personify the ideals of
a classic liberal arts
education. Running
along the campus’ edge
is Nassau St, the town’s
principle commercial
thoroughfare where Albert
Einstein once window-
shopped – he lived in
Princeton from 1933 until
his death in 1955.
The Princeton
University Art Museum
(%609-258-3788; http://www.
princetonartmuseum.org;
McCormack Hall, Princeton
University Campus; h10am-
5pm, to 10pm Thu) is akin
to a mini-Metropolitan
Museum of Art in terms
of its variety and quality
of works, which range
from ancient Greek
pottery to pieces by Andy
Warhol. Afterwards, stop
by the nearby Morven
Museum & Garden
(%609-924-8144; http://www.morven.
org; 55 Stockton St; adult/child
$6/free; h11am-3pm Wed-Fri,
noon-4pm Sat & Sun) for fine
displays of decorative arts
and fully furnished period
rooms; other galleries
change their exhibitions
periodically. The gardens
and house itself, a
perfectly coiffed colonial
revival mansion originally
built by Richard Stockton,
a prominent lawyer in
the mid-18th century and
signer of the Declaration
of Independence, are
worth a visit in and of
themselves.54 p126
The Drive » Surrounding
Princeton, to the west
especially, gorgeous homes line
the streets – surely only the
most tenured professors could
afford to live here. Take local
roads – Rosedale Rd, right on
Carter, left on Elm Ridge and
then left on Pennington Rocky
Hill Rd. Take one more left on
Rte 31/Pennington Rd and
finally a right on Washington
Crossing Pennington Rd.2 Washington
Crossing State Park
Ten days before the battle
at Princeton on Christmas
night 1776, George
Washington led his army
across the ice-packed
Delaware River from
the Pennsylvania side to
the New Jersey side in
a raging snowstorm. He
took the risk knowing that
if he didn’t win something
before winter closed in,
his army might desert
him entirely come spring.
Washington Crossing
State Park (%609-737-0623; http://www.state.nj.us/dep/
parksandforests; Washington
Crossing Pennington Rd,
Titusville; per vehicle $7 Memorial
Day–Labor Day; no charge rest
of year; h9am-4pm) offers
an overstuffed exhibit
in the visitor center,
historic buildings and
nice trails through pretty
woods. Though good for
a picnic, the park isn’t
very evocative. A copy of
the painting Washington
Crossing the Delaware is
on the Pennsylvania side
(Washington Crossing
Historic Park); the original
is in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in NYC.
According to historians,
the artist, Emanuel
Leutze, got almost none
of the details right: the
boats, the light, the river,
Washington himself –
all wrong. Rather, the
scene is a caricature that
captures not the moment
itself but how everyone
felt about it afterward.
Just 4 miles south on
the Jersey side of the
river is the New Jersey
State Police Museum
(%609-882-2000; http://www.
njspmuseum.org; 1020
River Rd, Ewing Township;
h10am-4pm Mon-Fri).
Where else can you gawk
at confiscated sawed-off
shotguns, Colt .45s, or the
electric chair that killed
Bruno Hauptmann? Yes,
the guy who kidnapped
Lindbergh’s baby – or did
he? A fantastic exhibit
guides you through the
trial. Then test your
detective skills on a
fictional crime-scene.b
Brandywine
Valley to
Atlantic City
Start on I-95 south from
Philly to access the rural
byways and gardens of
the Brandywine Valley.
8
The Jersey
ShoreIt’s a straight shot down
the Atlantic City Expwy
to Atlantic City, from
where all of the shore is
within reach.
LINK
YOUR
TRIPNEW.JERSEY.&.PENNSYLVANIA.TRIPS.9
.BUCKS COUNTY & AROUND