Merrily merrily merrily

An extended version of the VFH crew went tubing down the Delaware last week. Janet's daughter and her fiance came along for the er, float. We spent a lazy afternoon basking in the sun and drifting with the current. I have yet to experience a more endearing activity that requires so little effort. It was a hot day, but the sun was not fierce and the water was cool. We tootled down the river, sometimes splashing, sometimes dunking ourselves, sometimes bobbing around rocks and spinning in eddys. It was a leisurely, playful afternoon and Janet's daughter eventually became a fan although she was at first worried about snakes.

There are two tubing places along this stretch of the Delaware. One is in Pt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. River Country offers an "early bird" special of $13 if one checks in before 11:30 am. I have often rented canoes from them; in fact I purchased a surplus Old Town 158 Discovery from them some years ago. But I never went tubing with them.
www.rivercountry.net/

Partly because we were unable to check in by 11:30, we opted instead for Delaware River Tubing. They are pricier, at $23, but with this price comes a meal from something called The River Hot Dog Man. Halfway down the length of the trip there is a concession stand floating near the shoreline of an island. The allure of a couple of hot dogs, or a hamburger as well as either a bag of chips or a candy bar with drink was too much to ignore, as well as Adam's gut grumbling at the prospect of a "free" meal, so we decided to go to this Frenchtown, NJ establishment. http://www.delawarerivertubing.com/



A couple of caveats about this place though. They charge you $6.00 to park. This is something new, for we had last gone tubing a couple of years ago with no such extraneous cost. I knew the other establisment always charges for parking, which is all ridiculous. There is an easy solution to at least the Jersey place. If you're interested in tubing with Delaware River Tubing, I suggest you park in the New Jersey state parking lot that serves as a boat launch area and is situated directly across from the entrance of Delaware River Tubing on Route 29, and where the bus drops off their tubers (no not potatoes). There should be ample parking at this lot, at least during the week. I've been by it on the weekend and it is brimming with cars. Anyway, after you park you simply cross Route 29 and walk up a short road to the site. I felt it was ridiculous that they would charge us, but if the boat launch parking area is filled, you'll have to pay their price.

The last time we had gone tubing, the Frenchtown establishment was a sleepy place, but it had jumped the shark. I suppose with the economy a lot of people are staying closer to home and enjoying simpler things, but Delaware River Tubing had gone ballistic with all the extras they offered. To get to the shed to make your payment you had to pass underneath a long tent that had several "toys" for purchase. Things like water bazookas and pistols, and water tight compartments and t-shirts and water proof cameras and stickers were all for sale. They had changing rooms and showers and mountains and mountains of tubes. It was far different than when we flounced upriver to the place and they dropped us off and picked us up in a half filled bus. This time we had to wait for the next bus as the first was filled. The driver of our chariot said this has been the best summer season so far in all the years he'd been with the company.

One by one we plopped into our tubes and meandered downstream. Adam played like a little kid, and kept rinsing himself off by jumping in the water, putting water grass on his head and
when he found a clam he kept it for a good while and gave it a British style bawdy name.

We kept to the right of the islands, although they recommended we stay to the left on the Jersey side. At times the Pennsylvania side got very shallow and once or twice we had to get up and walk our tubes along, but because of this we basically had the river to ourselves. All the commotion from other tubers (not potatoes) were on the far side of the island. It was much more tranquil, that is, until we reached the River Hot Dog Man.

With music blaring from speakers atop a barge moored just off an island, the scene was chaotic but fun. People formed a line from the island and stood in the water to get their "free" food. The line was long, but moved quickly enough. More people would float down to the site while others, finished with their meals, would plop onto their tubes for the second half of the journey. To eat our lunch we sat at one of several picnic tables that were also in the water, with the seats just above the surface. It was a very unique experience.

Just past the River Hot Dog Man cliffs rise majestically on the New Jersey side and there are a series of rock shelves that make this area especially beautiful for me. As we drifted we admired the rock wall and dodged the shelves that formed little channels in the river. By then it was later in the afternoon and the sun was warm and there are a few minor rapids in the water on this stretch. We bounced up in down in the turbulent water. And, just as it seemed as the trip was too long, the stone pillars from an old bridge are sighted. This is where we get out. The pillars are all that is left of the bridge and the only modern item in a world of greenery and timeless water. They look like a set from a post-apocalyptic science fiction film.

Prost!

I have failed to relate our adventures in chronological order. This is the dilemma when the days are brimming with activity and joy.


Last weekend we drove up to Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the second straight year. http://www.musikfest.org/ This two week event can be enjoyed on several levels. Throughout the picturesque town and along the park stages are set up with free shows of such diverse music that if you don't like something it's a simple stroll over to the next one. We listened to world music, or Soca, German Oompa, Dixieland Jazz, Folk and Zydeco, where Janet decided to dance.... or so she thought. There are 11 free stages and at least two impromptu gatherings of musicians playing on the street.


It's all free, except if you decide to take a shuttle bus in from on outlying parking lot for $4.00. We don't know enough of the town to know where to park, but we saw cars legally parked on the fringe of the Musikfest, so this is possible. It was a joy though to park out near the old steel works moldering slowly and get a quick tour of this rustbelt town as we were shuttled into the fray. Tickets for headliners throughout the two week event are available; few were sold out. Though I would have been interested in Counting Crows or Sublime or the Doobie Brothers, the operative word here is "cheap". What's the point of having fun if you have to spend money for it.

What is a necessary cost though are the mugs of beer. Each year the Musikfest organizers come up with a different design and slap it on a large plastic mug with a lid and make it available for purchase. Some people collect them for display. Any year's mug can be used to drink while strolling through the festival. Throughout the festival there are beer tents that offer very pedestrian Miller/Rolling Rock/Yuengling brews, but if you're interested in craft type brews do not settle for these. Any tavern in the town offer to fill your beer mug for usually just $6.00.A couple of places we visited were the Hotel Bethlehem on Main Street. We went inside the hotel lobby bar for a draught of Yards IPA. We also returned this year to the Bethlehem Brew Works, down the street, though the beers were very pedestrian. A new discovery this year was the Bahnhof, a German beer hall in the Main Street train depot, situated at one far end of the event on West Lehigh Street. The bar was in the station's former ticket booth and though there was a worn dreary feeling in the darkened, dusty place, the people propping up the bar and the bartenders were all were friendly and we chatted with patrons and drank very good German Witbiers. It was very good and we were happy with the find. Evidently it is brand new....except for the decor.

We liked the town enough to return and we plan to explore the area sometime in the future.

the popcorn park zoo

The other morning looked bleary and the weather forecast called for rain, but we decided to drive to the shore anyway. There was talk of going to Gunnisons at Sandy Hook and then Wildwood to see the boardwalk. We decided against both and headed towards Seaside Heights.

Along the way we stopped at the Popcorn Park Zoo in Forked River, the animal recovery zoo run by New Jersey's SPCA. http://www.ahscares.org/ I had taken my children here several times over the years and considering the capricious weather it would be a nice (and cheap) diversion. The cages are somewhat dingy and there's a lot of critters on display that were once pets, but nothing too exotic. For a modest fee of $5.00 one could ogle potbellied pigs, capuchin monkeys, horses, emus and ostriches. You are encouraged to feed the animals with peanuts or popcorn available for purchase at the front gate. Also on display were several tigers rescued from bad situations, a panther, a blind camel and several hulking black bears who displayed an eerie calm as they lapped up popcorn kernels like house pets cleaning the kitchen floor of spilled food. Several of the cages had little placards telling the woeful tales of some of the creatures, including a tiger that was rescued from a Texas ranch that was going to use the animal as part of a "canned safari" and allow hunters to kill it. It made me feel good to be a part of something so helpful for animals.

I especially liked the peacocks that had full run of the zoo. While pondering the potbellied pigs one peacock jumped up on the fence near us and squawked as it looked at us for a hand out. It was very interesting to get a close look at the colorful tufts of feathers on his head.

There was also a normal Humane Society shelter for dogs and cats. We endured the howling to give it a quick breeze through to see all the pooches, but steeled ourselves from getting too attached to any particular one... we didn't want to anger my poor dog at home...

If you're going to the shore, especially with the kids, I highly recommend the Popcorn Park Zoo.

Afterwards we drove to Seaside Heights and Janet delighted in walking through the rides and games, saying it reminded her of Wildwood. The beaches here though were much narrower than in Wildwood. I've never been to Wildwood, but I have been coming here since I was a young boy... back around the time of dinosaurs and when dirt was just beginning to form on Earth. For 4o+ years everything looked pretty much the same, even some of the concession stands like the Kohrs ice cream stops looked exactly the same.

We walked the length of the boardwalk, looked at some crazy rides that I steadfastly refused to go on, though Janet was very interested, and had some ice cream. Two small cones with sprinkles from Kohrs cost me $9.00 with a tip! At the northern end of Seaside Heights we took a sky ride along the beach. Compartively docile to some of the roller coaster and sling shot rides we saw at the Casino and Funtown Piers, we swayed slowly in the breeze on ski lift type chairs along the beach side of the boardwalk looking down on the sunbathers.The ride was $3.00 one way, $5.00 round trip; a very nice bargain considering the views and the length of the voyage.

It had proved to be a very nice day for the beach, but we did not want to pay $10.00 for two of us to get on the beach, especially so late in the afternoon. We were happy with a spirited game of air hockey (Janet won) and a $2.50 beer at a bar called the Sawmill at the extreme southern end of the boardwalk. But, by the time we were finished with our drink the booth attendant had left for the day and we were able to walk along the beach in Seaside Park for a few blocks. The water was rough; bathers were not allowed in to swim, but we giggled like school kids because we got something for free!

Later we drove to Bum Rogers which is just a block away from IBSP. The happy hour menu is very cheap and the food was great quality. We had mussels for $6.00, chicken wings at $.50 per and a very tasty burger for just $4.00! We drank Harpoon IPA for $2.50 a mug and played shuffle board for free after our food. Well, Janet played...I just got beat down.

After being turned away at Island Beach State Park because we did not want to pay the entrance fee at such a late hour, we took a meandering drive up route 35 through all the little towns like Lavellette and Normandy Beach, Bay Head and Pt. Pleasant before turning onto Route 195 for the quick ride home.

Thanks for reading, much more to come.

the jersey shore

I must insist here that I certainly do not watch this notorious "reality" show, The Jersey Shore, but I feel it was a crying shame they recently arrested Snooki...

In NJ one does not make a normal turn off a road. You use jughandle ramps. No one from New Jersey goes to the beach, but to the shore. And, as a VFH founding member I have been trying to get away with going to the shore for free all of my life. As a moocher in training I had learned to arrive early enough to avoid fees that are as a part of the Jersey shore scene as suntan lotion and splinters from the boardwalk. If you got on the beach early enough before the booth attendants set up shop you were on for good and only had to keep an eye open for patrols looking for beach tags and then would have to simply jump in the ocean to avoid this persecution.
Over the years your VFH team has gone through some extreme and bizarre antics in securing a free day at the shore, from sleeping in cars, stealing or trading beach tags or wrist strings (at Pt. Pleasant) or attempting to pay our way by stealing tips at bars or coins from the NJ Parkway automatic toll booths. Janet, a shoobe, but still loveable, says sometimes she would come away with more money than when she started the weekend.

There are roughly 130 miles of shoreline in New Jersey and depending on your interests and pocketbook there is a beach for everyone. From the wild frenetic pace of Seaside Heights to the smoldering decay of Asbury Park, the Jersey shore is a destination during the summer months.
But, how to avoid the fees is VFH's task.

www.newjerseyshore.com/beach-badges.shtml
If you go to this website you'll see that nearly every town levees a charge. Only Wildwood and Atlantic City are cost free, but as a Bennie, they are too far to travel for the day. From Lambertville I can be in Belmar in about an hour by taking Route 195. There are also two parks along the shore. One is Sandy Hook, a part of the United States government Gateway National Recreation Area and the other is Island Beach State Park, just south of Seaside Heights. Their individual websites are listed below.
www.nps.gov/gate/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm
http://www.islandbeachnj.org/
The fees assessed at Sandy Hook and IBSP are reasonable as they are per car, not per person. Because of this the parks tend to fill up quickly, so getting there early is important. Getting there especially early is really important, if one wants to save the fee. Now, I'm unsure about IBSP because I've only gone there during regular hours, but I believe they are less relaxed than Sandy Hook. The other day we tried to enter IBSP after a happy hour meal / libation soiree and shuffle board war at Bum Rogers in Seaside Park (a favored place) and they wanted to charge us to enter. It was nearly 7 pm and still light out. The uniformed attendant gleefully turned us away. They charge an entry fee until dusk. Don't know if their rules are as strict for the beginning of the day, or even if the park is open earlier than 7:00 am, but that is too far to drive for that experiment! One way to avoid the fee at IBSP is to park outside and run or ride a bike inside along the narrow shoulder. It's quite a distance to the bathhouses though, at least 2.5 miles.
www.seasideparkonline.com/r_bumrogers.htr

I know that Sandy Hook is free if I arrive earlier than their 7:00 a.m. official opening. I may be older and more flush with cash than when I was a youth, but I'm still cheap. Janet refuses to go there so early because sleep is a higher priority, but when the day presents itself as a beach day and I am alone, I'll get up at an ungodly hour to travel the 1 1/2 hours along secondary roads to slip in before I have to pay. It's thrilling, because it's not illegal. The main booths are open but unmanned. Halfway through the park, heading for Gunnisons Beach, there is a booth and an attendant in a National Park uniform hands out a little day pass and they even smile and say good morning.

It is also thrilling because it is very beautiful. Sandy Hook at such an early hour is serene and not the noisy place brimming with people that it inevitably becomes. The other day there was a hazy blood red sunrise over the Atlantic and the wind was cool and the air was misty from the incessant grey waves and New York City was hidden by fog and the day held promise. Happy with having saved myself $10.00 I ran along the path that skirted the waters of Raritan Bay and watched the commuter ferrys leave Keyport on their way to lower Manhattan and then past the Nike Missle Radar site and the Ft. Hancock Coast Guard base and the historic lighthouse that was first erected in 1823. And later that day, when I dozed in my beach chair, I dreamt of where to spend that hard earned ten dollars.

I eventually ended up in Kelly's Tavern in Neptune City www.kellystavernjerseyshore.com for some beer and wings.

Thanks for reading...

The Situation

Sometimes when the world is out there and your humble chronicler of all moochable flings is raring to go, he forgets his duties and fails to pass on his findings to his favorite audience of this blog. I feel guilty that I am fully enjoying these days of August, but I am not taking the time to share the experiences. The days though have been full and complete, brimming with activities and they have cascaded one after another tumbling quickly from sunrise to sunset. The flurry of events have taken their toll and with the occident I too tumble into bed tired and allow the whims and caprices of the day to dance in my head, a smile graced across my lips.


Sometimes the days are simpler. Filled with trips to the gym so that your intrepid travelers have the strength and stamina to hold up to the rigors of the road, as well as trips to the grocery store for fuel. Despite the mundane, these are nonetheless days of great worth for the VFH team greatly benefits from these tantric rituals and we emerge with such elan and passion that our reach often exceeds our grasp and like bees we fly through the air bouncing off flowers and walls.


You see there is a pattern here.


To give a quick recount of the events would be futile, and it would not be prudent to try and capture every detail of each of the days because this blog entry would be so lengthy as to inspire nausea. So, please suffice it to say that currently we at VFH central are going gang busters and later on I will try to spoon feed details...

COMPETITION!

Bored and without my VFH counterpart, I decided to allow the afternoon to pass at a leisurely pace. It was hot and sunny and I drove up just north of Frenchtown, NJ to go for a run on the towpath of the Delaware and Raritan Feeder Canal. It was dug in the 1830's to transport coal from Pennsylvania to New York City and though the canal actually begins a few miles south of Frenchtown, where the river is siphoned off at Bull's Island State Park, the towpath was also used as a track bed for the Belvidere Delaware Railroad. The Bel Del railroad started in 1853 and was used to carry passengers and product for many years from Trenton to Belvidere, NJ. When I first moved to Lambertville they were still running a portion of the train system, the Black River and Western out of Flemington and into Lambertville. Now this particular line only goes as far as Ringoes.

Good sources of information about the Bel Del historic train line are: www.usrailroading.com/railroads/beldel_history.htm

http://www.brwrr.com/

Everything has now been converted into one long park that runs along the eastern shore of the Delaware and eventually makes its way across the state and ending in the Raritan Bay. This wonderful park system has been a great source of entertainment for me over the 20+ years I have lived in the Lambertville area. One can run or bike for miles and miles along this flat, serene trail. Traveling north past the beginning of the canal at Bull's Island, there are only sweeping views of the Delaware River as the trail hugs the river and Route 29 seeks a different route. It is a joy to train for marathons along this trail despite having to dodge deer, fox, wild turkeys and snapping turtles as I lope along.

http://www.dandrcanal.com/

But, despite the thousands of miles I have run along the towpath's length, I have never run north of Frenchtown. And so the other day, with nothing else to do, and obviously lots of time to kill, I decided to run somewhere new. Most of my running is around the Lambertville area, but today I drove up to the town, named thusly because a Swiss immigrant (with a French accent) settled in the area during the late 1700's.
http://www.frenchtown.com/


I found the end of the Delaware and Raritian Canal trail. Sadly, it only goes another 2 miles or so north of Bridge Street, though the track bed, according to maps, continues much further along. I actually saw no real signs of a track bed at all. The trail's end is obvious as it reaches a dirt road that winds through a corn field and to the Milford Frenchtown Road and the trail itself rapidly devolves into an overgrown hiking trail, not suitable for running. I was okay with the short distance, though I would have liked to get a longer run in for the day. The park here is very isolated and beautiful. The river was never far away and the road quite a distance off. It was as though I had the place to myself. (This means no one got to see me struggle...I am so out of shape!!!)

My reward for the run was a trip to The Ship Inn in Milford. http://www.britishbrewpub.com/
I've been going to the Ship for years now, since it opened in 1985. Fifteen years ago they started brewing their own beer. Pints are $5.25. Reasonable, good food, very good British style beers, some on hand pumps, are served in the renovated Victorian era building that sports a mildly nautical decor. It's a warm cozy place and not one television in sight. Wednesday nights you can get fish and chips and a pint for $10.00.

Well, as I was there by myself I had to gather up some reading materials to sit at the bar. I had ordered a hamburger with Stilton cheese. There were two older couples talking about the good old days when route 29 did not connect fully and they would drag race on the stretch of road, but I was more interested in reading the free handout called the Ale Street News. I finished that and as my burger came around I found the Ship Inn's little photocopied newspaper. I was very impressed. Developments at The Ship Inn included the restaurant making a point of getting beef and vegetables locally, meaning within 4 miles of the place and a move towards a greener establishment by using biodegradable straws and cocktail stirrers. But! I was shocked when I read how The Ship was in direct competition with the storied franchise, Vacations From Home. On the back of their flyer/newspaper was a very nice compilation of things do in the Delaware Valley. I wasn't really shocked, but was actually very pleased they are as proud of the area as I am. Some of the listings included frisbee golf at Tinicum Park or a place to go for a good cup of coffee in Upper Black Eddy, PA as well as a couple of websites to further plan your escapades in the area. They list the same events on their website.

Explore the Delaware Valley. From splashing about on the river, to meandering drives, to vintners, to hikes in the area state parks, there are many things to do and see without going that far from (my) home... As a chronicler of all things cheap and entertaining I may never need to leave my little place in this wide world to enjoy life.

thanks for reading.

penguins...they're practically chickens!

Not that I've ever considered munching on penguins, but I've never passed on the opportunity to watch them cavort in a zoo. They are so cute. I've also never ever passed on chicken wings! I once worked a game in Buffalo and trudged blocks through deep snow drifts to eat at the Anchor Bar. That was easy though. It's where the whole phenomenon began in 1964 and the wings there are especially huge and tasty.

Your intrepid VFH team never passes on the chance to munch on wings. Like a string of oases in a desert, we count on favored gin mills with their personal wing concoctions to quell our hunger. As we travel through familiar landscapes our conversation usually is dotted with talk about wings and which place to grace with our wide grins and empty stomachs. We often talk about seriously taking notes on the wings and selection of beers available and cobbling together some sort of guide book. Sometimes we quibble over what is the best wing available, but we never pass on the chance to eat them. I think though, no matter where we eat them, no matter the sauce employed, we will always come back to the Tiger's Tale, near Princeton, NJ (and named after the University's mascot). It has a vast bar with lots of microbrews and features typical pub grub, but they prepare their cajun wings on a grill behind the bar! Appropriately charred, meaty with just enough spice, these are our favorite.

But of course...we've never been to the Anchor.

We are not able to travel to Buffalo anytime soon to weigh in on this contest, but I just recently read about an event there during Labor Day Weekend. It's called the National Buffalo Wing Festival. The two day event has been held since 2002 and features wings from restaurants from around the country, a .5 mile Running of the Chickens, a wing eating contest, as well as a Miss Buffalo Wing beauty pageant. Janet wants to enter the beauty contest, after she wins the race and the eating contest. It sounds like we should plan this event next year. (http://www.buffalowing.com/)

fly away

After drinking many beers and eating many delicious meals and working on our tans and slapping at flies our time in Delaware has ended. Our benefactors of this trip, Carl and Jill, will soon be returning from their family reunion out at Broadkill Beach and the relative shoreline mansion their friends lent them for the week. Their lovely Black Lab, Cindy Lou, could not handle all the stairs at this beach house so we were asked to tend to the pooch. She's a great dog, if only she would leave my shoes alone! As a retriever she absolutely loves to go around with something in her mouth. If she can't find the little plush toy goose she favors, it's my shoe or sandle. For a mooching pair like your stalwart Vacation From Home team, this week was a great joy and an honor to have been able to help our friends.

Thank you.

The other day we drove south of Dewey Beach for the day to a spot on the Coastal Highway, Route 1, called Towers Road. There's a beach access there with ample parking and with concession stands and the surf was strong and the sand was crowded with families. It was treacherous water, but it was fun to be brave in the churning froth and ride the waves. The temperature was cooler that day and the sun was warm and pleasant.

Yesterday, for our last evening, we thought to drive down to this Towers Road, thinking that around 6 p.m. we could savor the last of the day for free, that they would stop taking the $8.00 fee. Late afternoon on the beach is especially enjoyable. The sun is lower and the light golden and the waves turn blue green in color. We would either take the beach chairs and dig our toes in the sand or simply linger a short while by the little boardwalk that leads down to the beach from the concession stand. It should have been a pleasant time before we took our meal at Big Fish Grill Seafood Restaurant which is on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach, but the old fellow in the wraparound sunglasses and garroulous but friendly way was just leaving his booth for the evening. We asked if we were able to go on the beach for free and he said there's a 24 hour fee and that we could fill out a little envelope and place it in the little box by the booth. Delaware has no sales tax, but you do pay for everything.

We opted instead for an early meal at Big Fish Grill (http://www.bigfishgrill.com/). Janet had a Halibut with pineapple salsa that was very tasty and fresh. Evidently they never have frozen fish at Big Fish Grill and so the Halibut costs more because it is flown in from wherever the Halibut comes from which I've been told is Alaska. I had a piece of blackened Grouper on a Caesar Salad that probably just hitchhiked its way up from Florida. Afterwards we drove to Lewes again and sat upstairs at Agave in a little bar they maintain there for another margarita. We sat on a couch and watched people get drunk as they waited for their tables downstairs. It was a good place for people watching.

Thanks for reading.