Pretty Fancy…for New Jersey
When I moved here 16 months ago, my only knowledge of New Jersey was The Sopranos and The Jersey Shore. Period. And EWR. I knew nothing else about it – never really thought about it, actually. I didn’t know that it was referred to as The Garden State. I didn’t know that it was across the river from Manhattan. I had no idea that it was one of the most beautiful places in the world.
This spring, alone, I have seen more types of magical pink trees, white trees, purple trees, and even some salmon colored blooms that I think may be Dogwood? The tulips abound! The greenery is unreal. Everything is lush and plush and rich and fragrant and verdant. I’m kinda in love.
It was a long day of driving from meeting to meeting in New Jersey. Since I have no sense of it, geographically, (shocking, right?), I know I waste a lot of time trying to get from place to place. My daughter beat my BMW navigation system into behaving better than it had before, though it still does it with a stuck-up attitude, and a begrudging and snotty release of information. But I don’t care – I love driving around.
Today I was in Fairfield, Summit, Ridgewood and soon to be in Wykoff. Nope – I have no idea where they are. They are in New Jersey. But the things I’ve seen along the way! Towering explosions of pink trees, geese and duckies who are all pairing up and floating around. I have driven through a million work zones, and even into a totally terrifying part of Newark, which edges on a totally beautiful part of Newark.
Last weekend I attended the Tulip Festival at Holland Farms, once again, somewhere in Jersey. I think Creamville or Creamtown or Creamy Deliciousness…something like that. Once again, I was stunned that this kind of beauty exists here, hidden in the interior of Jersey. I wish that more shows like the Sopranos and Jersey Shore would come out, shows that make it seem like Jersey is an awful place to be, so that we can keep it for ourselves, and enjoy every bit of its beauty.
The gorgeous façade on this building is somewhere in Newark. Check out the intricate monogram in the logo – what’s up with that? Who were they? What was the idea? The vision? The dream behind the building? Are they haunting the place now, or have they gone on to greener pastures? It is a building that is ‘now renting’ and looks vacant, but man – whoever built it put a lot of time, money and thought into it. I hope someone worthy comes in and restores it to its former glory.
Our little darling is nearly walking now - holding on to furniture as he moves around, examining everything. He has a play pen made out of big, plastic tiles that can be folded up and/or configured into different shapes. He has learned that if he pushes and pulls on it in a particular way, he can create an opening and can escape the safe zone! He looks like a little weight lifter as he strongly “man”handles the play pen…I just adore him!
