Never can tell where I'll show up when you don't hear from me for a few days, eh?
I got to Brooklyn Wednesday night to stay with Heather, who was to accompany me to a Colbert Report taping last night. We caught up over some asparagus and later, beers. She took Thursday off so we wandered around the city, into Manhattan. At one point my mom called and asked, "Where are you?" which seems to be a bit of a trend in my life. She was calling because there were tornado warnings all over NJ, particularly near camp. I was not near camp and it seems the tornadoes didn't end up being near camp, either, but still, I'm amused when people ask where I am.
Heather and I met up with Taylor and Alison at Penn Station in the afternoon. Alison had scored tickets to Colbert, who is her hero and #1 crush of the universe, and we were all excited to go. We headed up town to find his studio and scope out meal options. Lunch: Empanada Mama. Really, really delicious.
So from there to England. Colbert was in England for the royal wedding! The taping was really fun. Stephen Colbert came out ahead of the show and did a question and answer session as himself, not in character. He strikes me as a really nice man, and definitely funny. Alison in all of her awesomeness asked him if he'd sing Happy Birthday to Taylor (it was, in fact, his birthday). Colbert said no but sang Billy Joel's "Vienna" after having a brief conversation with Taylor and learning that's where in Virginia he lives. It was really cool.
The show itself was a pretty silly episode. You can see us at about 1:09 as the camera pans across the audience. We were sitting in the third row, all the way to the left facing the audience. Alison is in the corner, wearing purple, then Heather in black, Taylor in bright green and me in light blue. Colbert actually flubbed the first line of the intro by pointing over the wrong shoulder to Big Ben, so the entire show really started off with the giggles. The second take took, but there were many other laughs throughout. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed watching the final product to see what they changed and how they covered cuts. Of course Stephen Colbert made no mistakes... but if he had, he would have told us not that as long as no one blogged about it, everyone would buy into the magic of TV and no one would know he made mistakes.
After the show, we had sushi at Hanami Japanese Cuisine before heading back to Penn Station, New Brunswick (where I'd left my car), and northern Virginia. What can I say? I cover a lot of ground.
29 April 2011
24 April 2011
blossoms
Cherry blossoms, to be sort of specific (I'll get more into particular types in a moment). And no, I didn't make another trip to D.C.... yet. This is about a lovely gem in New Jersey that I was unaware of until today.
Mom wanted to walk around and look at the cherry blossoms in this park in Newark near Grandma's house like she did when she was a kid. It was warm and sunny out, so she and Grandma and I went while the Easter ham baked.
Branch Brook Park was full of families taking pictures by the last of the cherry blossoms and other blooming trees (dogwoods are starting in New Jersey). It was definitely past peak for the cherries, but some varieties still had their blossoms despite all the rain last week. We had a nice walk along a canal-- I saw a sign for a copper mill up the road in Belleville, but apparently there was also a yeast company too. I'll have to read more about it.
In trying to read more about the mills in the area, I learned that the yeast company management included two of FDR's sons. Mom said if the wind was just right, growing up, it smelled like beer in Bloomfield.
So, obviously everyone associates cherry blossoms with Washington, D.C. but the cherry trees in Newark are apparently also a pretty big deal, and I'm surprised that I had not heard of this before. Things I learned from signs in the park or reading on the website when I got home:
Trees of the day: Cornelian Cherry tree (actually a type of dogwood!), Black cherry tree, Yoshino cherry, Higan cherry... all found in Branch Brook Park. Wikipedia says there are 14 varieties, Branch Brook Park's website says 17, but the vegetation report says 6, one of which is actually a type of dogwood tree. These were the ones I noticed. Hmmm... sounds like I'm going to have a nice walk with my tree book next spring!
Also of note this weekend: I got a ton of sleep to make up for the lack of sleep leading up to my thesis defense on Friday (success-- I passed!). I just have a few revisions on the thesis itself standing between me and my second degree. There were all sorts of metaphors to be had about new life and blossoming and whatnot this weekend. Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!
Mom wanted to walk around and look at the cherry blossoms in this park in Newark near Grandma's house like she did when she was a kid. It was warm and sunny out, so she and Grandma and I went while the Easter ham baked.
Branch Brook Park was full of families taking pictures by the last of the cherry blossoms and other blooming trees (dogwoods are starting in New Jersey). It was definitely past peak for the cherries, but some varieties still had their blossoms despite all the rain last week. We had a nice walk along a canal-- I saw a sign for a copper mill up the road in Belleville, but apparently there was also a yeast company too. I'll have to read more about it.
In trying to read more about the mills in the area, I learned that the yeast company management included two of FDR's sons. Mom said if the wind was just right, growing up, it smelled like beer in Bloomfield.
So, obviously everyone associates cherry blossoms with Washington, D.C. but the cherry trees in Newark are apparently also a pretty big deal, and I'm surprised that I had not heard of this before. Things I learned from signs in the park or reading on the website when I got home:
- About 1000 new cherry trees were planted in 2009 to make up for quite a few that had died. Hey, no Jersey jokes-- the same thing happened in D.C., just much earlier.
- Branch Brook Park was the first county park in the US.
- The over 4000 Japanese cherry trees are the largest collection of flowering Japanese cherry trees in one location in the US. I'm guessing this is because the collection in D.C. is spread all over the city, not just in one specific park.
- This is a Frederick Law Olmsted Park. He's also known for Central Park in NYC and the landscape architecture around the US Capitol in D.C.
Trees of the day: Cornelian Cherry tree (actually a type of dogwood!), Black cherry tree, Yoshino cherry, Higan cherry... all found in Branch Brook Park. Wikipedia says there are 14 varieties, Branch Brook Park's website says 17, but the vegetation report says 6, one of which is actually a type of dogwood tree. These were the ones I noticed. Hmmm... sounds like I'm going to have a nice walk with my tree book next spring!
Also of note this weekend: I got a ton of sleep to make up for the lack of sleep leading up to my thesis defense on Friday (success-- I passed!). I just have a few revisions on the thesis itself standing between me and my second degree. There were all sorts of metaphors to be had about new life and blossoming and whatnot this weekend. Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!
21 April 2011
another sign of being a bit nomadic
In an email exchange with Taylor this afternoon, I told him I had showered and was working on my thesis defense presentation. His response:
"You just showered? Aren't you at Rutgers? What? I lost you."
Amazing how that happens sometimes, eh? You don't talk to me for an hour and suddenly I'm somewhere else entirely!
(For the record, Rutgers does have showers in the building that houses the Department of Geography, but I was, in fact, at home.)
"You just showered? Aren't you at Rutgers? What? I lost you."
Amazing how that happens sometimes, eh? You don't talk to me for an hour and suddenly I'm somewhere else entirely!
(For the record, Rutgers does have showers in the building that houses the Department of Geography, but I was, in fact, at home.)
12 April 2011
over 2 mph!
This Sunday's gypsy-esque zig-zagging was actually relatively confined:
View Larger Map
Church visit of the weekend: Old Bergen Church in Jersey City. Beautiful old building with really nice people inside. Not that any of the churches I've visited have been unwelcoming, but this one was especially warm. I got hugged just for walking through the door, and it was a small enough congregation that they knew I wasn't a regular. The pastor was just called from the central church in Louisville, KY, where he used to have lunch with Johnsonburg's former program director, who now works for the central church (who I picked up from LaGuardia last summer). That was a neat connection to have before even meeting the guy. Another good visit-- they even sent me home with the flowers, which I decided to leave at my next stop...
Grandma's house in Belleville. It was actually somewhat of a pleasant drive from Jersey City to there, along the Belleville Turnpike, which runs through the Meadowlands. Taylor was visiting for the weekend. He had seen one of my uncles post on my Facebook wall that another uncle had a concert this weekend, and suggested we go. So, since the plan was to be in Jersey City and later Bergen County, it seemed reasonable to visit Grandma, who lives kinda between the two places. We had lunch with my matriarch and two of her brothers before heading to Ridgefield.
Uncle Fred's concert was lovely, and as always, I was happy to see some Spains. What really struck me about this weekend's adventures is how similar everything in that part of the state looks to me-- all small cities in various condition with cramped, busy streets. My parents both grew up in a similar area, where they could just walk to the store to pick up milk or bread or whatever. Where my grandparents and great grandparents lived without a car for most of their lives, because it just wasn't required. So different from where I grew up!
On the way home, we stopped in Edison in search of Indian food, which we found at a sweet little place called Chopstick. There was only one guy running the front of the restaurant, but he was really cool and patient with my questions. Dinner was great. I'd go back.
My Sunday adventures have really added mileage to my car... I'm fast closing in on 154,000, already over 4500 miles since the new year... that's an average of about 45 miles per day!
View Larger Map
Church visit of the weekend: Old Bergen Church in Jersey City. Beautiful old building with really nice people inside. Not that any of the churches I've visited have been unwelcoming, but this one was especially warm. I got hugged just for walking through the door, and it was a small enough congregation that they knew I wasn't a regular. The pastor was just called from the central church in Louisville, KY, where he used to have lunch with Johnsonburg's former program director, who now works for the central church (who I picked up from LaGuardia last summer). That was a neat connection to have before even meeting the guy. Another good visit-- they even sent me home with the flowers, which I decided to leave at my next stop...
Grandma's house in Belleville. It was actually somewhat of a pleasant drive from Jersey City to there, along the Belleville Turnpike, which runs through the Meadowlands. Taylor was visiting for the weekend. He had seen one of my uncles post on my Facebook wall that another uncle had a concert this weekend, and suggested we go. So, since the plan was to be in Jersey City and later Bergen County, it seemed reasonable to visit Grandma, who lives kinda between the two places. We had lunch with my matriarch and two of her brothers before heading to Ridgefield.
Uncle Fred's concert was lovely, and as always, I was happy to see some Spains. What really struck me about this weekend's adventures is how similar everything in that part of the state looks to me-- all small cities in various condition with cramped, busy streets. My parents both grew up in a similar area, where they could just walk to the store to pick up milk or bread or whatever. Where my grandparents and great grandparents lived without a car for most of their lives, because it just wasn't required. So different from where I grew up!
On the way home, we stopped in Edison in search of Indian food, which we found at a sweet little place called Chopstick. There was only one guy running the front of the restaurant, but he was really cool and patient with my questions. Dinner was great. I'd go back.
My Sunday adventures have really added mileage to my car... I'm fast closing in on 154,000, already over 4500 miles since the new year... that's an average of about 45 miles per day!
09 April 2011
Toms River for Africa
This weekend, my church has cancelled all four of its services to instead have a weekend of service. Today's installment: service for Malawi. I'm pretty excited about this: PCTR is sponsoring nine wells in nine villages in the Sakata area. Clean water for people I've met and sang and danced with!
The day started off with a ceremony in a park downtown on the river. There were songs and my pastor spoke and introduced our partners in this event: the mayor of Toms River, the directors of the YMCA, the superintendent of schools. Also present were Rev. Stephen and his wife Liz from the Allentown church. I was really, really happy to see them. Stephen spoke about the people in Malawi and what a difference this is making. He said that there were people there who were praying for us today. You know, people say things like that all the time, but for some reason this really struck me. My eyes got a little teary--yes, it's true-- as I pictured Bonongwe. Violet. Mwalabu. Jeannie. Countless others. I felt so connected to them in that moment. They're so grateful for what they do have, and so hopeful for what they might have someday. Incredible, and an awesome reminder. I try to be positive and thankful every day, but it's good to be reminded.
After the ceremony was a 5k that I foolishly convinced my junior high youth group kids (who are apparently all also cross country stars) to enter with me. They were all super crazy competitive and ran their 6.5 minute miles in circles around me. One of my girls promised she would run with me the whole time, no matter how slow I needed to go. She actually did stick with me, and we kept a slow steady pace of almost a minute and a half faster than I run on my own. I was sore later, but it was a beautiful sunny happy day.
I brought two types of Malawian food to share: cassava and fried bananas. I didn't even cook the cassava (you might see it called yucca in grocery stores, although it should really be yuca) to really emphasize how bland and starchy this last-resort food is. On the other end of the spectrum was fried bananas (mash bananas, add flour, fry in oil), which we bought from a woman passing through the village on brick making day-- very tasty, but definitely not something that the typical villager gets to enjoy often, if ever at all.
The connection I felt today to that place over 7000 miles away was incredible. I hope to go back and see those people-- and their new, clean, covered wells.
The day started off with a ceremony in a park downtown on the river. There were songs and my pastor spoke and introduced our partners in this event: the mayor of Toms River, the directors of the YMCA, the superintendent of schools. Also present were Rev. Stephen and his wife Liz from the Allentown church. I was really, really happy to see them. Stephen spoke about the people in Malawi and what a difference this is making. He said that there were people there who were praying for us today. You know, people say things like that all the time, but for some reason this really struck me. My eyes got a little teary--yes, it's true-- as I pictured Bonongwe. Violet. Mwalabu. Jeannie. Countless others. I felt so connected to them in that moment. They're so grateful for what they do have, and so hopeful for what they might have someday. Incredible, and an awesome reminder. I try to be positive and thankful every day, but it's good to be reminded.
After the ceremony was a 5k that I foolishly convinced my junior high youth group kids (who are apparently all also cross country stars) to enter with me. They were all super crazy competitive and ran their 6.5 minute miles in circles around me. One of my girls promised she would run with me the whole time, no matter how slow I needed to go. She actually did stick with me, and we kept a slow steady pace of almost a minute and a half faster than I run on my own. I was sore later, but it was a beautiful sunny happy day.
I brought two types of Malawian food to share: cassava and fried bananas. I didn't even cook the cassava (you might see it called yucca in grocery stores, although it should really be yuca) to really emphasize how bland and starchy this last-resort food is. On the other end of the spectrum was fried bananas (mash bananas, add flour, fry in oil), which we bought from a woman passing through the village on brick making day-- very tasty, but definitely not something that the typical villager gets to enjoy often, if ever at all.
The connection I felt today to that place over 7000 miles away was incredible. I hope to go back and see those people-- and their new, clean, covered wells.
08 April 2011
things I think about during late night drives
I just got back from Newark Airport. Yep, check the time. I've had a bit of caffeine to make that happen, so figured I'd try to burn a little of it off through blogging.
I volunteered to drive my friend/officemate/academic companion Irene and her parents to the airport. They were flying home to Venezuela, where I will hopefully someday visit them, and Irene was flying to the Yucatan for a season of field work, continuing work for the EDGY project that we're a part of. I wanted to see my friend off, but also, let's be honest, I'm always up for a drive somewhere.
I borrowed mom's car because it's bigger than mine. Pro: working music playing system. I finally got to listen to a mix I made myself on my birthday ("Thanksgiving: Thankful for Josh Ritter", which had been sitting silently in my suicidal CD player since Thanksgiving till tonight). Con: Mom's new Altima has that weird new kind of transmission that doesn't feel like it's shifting, which is more confusing to experience than it probably sounds, but definitely more so because driving stick shift is deeply ingrained in my brain. (Don't worry Mom, I did not engage your e-brake thinking it was the clutch.)
It was a pleasant drive. Irene gave me a pep talk for my upcoming thesis defense, which she will sadly miss. No one was on the road because it was 2:30AM. It was clear and cool. No problem.
I already miss mi amiga Irene!
Driving home, I made a slight detour that has a warm fuzzy theme to it. Yesterday, for my work at Johnsonburg, I was talking with a woman who wanted to help promote camp in her own church. She requested some brochures and other information to hand out to families in her congregation. When she sent me her address, I realized it was only slightly off the route I was taking tonight. I wrote to this woman, telling her "I hope this doesn't come across as creepy" and asking if I could drop them off in the middle of the night on her porch and save camp some postage. Her response? "Not creepy! We're camp people!" I may have mentioned once or twice that I love the greater community that camp creates. I've never met this woman, only exchanged emails, but we're camp people. That's enough. I realize that dropping off a package to her home in the middle of the night probably doesn't require an amazing relationship, but her response made me smile. That community has allowed me to travel hotel-free through the United Kingdom and gave me some semblance of family while I was away at Mary Washington. It's given me some awesome, encouraging friends near Rutgers. It's welcomed me back for a few more months till I figure out what's next. How warm and fuzzy is that?
Of course, I'm rather fortunate in that camp is not the only strong community I have in my life. There are a lot of fabulous people at Rutgers who have greatly helped me through this Masters thingy. It just so happens one needed a ride to Newark Airport this morning, and driving her was the very least I could do.
These are the sorts of things I need to keep in focus during the crazy next few weeks of my life. Defense in two weeks; my first job interview in two and a half weeks; some holidays between now and then; that paper to finish... I should get some sleep if I intend to work on it today...
I volunteered to drive my friend/officemate/academic companion Irene and her parents to the airport. They were flying home to Venezuela, where I will hopefully someday visit them, and Irene was flying to the Yucatan for a season of field work, continuing work for the EDGY project that we're a part of. I wanted to see my friend off, but also, let's be honest, I'm always up for a drive somewhere.
I borrowed mom's car because it's bigger than mine. Pro: working music playing system. I finally got to listen to a mix I made myself on my birthday ("Thanksgiving: Thankful for Josh Ritter", which had been sitting silently in my suicidal CD player since Thanksgiving till tonight). Con: Mom's new Altima has that weird new kind of transmission that doesn't feel like it's shifting, which is more confusing to experience than it probably sounds, but definitely more so because driving stick shift is deeply ingrained in my brain. (Don't worry Mom, I did not engage your e-brake thinking it was the clutch.)
It was a pleasant drive. Irene gave me a pep talk for my upcoming thesis defense, which she will sadly miss. No one was on the road because it was 2:30AM. It was clear and cool. No problem.
I already miss mi amiga Irene!
Driving home, I made a slight detour that has a warm fuzzy theme to it. Yesterday, for my work at Johnsonburg, I was talking with a woman who wanted to help promote camp in her own church. She requested some brochures and other information to hand out to families in her congregation. When she sent me her address, I realized it was only slightly off the route I was taking tonight. I wrote to this woman, telling her "I hope this doesn't come across as creepy" and asking if I could drop them off in the middle of the night on her porch and save camp some postage. Her response? "Not creepy! We're camp people!" I may have mentioned once or twice that I love the greater community that camp creates. I've never met this woman, only exchanged emails, but we're camp people. That's enough. I realize that dropping off a package to her home in the middle of the night probably doesn't require an amazing relationship, but her response made me smile. That community has allowed me to travel hotel-free through the United Kingdom and gave me some semblance of family while I was away at Mary Washington. It's given me some awesome, encouraging friends near Rutgers. It's welcomed me back for a few more months till I figure out what's next. How warm and fuzzy is that?
Of course, I'm rather fortunate in that camp is not the only strong community I have in my life. There are a lot of fabulous people at Rutgers who have greatly helped me through this Masters thingy. It just so happens one needed a ride to Newark Airport this morning, and driving her was the very least I could do.
These are the sorts of things I need to keep in focus during the crazy next few weeks of my life. Defense in two weeks; my first job interview in two and a half weeks; some holidays between now and then; that paper to finish... I should get some sleep if I intend to work on it today...
07 April 2011
passports
I just got an email from my mom, subject: You can...
It said:
now go get lost in the world (not really). Our passports came!
I found this amusing because until now, my older brother was my only immediate family member with a passport, so the joke has always been that it would be on him to retrieve me if I ever got in trouble abroad. Before that, we just assumed my uncle or someone would come for me if it was ever that urgent. So now my parents get that responsibility! Kinda cool.
Well, not the getting lost part, but the ultimate message of "go explore". As much as we joke about the passport thing, I'm greatly appreciate of the general encouragement to see the world. I can't wait till I have a job that either makes me do more of that, or at least allows me to afford to do that during the vacation time it also affords me.
One step at a time. Back to the thesis revisions...
It said:
now go get lost in the world (not really). Our passports came!
I found this amusing because until now, my older brother was my only immediate family member with a passport, so the joke has always been that it would be on him to retrieve me if I ever got in trouble abroad. Before that, we just assumed my uncle or someone would come for me if it was ever that urgent. So now my parents get that responsibility! Kinda cool.
Well, not the getting lost part, but the ultimate message of "go explore". As much as we joke about the passport thing, I'm greatly appreciate of the general encouragement to see the world. I can't wait till I have a job that either makes me do more of that, or at least allows me to afford to do that during the vacation time it also affords me.
One step at a time. Back to the thesis revisions...
04 April 2011
another Sunday in the life of this gypsy
Sundays bring adventures. This Sunday I visited a church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey... then I saw my brother out by Philly, had dinner with my academic counterpart (and her family and some other awesome grad students) in Highland Park, then drove to camp so I could work a full day in the office today.
The Cherry Hill visit was really nice, as my visits tend to be. Chris's directions to his softball game took me straight through Philadelphia. It was my first time going to his hood north of the city by driving I-76 and 476, so there was a lot of cool stuff to see. It was a pleasant enough drive along the Schuykill River, seeing lot of amazing historic buildings. Chris told me to look out for boathouse row, but I kind of missed it because I didn't really know where I was going and didn't really know what to look for. That's the biggest problem with me driving everywhere-- I'm the one driving. I am trying to pay attention to the road and the signs and the crazies and miss a lot of cool scenery. Such is life, I guess. I think I still manage to see a lot of cool stuff.
I made it for the last two minutes of Chris's game and then spent the afternoon with him and a few friends at the pub that sponsors their team. Nice place, although I was admittedly slightly overwhelmed by all the TV screens. It was fun to watch the Phillies win in a bar in Phillies country (please note: this does not make me a Phillies fan, I was just appreciating the camaraderie). It was also nice to see my big brother. Beer of the day: Yards Pale Ale, from right down the road in Philly.
One of Chris's friends asked where I was living these days. Chris answered for me, "Who, my sister the gypsy?" That describes it pretty well. I was thinking about this as I charged my phone in my car as I drove further yesterday... I can't remember the last time I charged my phone in a wall in a house. I generally drive for long enough to charge it every time my battery gets low. Hmmm...
After this, I drove up Route 1 (not particularly impressive in any way, sadly) to Highland Park to enjoy dinner with my dear officemate. Her parents are visiting from Venezuela so she had a few friends over. It was really nice to see these friends, who I haven't seen much of since I stopped with full time classes (teaching and/or taking). I'm glad that I'll see them a bit more in the next few weeks as I prepare to defend my thesis...
And so I drove up to camp pretty late. It was a pleasant enough arrival nonetheless. It wasn't freezing out. The air was cool and calm. Spring peepers were singing. Today was a really warm day and I noticed a lot of the trees have buds on them. I love all the seasons, and winter was very beautiful this year, but I definitely enjoy this time as things green up and become a different kind of beautiful.
The Cherry Hill visit was really nice, as my visits tend to be. Chris's directions to his softball game took me straight through Philadelphia. It was my first time going to his hood north of the city by driving I-76 and 476, so there was a lot of cool stuff to see. It was a pleasant enough drive along the Schuykill River, seeing lot of amazing historic buildings. Chris told me to look out for boathouse row, but I kind of missed it because I didn't really know where I was going and didn't really know what to look for. That's the biggest problem with me driving everywhere-- I'm the one driving. I am trying to pay attention to the road and the signs and the crazies and miss a lot of cool scenery. Such is life, I guess. I think I still manage to see a lot of cool stuff.
I made it for the last two minutes of Chris's game and then spent the afternoon with him and a few friends at the pub that sponsors their team. Nice place, although I was admittedly slightly overwhelmed by all the TV screens. It was fun to watch the Phillies win in a bar in Phillies country (please note: this does not make me a Phillies fan, I was just appreciating the camaraderie). It was also nice to see my big brother. Beer of the day: Yards Pale Ale, from right down the road in Philly.
One of Chris's friends asked where I was living these days. Chris answered for me, "Who, my sister the gypsy?" That describes it pretty well. I was thinking about this as I charged my phone in my car as I drove further yesterday... I can't remember the last time I charged my phone in a wall in a house. I generally drive for long enough to charge it every time my battery gets low. Hmmm...
After this, I drove up Route 1 (not particularly impressive in any way, sadly) to Highland Park to enjoy dinner with my dear officemate. Her parents are visiting from Venezuela so she had a few friends over. It was really nice to see these friends, who I haven't seen much of since I stopped with full time classes (teaching and/or taking). I'm glad that I'll see them a bit more in the next few weeks as I prepare to defend my thesis...
And so I drove up to camp pretty late. It was a pleasant enough arrival nonetheless. It wasn't freezing out. The air was cool and calm. Spring peepers were singing. Today was a really warm day and I noticed a lot of the trees have buds on them. I love all the seasons, and winter was very beautiful this year, but I definitely enjoy this time as things green up and become a different kind of beautiful.
02 April 2011
wandering Warren
Pardon the delay in posting this. It's been a busy thesis-centric week.
Last weekend, Taylor came to visit camp for the first time. This was also his first time to the glorious northwestern part of New Jersey. The first thing we did was drive over Schooley's Mountain to Long Valley (which is apparently in Morris County, which I guess maybe I knew it the back of my head but was shocked to see the "Welcome to Morris County" sign nonetheless) to the Long Valley Brew Pub, where Taylor posted this--
Long Valley Brew Pub is pretty great. We enjoyed dinner and a few beers and headed back to my cabin at camp. It was pretty cold out so we just stayed in and watched Fantastic Mr. Fox and crashed at a totally reasonable hour.
So, how rural is Warren County? Enough so that Johnsonburg (population 59) lost its post office. The USPS was renting a room of a house on Main Street, and the homeowners decided not to renew the lease. We are now without our own post office, relying instead on neighboring Greendell (can't find population info). I had a few packages to mail, so Tay and I went wandering around to find the Greendell post office. It turns out it's located in an even smaller room in the downstairs of a community building on a small "main" street between some county roads. How quaint.
We did a little more driving around and then some hiking and sharing meals with the other people who were on site for the weekend, my friends Abi and Tadd and Tadd's son.
On Sunday, I was scheduled to visit the church in Washington, which was about a half hour drive from camp through farmland and hills. It was a lovely church, very welcoming and down to earth. I had a nice visit. Afterward, I wanted to take Taylor to Hot Dog Johnny's, somewhat of an institution in the region. (I might not eat meat but I love their fries and birch beer.) We missed a turn (there was no street sign) and drove up the side of a mountain first. Lovely views! Some turns later we had happily arrived and enjoyed our lunch in Buttzville. Yes, that is a real town.
Some hiking later, it was time for Taylor to head home. I had a peaceful evening reading over my committee's comments on thesis draft number six. Soon, armed with lucky draft number seven, I will be defending my research and moving on to the next adventures in life. Don't ask me what they will be though, I don't know yet.
Last weekend, Taylor came to visit camp for the first time. This was also his first time to the glorious northwestern part of New Jersey. The first thing we did was drive over Schooley's Mountain to Long Valley (which is apparently in Morris County, which I guess maybe I knew it the back of my head but was shocked to see the "Welcome to Morris County" sign nonetheless) to the Long Valley Brew Pub, where Taylor posted this--
So, how rural is Warren County? Enough so that Johnsonburg (population 59) lost its post office. The USPS was renting a room of a house on Main Street, and the homeowners decided not to renew the lease. We are now without our own post office, relying instead on neighboring Greendell (can't find population info). I had a few packages to mail, so Tay and I went wandering around to find the Greendell post office. It turns out it's located in an even smaller room in the downstairs of a community building on a small "main" street between some county roads. How quaint.
We did a little more driving around and then some hiking and sharing meals with the other people who were on site for the weekend, my friends Abi and Tadd and Tadd's son.
On Sunday, I was scheduled to visit the church in Washington, which was about a half hour drive from camp through farmland and hills. It was a lovely church, very welcoming and down to earth. I had a nice visit. Afterward, I wanted to take Taylor to Hot Dog Johnny's, somewhat of an institution in the region. (I might not eat meat but I love their fries and birch beer.) We missed a turn (there was no street sign) and drove up the side of a mountain first. Lovely views! Some turns later we had happily arrived and enjoyed our lunch in Buttzville. Yes, that is a real town.
Some hiking later, it was time for Taylor to head home. I had a peaceful evening reading over my committee's comments on thesis draft number six. Soon, armed with lucky draft number seven, I will be defending my research and moving on to the next adventures in life. Don't ask me what they will be though, I don't know yet.
county counting
Not too long ago I wondered how many counties I'd been to after reading this geographtastic blog. (He's been counting counties a little longer than I have.)
It turns out, I've been to 191, or 6.07%. That seems like a really small number. I'd like to add the condition, "so far."
It turns out, I've been to 191, or 6.07%. That seems like a really small number. I'd like to add the condition, "so far."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
