Since I began the process of road trip planning, I've fallen in love with reading (for the millionth time, probably) all over again. My family reads. When we were kids, my siblings and I would look forward to stopping by Barnes & Noble with dad before or after our movie at The Promenade to read a quick chapter or check out the latest Archie comic book. I never used to read as much as my siblings in the beginning though. I was a little behind in starting the Harry Potter series, and I didn't actually develop a love for books until I began those. I was more of a read-Calvin&Hobbes-while-eating-cereal reader than a read-a-book-for-the-love-of-reading reader. And then I fell in love with books & never looked back. Now I love to read everything, and my road trip research has allowed me to enjoy this hobby even more recently.
If you follow my blog, then you've probably noticed that it's been a few months since my last post. It's not because I forgot about my blog or because I was lazy. It's because I was feeling uninspired. I have several entries saved as drafts (as per usual & this will probably never not be true), as I have continued to research and take notes, but I was feeling like posting on my blog was a chore instead of something I enjoyed.
I want this entire road trip process, from planning to execution to recalling epic stories after the fact, to be something I enjoy. POSITIVE. In recent weeks, writing wasn't something I found pleasure in. But reading was and continues to be something I find most enjoyable. So I will continue to read, and in doing so, research. And I will share my findings, and my thoughts & my hopes for my trip. But I will not allow sharing to become a chore. I do want to keep myself accountable, and I think this blog will help me do so, but I will only reach for a pen & paper (or a keyboard) when I feel compelled, inspired to do so. Not because it is something I feel I have a responsibility to do. :)
Sunday, January 19, 2014
SSS: New Jersey
New Jersey tends to have a bad reputation because of how it's portrayed in movies and on television, and the state's infamous tolls don't really help their case either. But as someone who always tries to see the good, I'm hoping to find some hidden charm in this "Garden State" (and I have no doubt that I will!)
After some research, things I might want to see/do/eat:
-Palisades Interstate Park (riverside hiking trails & shoreline)
-Jersey Shore
-Prudential Center aka "The Rock" in Newark
-Ironbound (Portuguese-Spanish neighborhood)
-Hoboken, Frank Sinatra's hometown (see an alternative-rock show at Maxwell's)
-Atlantic City
-Eat some salt-water taffy at Atlantic City's boardwalk (where the treat was invented in the late 1800s)
-Enjoy some blueberries (the first in the US were farmed in New Jersey)
-Asbury Park & rock bar Stone Pony
-Canoe the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border
-Wetlands in south New Jersey
-Revolutionary War monuments
-The Pine Barrens region
I can't wait to drive along New Jersey's advent of highways while listening to Springsteen's "Born to Run!" :)
Visit NJ
After some research, things I might want to see/do/eat:
-Palisades Interstate Park (riverside hiking trails & shoreline)
-Jersey Shore
-Prudential Center aka "The Rock" in Newark
-Ironbound (Portuguese-Spanish neighborhood)
-Hoboken, Frank Sinatra's hometown (see an alternative-rock show at Maxwell's)
-Atlantic City
-Eat some salt-water taffy at Atlantic City's boardwalk (where the treat was invented in the late 1800s)
-Enjoy some blueberries (the first in the US were farmed in New Jersey)
-Asbury Park & rock bar Stone Pony
-Canoe the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border
-Wetlands in south New Jersey
-Revolutionary War monuments
-The Pine Barrens region
I can't wait to drive along New Jersey's advent of highways while listening to Springsteen's "Born to Run!" :)
Visit NJ
Attitude of G R A T I T U D E
The following entry was written on 11/14/13.
I'm sitting on the bed in my room with the fan on, my favorite quilt covering my legs, Rocco sleeping under the covers with his head resting on my shin, a cup of coffee on the headboard behind me, a small dish of almonds sitting on the pillow next to me, and Alexi Murdoch playing from my Bon Iver Pandora station in the background. & Today I'm overcome with this deep feeling of gratitude. And sadness. And excitement. And simple nostalgia. But mostly G R A D I T U D E. I am SO overcome with gratitude.
The amount of people & things & experiences I have to be thankful for is overwhelming. I am SO blessed it makes me what to cry a river of joyful, gracious tears. And maybe that's just what I'll have to do, because this feeling has rocked me to my core and I can't even begin to explain how lucky I feel; in every aspect of my life I feel lucky.
That's not all to say that my life is perfect. It's not. It's far from perfect actually. Nor is this the happiest I've been, because that's not true either. In fact, the past several months have been hard for me emotionally. I've struggled with friendships, plans for my future, family stuff, health problems, and other very personal issues. But I am A L I V E. I am living and breathing and experiencing life.
...
1/19/14
Have you ever heard of The Secret? My family and I have been exploring the idea of it more often lately, and The Secret is essentially that. ^^ To have a constant attitude of gratitude. To be thankful and grateful for everything that you already have while hoping (& ASKING) for what you want. To consciously be putting positivity out into the Universe, because positive attracts more positive. (& the same is true of negativity.) The secret to a happy life is being grateful for everything that you already have, asking for what you want, believing that you will get it, receiving it, and then being grateful all over again. We have the power to give ourselves a happy life. We just have to believe that we can have what we want, ALL we want, and we will be blessed.
I want to road trip across the United States of America. I want to have the time of my life exploring my country & experiencing everything this great nation has to offer.
...And you better believe I WILL. Because I do. ;)
I'm sitting on the bed in my room with the fan on, my favorite quilt covering my legs, Rocco sleeping under the covers with his head resting on my shin, a cup of coffee on the headboard behind me, a small dish of almonds sitting on the pillow next to me, and Alexi Murdoch playing from my Bon Iver Pandora station in the background. & Today I'm overcome with this deep feeling of gratitude. And sadness. And excitement. And simple nostalgia. But mostly G R A D I T U D E. I am SO overcome with gratitude.
The amount of people & things & experiences I have to be thankful for is overwhelming. I am SO blessed it makes me what to cry a river of joyful, gracious tears. And maybe that's just what I'll have to do, because this feeling has rocked me to my core and I can't even begin to explain how lucky I feel; in every aspect of my life I feel lucky.
That's not all to say that my life is perfect. It's not. It's far from perfect actually. Nor is this the happiest I've been, because that's not true either. In fact, the past several months have been hard for me emotionally. I've struggled with friendships, plans for my future, family stuff, health problems, and other very personal issues. But I am A L I V E. I am living and breathing and experiencing life.
...
1/19/14
Have you ever heard of The Secret? My family and I have been exploring the idea of it more often lately, and The Secret is essentially that. ^^ To have a constant attitude of gratitude. To be thankful and grateful for everything that you already have while hoping (& ASKING) for what you want. To consciously be putting positivity out into the Universe, because positive attracts more positive. (& the same is true of negativity.) The secret to a happy life is being grateful for everything that you already have, asking for what you want, believing that you will get it, receiving it, and then being grateful all over again. We have the power to give ourselves a happy life. We just have to believe that we can have what we want, ALL we want, and we will be blessed.
I want to road trip across the United States of America. I want to have the time of my life exploring my country & experiencing everything this great nation has to offer.
...And you better believe I WILL. Because I do. ;)
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