Trips

2025 Upcoming Trips

• December 12, Friday Lunch/Trip. Lunch at 11:30 AM at Be Well Cafe, 2651 Huntington Pike, Huntington Valley, Pa 19006. Trip to “Christmas in the Castle Tour” at Bryn Athyn, PA. Arrive 1:15 PM. Tour begins 1:30 PM. Ticket $12 per person. Contact Connie.

We always need drivers for car-pooling, and we also look forward to suggestions of trips from the membership. Please email Connie Loukatos, Trip Committee Chair, at esloukatos@comcast.net, if you know of any interesting places to visit.  Lorraine Haucke joins Connie in finding outings. 

Other possible FUTURE TRIPS:
Other trips being considered: Museum of American Glass in Millville NJ, Blooming Grove Village that could be combined with a visit to the NJ State Police Headquarters and Museum in West Trenton. Another suggestion is Princeton Doll and Toy Museum now located in Hopewell, admission is five dollars. Other places: backstage tour of McCarter Theater; a boat ride on Mercer Lake, or a trip to Madison, NJ to Drew University for a tour of the Shakespeare Festival’s backstage, costumes and props warehouse.  Firestone Library is unable to accommodate tours from outside groups at the moment. Apologies that their policies have changed recent years. 

PAST TRIPS:

2025-2026 past trips 

November 12, 2025 Wednesday. 11 AM. (cancelled, bad weather) State Police Museum in Ewing. Lunch at Cattani Restaurant afterwards. 

October 10, 2025 Friday 11:30 AM. Lunch first at Fernando’s in Hightstown. 1:00 PM  NJ Senior Citizen Art Show at Meadow Lake in Hightstown. 

September 19, 2025  Friday. 11 AM lunch (John and Molly’s or Robin’s Nest), 1:30 PM tour of the National Weather Service Office at Mt. Holly, NJ.

2024-2025 past trips 

August 2, 2025 Saturday 2 PM.  Frankenstein, Princeton Summer Theatre.

July 29, 2025 Tuesday, 10:30 AM. Mercer County Senior Art Show in the Conference Center at Mercer County College. Lunch at noon at Robbinsville Bar and Grill on Rt 130.

July 6, 2025 Sun. 2 PM   Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot, Princeton Summer Theatre. 

June 15, 2025 Sun. 2 PM  Bridges of Madison County, Princeton Summer Theatre. 

May 22, 2025 Thursday 11:00 AM. Zimmerli Museum of Art at Rutgers University  at 71 Hamilton St, New Brunswick, NJ. Some exhibits at the museum were: Crossing Borders: Geometric Abstraction – 1960 to Now, Napoleon: A Visual Legacy of Power, and Indigenous Identities: Here, Now, and Always.

April 8, 2025 Tuesday 10:30 AM (cancelled; too cold).  Walk through Sayen Gardens.

March 26, 2025 Wednesday 10-11 a.m. Amazon warehouse tour; lunch at Robbinsville Bar & Grille. Carpool met at the ShopRite in E. Windsor, parking by the TGI Fridays. 

February 26, 2025 Wednesday, 10:30 AM. New Jersey State Museum. 195-205 West State Street in Trenton. Lunch at Mikonos. 

January 30, 2025, Thursday, Newark Museum of Art, Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 1 PM. The special exhibit on display was Bony Ramirez: Cattleya.

Cancelled: December 5, 2024, Thursday, the Barron Arts Center for the 34th Annual Holiday Train Show in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

No November trip outing.

October 29, 2024 Tuesday 11 AM. The 58th Annual New Jersey Senior Citizen Art Show. Meadow Lakes Senior Living, East Windsor. Lunch after at Fernando’s in Hightstown. Organized by B. Rinaldo. Photos by Patrish Shalestik. 

October 15, 2024 Tuesday: 11:30-1:00. Jewish Heritage Museum in Freehold. An hour and a half tour docent-led and handicapped accessible.  Dedicated to the notion of public awareness of the county’s Jewish heritage. Includes 18^th and 19^th century photos. Carpooled from City Streets (20 minutes from there). Lunch at Baco’s pizzeria in the same parking lot. Organized by Barbara Rinaldo.

  September 19, 2024 Thursday 11 AM. Morven Museum. “Morven: Memory, Myth & Reality” Docent-led $10/p. Lunch at Metro North. Trip photos by Patrish Shalestik.

2023-2024 past trips 

No August outing.

July 9, 2024, Tuesday, 10:30 AM,  trip to Mercer County Community College’s Communications Building to view the “Mercer County Artists Exhibit of 2024” at 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. The juried exhibit was made up of 27 Mercer County visual artists who live, work, or attend school in Mercer County. Lunch followed at noon at Villa Maria on Quakerbridge Rd. Hamilton. 

June 20, 2024 Thursday, (cancelled) trip to the Doris Duke Farms (lack of interest; too hot).

May 8, 2024 Wednesday 10:30 AM. Sayen Gardens in Hamilton Square.

April 25, 2024 Thursday.  Noon. Trip to and Lunch at New Leaf Tea Room in Riverton (via Route 130 or via the Riverline from Bordentown).

March 27, 2024 Wednesday. 1:00 PM  Met Opera Encore “Romeo & Juliette”. North Brunswick Rt 1 Regal Theatre.

February 28, 2024 Wednesday. 1:00 PM  Drumthwacket, one-hour tour. No organized lunch.

January 24, 2024 Wednesday. We scheduled for a docent-led tour of the magnificent Akshardham Arts and Cultural Center in Robbinsville Township. The tour started at 10:15 am sharp and was approximately 2 hours in duration. We had 26 members who signed up. Lunch followed at City Streets at 510 US 130, East Windsor, while some stayed on site and enjoyed an array of Indian dishes at the Shayona Cafe. Photo by Patrish Shalestik.                                                                

December 4, 2023 Monday.  11AM. NJ State Capitol in Trenton. Docent-led tour. Lunch at Mikonos Restaurant in Ewing after tour.

November 14, 2023 Tuesday at 11 AM docent-led tour- NJ National Guard Militia Museum at 161 Eggert Crossing Road, Lawrenceville. Lunch at Chambers Walk Cafe and Catering, 2667 Main Street, Lawrenceville.

October 13, 2023 Friday.  Visited the Joseph Bonaparte Exhibit at the Meeting House, Bordentown. Lunch at Toscano, 136 Farnsworth Ave, Bordentown. Photos by Patrish Shalestik.

September 8, 2023 Friday. Tour of the Thomas Edison Center in Menlo Park. 37 Christie St. Edison, NJ 08820. 10:15 AM arrived museum by car pools.  10:30 AM started the 45-minute guided museum tour (tours on the half hours). Cost: $5 for seniors;  tickets purchased online at menloparkmuseum.org. 12 noon lunch at LouCas, 9 Lincoln Highway, Edison (Italian). Organizer Jan Stout. Photos.

May 10, 2023 Wednesday – The Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum, Route 29 N of Lambertville followed by lunch in Lambertville.   Members met there at 10:30.  Photos by Jan Stout.

April 14, 2023 Friday, 11 AM. Montclair Art Museum.  Car-pooled. 1 hour drive. Self-purchased online tickets: $12. Lunch 12:45 after museum tour.

March 19, 2023 Sunday 4 PM Pro Musica concert – Bach’s St John’s Passion. Where: Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University campus.

We visited Phillips Mills in New Hope for their juried art show of Pennsylvania artists from the Doylestown area on Thursday, September 29, 2022. Because the show opened at 1:00 P.M. closed at 5 PM, we had time to do some retail exploring in Lambertville, followed by lunch at Bowman’s Tavern in New Hope and then to the exhibit at 2:00 P.M.  We carpooled from my house at 10:00 A.M.  It was a very nice Autumn day. Photos.  – Kathy.

2021-2022 past trips

Thursday, August 25, 2022, we visited the NJ State Museum on State Street in Trenton with lunch following at Malaga restaurant in Hamilton.  Photos by Nora Ananos.

On Friday, July 22, 2022, we combined our Trip and Lunching Out groups to visit the 2022 Mercer County Senior Art Show at the Conference Center at Mercer, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, where our own Nora Ananos, Photographer Extraordinaire, is exhibiting her art work (“Budapest Castle” with the gold frame).  Lunch followed at Villa Maria, 3800 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton. (Photos)

May and June trips – none was scheduled.

April 2022 trip to Clinton was cancelled and will be rescheduled.

On Friday, March 18, 2022, we visited the Ellarslie Museum* in Trenton to see the juried show “Painting the Moon and Beyond: Lois Dodd & Friends Explore the Night Sky”. (*The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion, Cadwalader Park, Trenton, New Jersey). Attendees: K.Hutchins, S.Luty, D.Kirpalani, B.Larson, J.Stout, E.Raferty, M.Sagarese, M.Tarasov, B.Kestenis, S.Willson, C.Loukatos and her guest Juliann Edelstein (and now has joined the club). Lunch at Malaga – Spanish cuisine – in Hamilton.

We visited the art exhibition, titled “Meaningful Beauty: The Vibrant Vocabulary of Honeysuckles”, at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Thursday, March 10, 2022. We car pooled from Kathy Hutchins’ house at 10:30 a.m. and had lunch at Vidalia Restaurant in Lawrenceville following our art exhibit visit.  Photos by Nora Añaños.

No trip January and February 2022.

  We visited the Mitchener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, December 16, 2021, carpooling from Kathy Hutchins’ house at 9:30 AM. The exhibit “It’s Personal: the Art of Robert Beck” was the main attraction. We had lunch in Doylestown after visiting the museum. Organized by Kathy Hutchins. Photos by Nora Añaños.

So, it’s time to hit the road, get out and about.  On Wednesday, October 27, 2021, we went to Lambertville for lunch at the Bowman Restaurant. We got to Lambertville early to shop and walk around a bit. Some of you may remember our last visit to Lambertville where Doris Tazelaar bought a great sweater for five dollars! (I’m not kidding.) This time, Doris bought three blouses for a great price again.  After lunch went to Phillip’s Mill to see its 92nd Juried Art Show.  The Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places and you can find out more about the show at www.Phillipsmill.org/art/juried-art-show.  We car pooled from my house.  The weather was wonderful!   –Kathy Hutchins (Photos by Nora Añaños)

2020-2021 past trips

We went on a trip to Morven Museum and Garden on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 10:00.  This trip was our first outing since last winter (home-bound due to the COVID pandemic). The trip included a tour of the house, and current exhibit “In Nature’s Realm: The Art of Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh”, a tour of the gardens, and a box lunch.  The cost of the whole tour was $35.00.  Without lunch the cost was $13.00. Easy walking.  Some car pooled from Kathy’s house. Guests were welcomed. Trip was organized by Kathy Hutchins; photo collage by Nora Añaños.

In April, a few Board Members made a trip to Nora Añaños‘ house. Nora had extended a special invitation to the Board Members and their guests to visit her home Friday, April 30, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. to see Nora’s art work, listen to Juan, her husband, play the piano, and enjoy some food.

2019-2020 past trips

We went to The College of New Jersey Art Gallery on February 25, 2020 for a tour of “Caroline Kent: A Form Walks Toward You In The Dark”. The tour started at 10:30 a.m.  We car-pooled from Kathy’s house, and had lunch afterwards. The people who went were Jan Stout, Nora Añaños, Kathy Hutchins , Elaine Rafferty, Isabella (docent), Pat Ward (friend of Jan Stout), Danuta Buzdygan-Stys, and Connie Loukatos. This link has more information about the exhibition (Feb 5 – March 15, 2020).  The show features works on large unstretched canvases, mid-sized canvases, and three-dimensional wall-mounted sculptures that engage with unexpected gallery spaces like corners and doorframes. Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, director of the gallery, had arranged for an art history student interning with the gallery to give us our tour.  It was marvelous. By the way, our last tour of this gallery on October  29, 2018 was exceptional also.  We met and visited with the artist and as well as other TCNJ art students.  It was enormous fun…intimate and very personal.  Both trips to TCNJ were organized by Kathy Hutchins. Photos by Nora Añaños.

On December 13, 2019, Friday, the group went to ArtYard, a contemporary art center in Frenchtown (website: https://artyard.org/), to see the exhibit of multimedia works of 88 year old Janet Ruttenberg, then followed by lunch and some shopping. -organized by Kathy Hutchins.

A trip was made to the Roebling Museum on Friday, November 22, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. with lunch after at Villaggio Iccara Restorante in Yardville, NJ.  The trip included a walking tour of about 20 minutes of the town of Roebling that the company created. The tour started with a short film. (Photos from trip) – organized by Kathy Hutchins.

Friday, September 6, 2019, trip to the Mitchener Museum in Doylestown  for a docent-led tour of the exhibit “The Color of the Moon: Lunar Painting in American Art”. Our docent was Alice Lawler who led the tour of the Wyeth/Hurd exhibit that we liked so much. The tour was followed by lunch and retail opportunities in Doylestown.  We are grateful to the carpool drivers. –Kathy

2018-2019 past trips
One of our board members, photographer Nora Añaños, had won a prize at the West Windsor seniors art exhibit (July 17-Aug 9) at Meadow Lakes. On Tuesday, August 6th, 2019, a group of us went to see the exhibit at Meadow Lakes and had lunch after at Fernando’s restaurant in Hightstown.  It’s a wonderful show and Nora’s still life painting is fabulous.

July 24, 2019, Wednesday: we visited the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington to see the Caribbean Art exhibition.  We are very thankful to our carpool drivers (approx. 1 hour and 20 minutes). (Photos courtesy of Nora Añaños)

Thursday, June 6, 2019: tour of the “Gainsborough’s Family Album”  exhibit at the Princeton University Art Museum. Our favorite docent, Jane Ashcom was our guide.   (Photos by Nora Añaños)

April 5, 2019, Friday, 2 p.m. Annual informal visit to HomeFront’s annual artJam show at 19 Hullfish Street in Princeton, with tea afterwards at Kathy Hutchins’ house. Trip was organized by Kathy Hutchins.

February 26, 2019: Tour of the Sarnoff Collection at the College of New Jersey with lunch after at the Panera on TCNJ campus.  The Sarnoff Collection website will give you a taste of what we saw.  There are wonderful exhibits of Orson Wells’ famous “alien landing” in Govers Mill of 1939 as well as the television coverage of the first moon landing.  The tour was conducted by Florencia Pierri, Curator of the Sarnoff Collection.  “Flori”, the curator of the collection, is a graduate student at Princeton University, and the tour focused on the role of women in communication and the early days of television. –tour organized by Kathy Hutchins

December 7, 2018 to Princeton University Art Museum, for the major new exhibition of landscape paintings “Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment” on view there from October 13 to January 6, 2019. Once again our favorite docent, Jane Ashcam, conducted the tour. Lunch after at Prospect House Garden Room. Organized by Kathy Hutchins.

Oct. 25, 2018 The TCNJ Art Gallery — a visit with Philadelphia-based artist Marguerita Hagan. Photos by Nora Añaños; trip organized by Club President Kathy Hutchins.

2017-2018 past trips
June 22, 2018. The tour of the Frank Stella Unbound: Literature and Printmaking exhibition took place on Friday, June 22nd at 2:00 P.M.  at Princeton University Art Museum. Once again our favorite docent, Jane Ashcam, conducted the tour.  Following the tour tea and sherry at Kathy Hutchins’ house to share suggestions for trips for next year, visit with Trixie and perhaps the cats, Mr. Tubs and Sparkle, if they promise to behave, and plan summer excursions.  There was a lecture, Saturday, May 19th at 5:00 P.M. at 50 McCosh Hall and a reception after at 6:00 P.M. at the Princeton University Art Museum to prepare for the tour.  Photos by Nora Añaños; trip organized by Kathy Hutchins.

April 16th, 2018 Monday. HomeFront Art Jam Pop-up Gallery, 
Once again, HomeFront sponsored an exhibit of professional and undiscovered artists in support of HomeFront’s ArtSpace.  The Exhibit was located at 19 Hulfish Street in Princeton.  A group met at 2 pm. at the store and then to Kathy’s house for tea.  The art work again was lively and there were all kinds of crafts.  And, it was supporting a wonderful organization with whom we have shared interests.  Kathy Hutchins

March 16, 2018. We went on a tour of the Princeton University Lewis Center of the Arts. We met at the Forum level.  The tour was conducted by Danielle Dennis, Venue Manager, and Raymond Chalme.  We had lunch separately afterwards.  photos by Nora Añaños. Organizer: Kathy Hutchins.

February 15, 2018. We visited the Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania for a tour of the exhibit “Magical & Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, A retrospective”.

December 12, 2017, at 11:15 a.m. Guided tour of the photography works of Clarence White (1871-1925) at the Princeton Art Museum, with docent Jane Ashcom. Lunch at Prospect Garden afterwards. Organizer: Kathy Hutchins; photo below by Nora Añaños.

October 17, 2017. Tuesday, Homefront campus trip.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017  A tour of the exhibit “Great British Drawings from the Ashmolean Museum” at the Princeton University Art Museum.  Tea followed at Kathy’s house.

2016-2017 Past Trips (click hyperlinks to see photos)
March 28, 2017 Tuesday, 2:00 p.m. tour of the Princeton Art Museum’s exhibit “The Berlin Painter”,  and gathered for tea at Kathy Hutchin’s house after the tour.  

January 24, 2017, Tuesday, tour of the Princeton University Lewis Library; 10:00 a.m., with librarian Jane Holmquist, then lunch at the Prospect Garden Room. (More photos by Nora Añaños)

October 25, 2016 (photos) tour of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. The Center is the newest and one of the most exciting academic buildings on the Princeton Campus and is located at 86 Olden Street. Check out the website  http://acee.princeton.edu/about/building/. The tour was conducted by Jennifer Poacelli, Associated Director of Administration. Moire Selinka, Education and Outreach Coordinator of the Center,  joined us at lunch afterward at the Garden Room in the Prospect House on the Princeton University Campus.
              

September 2016  Akshardam Arts and Cultural Center in Robbinsville (Mandir Temple). Click to see more photos taken by Nora Añaños.

2015-2016 Past Trips (click hyperlinks to see photos or other websites)
May 2016 new headquarters of SAVE, a Friend of Homeless Animals www.savehomelessanimals.org
April 2016 Open house at the Princeton University Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.
February 2016, tour of PPPL (Princeton Plasma Physics Lab), then lunch at the site’s cafeteria. Click here to see photos taken by Nora Añaños.
December 2015: Princeton University Firestone Library tour, then tea and sherry at Kathy’s home after tour.
October 2015, tour of the new Frick Chemistry Laboratory Building on Princeton University campus on Washington Road led by Alice Monachello, Facilities Manager of the Laboratory.  Click this PDF file or this hyperlink to read an article about the woman sculptor who designed the “clusters of translucent orbs suspended from the 75-foot-high glass roof into the atrium.” Then lunch in the “Chemistry CaFé” right on site. Click here to see Photos.

2014-2015  Past Trips (click hyperlinks to see photos)
June 25th: Mitchner Art Museum “The Artist in the Garden”  and lunch after in Doylestown.
May 2015 Grounds for Sculptures (Guided Tour)
April 2015: Glenn Thomas’ Piano Collection. Princeton, NJ.
March 2015:  Morven Museum and Garden, Princeton, NJ.
March 2015:  Philadelphia Flower Show
February 2015: Princeton Theological Library
December 2014: New York City Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular
October 2014: Longwood Gardens
November 2014: Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, lunch at LouCás

2013-2014 Past Trips
June 2014:  Princeton University Art Museum
March 2014: Philadelphia Flower Show
Dec. 2013:  Bus trip to Radio City Music Hall in NYC  for Christmas Show.
Oct. 2013: Princeton University League’s trip to the Barnes Museum.
Oct. 2013: Bus to Broadway show “Matilda”, NYC.
Sept. 2013: Cruise of Mercer Lake in a Pontoon Boat with Mercer Co. naturalist

2012-2013 Past Trips
May 2012: Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton Township, NJ
Sept.2012: New York theater trip to see: “Nice Work, If You Can Get It”
Oct. 2012: Barnes  Art  Foundation in Philadelphia
Nov.2012: Moore College of Art Design in Philadelphia
Dec.2012: Morven Christmas Tree Display, Princeton
Jan.2013:  Origami Workshop with Laura Kruskal in Princeton
Feb. 2013: Rigoletto Opera at AMC movie theater in Hamilton, NJ
Mar. 2013:Ellarslie Mansion (Trenton City Museum) in Cadwalader Park, NJ
Apr. 2013: D&R Greenway Land Trust Center, Princeton, NJ
May 2013: Bus trip to view the Murals in Philadelphia, PA