Garden State Foibles | Personal

I'm not going to dump on the state of New Jersey anymore because I've come to realize that people will adapt to the idiosyncrasies of daily life wherever you live. The only problem here is that "adaptation" left me more exhausted on my return than when I left. All I can say is that it's sooo great to be back in California.


At least Nat got some sleep on our red eye flight into Newark. Sitting in coach on a United flight is no fun when you can't fall asleep and the person in front reclines all the way.



We were fortunate enough to be able to stay in Heather's friend's home in Fanwood, NJ.



The weather never got cold enough to don our hats outdoors.



You can still find nice sunsets in Jersey.



Nat was thoroughly entertained with the aquarium in the lobby floor of Legal Seafood.



Bridges and Traffic go hand in hand into Jersey.



First decent meal in Jersey was at the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater. I'm pretty sure I scarfed down my bowl of ramen in 3 minutes flat.



NY skyline from Edgewater, NJ



We located a Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Hoboken, NJ



Our pie was unfortunately not up to par with the Brooklyn location or our newly beloved Emilia's Pizzeria. I'm not sure why it was so soggy.



Only in Jersey will you find a milkshake bigger than your head. But in retrospect I think the milkshakes had a hard time competing with the size of most patrons at this establishment.



Harold's Deli in Edison, NJ made some awesome pastrami. They also claim to have the largest pickle bar in the world. It really wasn't that big.



Harold's cakes were cartoonish.



I tried to find some interesting things to do during the day with Nat as Amy was in work conference all week during the day. I ventured to Edison, NJ one afternoon only to find the most pathetic memorial to Thomas Edison. It took me half an hour to drive 5 miles to get here and it was closed.



Rain and more traffic were unkind on the Jersey roadways.



The interior at Bobby Flay's burger chain was really nice.



$16.95 for an original crunch burger, mango milkshake, and sweet potato fries at Bobby's Burger Palace. It was pretty good but are you kidding me? Bobby - I'm ready for a burger throwdown anytime



I've sat in my fair share of traffic jams but I'll remember the night of 11/5/2009 as being one of the worst commutes I've ever experienced anywhere. On top of all this hubbub you better make sure you're in the right lane to pay toll. Tourist driving in New Jersey = FAIL Good times. Good times.

I've got another update coming soon for our ventures into NYC. Stay tuned...