In the past six months I’ve been fortunate enough to make two trips to Nashville, TN. Nashville is one of my favorite places to visit. I’ll be posting a few things about Nashville soon, but in the meantime enjoy The Urbanophile’s take on Nashville.
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A new blog project is underway and this time I have a cohort to help me. Well, actually so far he has done most of the writing. Maybe that’s a good thing? I’m not sure.
If you are into college football, be sure to check out Buzz Meets Brutus at http://www.buzzmeetsbrutus.com. It is a joint effort between me and my buddy, Dan Lamone, here in Columbus. He’s a Buckeye and I’m a Yellow Jacket, hence Buzz meets Brutus.
You can also follow the BMB action on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/buzzmeetsbrutus
I hope you enjoy!
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I posted previously about my plans for a 1700 mile road trip in four days (here). I survived the trip and it actually ended up being closer to 1800 miles. I crossed through nine states (OH, PA, NY, VT, NH, MA, CT, NJ, and WV) and used almost 60 gallons of gasoline.
Here are my thoughts on the experience:
Day 1 Friday
Columbus, OH to Chester, Vt ~700 miles 12 hours
Friday was the long day. We had to go about 700 miles in order to make it all the way to Vermont in one day. We made it despite the constant rain and nearly being bled to death by tolls on I-90E. Luckily the rain slowed down as we passed Albany and things cleared for our drive through Vermont. It was absolutely beautiful in Vermont. We tried to snap a few pictures from the car (rule 1 of a road trip, no unnecessary stops) but I’m not sure we captured the full effect.
The important thing was we made it through the worst leg of the trip driving wise.
Day 2 Saturday
Vermont to Farmington, NH to Hartford, CT ~320 miles 5 hours
On Saturday we made the roughly two hour drive from southern Vermont to southern New Hampshire. You might think this is a straightforward drive, but in actuality there are not many highways that run East-West in that part of the country. Instead we traveled up I-91 and then back down I-89.
The day was rainy but fortunately it was more of a mist than anything else. The service was small and informal but everyone in Sandy’s family seemed pleased. I never had the chance to meet her Grandpa but after hearing people talk about him, I wish I had. He was certainly a dapper fellow:
His obituary appeared in the NY Times on August, 28th. (link)
After the service finished up, we got back on the road and made our way down to East Hartford, CT. I’m normally not a fan of satellite radio, but being able to listen to Georgia Tech play Miss State while driving through Mass was certainly nice. We did not get to Hartford until late and we left early the next day, so unfortunately I did not get a chance to look around the city at all.
Day 3 Sunday
CT to Millburn, NJ to Harrisburg, PA 300 miles 5.5 hours
As I said above, we left Hartford early to make it down to Millburn by late morning. I had been advised to avoid NYC at all costs and I thought I had fooled the GPS unit into going around the city, but somehow we still ended up sitting in traffic to cross the Hudson River via the George Washington Bridge.
It was a beautiful day in New Jersey (I can’t believe I just wrote that) and I had a really good time exploring Sandy’s hometown. Luckily one of her good friends from Millburn that lives in NYC was able to come hang out with us and help her remember the way around town. If you think of New Jersey as one giant suburb as I do, then Millburn just reinforces that image. It offers a little more than your typical sprawling suburb though. It has a nice little downtown area and retains a lot of the small town feel while being less than hour (via train) from all the amenities of New York City.
We had two food stops that had been planned ahead of time. The first was the famous Millburn Deli and the other was La Strada for a slice of pizza. I tried the Sloppy Joe which the deli is known for and quite enjoyed it. It was different from the typical deli experience but quite delicious. La Strada is a nice little Italian restaurant that is also in downtown Millburn and basically serves as Sandy’s reference point to judge all other pizza from. She does this with good reason. Maybe I’ve just been eating too much Ohio pizza, but the NY style at La Strada was really satisfying. Sorry Columbus, the East Coast wins when it comes to pizza.
The aforementioned deli.
The old movie theater also in downtown Millburn.
Of course no visit to Millburn would be complete without a visit to the now infamous Millburn High School, home of the slut list. We drove by to take some pictures and noticed one of the doors was open. We peeked our heads in and noticed several large, bold lettered signs reading “No Trespassing, all visitors must sign in.” We decided not to go much further and a janitor quickly appeared to closed the open door after us. I’m not sure if the school was always this way or if the recent press has made them more cautious of visitors.
In typical New Jersey fashion, we also made a trip to the mall. Not just any mall mind you, we went to The Mall at Short Hills. That’s right, not the Short Hills mall, but THE Mall at Short Hills. Short Hills is the town next door that features such attractions as mansions belonging to the Arizona Ice Tea founder and what I was told was “the Six Flags guy.” The Mall at Short Hills is a nice mall, home to many high end stores like one would find at Lennox or Phipps in Atlanta. Going to the mall just seemed like a very Jersey thing to do, so I’m glad I got to see that on my tour of North Jersey.
That evening after pizza at La Strada, we had to say goodbye to New Jersey and continue on to Harrisburg, PA.
Day 4 Monday
Harrisburg, PA to Columbus, OH ~375 miles 6 hours
Harrisburg and the drive back were pretty uneventful. The only purpose of stopping there was to break up the drive back from NJ. It did however renew my hatred for the Penn Turnpike and toll roads in general.
Overall I think the trip was successful. We made it with little problem. It was nice to get away from Ohio for a little while and it was nice to be back on the right side of the country even if we were a little too far north. I would definitely do the trip again or a similar one. I would first invest in an EZ Pass though to make the toll roads less painful. We were worried we would run out of cash paying the tolls at one point in upstate NY. I’m thankful I had a GPS unit and would make sure I had one if I were doing it again. There were times where we had to take detours or wanted to hop off the interstate to get a bite to eat and it really came in handy.
I hope you enjoyed my thoughts. I do recommend checking out Vermont and New Hampshire in the fall if you like the mountains and beautiful scenery. At the very least Sandy and I are planning to head back that way for a little skiing this winter. Jersey wasn’t bad either.
Tags: deli · New Jersey · pizza · road trip4 Comments
This coming weekend I’ll be making a road trip of massive proportions. Almost 1700 miles in four days. I’ll go from Columbus, OH to New England and back with a stop in New Jersey along the way. The reason for the trip is a memorial service for Sandy’s grandfather but we’re trying to make the most of it.
Our game plan is to make it to Vermont in one day to visit Sandy’s brother. The next day we’ll head to New Hampshire for the service. From there we’ll make our way south staying the night in Connecticut on our way to Sandy’s hometown of Millburn, NJ. Millburn High School has actually been in the news because of “hazing” carried out by the senior girls. (Story) After spending the day in Millburn, we’ll head back to Columbus stopping in Pennsylvania for a night on the way.
New England is supposed to be really nice this time of year so I’m looking forward to the trip. It will be a lot driving but I’m no stranger to that. Look for some upcoming posts about the trip and my experience on the road. We’ll be making the obligatory stop at the Millburn Deli but I’m open to any other interesting stops or things to check out along the way.
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I always enjoy visiting New York City. The simple act of walking around the city makes me happy. I was in town to catch a Yankees game in mid-July and I got a chance to check out a new feature to the city, The High Line. From Wikipedia:
The High Line is a 1.45-mile (2.33 km) section of the former elevated freight railroad of the West Side Line, along the lower west side of Manhattan, which has been redesigned and planted as a greenway.
I had a chance to walk on the High Line and came away very impressed. It is an old, elevated railroad line that runs along 10th avenue between Chelsea and the Meat Packing District. The line has been converted into an above street urban park/walk way. What impressed me the most was rather than escape from the city like a traditional urban park (Central Park or Goodale Park locally), the High Line celebrates and embraces its urban setting.
There are still green spaces but there is also a hotel as well as an apartment/condo building integrated right into the park. A further celebration of the city, 10th Avenue Square is a sitting area where park goers can simply sit and enjoy a view of the street. The street is behind a glass wall like it was an exhibit at an aquarium.
I believe this is the future of urban parks. The park is not an escape from the city, but rather a hybrid of green space and urban architecture. It was built with a mixture of public and private funding. It offers integrated living and uses existing architecture and infrastructure. In the end the idea is really simple. On the surface it is just a walk way above ground, but a closer look reveals it is so much more.
If you’re interested in learning more, I recommend checking out the High Line page and blog.
Tags: Downtown · New York City · travel · Urban Living1 Comment
The countdown is on, only a week to go until College Football resumes (less if you count the Thursday game between NC State and USC). I’m getting ready in my own way: reading EDSBS, watching clips from last year, and getting myself back into tailgate shape.
I think Jerry Reed said it best when he sang, “Oh how I miss that Georgia sunshine!”
Is it Saturday yet?
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I received my LL Bean Blucher Mocs as a Christmas gift in 2006. They received a lot of wear at first but I always favored my boat shoes in the end. Since leaving my well worn and much loved boat shoes in a rental car on a recent vacation, I’ve rediscovered my Bean Bluchers. Like a good ball cap and so many other classic items, they only get better with age and wear.
Tags: blucher mocs · clothing · llbean · shoes · style13 Comments
Reconnect with your youth and enjoy a movie from the 80s or 90s that you may have loved in your middle school days. That’s the basis for Shitty Movie Monday. Some friends of mine created this one Monday when they sat down to relive Starship Troopers in all its glory. They went on to suffer through the trilogy. I don’t normally attend but was called to action this past week for Masters of The Universe.
Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, and surprisingly Courteney Cox all star in this 1987 classic. I loved this movie growing up. Let me rephrase that, I LOVED this movie growing up. I was a He-Man fan in general and the movie just topped things off for me. The movie did show some of its age. The lack of a plot, obvious Star Wars rips, and weak acting also stood out more this time around, but I still loved it.
If there was ever a need to remake a movie, Masters of the Universe should get the push. GI Joe got the green light, why not this?
Also if I ever meet Courteney Cox I won’t talk about how she’s my favorite Friends character or any of the fine movies she’s been a part of. No, I’m going to ask her one thing, “What was it like to work with Dolph on Masters of the Universe?”
Tags: Courteney Cox · He-Man · Masters of the Universe · Shitty Movie MondayNo Comments.
A birthday celebration always calls for a cake, hopefully a good one with plenty of icing. Rather than picking up one from your grocery store (unless you have a Publix nearby) or making one from a box, why not check out your local bakery?
For a birthday celebration this past Friday, I was tasked with finding the cake equivalent of a black and white cookie. A black and white cookie is treat that I associate with NYC. It is a regular cookie (although typically a little more a cakey) iced with one half chocolate (black) and one half vanilla (white). Simple, but delicious.
Not knowing where to turn, I called Pattycake Bakery, Columbus’s local vegan bakery. I’ve tried their cookies before (they are sold at various coffee shops in the area) but had never tried their cakes. I called on Wednesday and they were able to have my black and white cake creation ready to go by Friday afternoon.
I had envisioned a cake that was simply iced half vanilla and half chocolate, but apparently this is harder to do and keep clean than one might originally think. After going back and forth with the helpful staff about my idea, we came up with a concept. A round layer cake featuring one yellow layer and one chocolate layer with a vanilla icing center and a chocolate outer icing. I’m actually kind of proud of our creation and the party guests all seemed to enjoy it.
Yes, the cake was indeed vegan too. No one seemed to notice or care though as they were enjoying it and in my mind that’s the goal. People want to enjoy their cake and if no animals were harmed in the process, I guess that’s okay too. Some might feel more strongly about that last part, but taste is most important for me. This cake just happened to deliver on both fronts.
If you are in Columbus, give Pattycake a try. If you’re not in Columbus, why not look for something different in your neighborhood?
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I grew up listening to talk radio. Growing up in Raleigh the radio was always on 680 WPTF in my dad’s car. We even listened to the weekend gardner despite the fact that neither of us had any interest in gardening. In school in Atlanta my radio was locked into 750 WSB (except on uga game days, ugh). I feel like I’m rare breed, an AM radio listener under the age of 30. There must be others out there like me though or podcasts would not be so popular.
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