Daisies at Dukes
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ- James Buchanan Duke, famous tobacco entrepreneur and millionaire, built a mansion with hundreds of acres of property right here in Hillsborough. At the young age of twenty-eight, Buck, as he was called, opened a branch of his family's factory in New York City. Originally located in North Carolina, Buck expanded the family business all the way from North Carolina to throughout the entire nation. Over the next five years, the Duke family was in control of half the country's gross production of cigarettes. After the big "tobacco war" among the five principal manufacturers, Duke emerged as the president of the American Tobacco Company, which within a decade became a multinational corporation. One of many, this particular estate became one of the most significant, as it was his daughter’s favorite. Doris Duke, who inherited the house at the age of 16, went on to become one of the wealthiest and philanthropic women in the entire world. That's pretty impressive!
The Duke estate here has beautiful trails that the public is allowed to walk, bike and explore. On the property besides the house, which is no longer open to the public, there is a green house, stage house, nursery, visitors center, and several other structures. It is a beautiful, well maintained stretch of land that I visit frequently in my spare time. They were planning on building another house on the site, but it was abandoned, and I've enjoyed many picnics upon the crumbling marble stairs. It's a great place to go on a little romantic date, or take quality pictures with friend on a nice day. It's a laid-back way to de-stress and wind down from a tough week. It's a pretty place to go, especially if you are in to physical exercise and quiet, natural environments filled with wildlife. For more information, you can visit the Duke Foundation website at http://dukefarms.org/
Yesterday Was Game Day
SOMERVILLE, NJ- Yestercades is a gaming center/lounge located on Division Street, and I often go here for a late night out with friends. It's open from noon until 2 in the morning, which is convenient for teens and young adults who get out of work late when there's not much to do. They have an astounding collection of games, ranging from vintage pinball machines to the modern Xbox 360. It's a very friendly environment, and I think it's a great experience (even though I'm terrible at arcade games). It's also relatively cheap, with unlimited gaming access for $8.75 per hour, or $25 for the entire day. Somerville itself is a nice area filled with things to do, especially on Division Street. There's restaurants and musics stores, along with clothing and other assorted shops.
I'm not big into gaming, but this was definitely a cool experience. I liked seeing all of the games from different eras, and how technology has progressed over time. Personally, my favorites are the pinball machines. Such simple rules, but so much going on within the game at the same time. It's like a whole little world inside a glass case. I think I also like it because they're my dads favorites, and we always use to play them if we happened upon one on the boardwalk or Chuck-E-Cheese or such. They bring back good memories for me. There's one I have a particular soft spot for at the arcade based off of the tv show the X-Files.
Yestercades is a very clean and spacious; there are several seating options and a mini bar-like area in the back where you can buy something to eat. They will rent themselves out for parties and events, and they're very open to buying and selling games. It's a lot of fun to just spend a few hours messing around; it reminds me of an adult Chuck-E-Cheese except cooler. I definitely recommend a visit here if you are a game enthusiast, or are just looking for something to do on a late night out. If you wanna check them out, here's their website! http://www.yestercades.com/
