Location: Alpine, NJ & Middletown, NY

Travel time: 2 hours driving round trip

Monuments & Locations Visited: Palisades Interstate Park | Kearny House | Fair Oaks Drive-in Movie Theater

Eats & Libations: Mix n Mac in Middletown, NY

Description: In an effort to find new ways to enjoy our weekends without being around too many people, we decided visit a drive-in theater. We know normal movie theaters have opened up at smaller capacities but we would rather not take risks just yet. On our way up to Fair Oaks Drive-in, we took a scenic route and drove through Palisades Interstate Park. The park is about 12 miles long and runs along the edge of NJ which includes cliffs that overlook the Hudson River and NYC across the way. While at the park we stopped at the Closter docks and did a quick half mile hike (Closter Dock Trail – Orange) up to the top of the cliffs for a spectacular view. It is one of the shorter trails in the park but it was steep enough to be worth it, we struggled at some points. Also located near the Closter dock is the Kearny house which is a house built in 1761 and was said to possibly have housed General Cornwallis for a night sometime around 1776.

We ate dinner Mix n Mac and then and went straight to the drive-in so we could secure a good spot. What a cool experience to be able to watch a movie from your car and listen to the audio on your car radio. The positives from Fair Oaks: No one bothers you, the $45 package pays for your whole car to get in, a huge popcorn bucket, 4 sodas, a candy, and the bathrooms are not far away. The only negative we found was that sometimes people will turn their car on or arrive late so their lights mess up the screen at any given part of the movie. Overall a worth while experience and we recommend everyone try it once, just make sure the movie isn’t one that is very important to you.