Blogs from New Jersey, United States, North America - page 3

This Jersey Girl is riding to the home grown state today!! After packing up the home office and getting all our food out of the neighboring flower shops refrigerator, we had route meeting in the back parking lot of the office--where I have frequented in my car over the years and I still can't believe that now I'm on a trip again and rode here, and get to keep riding! We are joined by some local alum, as well as some of the home office staff that is going to ride and/or drive our vans for us today so we can have more of our riders on the road today. Lily and I have been looking forward to riding together since she left us in Miami so today is the day!! We recruit Raffi and Carly ... read more

We awoke and tried to remember where - and when - were we now? Originally we would have been home yesterday (ie Tuesday) afternoon. Now it was Wednesday and we were in a hotel room in New Jersey following the burial of Marcy's mother. We had most of the day until our flight, so we did a little more shopping. Again we hit Macy's, this time at a mall and had a bit of success there. Crate and Barrel had a set of covered glass bowls which we thought would be good for cooking and storing, so we bought them. Too bad we did not read the details on the box carefully - when we brought them all the way home we saw the warnings that they were not suitable for oven use, only microwave. Although ... read more

Every year for the past 10 years, my husband and I have traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to celebrate Valentine's Day. What began as a random, unplanned trip as newlyweds has become one of our most endearing and anticipated traditions. From shaved ice and "crazy fries" on the boardwalk (think melted cheddar, jalapenos, and pulled pork atop hot and crispy fries!) to catching back-to-back movies at the island cinema, we have our little routine down of things to do, and for a decade, we've marked the same items off our list. We know where we love to eat seafood, where all the good discount shopping is, and of course, where to grab a coffee before walking on the beach at sunrise. As a planner, I look forward to that trip every year. It's the off-season, ... read more

Over the last week or so I've been reading reviews of St. Petersburg, gathering documents, printing hard copy (old school) of transfers etc and 'thinking' about what to pack. Hopefully, this preparation will make my time in country easier. My barber (in the photo) is from the Ukraine and has been coaching me on important Russian phrases. I wonder how my Southern accent distorts the pronunciation. Leaving Newark, NJ about 6PM and arriving St. Petersburg Saturday, 4:30 PM, I plan to sleep most of the way (hopefully)... read more

The ride has ended but the energy levels expended haven't. We spent the first day after completing the ride in Washington. We visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial, The Jefferson Memorial, the Reflection Pool and then went and had dinner at the Elephant and Castle pub. We counted this as our official celebration dinner. After dinner we went back to Independence Mall to watch the 4th of July Fireworks. Quite impressive but lasted only about 20 minutes. Yet people had been reserving their spots on the lawn for hours earlier including a 30 minute rain shower - our first for the trip. We returned to Washington the next day and this time spent the day visiting the various Smithsonian ... read more