redwheelbarrow

Miami

TRAFFIC:  Traffic is bad.  If one didn't have to drive anywhere here it might be the perfect place to experience.  Driving is laborous at best.  It takes an hour to get anywhere.  In my opinion there are too few interstates/elevated hiways to bypass the suburbs.  Signage is grossly lacking as unless you know where it is you'll never find it.  There are "islands of neighborhoods" surrounded by mall after mall after shopping complex.  Targets litter the streets.  Only 1 Wal-mart spotted.  In many areas stores are stacked on top of each other with parking decks.

HOMELESSNESS:  I suppose places like Miami are really geared towards the homeless.  There are multiple bridges/alleys to live under.  There are multiple ponds, lakes and streams to fish from.  Your never that far from the beach.  There are millions of resturaunts to eat out of dumpsters and there is always a corner on which to pan-handle.  I am impressed with the use of homeless to pass out flyers at intersections.  Someone has even provided them with yellow vests that display advertisements for local resturarants and law firms. 

FOLIAGE:  The presence of palms of various types are truely unforgettable.  The coconut palms and palmettos are ever present everywhere.  I really enjoy just looking around at all the landscaping and comparing it to the dullness of back home.  I suppose those here would like to see the leaves change colors but the constant threat of a coconut falling and killing you gives Miami a little edge that's hard to beat.

I think that I could live here given the financial freedom to not have to leave my home to work.

Message to Springfield:   Get ready for me.

Poem (11-12-2011)

"as i'm waiting to leave"

i've taken in the essence of you

the days have been quick-blurred

scenes have imprinted in me

the look and force of your sun

a mix is an understatement

lost to those who judge

soul is in abundance

a deeper love prevails

in me

Why David Allen Coe should have been a travel agent

(side note:  one of the best DAC songs ever!)

Rolled into Boston Late Friday night. The streets are laid out in a completely random ADD pattern that is confusing at best.   I absolutely love an urban environment.   Being able to walk to everything you need or catch the train to some other part of the city is very appealing to me.  Of course you are completely screwed if there is some sort of disaster or epidemic due to the concentration of people. You'd never see the zombies coming for you.

I really wish Birmingham could have that urban feel to it but its way too disconnected from reality to make that kind of commitment to being a better "city".   But, I digress.

Our friends took us just up the street to a tapas restaurant.  Life experiences like these help me break out of my shell.  The Chimay and Sangria helped that along I suppose.  I really wish I could tell you the different foods we tried, but it was all a blur, I remember lamb sausage, croquettes, muscles steamed in ginger and garlic, rare filet in some kind of gravy, sangria, no the best sangria ever and, oh yeah, tiramisu.

I can't wait to see the Harvard/Princeton Football Game today.  Should be fun.

roll tide!

Walking through Princeton Campus

It was about a 4 mile total hike from the hotel through campus and back, but the scenery and the company were top-notch.  I was a little surprised to see a mixture of architectural styles along our walk.  Buildings dating back hundreds of years next to relatively new construction.  It appeared they were building a new stadium along the way for whatever reason-quidditch perhaps.  The campus was also empty, in their defense it was 9 in the morning, but I though I'd at least see students walking around on their way to study or something. 

Our hotel is just next to the old Delaware Canal (seen below in 1934) which was used to move goods across the state.

To get to campus we crossed the canal and walked along the old "tow path" towards the Washington Road Bridge across Lake Carnegie (as in Andrew Carnegie, as in $$$$$$$)

The path was beautiful and reminded me of how life must have been like here years ago before pavement and hustle and bustle of life.

 

Crossing the Washington Road Bridge you get a good view of the lake and Princeton's boating facility.

 

Some Random Buildings and Statues from around Campus.

 

 

 

 

 

We eventually made it to the "main street" of Campus-- Nassau St.  There were tons of shops and cafes along the route.  There were much more people in this area of campus and it even got pretty crowded in areas. 

We saw many foreign tourists there and the funniest thing was these two asian gentlemen having way too much fun taking pictures of themselves holding a payphone receiver up to their heads.  I guess they don't teach microbiology where they are from.

Walking further down Nassau we came upon Michael Graves Design Group.  It was in a really busted house.  Below is a photo from target.com of a $10 toilet plunger designed by these people next to the house/business that may have designed it--really??



 

interesting. very interesting.

 

All in all I really enjoyed the campus.  I just hope that my children will be intellegent enough to attend, but grounded enough not to go.

Finally Made it to Princeton University

We finally made it to Princeton New Jersey just accross the canal from the University.

Find Out More About It HERE!

 

 

Feel More Smart Already!

200 minutes remaining

Weather Trees and the internets.

I think the trees are a little confused in New Jersey.  They are just now starting to turn and it hasn't even really been that cold.  Just down to 45 at night sometimes.  They are not used to the late fall heat I guess.

I heard someone mention Global Warming the other day and thought "is that still around?"

Have you ever googled global warming (About 81,900,000 results (0.16 seconds)

 The weather man on the local station is Glenn "Hurricane" Swartz says its 20 degrees warmer than normal this time of year.  The tropical storms that have hit the east cost have settled in the garden state.  Its not really rain ,so much as, a constant mist that seems to float through the air as steam or smoke would in a slight breeze. 

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Courtyard Marriott enjoying this fast internet.  They don't even know we aren't staying here.  This hotel was full for some MMA event.  The beater place we are staying still has an actual ethernet cable and is SSSSSSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!  I am not a huge computer guy but I have come to realize the value in fast internet.  So much of what I do in my job hinges on connecting to a server to upload gigs of data.  That ain't happening on DSL or what ever they have at Beater Inns and Suites.  Although the soap is nice.

Our travels for week three takes us further up New Jersey closer to Newark.  Not sure I want to see a more urban setting for New Jersey as it might skew my feeling for the Garden State.

We plan on visiting some friends in Boston at the end of this trip.  Getting tickets to the Harvard/Princeton Football Match.  Tickets are $8.  Should be riveting.

 

Rain's a coming!!!

Jersey Shore Expedition

0730 Today Jenn and I are going to take a drive to the Jersey Shore.  I hope it is as impressive as this more rural area has been.  Will take lots of photos and post tonight.  I promised myself if I see Snookie or the Situation I'd DO THE WORLD A FAVOR.

1600  Just got back to hotel. 

Created a  Jersey Shore Photo Gallery.

Long day of driving.  I guess the "season" is over on the ol' Jersey Shore.  The parts of the coast we saw on Long Beach Island had tons of development, but little active population.  I think most of the people we saw there lived there permanently or were there to fish except they did not seem to have a supply of beer at their side like they do back home.  There was a cool light house at the north end of the island.

 

We also made it to famous Atlantic City.  It too was pretty low in population based on the number of people at the Trump's Taj Mahal.  YES WE MADE A DONATION:)

 

 

Had a very good, incredibly awesome cheesesteak from the famous WhiteHouse Sub Shop. I had never heard of it, but it was packed. A half-sandwich was still 12 inches long.  Jenn got a peppersteak-I was proud of her for trying something new!

 

The road back was like driving through Rural Counties in Alabama.  A 2-lane road with pine trees on each side, only here they have these pitch pines that are shorter than ours.  they look like extremely large bonsai trees.

 thanks wikipedia
View north from a fire tower on Apple Pie Hill in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The vast pine forest is almost entirely made up of Pitch Pines (Pinus rigida).

All in all a really good day.

Back resting at the hotel. 

New Jersey born poet and my favorite!!!

 

Poem [on getting a card]
by William Carlos Williams
on getting a card long delayed from a poet whom I love but with whom I differ touching the modern poetic technique I was much moved to hear from him if as yet he does not concede the point nor is he indeed conscious of it no matter his style has other outstanding virtues which delight me _____________________________________________

The Hurricane
by William Carlos Williams
The tree lay down on the garage roof and stretched, You have your heaven, it said, go to it.