WE'RE GETTING LEI'D

Team VFH may be cheap, but we know how to travel well. Often we are forced to take great delight in destinations closer to home as our cheapness rules the day. For this we are extremely grateful. As world travelers our love for far flung destinations had caused us to be dismissive of sites that were close to home for their familiarity offered no alluring reason to visit and explore. Secaucus or Philadelphia will never be as alluring as Paris or Sydney we thought. How easily we were able to overlook the joy and beauty that is in our backyard and this endeavor, now in its fifth year, has given us many more happy experiences than expected. Too often our travels insulated us from family and friends as we would just “flit” off to somewhere else, but friendships and familial binds combined with finely honed mooching skills has given us a great new appreciation of what we would have considered the “mundane”. We have rediscovered the radiant beauty of the girl next door.

 

Aloha

Okay, are you buying this? I’ve just compared Secaucus to Sydney, Philadelphia to Paris. Yeah, sure there are things to do or see, like the Dragon Boat races along the Schuylkill River or renting kayaks to explore the Hackensack as it meanders through Secaucus. And, truly what did Socrates say? “See one promontory, and you’ve seen them all.” An old timer engineer at ABC said of the people of Sarajevo when I was there for the Olympics, “they’re just the same as us, they just talk funny.”

True everywhere lives are lived and though the vistas may be more alluring elsewhere, they all offer something. The best part of all these “cheap” years is we’ve learned to slow down and see the beauty around us. Rather than having to go over the next mountain like that bear in the incessant children’s song seemingly never satisfied, we’ve stopped to explore our neighborhood. But in between all these lovely little trips to discover nuances of where we live or rediscover the joys of our neighborhoods Team VFH likes to plan these side trips and we throw open our pocketbooks and fleece our coffers. This year, we are going to Hawaii.

We will visit three islands. We fly into Honolulu mid-July and we will stay on the North Shore near Haleiwa, Oahu for three days, before a week at a resort in Lahaina, Maui and then on to Hilo on the Big Island for another week. This is Janet’s first trip to this beautiful place and my seventh; the last time for me was in 2001 to run the Honolulu Marathon. Everyone should visit this place and I wanted Janet to see its beauty for herself and I, selfish, wanted to return. There are few places in this world that I feel like I belong, that I pine to return. The serenity that is Hawaii, her Aloha spirit calls me. 

But, you may ask what's all this talk about being cheap? Fear not, we will not go nuts in spending money. Hawaii can be cheaper than you would expect, that is once you get there. Come back, we'll tell you. 

The Jewel of the Meadowlands

SECAUCUS
This is the start of Vacations From Home’s tribute to our fallen heroes from WWI, the War to End All Wars. The global conflict began 100 years ago, with the United States entering the war in 1917. Many of the memorials remain to this day and approximately 10% of them feature the Spirit of the American Doughboy by E.M. Viquesney. New Jersey has eight of these unique statues and our first visit is to Secaucus.

Secaucus

Like many of the remaining “Spirit” statues, the memorial is on Municipal property. Here it stands in front of the town hall on Paterson Plank Road and the dedication is to Joseph Hassenforder, the only soldier from Secaucus to have died in the conflict. Corporal Hassenforder was killed on July 15, 1918 and is buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, about two miles outside Fere-en-Tardenois, France. The “Spirit” statue is remarkably detailed after all these years, but can use some attention as he is listing a bit to his right.  It is also an interesting golden color and looks like he has been painted.

THINKING OF VISITING?

LOCATION

Secaucus is a popular town. Every year thousands of people pass through it via Route 3 on their way to New York City, which is just 4 miles away, or zip along on the NJ Transit trains that stop at the Secaucus Junction on their way to Manhattan’s Penn Station. Looming across the Hackensack River, which is the town’s western border, is Metlife Stadium where the Giants and Jets play and where the Super Bowl was recently held. Football fans may recall the Jets in their heyday had their “Broadway” Joe Namath. Conversely when the NY Football Giants migrated to the Meadowlands, their quarterback at the time, Joe Piscarcik, was called “Paterson Plank” Joe. Paterson Plank Road is the main thoroughfare through Secaucus. Despite all these “visitors” to Secaucus, it was somewhat shocking to discover it is a lovely little town, like an eddy off a turbulent river. Secaucus is called the Jewel of the Meadowlands for good reason, and despite the traffic hurtling along the highway, there is block after block of neat clean homes and quiet streets. It is serene.

ATTRACTIONS and HISTORY

When I lived in Northern New Jersey, my first introduction to Secaucus (other than commuting through it) involved the numerous outlet shops that are dotted throughout the vast industrial area that comprises much of the town. Secaucus was one of the original “outlets”, a word and concept fairly deluded now. Many of the stores are actually distribution warehouses for the products they sell. It’s not very fancy, but good buys can be found. Go here for a map of available shops.

SECAUCUS OUTLETS

Before it was a shopping mecca and jewel of the Meadowlands, Secaucus was home to over 50 pig farms and the porkers vastly out-numbered humans. Between the pigs and the rendering plants; the farms supplied meat to Newark and New York; it was smelly. I remember the old joke: ““you smell caucus before you Secaucus.”  The pigs are gone though and Secaucus is a little suburban town and home to a “Spirit of the American Doughboy” World War I memorial.

Another attraction is the Meadowlands Exposition Center on the westbound side of Route 3 that hosts varied events. Just recently the Great Beer Expo was held there and near there are many chain restaurants and some large stores like Wal-Mart are in this area. 

GREAT BEER EXPO

For future events at the Meadowlands Exposition Center:

MEADOWLANDS EXPOSITION CENTER SCHEDULE

Secaucus is also a good place for eco-tourism. The Hackensack River is the western border and there are trails throughout the meadowlands. One can rent canoes or kayaks, launch their own watercraft, or go on a guided tour of the marshlands offered by the Hackensack Riverkeeper, April through October.  It can be gritty though, with traffic whirring along the Turnpike, but it is so incredibly close to New York City. To see such natural beauty in the heart of this crowded metropolitan area is a fascinating world worth exploring. Of course, trail heads begin in places like… “next to the Stop ‘N Shop at the Mill Creek Mall” and perhaps fans of the Sopranos may feel this is a stomping ground for T’s crew, but that’s all fiction…right?

HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER

Jewel of the Meadowlands

Parking

Because of Secaucus’ proximity to NYC, be aware that parking is a premium. The Municipal Complex is on the corner of Paterson Plank Road and County Road with no available parking on those streets. The facility has free parking in the back of the building, but I would not leave the car there to go explore the rest of the town. Signs for permit parking for residents only are prevalent on the side streets. There are a number of timed parking spots further down Paterson Plank Road and there is a little strip mall a few blocks away that does not seem to have a time limit.

FOOD AND DRINK

You want local New Jersey flavor? Go to Charlie’s Corner, across Paterson Plank Road and down a few blocks from the memorial. It is a good, honest cash only dive bar patronized by nearly every New Jersey character possible. There are bikers and hipsters, young professionals and old coots like myself. It’s loud with a robust sound system and a stage in the middle of the circular bar that hints that Charlie’s was once a strip joint. Not sure of this, but they do play the music loud. The Strokes was pounding through the speakers the night I stopped in. The décor is busy with pictures of patrons plastered all over the walls and sparkly things hanging from the ceiling. Sadly it was just the usual suspects in the beer department and it’s not the sort of place you ask for a beer menu. I saw someone with a Brooklyn Lager and ordered that for $5.00. Charlie’s is a bit seedy, but worth the stopover. Charlie's is at 1254 Paterson Plank Road.

Charlie's Corner

A few good recommendations for cheap, decent food are all at the Plaza Center down the road from the memorial. It’s a strip mall where you can park for a while. There’s a good pizzeria that serves generous slices at Plaza Pizza and next door is Vito and Sons Italian bakery; great pastries and cookies as well as cold sandwiches. If you’re lucky they have fresh mozzarella for sale the day you visit.  But, by far my favorite place to eat is the Bagel Buffet at the far end of the plaza. It’s a great place for sandwiches and salads all at reasonable prices. It’s clean with plenty of tables. There are no waitresses. Instead you order at the counter and as you wait you can watch them prepare and bake bagels in a huge oven. After they are boiled the baker arranges them on moistened slabs of wood that rotate into the oven. It’s fascinating.

There are so many reasons to go to Secaucus.

The next stop on our New Jersey excursion will be Frenchtown.

Thanks for reading.