 THURSDAY |
TRAVEL DAY |
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"The Garden State"
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UPDATE:
Thanks to Jeri, an ex-NJ blog commenter, I now know that this road design is called a jughandle. I included a link to Wikipedia where you can read a very detailed explanation if you're interested. |
One thing they did get right was the way they separate cars from trucks on the Parkways and Turnpikes. There are three lanes on the left for cars only, then a divider, then three more lanes for trucks, buses, and cars. When a car wants to get off at an exit they drive over the three lanes of trucks on an overpass. The same thing goes for when they want to get on the Turnpike, they pass over the three lanes of trucks to get to the right hand lanes. No cars are weaving in and out between trucks and trailers that way and the truckers know how to drive and what to expect from the other trucker's driving habits. It works out very well, but it does mean there are at least six lanes of traffic and twice the number of bridges to build.
And while I'm on the subject of roadways and not making sense, can anyone explain to me why there are mile marker signs on the Interstate Highways around here EVERY TENTH OF A MILE? For nearly 150 miles today I saw about 1500 mile marker signs, that's ten times the budget needed to inform motorists where they are on the highway. No wonder all of the Interstate Highways around here charge a toll!
 FRIDAY |
ERRANDS DAY |
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With the truck maintenance items out of the way we need gas. In the state of New Jersey, and a few other states in the U.S., you are not permitted to pump your own gas. An attendant has to do that for you, but you don't get anything else like a windshield wash or the oil level checked, so it's not really what I would call a Service Station. I'm not sure why this is, I'll have to do a little research, but I guess it does create a few more minimum wage jobs and I'm sure add a few more cents per gallon onto the already high priced gasoline.
Next it's off to the Post Office we go, to pick up the mail that I had forwarded here by General Delivery, then to the Whole Foods Store to grab an Amazon order from an Amazon Locker that I purchased online several days ago. While at Whole Foods we picked up a few non-refrigerator food items and then went in search of a place to eat lunch. Hey, there's a Five Guys across the street, I've never eaten there, let's give it a try. Of coarse we had to drive 2 miles to get across the street, it was on the wrong (left) side!
We both ordered a burger of coarse and we ordered a large order of fries to split like we usually do. Let me tell you, the burgers were huge and delicious. The fries also were awesome but there is no way the two of us could finish a large order, there were just too many.
Afterwards we ended up grocery shopping at a WalMart, that was not a Super Walmart, which meant there were no fruit or vegetables. We'll have to get there some other time somewhere else.
Finally it's time to head for home. Tonight we're going to have our New Jersey campfire with all the free firewood I picked up from around our campsite yesterday.
 SATURDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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One thing I'm going to tackle at the library today is to upgrade the Mac Operating System on my 10 year old laptop. It hasn't been running quite right and my version of iTunes is not compatible with my iPhone so I can't upload my music library to my phone. I hope everything goes smoothly!
On the way home we sought out another great burger joint. There is a Red Robin store just down the street and guess what, I've never been to one of those either.
 SUNDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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They were all equipped with backpacks, water, maps and hiking sticks, so it was also obvious they weren't here to do just the 3/4 mile hike we were set to do. We left them behind in the parking lot and it wasn't long before they were passing us on the trail. As they passed I asked one of the guys if they were a hiking club and not to my surprise he told us they were an informal group called DESI: Outdoors, a Meetup Group. Now most of you who know me from South Florida are aware that between 2008-2013 I also co-organized an outdoor Meetup Group, so I knew exactly what they were talking about.
When I got back home I searched for their Meetup Group online and it was easy to see the similarities between their group and mine. While both groups participated in the same kind of outdoor activities there was one big difference, the word DESI in their group name implies their family heritage is either from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. While most of the people on today's hike appeared to be of that heritage, I was pleased to see several who appeared not to be.
After our hike we headed for the library and later went to sample another burger joint, White Castle. When I was growing up in South Florida back in the 70's and 80's we had a couple of Royal Castle restaurants around town. I remember the burgers were the same back then as they were today. All bun, very little meat, lots of onion and very cheap. Back then I can remember getting 5 burgers for $1, now they are nearly $1 each.
 MONDAY |
SIGHTSEEING DAY |
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We spent so much time on Liberty Island in the morning that we didn't get to explore Ellis Island as much as we would have liked to. But hey, it'll still be there if we come back someday.
 TUESDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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 WEDNESDAY |
SIGHTSEEING DAY |
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Independence Hall
The Liberty Bell
Looking down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from the "Top of the Tower" at City Hall
Halfway down The Parkway is the fountain at Logan Square.
At the very far end of The Parkway is the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
If you look real close you can see the Rocky Statue
and the stairs that Sly Stallone triumphantly ran up in the movie Rocky.
A look up at The Tower at City Hall where the previous three photos were taken from.
We couldn't leave town without trying an Authentic Philly Cheesesteak
complete with peppers, onions and of course "The Wiz".
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• • • 100 MILE • • • |
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With a .75 mile hike around the Yellow Loop Trail
it brings our annual total up to 15.25 miles.
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Who will be the first to correctly guess our next location?
• • • PLEASE USE THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW TO MAKE YOUR GUESS! • • • |
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