Jersey Shore

Matt, Betty & Kathy

The past two nights we spent in Tom's River, New Jersey as a guest of Matt Zuech, a good friend of Kathy's from her days at Washington College. Matt was a tremendous host, so good in fact, the amazing margaritas he served upon our arrival may have played some small role in the fact that we were both wickedly hung-over most of the day yesterday.

We did not let that prevent us from having an awesome time, visiting many of the fine dining establishments in the area, including the recently opened Mulligan's for lunch and the top notch Atlantic Grill for a delicious dinner.

We spent much of the day yesterday recovering and relaxing at Matt's canal front home, taking time out to snare crabs out of the canal using the old chicken on a string technique. Crabbing proved to be relatively easy and enjoyable, we did not eat the crabs, though we could have, instead opting to return them all to their murky lairs.
Crabby



We spent the evening enjoying yet another journey into the depths of classic Americana on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights on the Jersey shore. A much larger, though similar version of the amusement filled visit we made to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. The boardwalk is quite the scene, it's like stepping into the set of some crazy movie, filled with fascinating characters. Matt is a teacher and locally well known Lacrosse coach here and we could hardly take 10 steps without running into a former player or student. It made us feel like locals, which is just what we are seeking to do in the places we visit.


Today we are off to Philadelphia and then on to Barto, PA where we will visit with more friends. One other interesting note about New Jersey, it is the only state we have ever been to where it is against the law to pump your own gas. Yep, full service at every gas station. It has been a long, long time since we have seen that, and it's at every gas station. Strange but true.

Woodstock & Vicinity

July 6, 2006



On the open road again, and having a groovy time. We finally got all packed and on our way yesterday. Traveling to the Catskill region of New York, where we had hoped to visit our good friends Eli & Mary Schloss. Sadly they were off on travels of their own, but that did not stop us from checking out the beautiful area where they live in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Our first stop was Woodstock. We figured a car like ours had to visit the infamous Woodstock, especially since we are frequently taken for hippies as we cruise about in our flowered mobile. The irony of Woodstock is that while most people associate the name with the famous 1969 concert, the actual concert did not take place anywhere near the town of Woodstock. Yasgur’s Farm was in Bethel, New York. They don’t let a little thing like accuracy stop them from taking full advantage of their name and the little town is a hippie haven complete with head shops, tarot card readers, Tibetan clothing, Indian food, delicious Veggie Burritos and tons of stores selling tie-died shirts and Grateful Dead gear. We ate lunch at a stellar Mexican place called Taco Juan’s and meandered around before heading over to check out Eli’s place in nearby Ulster Park.




His house is great, sitting on a hill looking down on the Hudson River just North of the Esopus Lighthouse. It would have been much better if they had been home, but we did meet their cat, Porchy, and a really nice neighbor who came to check out if Hippies were squatting on their place. Our tour of the area next included a trip through Poughkeepsie where we drove by my sister Marika’s alma mater Vassar before driving to nearby Hyde Park to spend the night. We stayed at a little place just across the street from the FDR home and Presidential Library and just next to a drive-in theatre built in 1950 and still going strong. We could not resist this flashback to the America of yesteryear and spent the night of July 4th watching the Adam Sandler film “Click”. The experience was way better than the film.



The entire town of Hyde Park is like a throwback to a simpler time, in addition to the drive-in, they have a roller rink and a cool old-style diner, The Eveready, where we enjoyed a spiffy breakfast before heading to the dual historic sites in town; The Franklin D. Roosevelt historic site and the Vanderbilt Mansion.

Roosevelt Home

The Roosevelt site includes Roosevelt’s home, Presidential library and museum and the burial site of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt (and their dogs). We took the full tour compliments of our National Parks pass then headed down the street to the Vanderbilt Mansion which sits on a bluff overlooking the Hudson. The mansion built as a spring and fall home for zillionaire Frederick Vanderbilt and his wife Louise is maintained with all original furnishings and is an excellent example of the gilded age.



Vanderbilt Mansion

After our tour, we made a quick trip over to Tom’s River, New Jersey to visit a friend, Matt Zuech and we plan be here for at least a day.

Farewell Northeast

July 3, 2006




After a wonderful visit to the Northeast, it is time to move on, but our final few days in Massachusetts were wonderful, full of family, fun and celebration. It started on Sunday when we were invited to attend the wedding ceremony of Michael & Virginia Edgeworth. Michael, the son of close Kilroy family friends Harry & Carol Edgeworth, choose the 4th of July weekend to return to his parents beautiful lakeside home in Pembroke from Las Vegas to get married and we were fortunate enough to be around for the celebration. It was a great time full of friends and frivolity. A bit too much as our scheduled departure today has been delayed by a day due to something resembling a hang-over.



So instead of driving out today, we will leave tomorrow. This left us one more day to relax and we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and take India swimming at the beach. It also afforded us the chance to witness one of the most amazing July 4th celebrations, I have ever witnessed. The beach at nearby Humarock was transformed into one of the coolest and most intense display of amateur fireworks anywhere. There were way more and more impressive fireworks than all but the largest big city displays and they stretched for miles down the beach. In addition, there were huge bonfires along the beach, every 50 feet or so, saw mountains of wood piled and ignited along with the fireworks. It was a perfect farewell to this place that has served as our base of operations for our travels through the Northeast. Spending time in the area where Kathy and her family call home has been a real pleasure and we have to thank her father Jim for being a great host and travel companion as well as for keeping India as we travel on. I also want to thank Kathy’s aunt & uncle, Kathy & Al Needham for the use of their wireless internet and for being so affable and enjoyable to spend time with.

North River

Kathy, Kathy, Michael, Deb & Ann

As part of our final weekend in the Northeast, we took Kathy's aunt Kathy Needham up on her offer to take us kayaking up the North River from Marshfield to Hanover. We actually used a canoe for the 11 mile journey up the river. Accompanied by Kathy and her friends Ann Sweeny and Deb Green we enjoyed great weather as we canoed up river through the beautiful marshes stopping for lunch at a quaint little beach known as Blueberry Beach for the blueberries that grow there. Kathy is known for her spirit of adventure and this trip was no different as we paddled against the current as well as a light wind, but we made it and though weary, it was a nice trip. We were on the water for around 6 hours and hardly saw any others out, amazing how isolated you can be so close to "civilization". After the trip, Kathy & I headed over to the UKTS sauna in Pembroke for one final time. This time the lake water was far warmer and much nicer than on our previous visits. Tomorrow we head south hitting the road to New Jesey, DC and then to North Carolina.

New Bedford & Salem, MA

July 1, 2006

Seaman's Bethel


Our time in New England is drawing to an end, but before departing we managed to squeeze in visits to two of the more fascinating and historic areas of the Massachusetts coast; the whaling city of New Bedford and the coastal village of Salem which is best known for the infamous witch trials of 1692.

We sandwiched our trip to New Bedford on Thursday with stops to see some close family friends of Kathy’s father, Chuck and Carol Crossley in Pembroke and with her Uncle and Aunt, Bobby and Candida Kilroy in Westport. The Crossley’s must be one of the few families in America who are actually living in a house that is over 300 years old. Built in 1702, their farm home has been lovingly and meticulously restored and renovated. It still has much of the original structure including 3 fireplaces on the first floor and 2 more upstairs. It is a remarkable and interesting place.
The Crossleys

New Bedford is unique in that it was at one time the leading whaling seaport in the world. It was here that Herman Melville chose to set his classic whaling tale, “Moby Dick” and many of the historic structures can still be found there. It is also a town that figured prominently in the Underground Railroad during the Civil War and was home to Frederick Douglass and the staging area for the first all-black Regiment of Union troops during the Civil War, the 54th Mass., which was profiled in the film “Glory”.




We visited the Whaling Museum, the Seaman’s Bethel or Chapel and the seaport which still supports an active fleet of scalloping vessels. We had a fine meal of the local scallop catch at Freestone’s City Grill. We have made it a point to try as much regional food as possible on our trip and have not stopped at a single fast food place as of yet. That means we have had a lot of seafood here in the Northeast; Scallops, Lobster, Chowder…. even the delicious Sea Dog Blueberry Beer.

As mentioned, we made a stop at another of Jim Kilroy’s myriad of siblings after exploring New Bedford. Bobby & Candida Kilroy live in a wonderfully eclectic home in Westport and we were able to enjoy a happy though brief stop over with them highlighted by Kathy’s exciting effort to pilot on of their tractors.


Yesterday it was back on the road again, this time heading north to the community of Salem. Infamous for the Witch trials of 1692, Salem is really a tale of two cities. On the one hand you have the serious historical aspect, with the impressive Peabody-Essex Museum, the Maritime National Historic Site, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “House of Seven Gables” and the like. On the other hand you have a ton of tacky touristy places such as Frankenstein’s Laboratory, the Witch Dungeon Museum, and the Salem Wax Museum of Witches & Seafarers. We mostly stuck with the more serious portions though I must admit some of the tacky stuff was rather amusing and there were more fortune tellers, soothsayers and stores selling potions than most anyplace I’ve seen with the possible exception of New Orleans.


House of Seven Gables