I can’t honestly believe I’ve now been on the road with this tour for about ten days now. Some things feel like they happened weeks ago, other things seconds ago. No matter what the feelings I’ve had the last several days, the common denominator is this:
I have never been to New Jersey before. Ever.
This part of the trip is completely unfamiliar to me. Which makes everything that much more exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time.
I’d like to say that New Jersey doesn’t fulfill all of the stereotypes I’ve seen on TV all these years, but there’s a little truth to everything isn’t there? There’s both good and bad in everywhere you go, and no place is perfect. In my roughly 45 mile drive from Weehawken (right across from Manhattan) to Princeton, I saw a lot of things that fell into that nasty stereotype. I’ve driven in a lot of places around the world, and I can honestly say that I’ve seen more aggressive driving here than anywhere else I’ve ever driven-hands down. Those first 20 miles in New Jersey right outside of New York City were incredibly depressing and bleak. But on the other hand, Princeton, New Jersey is a beautiful college town. Lovely people and picturesque places make this well worth a stop if you venture out this way. I was lucky to be here when the all of the trees were flowering, and it just elevated the experience to a whole other level.
Driving this part of the Lincoln is not easy-you now have fair warning if you didn’t know it already. Compared to other states, it’s not as well marked. I relied on Jerry’s paper guide (see the previous New York post) and my GPS to tell me where I was. What dawned on me while I was getting lost in Newark was that 100 years ago, this would have been the main route for people to follow of just a handful of routes that existed. On some levels, it might have been easier to follow the road a century ago (that’s if you car didn’t break down).
On that note, I did have a minor emergency while in Princeton with my car. My trunk latch broke (eek), but luckily I was able to get it fixed right away (no rope needed). I guess everyone has a car story for their cross country road trip, let’s hope I got mine out of the way.
I finished driving through New Jersey yesterday afternoon, and am now in the Philadelphia area for the next week. Here’s some of my New Jersey pictures I wanted to share with you all. Enjoy, and keep finding the songs and roads wherever they take you!
