Jersey... where all lefts are right

Sorry for that rant earlier today. Frustrating situation but I'm over it. So now I can explain our trip to the wonderous state that is New Jersey.

To sum it up: Jersey sucks.

Hopefully I don't offend too many Jersey-enthusiasts out there, but I have to admit that in my travels throughout most of the US, it must be one of the worst states I have ever been to. Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa are all boring, but for once I'd glady take corn fields over Jersey's obliviously bad drivers and nonsensical road system!

I get ahead of myself, though. Steve and I left much later than planned on Sunday (not our fault for once!) and finished the 10 hr drive around midnite. We got a seedy-but-still-barely-affordable motel and slept horribly. If I had thought the walls at the government apartments I lived in were thin, this place might as well have been made of playing cards. Wellesley Inn in Edison, I think it was called - Don't go there. All night, the water pipes moaned and creaked, doors slammed, footsteps echoed along the cooridor, and we were courteously awakened before 8 am by the maids knocking, vacuuming, knocking, vacuuming. Before 8 am!

Despite the cries of my aching back, I hobbled out of bed to notice that there wasn't a fitted sheet on the bed; merely a top sheet thrown over a bare mattress, which had been displaced by my rolling all night. Right underneath where I had been sleeping was a rust brown colored stain, on top of the mattress, down the side, and even on the floor! "Steve... you need to look at this!" He looked and we both were in a queasy state of shock. That wasn't blood, was it? Needless to say, we left that place in a hurry. I'd really rather not think of what might have happened in that room.

We went to downtown New Brunswick and dealt with truly the worst drivers ever. I can deal with speed and aggression, but random lane changes and fluctuating speeds, combined with the utter inability for most people to actually merge  - they STOP on the entrance ramp instead of accelerating to traffic speed - just plain drove us nuts. Our first destination was the Planning building in downtown; for some reason, this building is nowhere near any of Rutgers University's campuses. It was ok, but we were surprised when the security guard turned us away inside because they don't like people roaming around if they aren't affiliated with the school. That didn't make Steve happy, because never have we been turned away from a public university building. We got an appointment for a tour, which turned out very well. Steve was impressed with the program and the atmosphere, as well as the feeling of community, but when he found out rent was typically $800-$1000 - not counting the task of finding a place that will accept his 130 lb dog - he became a bit wary of going there. We thought Ann Arbor was pricey at around $650-700 for rent!

Once that was done, we tried to go to the Jersey shore. This was the big deciding factor. The driving and roads and feeling of the state left such a bad taste in Steve's mouth that he has decided not to go there, despite their excellent program. That's fine with me - I like it when my friends move to places I actually want to visit, ya know? :) The state park we went to was literally just a beach, and we wanted hiking, so we turned around and headed back home.

To salvage the trip and Steve's disappointment with his almost-new-home, we stopped in Stroudsberg near the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area. Pennsylvania has some amazing historic towns, and we had a good time watching Montreal beat Boston at a sports bar downtown. In the morning we hiked to the grueling ~1500 ft. top of Mt. Tammany (that's sarcasm - remember, I'm spoiled from Colorado) which was short but sweet. That whole area isn't much for long hikes. Good thing we got out and stretched our legs then - a semi trailer broke and let loose some mulch or dirt that closed down the entire west-bound lanes of I-80 and we were stuck sitting in traffic for over 1 1/2 hrs while they cleaned it up. What an aweful drive.

To sum it up again: Jersey sucks. So much, that Steve refuses to move there.

Plans are hopefully in the making for another trip to Moab (KEVIN! you must!) and I'll probably hit up the Keweenaw peninsula soon and see if I can land a job near Copper Harbor or something. That, or Chicago with Heather. Things will all work out in the end. :)