And the boys tent is missing the rain fly... This is why I wanted to set them up last week...

First night camping... Brand new tent... Thank goodness the emergency cat kit had duct tape...

Sun Set from the house

even if it is hotter than the face of the sun out here most of the day...the sunset from the back patio is amazing!  My cell phone camera is not the best but you can still see how beautiful this sunset really is!

Fixing a flat

Teaching the boys how to change a flat...the dirt roads out here are horrible for car tires and alignments...the tire that we took off looked like it had been in the blender!  it was totally shredded.

Feeding the needy

This is the first shipment of food to arrive for tomorrow's second chance farmers market.  For just $3  donations people can take home 2-4 bags full of produce, frozen, refrigerated and packaged goods.
It takes a lot of work to put on this farmers market, and a lot of volunteers, which it seems there are never enough of here.  The community center serves 50-100 peoples almost a weeks worth of groceries almost every Friday.  The building also serves as a rental facility hosting weddings, parties, church services, study groups and other events.

The lush green landscape

the lawn is so beautiful and lush and green as you can see...this is what happens when living in the desert under drought conditions.  the cute little pool is to keep the doggies cool, although they just think it is a giant water dish and wont go in....  The clothes line there will dry clothes in under an hour on most days...so no worry about fading it is dried and in faster than the dryer would do!
*Sorry it took so long to check in - i did not realize when i was sending the posts from my phone they were going to draft not publishing!

Made it to CA

Made it here last night late - was super tired.  the trip too a bit longer than expected because of many unexpected stops.

Made it to OKC in time for Reggie to stop and have dinner with some friends from when she lived there.  Then we took off to try to get away from all the storms - we drove through several of them.

If you are ever driving route 70 through western Ohio near the Indiana line you MUST some for BBQ at company 7...just turn north off the exit on Rt 70 and it will be on the left. 1001 S. Main Street Englewood, OH

We pulled off intending to go to big boys or Perkins we saw on the highway sign but as we turned into the big boy lot of seemed a bit empty and right next door the BBQ joint had a full lot... So we stopped in... And I am so glad we did! It is unassuming from the curb but inside it is incredible and the food is AMAZING!
From the plaque out front dedicating the flag to all first responders, to the fire truck behind the bar this place is Awesome. There is even an air hockey table in the back to keep the kids entertained!

Even the patrons are friendly, the nice couple at the next table when they heard we had never been here before offered their favorites as well as some history about the restaurant itself. It was built by all local workers around the classic firetruck that stands behind the bar.

We choose to split a full track of ribs I sampled 3 of the six BBQ sauces on the table... I liked the rookie the best s traditional style sauce... My friend choose the chief a smokey sauce. All entrees come with 2 sides we both choose half a baked potato. And a half a potato with half track of ribs was perfect! I would have taken a photo of the ribs before we ate but they smelled too good to pick up the phone...sorry!!

*edited to add photos

Made it through Pennsylvania... 10 more states to go.....

Delayed...

Well my cross country trek has been delayed by Spirit Airlines...not sure I should be surprised their on time track record is not very good - but they are cheap. So now I am up at 5am...waiting for a 9pm flight... when I went to bed like 9 hours ago they were only 45 minutes delayed...clearly that stretched long into the night...as it appears she just boarded about 30 minutes before I woke up...maybe I will try to go back to bed for a bit of a nap... then again all week I have been adjusting my body to getting up early so I am ready to go...hopefully they at least land and disembark close to their currently scheduled time - with no luggage that should not cause much of a delay

On My Way Tomorrow!

I leave tomorrow morning for California to spend some time with Reggie and her kids....It will be a cross country drive to reach CA from NJ....I found it was cheaper to fly my friend one way from CA to Philly and drive with me than it would be for me to get 2-3 hotel rooms across the country ($75 one way on spirit)...We will be driving taking turns sleeping to get to CA it is a 38 hour drive i assume it will take about 40 hours with bathroom breaks and food breaks and such....I will try to post photos as much as i can along the way as well as once we reach CA.

We will hopefully get to go camping on the beach, visit some of the Spanish missions in CA, and maybe visit the grand canyon.

Money is tight and especially since i am having issues getting my payment from one of the companies i work for and have not been paid since April, and each month they give a different excuse as to why they canceled my check...now i have to wait until NEXT month to see if they got it fixed...they will not reissue the check even though the problem is on THEIR end they are withholding my money and blaming it on me even though there is nothing i can change from my end to make it work.

If you would like to help fulfill some of my friends bucket list items any little bit of a donation would be helpful.  There is more information on the gofundme link below.  Thank you

Lincoln Memorial

I have not walked down tot he Lincoln memorial in a while so today we decided to do so.  There were a lot of tour groups and it was quite hot so we chose not to climb the steps today since it would have been impossible to get a good shot, will have to come back in the cold for a good photograph...

Spring Lake NJ

Today i went off season to the beach and boardwalk in Spring Lake - there were a few other people out here.  it was a nice walk on the boardwalk with a friend and brunch at a nearby restaurant.

Washington DC

Today in the bitter insane windy cold...we decided to go to DC!

It was too cold to stay outside long so i only snapped 2 photos...the first to the right is the last of the inauguration tents being taken down by cranes in the snow from the inauguration parties held last week for President Obama's 2nd term...the other of the Washington Monument.

Liberty Park, Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty

This weekend My brother got married in north jersey, and my Aunt flew out for the wedding, while she is here and we are in north jersey for the wedding, we decided to visit Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty via Liberty Park in NJ.

Liberty park was once a bustling dock and train station as hundreds of immigrant poured through the gates to enter a new life in America. Their journey would begin on a boat, passing the Statue as they arrived as Ellis Island for processing. Then after sometimes years waiting on Ellis island they would climb aboard a boat and head to Liberty Park where they would board trains from this now closed train station to destinations all over the USA.  Now it is unused, rusted, and overwhelmed with plants.

As we head for the line to board the ferry we pass by the row of old boat ramps, now crumbling from salt air and decay after decades.  They have been abandon and left to rot, but they are still an important part of our American history, so many of our families passed over these boards, imagine what they were like with hundreds of people pouring off ships looking to start their new life in America.

In the background you can see the NYC skyline from NJ.

First our boat arrived on Ellis Island, where we explored the many exhibits featuring items left behind by the many adults and children who passed though here during their years as an immigrant processing center.  This photo is of the main great hall.  the doors upstairs lead to various bunk rooms & showers.  People often spent weeks or months on the island while their information was processed and their family were located in America to come sponsor them.

After leaving Ellis Island we returned to our ferry where we first went around the statue of liberty on our way to dock.  This day was very cloudy, which gives us just a little idea what it must have been like for the hundreds of people who passed by this statue on their way to their new lives in America.  Once on the island we walked around and had a snack while we awaited our entrance time to climb the Statue.
There is a museum inside the statue with a lot  There is a museum inside the statue with a lot of information abut how she arrived and was assembled.  You can also see the copper face inside as she once stood a beautiful copper color, unlike her current tarnished blue.  I cannot image how much glare must have come off of her when she was first built!



Finally this last photo is of liberty park as we return tot he docks after a long and hot day!

Train Day in Philadelphia

I took my friends son to national Train day today in Philadelphia!!!

He had fun playing with the toy trains and seeing the models....would have been nicer had the models not been 5 feet off the ground so the KIDS could actually see them!!!  some of them I could barely see!!  and there is only so long i can stand there and hold him up to look!!

The national archives in dc to see the original hitler signed nuremberg laws
originally sent from phone...
edit to add:
so today we drove from NJ to DC, 3 hours each way roughly, to spend 3 minutes gazing at the original Hitler signed Nuremberg Laws. The laws that were the beginning of the end for the Jews of Germany and Central Europe. It is the first time they have been on free public display, and it will only be there for a few more days!!!

So, as crazy as it seems we went to the US national archives, skipped the main attractions of the Magna Carta, Constitution, Bill of Rights & Declaration of Independence....and proceeded directly to the Nuremberg papers....the only thing not relating directly to American History in the entire place. I guess as a historian on a mission to see something while available this can be understood, although...most people just think I am a bit crazy.

Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum

We made it to the Lillian and Albert small Jewish museum & Jewish historical society of Washington DC today. We arrived just a few minutes before 1pm after having lunch at the green Turtle nearby, and the gate was still chained shut, So we called the number on the sign as directed and within a few minutes a representative arrived to show us around. The museum consisted of a trip inside one of DC's first synagogues and the story of how it came to be where it was. Originally located elsewhere and moved the exhibit included photographs of the many uses it had to endure before finally being rescued and moved to it's new home on a small piece of left over land from a freeway on ramp.

Madame Toussaud

We just went to Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum. It was neat you could take photos w/the figures. they had more then listed online.

Inside there was a short video about the history and making of the wax figures, then you enter the exhibits. There are a lot of presidents spread throughout the museum exhibits, it is obvious that they choose the figured based on the locations though as this one was very heavily populated with political figures. You could sit with Lincoln in his theater booth and shake hands with George Washington, have your photo taken with the Obama's and even sit in the Oval Office for a picture.

The interactive exhibits even continued into the bathrooms as there were fake hats on the sinks so you appeared to have on a silly hat as you washed you hands, and the stalls had "singer" "actress" and other designations on the door, with trivia inside the stalls which could be answered by reading the plaques by the displays inside the museum!