Things to Do in Somers Point

The resident guides at Uncle Sam's New York Tours masterfully navigate the city to give sightseers a smattering of historic sights, hip bars, and chic shopping locales. Leisurely strolls allow tourists to savor the sights of each stop, as opposed to whizzing by on a tour bus or being launched past from a trebuchet. Engaging guides steer guests down Wall Street and dive headfirst into the Greenwich Village digs that have been frequented by creative geniuses for decades. After dark, pub crawls traverse the entrances of some of New York's most hallowed watering holes, and nightclub tours lend tastes of the New York nightlife, along with glimpses of reticent celebrities in rare chicken-dance performances. Uncle Sam's sightseeing sages also conduct private luxury tours, ferrying guests about town in private SUVs and stretch limos.

The current Madison Square Garden's court is the fourth venue to bear the name and sits five stories above the bustling streets of New York. Billed as "The World's Most Famous Arena," the Garden has played host to triumphant basketball and hockey games, breathless boxing matches, and appearances by such luminaries as Elvis, Billy Joel, and the Pope. Recently finished with the second year of a three-phase renovation, the center has streamlined crowd flow, upgraded dining options, and removed the ejection systems from the lower-bowl seats.

As part of the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex, located at the historic Chelsea Piers, the Golf Club perches over the same port that once welcomed ships into New York City. Now, golfers tee up in the driving range's 52 heated and weather-protected stalls, which overlook the glinting waters of the Hudson River. Automatic tee-up systems position balls for launch across the 200-yard, net-enclosed fairway. A putting green allows patrons to improve their short game, and two Full Swing simulators encourage them to take hacks in virtual environs, transporting them to famous courses across the country or fifth-grade birthday parties where they missed the piñata.

Children and adults alike can enlist in Golf Club at Chelsea Piers’ classes, which stratify students by experience level. The 13-member coaching staff includes PGA and LPGA professionals, and sessions take place in a 2,000-square-foot teaching facility.

While waiting for a group of tour participants aboard his kayak on Cape Island Creek, Bob Lubberman made a new acquaintance when a 4-foot great blue heron landed on the nose of his boat. It's not an entirely new experience for the owner of Miss Chris Kayak Rentals and Tours, as opportunities to commune with nature came often as he crabbed and fished as a child from his grandmother's dock. Now he's able to connect visitors to this ecosystem as they independently paddle rented sit-on-top kayaks or as they participate in guided kayak or boat tours.

Paddlers on kayak tours often catch close-ups of ospreys, terns, and other birds, and see diamondback terrapin turtles sunning themselves on the shore or trying to hold their own ice-cream cones. Day and sunset tours let guests explore the wildlife-rich salt marshes, and night tours led during high tide let them paddle over grassy terrain to otherwise inaccessible areas. Guests explore similar territory on tours aboard the Osprey as they watch migrating shore birds or look out on the harbor's historic buildings. Kayak tour guides include an associate naturalist and a Cape May Bird Observatory field associate, and land-based staffers maintain a touch tank on the Miss Chris mooring dock, which they temporarily fill with conches, eels, and other sea life pulled up using open-sided conservation traps.

When record amounts of water from Tropical Storm Henri ravaged Red Clay Valley, it left six historic bridges destroyed and reduced the 10-mile Wilmington & Western Railroad to a mere two miles. The railroad is no stranger to change—since officially opening for passenger and freight service in 1872, the approximately 20-mile track was gradually shortened before beginning to escort tourists on steam-powered jaunts in 1966. Through all its transformations, the rail has persevered, and its encounter with Tropical Storm Henri was no exception. By June 30, 2007, the track was restored and Royal Blue coaches followed a locomotive 98 for the first 10-mile journey on the track in nearly four years.

These days, Wilmington & Western Railroad's locomotives continue to follow Red Clay Creek on leisurely round-trip jaunts, romantic rides, and themed excursions. After their ride, youngsters can learn about railroading heritage with a series of online games, and individuals or groups can charter a train for subsequent travels to any destination along the line.

The air over New Jersey Motorsports Park pulses with the roar of engines, a siren's call to professional and amateur racers and the crowds that cheer them on. From spring through late fall, the track’s major events entice fans young and old and range from open-wheel racing to karting. With little to no experience, amateur drivers can arrive and drive with the track's F1 karting program, which sends similarly skilled drivers careening around the bends of a 1.1-mile track that features six different configurations and 11 prime spots to throw a well-aimed koopa shell at the competition.

The track's educational program molds amateurs into masters by giving them access to world-class instructors with years of experience driving with their feet. Between lessons or races, drivers can fuel up at an onsite snack bar, or take the postrace edge off at the pub.