Bummer! Sorry to hear it, sock. No AC for us, but enjoy!
Transportation-wise, driving is the standard, but there are public options:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montclair_ ... sportation , but routes are set up for commuters rather than tourists, so it's doable depending on how and where you're coming from (or how much patience you have).
The issue is that the Montclair-Boonton line (the necessary train line) connects in Secaucus rather than Newark, so to get from Newark Penn Station to Montclair by trains alone, you have to go east to Secaucus and connect to go west again. But if can get yourself to the Newark Broad Street Station, you can hop one bus and head directly to Montclair. To get from Newark Airport, you have to add one more short step to get from the airport to the relevant Newark city-area train stations/bus stops cuz the airport is its own thing.
From Hoboken, it looks like 2 busses: 1 to Newark/Broad & State Streets, then 1 to Montclair.
From Port Authority, it's 1 NJ Transit or DeCamp bus to Montclair.
Even that veer to connect in Secaucus isn't *hard*: in fact, it's one of the least complicated options. But it can be annoying to see it on a map and see how you're heading too far one way in order to head back in the other.
What you want to do is go here:
http://www.njtransit.com/hp/hp_servlet. ... HomePageTo and use their handy-dandy Trip Planner to go through different scenarios. Be sure to try different stops/stations and different train only/bus only/mixed options as well because sometimes doing so will give you more logical results. In some cases, the space between stops/stations is only a few blocks, but it can make a world of difference in the route logic; in other cases, you just can't get there from here.
For DeCamp bus lines, go here:
http://www.decamp.com/schedules_routes.asp . You want the 33 and 66 lines between NYC and Montclair (they run later (and I think more often?) than the NJ Transit bus (I think)), but there may also be suburban area routes in there that might be helpful (I'm not sure), so it couldn't hurt to poke around.
Otherwise, grab a cab or rent a car, and you're in Montclair in about half an hour. I haven't been there in many years, but it's generally a large town with walkable areas with stuff to look at.
Dramatic highlights & a unique musical cosmos. Guaranteed.