Hi Steve,
Yes, New Jersey is a state, and despite it's reputation it has its beautiful parts. Most in the NE probably have a bad impression of the state because I-95 (the major north/south route) goes through swamp areas (stinky) exacerbated by the industrial belching of Newark. If you do ever make the trek, I strongly suggest late spring-early summer (no snow but no humidity yet) or mid-fall (beautiful foliage but not too cold yet, oh, and did I mention no snow?!). If you come to NJ, you will probably want to check out NYC. The capitol DC is not all that long a drive, nor is Boston which has a totally different flavor. If you like to gamble there's always Atlantic City, or hit CT's Indian casinos on your way to Boston. You would also be close to the Pennsylvania Dutch (Amish) area and for flavor I recommend a day trip there.
When we went to California we started in San Diego, went up the coast to a little north of LA then cut across to the other side to see the Sequoias. On to Sacramento then northeast of there and eventually to San Fransisco. It's like traveling to different countries in many ways. Unfortunately this was shortly after my MIL's untimely death which put a damper on things. And we didn't get to see everything we wanted. We got snowed out of the Sequoia National Park and ended up spending a night in Fresno. Figures it snowed that night for the first time in 30 years! We went to some places with my BIL who is a CA native so that helped get a little more of a living perspective than a tourist. I was fortunate to visit TX for the first time with a college friend and native so also got a little bit better idea of the life there in the San Antonio area. If you are visiting family that's a great way to tour another country/state.
Hope you make it pondside sooner rather than later.
Evie 