Bushkill Falls

I went out to Bushkill Falls, just north of Stroudsburg, PA, on a beautiful fall day. I went out with my buddies Rhett and Richard, and met up with 2 of Rhett's friends from Philly to do some grilling and "hiking".



Bushkill Falls is pretty touristy. The $10/person admission charge is quite steep, and the planked trails and hoards of people are a bit off-putting. That said, the waterfalls are quite nice, and getting on the "expert" trail (2 miles round trip, most of it on a walkway) got us away from some of the crowd. I went when I was a kid, and I probably won't be back till I have kids of my own to take (which is not any time soon), but it was a nice way to spend an afternoon with friends.

Blue Skies and Brews

Summer hasn't given up yet. I went down to the Central Jersey Beer Fest yesterday to sample some of the Jersey breweries finest. There was a huge turnout, probably because of the fantastic weather- 70 and not a cloud in sight.

Sun and beer. Can't get much better.

There were about a half dozen breweries showcasing 3-4 beers each. The lines got pretty long as the afternoon wore on, but I found a nice pumpkin ale from Harvest Moon Brewery and a raspberry wheat from JJ Bittings in Woodbridge, around the corner from where the festival was held. I stopped into the brewery for late lunch with my friend Justin, and then wandered around Woodridge.

I think this fire station may be out of use now. Just a hunch.

The End of Summer 09

It hit me over Labor Day- summer's ending. Where the heck did it go? I guess I did spending half of it traveling. So, to make the most of the waning summer, I:

-Went down the Delaware with my aunt and sister in sweet inflatable kayaks.

-Checked out the park across the street from work for the first time (uh, 2 years late) and found some deer behind a strip mall

I see youuuu

-Enjoyed Jersey Fresh fruits and veggies

Doesn't everyone take pictures of their beautiful local vegetables?

-Watched Penn State win the first 2 games of the season

-Saw some dear friends from Penn State, who were in town for another friend's wedding

-Went hiking in the Watchung Reservation in NJ

You almost couldn't hear the highway.

-Played golf for the first time

Let's pretend that I didn't miss the ball 6 times before this shot, and that the ball didn't kerplunk into the lake

Goodbye, house

We moved my mom out of the house she's called home for nearly half her life, and the entire lives of me and my sister. Many thanks to Molly's friends and my family for the help moving. I was a bit surprised that I wasn't emotional about it, but I'd already cut my ties. I haven't really lived there since I left for college, save for the occasional summer, and holidays, but this was the only house I knew growing up. Good luck to the new owner- you're better off knocking the thing down and starting again.

Goodbye house. I'll miss the peepers, the picture window, and the trees. I'll be back to visit in a year or so to see what's happened on Airport Road.

Had to do the jumping picture

Molly doing what she does best: being a creeper

Wedding in Colorado

Friends, continue to get married, I absolutely love going to weddings. The wedding of my former roommate Leigh and her new husband Joe took place in Fort Collins, where Leigh just finished her MS and Joe is working on his PhD.

First, the wedding:

Just what the meteo nerds ordered

When I told my sister Molly that I was going to Colorado for a wedding, she immediately asked if she could come. So, Molly was my date, and we worked some fun things around the wedding, including whitewater rafting on the Cache la Poudre river (or the Poudre "pooder" to the locals), the bachelorette party, breweries, and bar hopping around Fort Collins, plus dinner in Denver and hiking outside Boulder.

No zoom. This guy was just chilling on the side of the road outside Boulder.

The best part of the trip was seeing old friends and meeting some fun new people out for the wedding (Leigh and Joe's friends from home and PSU). Becca, another roommate from Penn State, graciously picked us up and dropped us off at the airport and let us crash at her apartment. Laura, yet another roommate, hung out when her bridesmaid duties didn't call. And, my bunk buddy from my first day of college, Sara, drove us to/from Denver and all around Fort Collins. It was so good to see my buddies; we're scattered across the US now and we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we'd like.

Me jumping over Boulder

Molly, Me, Becca, and Sara at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins (mmm Fat Tire and Blue Paddle and hooray free beer and postcards and a wind-powered brewery)

Laura, Sara and I as the last women standing during the dinner hailstorm in Denver

Cape May

I went to Cape May with Gram, Ma, and Molly for 3 days. First day, Sunday, was pouring down rain. Not so terrible because we were driving most of the day to the very tip of NJ. Nearly drove the entire length of the Garden State Parkway.

Monday and Tuesday were gorgeous, hot days. Perfect beach weather. We stayed a block from the beach. We ate at a few of the local hotspots in Cape May (Uncle Bill's Pancake House, Hot Dog Tommy's) and perused the Farmers Market. We didn't have time to rent bicycles, which are the best way to get around town.

Our last night we went to Wildwood to enjoy the funnel cake and free water ice along the boardwalk. We also saw the Jolly Roger motel that my mom stayed in while she was a kid on her vacations (looked about the same as the last time she went many moons ago). Watch the tram car please!

Jaipur

My train departed from Delhi at 6AM Saturday morning. Executive class, round trip $40 for food, AC, and a pretty comfortable seat on the 300km (190 mi) journey. Think economy on the plane, but with more leg room. The trip took about 5 hours, including about 20 min stop outside for no apparent reason. People running around the train with walkie-talkies.

I arrived in Jaipur at 11 and was picked up by my driver for the weekend, Ramchander. Ram drove for Bill Clinton the two times he visited Jaipur (once as President, once as a tourist). Ram was super nice and a great guide around the city.

I spent Saturday shopping and bargaining my way through Jaipur, the pink city. The shopkeepers double the price of whatever you're asking about. My strategy was to say 'no no, that's too much'. They say 'very good price madame, but I'll take off 5% for you'. I ask for 50% the asking price, they say no way, I say no way and start toward the door, and they are happy to oblige my price.


I spent the night at Samode Palace. This is a real former palace. Easily the nicest place I've ever stayed. The room they upgraded me to was bigger than my apartment. The bathroom alone was bigger than my bedroom.

When I looked up from the balcony of my room, I saw something I didn't expect to see: stars. No pollution of any kind blocking my view. I found a huge terrace to sit by myself and stare at the sky for a while.





I wandered around on Sunday morning, then headed back to Jaipur for sightseeing. We drove through some rural villages...



Then I stopped at Ahmer Fort


In Jaipur it was the observatory at Jantar Matar


And, the beautiful facade of Hawa Mahal


And some lassi (yogurt smoothie) and fresh juice for lunch. Tasty. It was hot, humid and sunny wandering around on Sunday.

With that, it was back to Delhi on the train. Goodbye Rajasthan, your countryside is beautiful.


More photos here