Where-To-Go Wednesday - Other Types of Transportation at the Whippany Railway Museum

What: Whippany Railway Museum 

Where: 1 Railroad Plaza 

             Route 10 

             Whippany, NJ 

Who: All ages 

When: Open most Sundays, April through mid-October

Although the Whippany Railway Museum mainly focuses on trains, some exhibits cover other forms of transportation. These include exhibits on ships and trolleys. 

The ship section includes displays devoted to several famous ships. These include the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the Titanic, and the Ambrose. The latter is a decommissioned floating lighthouse that can now be seen and toured at the South Street Seaport Museum. For more about the Ambrose, see our previous post Where-To-Go Wednesday: The South Street Seaport's Street of Ships.  In addition to pictures of the ships, the displays include ship models, tickets, menus, posters, and more. There is even a model of a lifeboat from the Titanic as well as one of Highland's Twin Lights Lighthouse.

The trolley section is a bit smaller, as there isn't as much to cover regarding this type of travel. Other objects on display, in addition to pictures, include model trolleys, a brochure for trolley tours, and a fare box. The fare was only 15 cents!

Also on display is a railbus. A railbus is a kind of hybrid transportation, which is sort of a cross between a bus and a train. Some railbuses, including the one at the Whippany Train Museum, look more like buses than others, but they still travel on train tracks. 

And that's our view. For more about the Whippany Railway Museum, see our previous post Where-To-Go Wednesday: Whippany Railway Museum or visit whippanyrailwaymuseum.net. 

Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.

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Tips for Tuesday - Books: So It Grows The Zoo Lady; Movies; UFOs and God

We may have received complimentary copies and/or review access to any books, products, and/or other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: So It Grows & The Zoo Lady

Today, we are talking about So It Grows by Andie Burke. Still in recovery from a trauma, Felicity moves to Kansas to take over the plant shop she inherited from her late aunt, where she is antagonized by the arrogant chef next door, Nic. When they are forced to join forces to keep a greedy developer from building a parking garage that will ruin their businesses, their relationship begins to blossom into something else that hopefully old secrets won't tear apart.

This book has a lot of heart. It is full of really good, caring, loving family, both the kind you're born with and the kind you choose. 

Felicity is a very relatable heroine. She is extremely brave, feisty, and outspoken. Yet, she worries that she is too much. 

Nic is really good for her. He is extremely supportive. On the other hand, his former actions border on the stalkerish. Realizing that you need to get yourself together before you can be with anybody else is admirable; to continue to lurk in the background of someone else's life once you have already done so is not.

The sex scenes in the book are extremely graphic, which may delight some readers and disturb others. The latter may also find it cringey and uncomfortable how we are privy to Felicity's every dirty thought about Nic. Thus, a large part of whether you will enjoy this book depends on how explicit you like your romance novels. 

Today we are recommending The Zoo Lady by Sandra E. Bonura. This book thoroughly covers the life and career of the equally admirable and formidable Belle Benchley, the woman largely responsible for the growth and development of the San Diego Zoo into the revered institution it is today. Although she started as an executive secretary, she soon became the de facto zoo director, a position she held for almost thirty years without ever receiving the appropriate title or salary commensurate with her actual role. 

On the one hand, her inspirational life and career clearly illustrate that a woman can be more than capable in a position of power. On the other hand, she had to fight for every achievement and was not always accepted or taken seriously by many of the men she dealt with, at least those outside of the zoo. Her employees loved her. She was a strict but fair leader who truly demonstrated deep love and concern for both the people who worked for her and the animals in her care.

Her deep love and respect for animals led to changes in how the zoo was run and its primary purpose. Her humane changes to how the zoo housed, fed, and cared for its animals not only provided a blueprint for the future of the San Diego Zoo, but also set the standard for zoos around the world. To her, the zoo was not about spectacle; it was about research, learning, and conservation. 

Highlights of the book include chapters on the zoo's acquisitions of its first gorillas, giraffes, and koalas. It also includes numerous pictures from Belle's granddaughter's own private collection. If you are an animal lover, you will definitely want to read this heartwarming and inspiring true tale of the woman behind the rise of one of the world's most famous and beloved zoos. 

Movie: UFOs and God

Today, we are talking about UFOs and God. This is a documentary that examines the phenomenon of UFOs from a theological standpoint. However, it is all just speculation. It doesn't really offer any real new insight into the topic and may be offensive to some people. If you are interested in exploring any alleged connection between UFO's and God, you may enjoy it. Otherwise, probably not.

And that's our view. So It Grows was published last Tuesday, September 22. The Zoo Lady will publish this Thursday, October 1. UFOs and God is available for purchase or rental digitally.

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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More Theater Monday - Falls for Jodie

We received complimentary tickets to Falls for Jodie for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Falls for Jodie

Where: The Tank

             312 W. 36th St.

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for ages 16 and up due to mature themes 

When: Through October 18, 2026

A young man rents a hotel room near Yale University because the girl he loves is a student there, and he wants to see her. All seems normal, but it is not. The man is John Hinckley, and the student is Jodie Foster, whom he does not know. The atmosphere is brimming with tension, although the show is slow and nothing really happens. It is just the knowing what comes next that keeps things on tenterhooks. 

Boone Sommers does an excellent job of portraying a man on the brink of going completely over the edge. His co-star, Harry Thornton, is also good as the extremely overeager and somewhat pushy Eddie, a concierge full of schemes that befriends Hinkley and is also in love with a girl at Yale. Although at times it seems like he is meant to be a figment of Hinkley's imagination since he is not based on any real person, that doesn't seem to be the case since he does appear when Hinkley isn't even there. However, having another person for him to play off rather than just ranting to himself the whole time lets the tension build more gradually, which makes for a better show, although a lot of the time it still feels like nothing is happening. 

And that's our view. For more about Falls for Jodie, to view the content warnings, or to purchase tickets, visit thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/fallsforjodie.

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Photo credits:

All Falls for Jodie production photos by Cason Doyle.

Images used in this post were sent by publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms and are used with permission. Address concerns regarding image usage here.