BRAVE NEW WORLD

THE MUSIC CITY

As a parent my one true hope is for my children to be happy.  Why are we in this Garden of Eden after all? To find our way in this world and to follow our dreams and aspirations should be life-long quests for every one of us! But, my kids, my kids, I want them to have more than I ever dreamed of having. I want the world to be open to them. I think I've guided them well. 

There is a quote about baseball managers I had heard once, but can’t attribute to anyone in particular. It said that the best baseball managers are the ones that don’t trip their players as they exit the dugout.

Sigh.

Well, I am evidently a great manager, because my daughter has exceeded all expectations with her charm, adventurous spirit and fiery élan. My first born has marched to her own drumbeat towards happiness for a long time and the latest installment on this journey has her in Nashville, Tennessee.

Previously Florida, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. were graced by her beauty and infectious spirit, and now Nashville is the lucky landing spot. Why? Because she said it looked like a vibrant destination for her!

We all should be so fortunate in deciding our futures.

CARPE TRIP

Speaking of fortunate, Janet and I had been pondering a trip to the Music City, so named because it’s the country music capital, when this fine excuse fell into our laps.

We’ve had friends who have visited the city and were aglow about this destination. Now, while Janet is a full-fledged bluegrass enthusiast and at times takes to wearing Daisy Mae cut offs I have, at best a passing appreciation for some country music, but I am a huge fan of seeing my daughter; I see her so infrequently; that any chance I get I will leap at the chance.

 

Broadway from Acme

So, after arranging some flights and an Airbnb we soon were meeting my daughter for dinner.

 

We met her in her new neck of the woods, the upscale looking Germantown; brand new construction and quiet streets; at Butchertown Hall, a fancy smokehouse offering an array of grilled meats, mescal drinks and German and local beers on the menu. My daughter had grilled trout, Janet had the brisket plate and I basically had street food tacos; one each of pork, hot chicken and brisket. My two beers were local, Czann’s Double Wheat and Black Abbey’s Special, that tasted as Belgian as the real thing. 

 CZANN'S

BLACK ABBEY

There is a thriving craft beer scene here in Nashville. Here is a good listing of them all.

NASHVILLE BREWERIES

Butchertown Hall

My daughter was the happiest I had seen her in years. She really likes Nashville and she spoke about the friendliness of the people and the burgeoning population. She doesn’t know a lot of people here, yet, but she is sure that her circle will soon grow. Evidently people are flocking to this city on the Cumberland River. Construction is rampant and there are cranes everywhere. Having lived in New Orleans she said she missed the southern calm way of going through the day and Nashville has all that charm she was missing.  Evidently the pay scales are less though the cost of living is comparable to home. Still, she was happy in this brave new world and as her Pop I left feeling she had made the right choice.

NASHVILLE

BUTCHERTOWN HALL - GERMANTOWN NASHVILLE

LANDFILL LIVES

FOR THE BIRDS

Having some time to kill before my work day started on July 3^rd and not wanting to endure the shore traffic and the crowds there, I opted to drive instead to the meadowlands area and lounge for a bit in the sun with my beach chair and a couple of bottles of water. This way I could get some sun and still be close to my job that day in Secaucus. I had heard of the New Jersey Sports Exposition Authority’s string of parks surrounding the Meadowlands and decided to go DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. Just a few miles across the waterways of the Meadowlands DeKorte is just a few miles from work as the crow flies but worlds away from everything. This was quite the new adventure for me, for I have lived in the Meadowlands area for a large part of my life (so far) and I would never consider it as a leisure destination.

ONLY IN NEW JERSEY

I had lived in Harrison for 25+ years, on the southern edge of the Meadowlands, where the Passaic rounds in a patella shaped curve to meet the Hackensack to form Newark Bay. The edge of my hometown literally ended with the Meadowlands and although it was a risky playground for foolhardy boys it was our park. The Meadowlands is an incredible ecosystem, so very close to the throbbing metropolis of New York City, but during the time of my youth the land was considered worthless and unappreciated. For decades it was the dumping ground for industry and households, sometimes illegally and the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers were considered some of the most polluted in the United States. Huge landfill mountains grew out of the waters. As a teenager I would get a couple of weeks working for the town’s DPW during the summer and every day we would take a truck of tossed items to the landfills. A lot of my experiences there formed the genesis of my first novel “Hi, How Are You?”

For decades it was thought the proper way to combat mosquitos was to lace the water with a layer of oil. Through our cavorting we found a small body of water we called “Purple Lake” and we would try to launch makeshift rafts on it that would invariably list and sink, soaking our feet and ankles with a foul stench. Between this, the rats and the massive firecracker wars we waged, I’m surprised I survived this time of my life.

WTC MEMORIAL 

NJSEA

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority runs the Meadowlands sports complex where the New York Football Giants and NY Jets play as well as several parks and boat launches along the Hackensack estuary. I have to admit I’d be skittish, despite my earlier sojourns in this blighted water to get into a kayak. Starting in the late 60’s with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and now the NJSEA steps have been taken to clean and revitalize the area. Though there has been some modest improvement there are still several superfund sites ringing the area around Berry’s Creek which empties into the Hackensack near Route 3. Perhaps the most notorious superfund site in the area involved the Diamond Shamrock Corporation, makers of Agent Orange…but  heck, that particular superfund site is in Newark and not really in the Meadowlands, so what’s the worry?

The NJSEA now operates six separate parks and boat launches in the Meadowlands area and all are free entry. There is: the Richard W. DeKorte Park, Mill Creek Point Park, Mill Creek Boat Marsh, Losen Slote Creek Park, Laurel Hill Park and River Barge Park and Marina.

Yes, fair readers you are reading this correctly! Team VFH is so cheap we are willing to spend quality downtime at a superfund site. Don’t worry you’ll be forgiven if you choose to avoid the area, but somehow I have survived all these years and a few hours hiking around won’t kill you either, hopefully.

NEW JERSEY SPORTS AND EXPOSITION AUTHORITY 

RICHARD W. DeKORTE PARK

Getting to this park on the very teetering edge of Lyndhurst, one takes an ominous road through typical meadowlands dumping areas. Valley Brook Road begins normally enough but head east from Orient Way the road dives down into the Meadowlands and soon tall grasses edge the road in what becomes a desolate area. Even the name, Valley Brook, changes to Disposal Road. It all seems like a mistake, but eventually the road turns and just after the NJ Transit railroad tracks there is the entrance of DeKorte Park, oasis green.

Originally slated to be another landfill site, DeKorte offers 3.5 miles of walking paths through the wetlands and the trails are frequented by bird watchers as this is a major flyover spot for migrating birds. There is an incredible view of the New York City skyline and the NJ Turnpike in the distance revs by soundlessly. It’s actually very quiet here and I set up my little beach chair and read my book in the bright hot day. There is fishing in certain areas but only catch and release as the water is still too polluted and I saw several people trying their luck out on the jettys of the Saw Mill Creek Trail, once an access road for the power lines overhead. If one is able to overlook the towering landfills on the other side of Saw Mill Creek mudflats, now covered in vegetation and looking strangely verdant, one could say this was pristine. There were a couple of “birders” with their binoculars and long lensed cameras looking for something interesting but this wasn’t migrating season and so beyond that I had my little perch to myself. It seemed odd but it was quiet and pleasant and the sun was fierce. After counting planes on their approach to nearby Newark Airport I packed my bags and headed off to work. It was a surprisingly good way to kill some time.

NOT JUST BIRDS

There are several activities at the park, including free public viewing on Wednesday evenings at the McDowell Observatory, the popular and well attended Butterfly day is July 27 is free and on Friday, July 14 there is a free concert by the North Jersey Concert Band performing contemporary, Big Band and Broadway tunes...  all of which are FREE. Consult the events schedule for DeKorte Park for a current listing of events. Did I mention it’s free?

Thanks for reading!

PARADE OF BEER

PROST!
As Team VFH Captain Janet Lee is in England with her new grandson and is up to her elbows in dirty diapers and enjoying every swabbing moment of it, I am back home living it up!

Yeah…that’s right… I’m leaving the toilet seats up, and piling dirty dishes in the sink AND, get this, I haven’t made the bed since she left two weeks ago. I’m having the time of my life. Of course, the one drawback in all this is I’m running out of dishes and I can’t figure out the new dishwasher Janet bought, so I have been going out to eat a lot when I’m not working. I’ve been going to a lot of brewpubs when I can and in the burgeoning craft beer market of Pennsylvania there are a lot of them. 

NO BUDS ALLOWED.

Although craft beers are gaining popularity in New Jersey it still pales in comparison to Pennsylvania. Go into practically any bar in on this side of the Delaware and the array of brews is outstanding. For your humble beer enthusiasts, who have traveled to Belgium just to drink beer, this is a good thing. Of course you can get good beer in NJ, but there are a lot of brewpubs in PA.

For the longest time the only brewpub in New Jersey was the Ship Inn in Milford NJ, near the Delaware River in Hunterdon County and a pleasant scenic drive up Route 29 from Lambertville. Serving British style beers and food specials like hamburgers on Tuesdays and fish and chips on Wednesday, this was the only available destination.  Although the scene in New Jersey has since improved the state still lags behind the proliferation of craft breweries and brewpubs in Pennsylvania.

THE SHIP INN 

For example in the nearby town of Phoenixville a now-thriving community with a vibrant nightlife there are several brewpubs and breweries. Even in the relatively sleepy town of Collegeville where we now live you can hold your breath and walk from the townhouse to the Appalachian Brewery. It’s a small Pennsylvania chain that serves several beers and has a full menu. Although close we rarely go there, but as I have a few more days before Janet returns I may make a guest appearance.

APPALACHIAN BREWING

HIPSTER ALERT

It’s remarkable how craft beer has exploded in popularity. Once only the giants like Budweiser, Miller and Coors were available, now there are so many beers that it’s hard to know what to order! Pub crawls can be mind twisting affairs in trying to figure out what to drink next.

But, like internet publishing there is no guarantee the product produced is good. Sometimes with these newer places the beers are either a hit or miss. Attempting to "up" the beer experience brewers sometime combine and infuse flavors that have no place I believe in the realm of beers. I guess if you favor your beer flavored with grapes, etc., then this is good. Sometimes they are just outright bad. Sadly a triple I had at the Tuned Up brewery in Spring City reminded me not of grapes, but lipstick. Always ask for a taste before ordering a pint that you’re not sure about. I know I kind of splatted Tuned Up, but the other beers we had were powerful and good and I ordered the triple without the requisite sip. They do not serve food, but I would return for a beer, or two, that is after a taste.

Even the much revered Dogfish Head Brewery of Milton Delaware, home to 60 Minute, 90 Minute, Burton Baton and Johnny Cask, experiments. Team VFH has been known to drink many many many of these delicacies, but some of their others like the current  Alternate Takes #5 a barrel aged raspberry / blueberry sour is not appealing at all….But thankfully their 60 Minute now comes in cans!

DOGFISHHEAD BREWERY 

ROAD TRIPS

Victory Brewing

The brewpubs I have gone on this extended foray in a bachelor feeding frenzy are all hits. The food is good and the great beers make it difficult to choose two to drink. I hold myself to two as I have to drive.

The first brewpub I visited was Victory Brewing in Downingtown. Every chance I get I travel to this far flung oasis of all things good in the world. (It is too far to drive to Dogfish Head for the evening.) Even my son shudders with anticipation when I offer to buy him a few at Victory. How else will I get my son to drive all this way to visit me?

Large and airy with ample dining areas and always crowded Victory is the closest thing to perfection. ALL their beers are drinkable and the difficulty is which one to choose. Some are very strong like their Golden Monkey Triple and their Storm King Stout. If I’m driving though, I usually opt for the Hop Devil on hand pump. Creamy smooth and delicious this IPA is excellent. The Dark Devil is a combination of their Storm King Stout and the Hop Devil. If you’re not the DD I suggest you go for one of these.

For dinner I had an excellent grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and fries.

VICTORY BREWING 

Stoudts Brewery

This brewpub is a bit out there in Adamstown out past Reading. Your favorite quaffers have been there a few times for their well-attended Oktoberfest. The Mossad would have a field day at this event. There are Lederhosen galore and people parading behind a roasted pig hoisted on a spit, prancing to a German oom-pah band. It smacks of the real thing. The brewpub itself is decorated with knick knacks covering the wainscoting and there is a stilted old feeling to the brewpub. I had been to the brewpub once before and it’s never crowded, but the char grilled Black Angus burger topped with blue cheese had me busy so I barely noticed.I had their triple and a double IPA.

STOUDTS BREWING 

Tired Hands

This is on the mainline in Ardmore. Their Fermentaria was slick and crowded. It was bright and sun splashed from the wall of windows. All the servers were tattooed and bearded, except thankfully the women. Here, I found grape flavored beer and they were rather pretentious about their brews. I ordered a double IPA and was questioned as to whether or not I was looking for the Obilex or something like that, even though as far as I can tell there was only one double IPA on their beer listing.  Many of their beers have odd names like: “Progression Through Unlearning II, or, "Ridiculoid" and have accompanying descriptions that arched my eyebrows. Their beers had “notes of kiwi, or apricot, or concord grape, or unripe pear, etc. It all just seemed (and tasted) haughty and ill-conceived. If not for an excellent and well-priced burger I would never return. The double IPA…whatever they called it was fine.

TIRED HANDS BREWING

Sly Fox

This established brewpub is on the outskirts of Phoenixville, although the beer is actually brewed in a different location. It is an honest and reasonably priced place with a fine selection of honest beers. I had been there before and their Route 113 IPA is a good beer. My second was a hand pump bitter that was smooth and delicious. For a refreshing summer beer I have been known to carry out a six pack of their Royal Weisse. At the brewpub I sat outside in their corralled area on the sidewalk of a strip mall and had a blue cheese topped burger. It is not a glamorous place, but the burger was very tasty.

SLY FOX BREWING 

As mentioned earlier Phoenixville boasts several breweries and brewpubs.

Iron Hill

Iron Hill is a small chain that offers many award winning beers. It is often our go to place for food and drink. Although expensive, their food is very good. I favor the Voodoo Chicken Pizza. Special beers like the Bedotter or the Wee Heavy are excellent, but their regular house beers hold up very well.

IRON HILL BREWING

Stable 12

This is a place where I suggest you sample their beer before ordering it. Some of their beers are high in alcohol. They have a kitchen serving the usual fare and an outdoor, dog-friendly seating area offering live music.

STABLE 12 BREWING

Crowded Castle

This posh bar just opened and the beer taps are manned by one of the several buddies who started the place. I liked their Belgian Quad.. but who wouldn’t? They do not have a kitchen, but you can order food delivered to the place.

CROWDED CASTLE BREWING

Root Down

The latest entry into the Phoenixville brewery scene is Root Down. I haven’t been there yet, but they also serve food. We’ll get back to you on this one.  

ROOT DOWN BREWING 

ALPINE GLOWS AND DRY TOWNS

So much depends / upon a red wheel barrel …

My brother and I are in the television production business. I’m New York based and he’s in Colorado. I avoid working sporting events, preferring the relative calm of studio shows, while he works a lot of winter events. He is a ski bum after all. We are techs. I’m a graphics and prompter operator and he works camera and utility. I commute…he travels.

I used to travel A LOT for work. In the beginning it is exciting to be somewhere new, in a new city or country, but eventually traveling became very exhausting. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Miami or Milan, Seattle or Sydney, Chicago or Calgary, while on the road your life at home basically stops and homesickness is a reality and just the logistical slog through airports and stadiums can become depressing. There are a lot of severed relationships in my industry.

Live television is thrilling though! It is fun to be a part of a team that puts it all together to bring into your homes a flawless broadcast. But “live” also means there are no mulligans and you just keep going. My brother and I are both freelancers which means you are only as good as your last broadcast, so mistakes aren’t overlooked. Add this level of stress to the traveling blues and realize that while you’re scratching various parts of your body while ensconced on your sofa fair reader, we’re out there bringing it all to you in living color. It is a tough way to make a living.

And, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

WORLDS COLLIDE

Despite all the misgivings that come with this world of television broadcasting, sometimes there are benefits. If it weren’t for work we would never see each other. As my brother and I live nearly on opposite sides of the continent, our business travel brings us closer at times. For the second straight year he has come into NYC to work a volley ball match held in lower Manhattan. My ski bum brother is so out of his element in the concrete canyons of the city, while I look especially good sitting by a fire in the lodge and not venturing out onto the slopes.

Staying with a friend in the bedroom community of Rutherford, my brother takes NJ Transit into the City for his job. One evening we rendezvous at the Journal Square PATH station in Jersey City after his day of work ends. I had been working in Secaucus that day, so it is a short drive to get him.

These places so very very far away from where we both currently live are still quite familiar. My brother went to college in Jersey City and we grew up in Harrison, just a couple of miles west of Journal Square. Still, we marvel at the views and changes of our hometown as my brother wants to drive around and see the ‘sights’. He wants to drive by the new High School, drive through West Hudson Park, go past our old house on Washington Street, although the original house burned down 20 years ago. We ooed and aahed at the places and reminisced about places we’d go out to eat with Mom and Dad when they were still alive. He wants me to drive up Kearny Avenue, rising from the flats of Harrison and past all the locations of the Sopranos television show. Even after living nearly half my life in this area I too enjoy this little road trip. It’s late in the day and the warm golden light dispels all the grit that is so pervasive in this area. As we near the border with North Arlington the spire of my high school’s church, Queen of Peace is awash in the light and glowing beautifully in soft oranges and yellows. My brother is excited. “Alpine glow” he calls it. It’s something you see regularly in the mountains of Colorado. Who knew Jersey could be so beautiful?

 

NO.. NOT NJ

We drive through Lyndhurst, opting to not drive by Mom’s old apartment and enter the stately leafy streets of Rutherford. We cross over the roar of traffic of Route 3, that main artery to the Lincoln Tunnel, and enter the sedate town of William Carlos Williams, the poet that I had to read in High School. The pediatrician / poet was part of the Imagist movement and friends with other poets like Ezra Pound. To this day, “Red Wheel Barrel” and its simplistic powerful imagery remains with me.

Clustered around Park Avenue are several restaurants and we choose one, parking near the William Carlos Williams Center. We soon discover that this is kind of sort of a “dry” town. There are several scattered through New Jersey, town/cities, though thankfully no counties! Mainly religious reasons account for a teetotaler status, but Rutherford in its own way is dry because of zoning... It's a convoluted dance and the crisis was averted when I strolled a block or two from the Sonoma Grill to purchase a much needed 6 pack and all was right in the world again! I was having dinner with my favorite brother (my only one) and as I happily listened to him complain about how his feet hurt from the concrete of NYC, I busied myself with my meal.

I hope he works this event next year!

 DRY TOWNS

RUTHERFORD IS DRY?

ALPINE GLOW

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

THE WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS CENTER FOR THE ARTS

FERN AND VERNE

To travel well is to enjoy life wherever it takes you. Adapt to your new surroundings, marvel at the unique beauty, relish the tastes and sensations of cuisines and libations offered and smile broadly at your luck at having alighted on such a promontory.

Here we are now, Team VFH, nestled in the bosom of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Collegeville and one could go on and on about how it ain’t what they wanted in life, and easily overlook the beauty that is at hand.

Sure, it’s a townhouse, sure it’s a deck, sure there is the potential to have nosy neighbors ogle your every move as soon as you flounce outside. Here, there is none of the solitude I had in Lambertville and the sophistication of the tony drinking establishments and restaurants of this area currently remain hidden from these searching eyes.

I’ll find them … don’t you worry.

Most importantly, Janet has worked her magic. She has transformed this little slice of real estate into a Garden of Eden, again. Again, the small deck in the back of her townhouse is a beautiful oasis for the summer. Flowers arranged tenderly in pots resting on the deck surface and ferns in window boxes adorning the rail. Hostas are sprouting and tomato plants have again been planted. Festive lights, candles and a pastel colored green umbrella complete the beautiful scene. Janet ekes out more beauty in such a small area that all my harbored misgivings and complaints are without merit. I sigh. I smile.

And that is what this website is all about. Enjoying life wherever the swells of fortune takes you. Janet makes it very easy to go with the flow. If we cannot go somewhere, what better way to spend the afternoon than to sit on our little deck with a book and a drink? Life beyond the ferns is inconsequential. 

GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY NOW

I can’t tell if I’m a kingpin or a pauper

This really isn’t a travel piece, but it is one of good karma.

Faced with needing to consolidate a lifetime into a manageable array of boxes for the impending move to Janet's townhouse was daunting. The task of unloading much of a four bedroom home in order to squeeze into her place already brimming with things was a steep task, and given the short time of just 7 weeks until closing there was no time to dawdle or for that matter haggle over selling things in a yard sale. Time constraints and work pressing meant I had to make quick decisions and given the horrific timing I could not even rely on Lambertville’s storied Sparkle Week where one can throw EVERYTHING away. For whatever reason, Sparkle Week was pushed back to June this year rather than the first week in May.

SPARKLE WEEK 2016

So, I realized I could not bring THAT much with me and unless the item was slathered with sentiment or necessity it wasn’t making the trip to Collegeville. BUT…I collect things! Matchbooks, t-shirts, hats, sand, Olympic pins are just some of the crap I’ve acquired over the years. How does one toss away a bottle of sand from Normandy Beach, or for that matter the Banzai Pipeline!? When a matchbook from the Japanese Bullet Train is hovering over the abyss of a garbage can how can I let it go!? Don’t even mention my Olympic pins, or, my Aloha shirts.

JAPAN'S BULLET TRAIN

PAYING FORWARD

Turns out these sentimental things were easy to keep, because I wasn’t giving them away, but having a four bedroom fully furnished house had to be unloaded. Janet’s place was already nicely furnished so I had to get rid of stuff quickly. Thankfully I was smart and knew this move was inevitable, so for the past few years I had started shedding things in earlier Sparkle Weeks, or giving away things to people who could use them. The past couple of years my pile at Sparkle Week was impressive; the envy of the neighborhood. 

The King of
Sparkle Week

My dining room set and my son’s old bedroom set found new homes with greatly appreciative friends. I gave away my Discovery 158 Old Town canoe to my childhood friend.  My son took Edgar, the steer skull I drove with in the back of a rented sedan all the way from Texas. I had driven to the Lone Star State in order to research my second novel, “The Music Made Me Cry,” which takes place in the Hill Country of Texas. I offered my rustic looking chiminea to the buyers of my house and they said they had been secretly hoping I WOULD leave it behind.

 THE MUSIC MADE ME CRY

The only item sold was my record collection. The rest was given away. Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army each had numerous visits from me, but it was the VVA, that helped me the most and left me feeling the best about the whole process. The Vietnam Veterans of America helps the general welfare of veterans of all conflicts, but especially those homeless and disabled. They take donations of clothes, shoes, books, small appliances and other household goods, as long as the boxes or items can be carried by one person and with them VVA helps assist those veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other disabilities. It is a good cause and, they come to your door.

You phone or go to their website in order to schedule a pick up. It’s that easy. I felt like I was doing something worthy and it was a huge help with my limited time.  

PICK UP PLEASE.ORG

The house though was still brimming with things too large for the VVA to pick up and so I placed an ad in Craigslist. I’ve heard horror stories about the website that it was crawling with unsavory types. I placed an ad that basically said, Free! Get it Outta Here!,  and posted several pictures of my furniture.  One of the first and really the only viable contact was Ray from Trenton. He’s a grave stone engraver. His small family was moving from a “1 ½ bedroom house” in Trenton to a farmhouse and they needed furniture…. Lots of it! It was like hitting the lottery for both of us. Ray cleaned me out of everything. Overall he made four trips in his pick-up and he took everything but my couch.

HOW TO BECOME AN ENGRAVER OF TOMBSTONES

I was thankful that this process of moving out of Lambertville was so easy and that sentimental items found new loving homes.  It was important to me to give things away to people who would appreciate them and somehow cherish and use them as I had over the years. Life should always be so good.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Lambertville free bidge

Ciao Lambertville  

Readers of this fickle travel blog of questionable validity may have had their interest fade completely away by now. It has been quite a long time since I’ve entered anything of note or have even explored the possibility of being cheap in the name of fun. Not even dubious “destinations”, like having a beer at the pub at Wegman’s or going to Karaoke night at the Limerick Diner, have been scribbled on this waste of 0’s and 1’s.

DRINKING AT THE SUPER MARKET

KARAOKE AT THE DINER

“Why, Why, Why?”, you may ask, although I know you won’t....

Well in the long run there is good reason, though in the short term it has been chaos.

Your lovable cheapskates have conjoined their lives. I have sold my house of 18 years on Music Mountain in Lambertville, NJ and moved in with the true captain of Team VFH, Janet. Yes. It is true. Not only are we a couple, but we are roommates. I have left Lambertville, a lovely river town on the Delaware River in New Jersey and settled into Collegeville, PA…. the home of the Bears of Ursinus College.

URSINUS COLLEGE 

“Why, Why, Why?,” I have been asking myself.

Well. For starters love is involved. Money as well, as in, ‘two can live as cheaply as one’. “Love” may be the driving force of this sea change of life, but toss in the money aspect and it makes sense. We have been a team for 11 years now and the only benefit lost from this move to Collegeville is I no longer have a place to park during Shad Fest in Lambertville…which happens to be this weekend. Although Shad Fest is incredibly more alluring than Karaoke Nights at the Limerick Diner, living apart from Janet had become a too lonely affair.

MUSIC MOUNTAIN

I had lived in Lambertville for 28 years, the first 10 in a solid stone twin constructed in1860 and across Clinton Street from the feeder canal, and the last up on the hill named for the tent venue that had musical acts. Long, long ago when I announced to the Sinatra crew and orchestra that I was moving to this little town called Lambertville many said they had played at some kind of tent venue there.

MUSIC MOUNTAIN HISTORY 

IF YOU’RE THINKING OF LIVING HERE

The tent and the music were gone by the time I arrived with my little family in 1989, and the grit and decay that was sadly a prevalent part of the city were slowly dissipating. We bought in Lambertville at a very good time and soon after the only city in Hunterdon County New Jersey was an extremely viable place to live and to visit. A few years after we moved into 126 Clinton Street, on the corner of Buttonwood, I was astounded to read an article in the New York Times Real Estate section, “If you’re thinking of living in…” about Lambertville. 

Yeah, the city was a place for day trippers from New York and Philadelphia and for people like us who appreciated the rural quality of a place you could still walk and get a newspaper.

Yeah, more than once I remember conversations with friends and neighbors about Lambertville that WE LIVE in a popular tourist destination.

Canal side bar Lambertville Station

Once when I had family from England come to visit, the entire experience of leaving the car unlocked, strolling through the quiet streets or along the canal, stopping for a drink at the outdoor bar at the Lambertville Station and then visiting my house on the hill had them saying “DON’T SELL”.

 HUNTERDON COUNTY

MOVING FORWARD

Yeah, I could go on and on and on about the joys of Lambertville, about the sophisticated bars and restaurants, about how everything just seems right there. It is a great place to raise children. There's art and music and antiques too. It's close to everything and yet far enough away to feel like you've left it all behind. 

Sigh..

Like anything in life change can be exhilarating or painful or cathartic. In preparing for this next step in our conjoined existence there has been a revolving combination of these emotions. Having to let go… of things… of experiences… of embittered embedded hatreds… in order to prep my house for the market and to get rid of all the unnecessary things has been a lengthy time-consuming process. Twenty eight years is a long time and I've always been one to ponder my next move rather than diving madly into the process....

So I have not been lazy my fair and noble readers, nor have I been idle. 

As I have finally returned to you, reporting now from my townhouse garret in this little town on the banks of the Perkiomen River, I hope you’ll again find great pleasure in following our antics on Vacations From Home even if we get thrown out of Karaoke Night at the Limerick Diner for heckling.

PERKIOMEN WATERSHED