Blogs from New Jersey, United States, North America - page 2

Another beautiful Saturday - - September in New Jersey is so refreshing after August's sauna-like weather. These days are warm (up in the high 70's) but dry and comfortable. Davis and I repeated the hike I'd done with Katherine through Mercer Meadows - - having lunch in Lawrenceville then hiking back. The meadows are beginning to smell like fall. Late summer flowers are blooming and the butterflies are all over them. Full pack, 17 pounds, and overall, a comfortable hike.... read more

I picked up Katherine at the train station at 8:55 sharp (go Amtrak!). We drove about 20 minutes to Rosedale Park in Pennington, NJ to hike Mercer Meadows, a wonderful complex of trails through preserved farmland, full of meadows that have been restored to their original, natural state (all invasives removed). It spans the old 812 acre AT&T pole farm, which transmitted calls from all over the U.S. to Europe. No more poles, but some interesting historical markers of the transmission center, which functioned from 1928 until 1963. It was a cool day and we hiked 5 miles from Rosedale Park to Lawrenceville, where we broke for lunch and then hiked back. Both of us hiked with full packs (at about 15 pounds with water). We were pleasantly surprised at the end of the hike that ... read more

I started training for the Camino Portugues back in February. Blisters have turned into callouses, which are now hard as almonds. Hike distances have increased from about 5 miles up to 15 (my longest so far - - on a 92 degree day no less). My pack weight has increased from 8 pounds up to 13; 17 with water. I'm looking forward to a 10 mile "shakedown" hike with my hiking partner, who's coming up from DC, en route to the U.S. Open in NY. We're going to carry our full packs, compare notes and polish up the itinerary. There are a few planned hikes between 16 and 19 miles in the first week alone (gulp!) Just a few weeks to go!... read more

The drive from Philadelphia South/Clarksboro KOA in Clarksboro NJ to Colonial Meadows Campground in Egg Harbor Township NJ, just outside Atlantic City NJ, on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 was just over an hour and was totally uneventful – just the way Uncle Larry likes them. I used Thursday to catch my breath after two hectic weeks of trying to merge the bevy of Independence Day activities and the “on any day in Philadelphia” activities into the same calendar while working around the unpredictable weather. Friday found me back at the wheel of the “professional touristmobile,” heading for the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine NJ. On the day of my visit, there were no “rescued” animals in house; however, I watched an informative video and a second very interesting video (23:23) is posted on the web ... read more

Saturday August 4,2018 & Sunday August 5,2018 Most of the day at home, I cleaned up my apt and hung out with my cat Sophie until 4:50 pm. I took a quick shower and got dressed in my travel clothes. I was all set,my bags packed and ready to go before the taxi arrived at my apt . The taxi dropped me off at Princeton Junction Train Station around 5:35/5:45 pm. I didn’t have to wait for long before the next train to Newark International Airport arrived. I got to the airport around 7:20 pm and checked my bag through and hung out until it was time to go through security and the gate. Finally after sitting for awhile, I boarded the plane and sat next to some nice folks and then eventually we moved to ... read more