Tuesday, March 9, 2010

4 Days with Jennie

Taxi Driving Across Brooklyn Bridge

Jennie and I were just talking about fun travel, and we discussed what it would be like if I ever took her "home" to my New Jersey/New York roots. Well, here's what we'd do, if we had 4 days of fun in NY/NJ. Oh, the fun we'd have!
Day 1: meet my friends at Rutgers. My girls from Rutgers and Jennie would absolutely love each other, and what better place than our old stomping grounds? We'd walk around campus, pointing out our freshman dorm and our old apartment building. Lunch at the Grease Trucks, per Jennie's request. Afternoon at some of New Jersey's amazing gardens (it's the Garden State). I'd love to show Jennie the area where I grew up, and our amazing Holmdel Park, popular with cross-country runners throughout the state. Then we'd probably end up back at Diane's house and we'd all have real pizza. Yes, REAL pizza, and some mmmmmmmmmcheesecake. That would be an amazing day. We'd have to stop for gas, just so Jennie could experience the ABSOLUTELY NO SELF SERVICE GAS in New Jersey (it's against the law).
Day 2: Go to my uncle's old diner, the Candlewyck for breakfast, and proceed into Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. Oh, Jennie! You'd love it. We could spend most of the day around Times Square, shopping. Lunch in the city, maybe even make our way all the way up to Columbia University and sit around enjoying the amazing quiet of the University in the middle of such a busy city. Nighttime: take in a show? Hey - it's NYC, you gotta do it.
Day 3: Take the Staten Island Ferry into lower Manhattan. Explore Little Italy and Chinatown, and view Ground Zero. I would really love to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge - never done it before, and it's one of the most beautiful bridges I've ever seen in my life. You know what? I left Central Park off the list. So, we'd trudge ourselves all the way up to Central Park and watch the joggers. Seems like we'll have time, so a museum? a visit to another borough? We'll play it by ear.
Day 4: Final day in NJ, so we'll skip the city and take the drive down south to Atlantic City, which is the inspiration for the street names in Monopoly. Shopping, sights, gambling. It's also near to some beautiful beaches so I could show Jennie the real Jersey Shore (not the trashiness that reality tv tries to make it, but the beautiful coastline with historic lighthouses and pristine beaches). Go to a great boardwalk at night and people-watch.
All in all, this would be a fabulous trip. We can make it happen, Jennie!

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