates of $2 to $3 per day (or $10 to $20 per week). Alot of really wealthy people would come from NYC and the surrounding areas to this resort and relax.


Kittatinny Lake is nestled in the Kittatinny mountains. Alot of people canoe or kayak on this Lake. Just gorgeous!

That's about it for my very scaled down version of the Lakes of Sussex County. There are so many more but I thought I would just give you a glimpse of where I grew up! Have a great weekend!