One of my favorite things that I LOVE about visiting my Aunt April in New Hope, Pennsylvania is enjoying the views of the nearby Delaware River and town of Lamberville, New Jersey on the other side of it. On my Instagram recently (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!), I shared some photos of the foot bridge, the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The only thing separating the two states is the Delaware River – a monumental river and historical landmark in George Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware on December 25-26, 1776. Its beauty and historical significance reigns true to this day.
Most people on my blogger side of things don’t know that I was born and raised in New Jersey for about 5 years of my life. I lived in New Jersey for a few months after I was born, moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas to live until I was 3, and then moved back to New Jersey until I was 8. The second time that I lived in New Jersey my family and I lived in Pennington, New Jersey – a small town located about 20 minutes from Princeton in one direction and 20 minutes from New Hope and Lamberville in the other. However, even when I lived in Pennington and the many many many years that followed, I never realized the historical significance of the places just minutes away from my pre-8 years of age childhood hometown.
The historical significance of the Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware River is that it was the first move in a surprise attack led by George Washington against the British during the American Revolutionary War. Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware River occurred on the night of December 25-26, 1776. The nearby-to-New Hope and Lamberville is the town of Washington’s Crossing, Pennsylvania which plays homage to a historical downtown village, Washington’s Crossing Inn (where my Aunt Sherri got married!!), and a historical park open to ALL visitors to enjoy the Delaware River, historical sites, and the beauty in between it all. Each year around Christmas time, Washington’s Crossing, Pennsylvania hosts a reenactment of George Washington’s revolutionary crossing of the Delaware River during the American Revolutionary War. The Delaware River in all of its glory and beauty plays a big role in the making of our country, today.
I grew up going to both New Hope and Lambertville as a kid. We would go to New Hope for ice cream. One cool thing is that New Hope has its own Bucks County Playhouse, which showcases several performances, including Kinky Boots which is on tour this summer! Meanwhile, Lambertville had a gorgeous train station that turned into a pizza shop with a nearby duck pond, which my Dad would always take my brother and I to back in the day! Each time we went, we would walk across the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge where there’s even a marker to mark the borders, where *YES* you can stand in both states at once!
Nowadays, I LOVE getting to go visit my family and friends who still live in and around Pennington, New Jersey and enjoy the gorgeous footbridge separating both New Hope, Pennsylvania and Lamberville, New Jersey from one another. Each town offers a plethora of small businesses, historical beauty, great restaurants and cafes, and *of course* drop dead gorgeous waterfront views. I feel extremely lucky to be able to enjoy the waterfront views along the Delaware River, especially knowing that this bridge that I love to admire connecting the two states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey was once not that AND that it played a major major major role in the eventual making of the United States of America.
Personally, I really really really LOVE going to visit New Hope and Lamberville and admiring that gorgeous bridge between the two states and will continue to for YEARS to come!!
XOXO – Katie <3