Great NYC suburbs. No reason to move.
MORRISTOWN
New Jersey has several beautiful, historical, small towns among which Morristown is included. Morristown's defining feature is its green square in the center of town from which all commercial activity radiates. An initial ring of restaurants and financial offices give way to a combination of mom and pop shops and larger chains. Dotted throughout the commercial mix are a few historical buildings indicating that Morristown has always been a great place to live. The most prominent of these historical sites is the Morris County Courthouse - a placard out front proudly proclaims the Courthouse as the best example of the Federal architectural style in New Jersey.
New Jersey has several beautiful, historical, small towns among which Morristown is included. Morristown's defining feature is its green square in the center of town from which all commercial activity radiates. An initial ring of restaurants and financial offices give way to a combination of mom and pop shops and larger chains. Dotted throughout the commercial mix are a few historical buildings indicating that Morristown has always been a great place to live. The most prominent of these historical sites is the Morris County Courthouse - a placard out front proudly proclaims the Courthouse as the best example of the Federal architectural style in New Jersey.
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Ten minutes west of the Green Square is Morristown National Historic Park where the Continental Army camped TWO winters during the revolutionary war. If you time your visit right you may be able to see an encampment re-enacted where a bunch of revolutionary war enthusiasts recreate the scene from when Washington was in the area.
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Thomas Edison - Steve Jobs is often recognized as one of the best business minds of the 20th century for his role in creating three companies - Apple, Pixar, then raising Apple again from the ashes. Thomas Edison created INDUSTRIES thirty companies - two of which the first movie company and phonograph Jobs essentially copied to create his three companies. Like Jobs, Edison was primarily an enhancer of existing ideas although his greatest original thought - recording then airing voices - is unarguably the greatest invention ever and paved the way for internet connections today. Without Edison's phonograph graham bell wouldn't have been able to invent the phone.
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I'm not sure how much of the laboratory is original but it sure feels like you are stepping right into how Edison left it. To the right of the entrance is Edison's library which contains over 10,000 books. The ground floor also contains the manufacturing equipment Edison's staff used to create prototypes. A similar, smaller manufacturing area is on the second floor and lab rooms, a sketching office, and a dark room occupy the third floor. The near end of the third floor has a phonograph exhibit in a room where the first motion pictures were created. The lasting impression is that even after learning about Edison during the visit you'll want to learn even more after leaving.
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Drive to Home
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Yogi Berra
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NEWARK
Newark is another town on the NJ Transit Trenton Train Line I've always thought about hopping off and checking out on my way to New York. Even more so now that Cory Booker is a Presidential candidate. I'm curious if Newark is truly a bastion of urban success or whether it more closely resembles Trenton.
Like New Brunswick, the train line bisects the city into distinct areas. To the left is the business district - the intersection of Broad and Market Streets is the epicenter. From the train I was impressed with the skyline but at ground level the business district is more spread out with a lot of nothing. Broad Street has a Trentonian feel - cheap stores and homeless but with a ridiculous amount of potential. If Cory Booker had been able to transform this corridor and bring the locals along with the economic development he'd be the next President. I'm not saying that because he didn't is a disqualifier, I'm saying the transformation would have been that impressive.
Newark is another town on the NJ Transit Trenton Train Line I've always thought about hopping off and checking out on my way to New York. Even more so now that Cory Booker is a Presidential candidate. I'm curious if Newark is truly a bastion of urban success or whether it more closely resembles Trenton.
Like New Brunswick, the train line bisects the city into distinct areas. To the left is the business district - the intersection of Broad and Market Streets is the epicenter. From the train I was impressed with the skyline but at ground level the business district is more spread out with a lot of nothing. Broad Street has a Trentonian feel - cheap stores and homeless but with a ridiculous amount of potential. If Cory Booker had been able to transform this corridor and bring the locals along with the economic development he'd be the next President. I'm not saying that because he didn't is a disqualifier, I'm saying the transformation would have been that impressive.
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East of the train tracks is the Ironbound neighborhood which has served as an enclave of Spanish and Portuguese immigrants for the past 100 years. As such there is a high concentration of restaurants offering cuisine from these countries. I ordered a couple of tapas at Forno de Spain and will check out Iberia should I ever get off at Newark Penn Station in the future.
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As for assessing Cory Booker? It's tough to tell and the articles I read while waiting for the tapas seemed to reach a similar conclusion. Booker seems like a passionate, likable person who is more of a cheerleader than a tactician. I visited the city because of Booker's cheerleading. From my time the city appears to be on continued upward trend although like everywhere else that trend doesn't appear to include the city's poorest.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is located in a northern neighborhood.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is located in a northern neighborhood.
HOBOKEN
I've wanted to check out Hoboken for 15 years. The town has always been pitched as a cheaper alternative to NYC living but...it's not NYC. I could never find an "attraction" to visit until I stumbled upon Elysian Fields while moving around Google Maps. Elysian Fields is recognized as the site of the first baseball game. Now I had a reason to visit Hoboken. There's a commemorative plaque identifying the location, otherwise you'd mistake the field for the dog park at a riverfront apartment complex...because the field is currently a dog park at a riverfront apartment complex. There's a second marker at the intersection of 11th Street and Washington. Washington is Hoboken's main thoroughfare and home to cafes, restaurants, and bars.
The Hoboken waterfront has great shots across the Hudson River of the NYC skyline, although after gazing at the Hong Kong skyline from Kowloon the Hoboken view of NYC is kind of depressing.
I've wanted to check out Hoboken for 15 years. The town has always been pitched as a cheaper alternative to NYC living but...it's not NYC. I could never find an "attraction" to visit until I stumbled upon Elysian Fields while moving around Google Maps. Elysian Fields is recognized as the site of the first baseball game. Now I had a reason to visit Hoboken. There's a commemorative plaque identifying the location, otherwise you'd mistake the field for the dog park at a riverfront apartment complex...because the field is currently a dog park at a riverfront apartment complex. There's a second marker at the intersection of 11th Street and Washington. Washington is Hoboken's main thoroughfare and home to cafes, restaurants, and bars.
The Hoboken waterfront has great shots across the Hudson River of the NYC skyline, although after gazing at the Hong Kong skyline from Kowloon the Hoboken view of NYC is kind of depressing.
DINERS
New Jersey is a state known for its diners. The cozy eateries are often have a trapped in Time environment and are a.great way to experience New Jerseyian culture. The all look the same, the all serve similar food, so how do you pick one from the masses? Go with the oldest, The Summit Diner in Summit, NJ. There's debate over which NJ diner is the oldest - The Summit Diner's claim is that was the first in 1929 with the caveat that it moved into its current dining car in 1938. The location didn't change. Other diners claiming to be older so so with the caveat that have been in the same building since before 1938. I'm giving the oldest claim to the Summit Diner. I went with the Taylor Ham (pork roll to Philadelphian's), egg, and cheese sandwich a greasy mess of a sandwich which has flavor dating back to 1938.
While my destination was the diner, the rest of Summit looked nice during the drive in and back out. There was an historical commercial street and a couple of side streets with a modern flair.
On the way to Newark from Hoboken I stopped at the White Mana Diner, the only remaining diner from the 1939 New York World's Fair, whatever significance that means. Five bucks got me a nostalgic burger and fry dining experience.
New Jersey is a state known for its diners. The cozy eateries are often have a trapped in Time environment and are a.great way to experience New Jerseyian culture. The all look the same, the all serve similar food, so how do you pick one from the masses? Go with the oldest, The Summit Diner in Summit, NJ. There's debate over which NJ diner is the oldest - The Summit Diner's claim is that was the first in 1929 with the caveat that it moved into its current dining car in 1938. The location didn't change. Other diners claiming to be older so so with the caveat that have been in the same building since before 1938. I'm giving the oldest claim to the Summit Diner. I went with the Taylor Ham (pork roll to Philadelphian's), egg, and cheese sandwich a greasy mess of a sandwich which has flavor dating back to 1938.
While my destination was the diner, the rest of Summit looked nice during the drive in and back out. There was an historical commercial street and a couple of side streets with a modern flair.
On the way to Newark from Hoboken I stopped at the White Mana Diner, the only remaining diner from the 1939 New York World's Fair, whatever significance that means. Five bucks got me a nostalgic burger and fry dining experience.
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Hot Dogs
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