Relevancy

For a long long long time my favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees, was irrelevant. Despite the rich history of the team they were pitiful. I endured the losing seasons graciously though and still hated the Boston Red Sox because I knew they weren't going anywhere either. As a fan of a mediocre team solace was gained in the knowledge that though the Yankees drought stretched a decade, Boston's was getting close to that four score and seven years ago mind numbing count. 

When the team was bad, tickets were always available. I once walked up to the Yankees box office hours before first pitch and scored a ticket 10 rows up from home plate on the aisle. I was able to see the pitcher grimace with every bad call from the umpire. I once went to the storied Fenway Park to watch the Sox play the Indians. I sat just behind the dugout and was struck with how empty that stadium was and though I was wearing a Yankees hat, I was barely hassled.

it's okay to look down

With the resurgence of baseball in general and with the recent success of these two storied franchises;  Boston's 86 year World Series drought ended a few years back; tickets are tougher to come by and tickets can be very pricey. Yankees stadium may be a cathedral for the sport, but it costs a lot of indulgences to enter. (That's a Catholic reference.)  Although I have been a fan of the Yankees since my youth, I had never seen these two teams play a game against one another. This past weekend we went. Tickets were not available through the Yankees website, but they were on StubHub.com. After everything was added in, including the 4.95 download fee so you can print tickets at home, we saw the Yankees lose 4-1 to the rapidly fading Red Sox for approximately $40 per ticket. Of course we were unable to see any facial expressions from our aerie, but we had a great view of the facade. Oh, and by the way, the Yankees have a 4 game lead in the AL East as of today, while Boston is playing .484 ball and are 13 games back... YES!

Leaving my body to science

If you ignore your friends they will go away. The same holds true for your teeth. As a founding member of Team VFH I am well aware of the need to keep both your friends and your teeth. Without teeth you'll not get many invites to parties, because your friends will figure you are more interested in attending a Kenny Rogers concert. Like a brilliant beacon on a stormy sea, sporting an array of neon bright chicklets draws friends close. They'll want you around, they'll open their doors to you. You'll have full access to their refrigerators and their pools. Combined with proper grooming (unless your friends like Rasputin stunt doubles), there's no telling how much you can mooch with an infectious smile.

Now, proper dental work can be expensive. Forget about maintenance like cleanings and cavities, but orthodontics and prosthodontics can be a heavy hit on the wallet... Unfortunately if you weren't blessed with perfectly aligned chompers you will have to go this route. Afraid of the dentist? Tough... Suck it up...think of how much sunlight can glint off your incisors poolside.

At least I have a partial solution to the cost factor involved. Go to a dental school... I know, I know, that's a scary proposition, especially if you consider the sound of a drill frightening, or think it's wrong to have some student perfecting their novocaine needle technique on your gums. Going to a dental school is like leaving your body to science....and experiencing it at the same time.

I can understand if you think I'm nuts, that this is a new low for Team VFH in its money hording 

ways, but truthfully it's not that bad. For years I was dreadfully afraid of dentists and their costs before discovering U.M.D.N.J. in Newark, NJ. It is one of the largest dental schools in the country. The school produces great dentists and specialists and they offer their services at a fraction of the cost. And, at least I know the  young doctors are diligent in their efforts because their every move is checked by faculty members who will probe and poke you before the

leaving your body to science

actual work begins... This means you can sit in a chair for awhile, but at least you're not being churned in quickly by someone trying to make his mortgage payment or a tee time. My scaredy cat ass was comforted by slowly moving dentists who took their time, listened to my fears and explained procedures when necessary.  I've been going to U.M.D.N.J. since 1994 and I have become brave enough, although I still hate those novocaine needles. But! I saved a lot of money and the good student doctors have taken my motley array of crooked teeth and through braces and crowns have transformed me into a science project worth displaying poolside....

Now if I can only get something done about my receeding hair line... 

On a side note... I was born in Newark and raised in Harrison, New Jersey, so the idea of traveling up to this northern Jersey area is all right by me. When I go to the dentist I often reward myself by getting a Cuban sandwich and cafe con leche at a hole in the wall joint on Ferry Street in the Ironbound section of Newark which is a very short drive from the school. It's an area boasting scores of Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants in what is sometimes called "Little Portugal." The name "Ironbound" refers to the many railroad tracks in the area, with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor forming the western boundary. Another area named for tracks was in Brooklyn, New York. The Dodgers once played at Ebbets field and the area was crisscrossed by trolley car tracks, forcing patrons to 'dodge' the rattling trolleys. When my mother lived for awhile in this area of Newark it was called "Down Neck." I remember being driven past the old Ballantine Brewery and Ruppert Stadium where the Newark Bears of the International League, and owned by the New York Yankees, as well as the Negro League Newark Eagles played. Even if you're not going for a filling Ironbound is a place to visit for a filling.
IRONBOUND

There is also good bread in the area. Portuguese rolls, especially from the Teixeira Bakery are amazing. But deeper into Newark is the Italian Bakery Calandra's. I often get a seeded sourdough bastone for home and a baguette for the road. Sometimes I splurge on a chocolate cannoli. I go to the First Street store in Newark, but they have locations in Fairfield and Caldwell. The smells of the freshly baked bread and the sights of all the pastries are overwhelming, so make sure you take a number for service, lest Tony Soprano cuts in front of you.
CALANDRA'S BAKERY

Harrison, NJ boasts its own bakery. I wrote about my hometown in my first novel, "Hi, How Are You?", Xlibris 2000, and leveled the town so the government could erect a huge shopping mall that could be seen from outer space. Harrison is this little insulated town. Newark is across the river and the meadowlands are on the other side. Despite these affronts Harrison was like a little Mayberry RFD, innocent and quiet. But because of its small size, just a mile square, and its longitude and latitude, Harrison either smelled of the dank decay of the meadowlands, or the warm, comforting smell of Pechter's Bakery on Jersey Street. After Sunday Mass I often accompanied my father to pick up dinner rolls for the big Sunday lunch Mom would make. It is where I first learned the term "baker's dozen". I loved those little rolls, but the favorite by far is the black seeded rye bread. Waiting in the line at the little factory store they often bring more loaves out and the air is heavenly with the moist smell of fresh bread. The clerks will slice the bread for you, even if it's warm and when we were kids we'd fight over the union sticker that was attached to one end of the crust. I can eat that bread without butter, savoring first the doughy interior and then the seeded upper crust and then finally the thick chewy bottom crust. Absolutely wonderful. I often buy a couple of loaves and freeze one when I get home, they're that good. Yes, Pechter's Bakery is yet another reason to go to the dentist. 
PECHTER'S BAKERY in Harrison, NJ

BTW ... 16 Washington Street in Harrison is at: 40.746431 N , 74.15277300000002 W
AND, WHERE ARE YOU?

A Friend In Need

The comedian Joe E. Lewis had a great line: "A friend in need....is a pest..."
Another observation he had was that money can't buy happiness, but it certainly calms the nerves.
Words to live by, except when you're Team VFH. We don't have the luxury to ignore our friends, because they offer so much more in return, and our "nerves" we fear, will always constantly be frazzled with the lack of funds. We don't have the ability to flit off to Hawaii or Europe this summer, so, in the pursuit of good karma we are happily tendering all requests from friends and conversely will accept all the invites that invariably come our way.

Can one pursue karma? Gather it up like stocking shelves in a super market? We're not sure, but we certainly have been blessed with good fortune so far this summer. We must be doing something right and the friend in need aspect of the summer has played a part in our karma.
No, we're not Karma Chameleons though I poke fun at just this sort of thing in this blog. We currently are guests of friends at the Delaware shore who needed someone to watch their pooch while they themselves enjoy the company of other friends at a bigger house on the water. Karma must be like energy, it is never used, just transferred... In appreciation of our "watching" their dog, they've left us with a refrigerator filled with beer and their Rubicon Jeep with Delaware Park tags so we can drive onto the beach.

So, if you need a pooch pandered (or your tropical plants watered) we're the team for you. It'll help if you have a pool, or jet skis, or a well-stocked frig...but it's not a necessity, we're glad to help.

"A friend in need .... is a pest"

And, now, quoting Frank Sinatra, quoting Joe E. Lewis, his good friend and of whom he said at his 50th birthday party recorded at the Sands in Las Vegas, "I would have the body of a 22 year old had I not spent all that time drinking with Lewis," "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's post time...."

From Asbury Park to the Promised Land

It was a good day in Philadelphia this past Monday. We ventured into the ever sunny city for a bit of pop history at the National Constitution Center and came away with so much more. I am always pleasantly surprised when I visit this place, especially the Old City District, where much of the history of Colonial America is located. Team VFH could easily devote days to just exploring this area, but we were here for Bruce. 
http://www.oldcitydistrict.org/

Perhaps you have heard of this musician from Freehold, New Jersey? Bruce Springsteen has been giving the world music since the 1970's. Some of his songs are iconic, the poetry is at times powerful, but I would be remiss in trying to belabor with my thoughts on Mr. Springsteen. So much has been written about him and thousands of his adoring fans who pile into his legendary and lengthy shows that each can regale you with their own tales. I would do them all a disservice in adding my own observations, but I have to say that Thunder Road is a phenomenal song and my favorite album is Tunnel Of Love. It is at this album that Bruce first went from the working man on the road, to the man embroiled in the confines of his home and the trappings of marriage. 
Better served in this are several homage websites dedicated to "The Boss".
Here is one: http://www.legendsofspringsteen.com/
Here's another: http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/

In a recent article Springsteen spoke of experiencing depression and the joy and the self preservation of his performing:...
            "...there's a tremendous finding of the self while also an abandonment of the self at the same time.  You are free of yourself for those hours; all the voices in your head are gone."
  

....your favorite song here...

The National Constitution Center has been running an exhibit of Springsteen artifacts and memorabilia. It is called: From Asbury Park to the Promised Land / The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen. If you are a fan or at least mildly interested in the Boss it is well worth the visit. On display are articles of clothing worn during shows, instruments played, lyrics and a motorcycle he rode cross country back in 1989. Music stations offer rare snippets of songs he performed with the first band he was in, The Castilles. There's documentary about the recording of Born To Run, where Bruce obsessed and changed over every word in his songs. It's all fascinating and we really enjoyed our visit. The exhibit runs until September 3.

Also included in the cost of the ticket is access to the National Constitution Center, worth the visit alone. There is a live performance entitled "We The People," that left Team VFH feeling especially patriotic, and a hands on display chronicling American history and the Constitution. 

 http://constitutioncenter.org/exhibits/feature-exhibitions/bruce-springsteen/

But, most wonderfully is the cost. Normally $25 per ticket, Janet was able to go to livingsocial.com and got two tickets for just $24. I had always cast a wary eye toward websites like Living Social or Groupon that offer discounts, but Janet has cured me of this. Anything to save a buck. http://www.livingsocial.com/

After our visit to the Promised Land, we headed towards the promised land of good beer, stopping first to drop a penny on the grave of Benjamin Franklin and to make a wish. The tradition stems perhaps from a line in the thrifty Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, "A penny saved is a penny earned." His grave is directly across the street from the Philadelphia Mint. As my luck has yet to change though I probably should rephrase Mr. Franklin's line with: "A penny tossed...is lost."

Along the way we stopped to devour cheese steaks at Campo's on Market Street; rated by some in the Top Ten in the city renown for cheese steaks, and the subject of great debate in Philly. See the link below for a listing and endeavor to try them all yourself.  We then went to two taverns to end our visit to Philadelphia.
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-10-spots-for-authentic-philly-cheesesteaks/?gclid=CM3ixuGIwLECFUp76wodkxcAJQ

The first was Khyber Pass on Second Street. We went there because our first choice did not open until 5 p.m. Janet said she used to go to this bar when she was underage and to party....DO NOT tell her Mom!! We were pleasantly surprised at their beer list and we just arrived in time for happy hour where drafts are discounted $2.00. The bar was beautiful carved wood and the place had a friendly feel to it and it was a great temporary fix until our next destination. http://www.khyberpasspub.com/

Can't have it all!

We were really here though for the Eulogy Tavern just around the corner. We have visited this Belgian style tavern several times in the past. Eulogy and the equally outstanding Monk's Cafe on 16th Street each boast an incredible selection of beers from Belgium and around the world. Some reviews give the edge to Monk's, but we prefer Eulogy on Chestnut Street. We drank our first Westmalle Triple Trappist brew at Eulogy when Team VFH did research for the trip to Belgum last year and when we stumble in deciding on our selection, the knowledgeable and friendly staff are good for beer advice. On Monday. when I was unsure of the name of the Quadruppel I wanted from Brugges, the bartender swiftly produced the bottle and waggled it in front of me. When we showed him a picture of a beer we had purchased in Brugges (lifted from Facebook) he said he didn't have that particular one, a Wit Goud from Hof Ten Dormaal, but had two others available. Impressive. At Monk's we were kind of on our own with the daunting task of beer selection, but in the warm confines of Eulogy we get drunk without the angst. http://eulogybar.com/

news and notes

working hard finding
you deals

Team Cheapskate... oops... Team VFH has been diligent this summer in seeking out deals to pass onto you fair reader. We have worked tirelessly and after sweating days and days we have discovered several ways to stretch your hard earned dollars to the point of snapping! Covered here is a quick ledger of some of our discovers.

RESTAURANT WEEK in New York City.  From July 16 through August 10 several restaurants in the New York are offering three course meals for a good price... $24.07 for lunch and $35.00 for dinner. This does not include drinks or tip.New Yorkers usually flee the city during the summer, leaving it for the tourists. This is a way for restaurants to drum up some business. Janet and I went to DBGB Kitchen and Bar on the Bowery before a Missy Higgins concert. Great food, great service, and a great selection of expensive beers. I had an Ommegang that cost me $12.00!!!!!! We could have ordered off the regular menu, but we stuck with the offerings for Restaurant Week. We splurged on this one. Check out the website for the listings.   http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek

SANDY HOOK CONCERTS. Talk about sticker shock! The daily fee for getting into Sandy Hook went up to $15.00 per day and $75.00 for a season pass. Yikes. Last year it was $10.00 and $50.00. You can still get into the park for free though if you arrive before 7:00 a.m. or after
4 p.m.. If you arrive before 7 a park ranger will give you a day pass, but not ask for money. (Janet says getting to the shore before 7 a.m. is ridiculous. I guess some just like throwing money away!) Anyway, we went last Wednesday and left around 5 p.m. There was a lot of traffic coming into Sandy Hook as we exited. We learned that there is a free concert  held every Wednesday during the summer at 6 p.m. Taking advantage of the free entry after 4, people pile in for the early evening show. It looks like it is well attended. Advice would be to arrive around the cut off time
http://sandyhookfoundationnj.org/eventprog.htm


LIVING SOCIAL ... I never thought much of savings coupons like Living Social or Groupon, but Janet turned me into a believer. Through Living Social's website she bought tickets to the Bruce Springsteen exhibit at the National Constitution Center for $12 each, instead of the $25 per ticket that they charge. We are going Monday; we'll let you know how this works out.
http://www.livingsocial.com/

PIZZERIA UNO  Team VFH likes going to the movies. We also like our beer. It turns out that the Pizzeria Uno on Sloane Avenue in Hamilton, NJ is on the grounds of the AMC movie theater. A couple of weeks ago we got to the theater a bit early for our viewing and decided to drop in for something to eat and drink. Not only were we pleasantly surprised at their beer listing and the quality of their deep dish pizza, we also noticed that for any purchase, even a bottle of water, we could also purchase movie tickets for a substantial savings. We of course leapt at the opportunity.
You should also look for similar savings at either a Pizzeria Uno or similar establishment. The beauty of Team VFH is that we always are on the look out for a way to save some money.

If you happen to come across any similar savings, no matter how small, please share them with your favorite mooch crew. We will post your leads here on future blog entries.
Send them to: greg.dunaj@yahoo.com.

Love,
Janet and greg.

A trail runs through it

Ohiopyle Falls on
the lower Youghiogheny

The Youghiogheny River isn't the only game in town in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania where the Vacations From Home team went on a recent car camping vacation. The upper and lower Yough have some of the best white water east of the Mississippi and the town is a popular destination for those who like to endanger their lives in rafts or kayaks in the class III and class IV rapids.

The Ohiopyle House Cafe's
Marriettaville Tavern

Though Ohiopyle is a charming, rustic river town where many local's conversations at the downstairs bar of the Ohiopyle House Cafe, The Marriettaville Tavern, center around the river, a lengthy bike trail called the Great Allegheny Passage, or GAP, is another great attraction of the area. The GAP is a well maintained rail trail that runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland for 141 miles. In Cumberland one can then travel the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, C&O Canal, all the way into Washington, D.C., for a 325 mile stretch of interrupted biking. Because the GAP is a series of converted train rail beds, it is very level, making for lesiurely traveling. The outfit we went to for our rafting zaniness, Wilderness Voyageurs, not only rented bikes by the hour, but offer guided biking tours from Pittsburgh to D.C., fully catered with support vehicles meeting at various points. Although, I just checked W.V.'s website and they say all 2012 bike tours are sold out.

the GAP

There were several bike rental places in Ohiopyle, but we stayed with W.V.. They were more expensive per hour, $6.00 per, rather than $5.00, but they stopped charging after 3 1/2 hours, making the total $21 plus tax. The others stopped charging hourly after 5 hours, making the daily bill $25. We liked our time rafting with W.V. and we liked the Cannondale Mountain Bike they offered for rental, so Team VFH went with them.
http://wilderness-voyageurs.com/

Make sure you know
where you're going

I'm not a bike rider like Janet, but because the GAP is level we figured I could make the 20 mile round trip to Confluence, PA, despite the mid-90's temperatures of the day. A large part of the trail is shaded. There was something alluring about the town, Confluence, who's town motto is "where the mountains touch rivers," is a vacation community that is divided by the Youghiogheny and Casselman Rivers. Brochures said there was riverside dining and a "lovely" town square. It sounded charming and we decided to steer our rental bikes to Confluence.

Well, 17 miles later we had not yet reached Confluence. We did travel along some spectacular countryside with amazing views of the Yough. For a long time we could hear the rapids we had bounced along by raft just the other day thundering below us. We traveled over both the low and high bridges of Ohiopyle, the second majestically soaring far above the river. We peddled and peddled and peddled .... and peddled .... until, dripping with sweat we reached .... Connellsville,. We had headed in the wrong direction! Connellsville was a town still mired in the Rust Belt of western Pennsylvania, but they were trying really hard to make it. The town had embraced the GAP and there were bike lanes decorated with flowers and maps of loops one could take through town if one chose to deviate from the Great Allegheny Passage for a spell. There was also a lot of traffic and it was in the mid-90's and my butt was sore, so the review of Connellsville may be tainted in this report. Dripping with sweat but happy with our accomplishment of peddling as far as we had, we stopped for waters and iced-t at a dreary convenience store that was closing it's doors permanently in a few days and rehydrated in a park carved out of a parking lot.

Where the hell am I?

I withered on the way back; the psychological effects of besting the greater distance to Connellsville had worn off. Spirited talk of continuing on past Ohiopyle to also reach the shining jewel of Confluence and it's "lovely" town square faded with every crunch of my buttocks onto the seat. Ugh...Janet was barreling down the path with her competitive zeal. I was hurting, but we decided to try and make Confluence after a stop back in Ohiopyle. Afterall, we are Team VFH and we wanted to get our money's worth on the bikes. We didn't need to have them back until 8 pm. It was just 5! Well, after rehydrating in Ohiopyle we set out in the heat once again, but I had no heart to continue after just a few miles. Janet said she was willing, but was kind and we returned to Ohiopyle and the bike shop at Wilderness Voyageurs.

We decided then to drive to Confluence. Afterall this is what we had started out to see this morning. It's where "mountains touch rivers". It boasts a "lovely" town square and riverside dining. We had to see it...even if we needed to drive.

Boy, am I glad I didn't try to muscle it through to Confluence on the second leg of the trip. Perhaps it was the sweat still glistening in our eyes from our 40 plus miles on the bikes, but I missed a lot of the charm and couldn't find the lovely town square that was boasted about in the brochures. Sure there were some nice homes ... next to some nice double-wides ... and we did drive by the charming looking River's Edge Cafe, but there wasn't a whole lot more. Had we gone in the correct direction earlier, we would have had time and the inclination to explore, but we were gassed and happy that we only drove here. Instead we hightailed it back to our favorite watering hole at the Ohiopyle House Cafe. We slept soundly that night.

BLOB BALL

Yum

Don't worry, there's still more Ohiopyle escapades to relate here on this blog, but there is a timely matter to tell you all about. If you happen to find yourself in Pennsyltucky this weekend, head over to Phoenixville where the 5th annual Blob Ball is being held this Friday and Saturday. You may recall the Blob was a 1958 "B" horror film that starred a flesh absorbing monster from outer space. It was also Steve McQueen's first movie role. The film was shot in the area including The Colonial Theater where the infamous scene of the Blob oozing through the projectionist windows panics the audience to run screaming from the theater. This scene is reenacted everytime the Blob Ball is held. Sadly, the tickets for this portion of the festivities is sold out, but you're still able to run around the revitalized downtown of Phoenixville shrieking like a knucklehead.

Other activities during the two day event include a Fire Extinguisher parade (fire extinguishers worked very well in combating the Blob), musical acts, stageshows and a Sci-Fi costume contest. The Colonial is still a working theater and music venue and they are showing a double bill of "The Blob" and the original "The Day The Earth Stood Still." Phoenixville has become a destination. There are several restaurants and bars that are worth visiting after you're blobbed out. Iron Hill Brewery, Steel City Cafe, Fenix, The Black Lab Bistro and The Columbia Bar, among many others are within walking distance of the theater. Go! or be devoured.

http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/article/20120710/ENTERTAINMENT01/120709982/blobfest-offers-family-fun-sci-fi-entertainment-in-phoenixville