ljplicease | sgmrt: new jersey (Reply)

I'm moving! Starting a new job! Not too far. About four hours away. This is not news to some. First I am going to get my car which is on the other side of the country. Thus begins my Second Great and Massive Road Trip (SGMRT) across the states (the first was just before I moved to Sydney in 2006). Over the course in the next two weeks I am going to travel through eleven states and hopefully visit some off beat and interesting places. I hope you will join me in my little adventure. I'm going to begin in the beginning where I am at right now, central New Jersey.

New Jersey really isn't as bad as New York City dwellers would have you believe. In fact, I personally do not think that NYC is really something that you ought to be boasting about, and the ugly parts of Jersey are the ones that are closest to NYC, and I don't see that as a coincidence. The best parts of New Jersey are rustic, and pretty. The worst things about New Jersey are its odd right hand turns and the fact that you can't pump your own gas. Jersey, like everywhere I have lived is going to have a few memorable attractions that I am going to miss. I never thought it would be the case.

Today we went to Cheesequake, one of the many nearby state parks. We walked for about 90 minutes. My GPS was perched on my head as that seemed to be the best way to get a signal, and allowed me to practice my posture. A few of the impatient trees were starting to turn in color. The weather has turned cool, but not too cold to as to require a sweater once you get moving.

Once we went to Camden where they have the USS New Jersey parked. It wasn't as unsafe as everyone said it would be. We just went to see the ship though. It's across the river from the USS Olympia in Philadelphia. I like museum ships, so it is a wonder that I had never made my way to see it when I lived in New York State (I visited the Olympia twice).

When I was living in New York State I would sometimes drive down to northwest New Jersey and meet up with e and Jack for hiking. There were many abandoned places to explore and not many people living there. It was a dark time in my life, but it was a nice activity with a good friend.