Trenton, NJ to Highland, NY – 3/23/2017 – http://fulltimetimeshare.com/blog

March 23, 2017 (Thursday)

Another very cold day (29 degrees when we got to our car). We got up and going around 10:00 AM. Our first stop was next door at the Wawa Station to get coffee and breakfast. After that we drove the short distance into Trenton, New Jersey. Potholes in New Jersey are horrible! Trying to drink hot coffee and avoid potholes – not fun.

We got into Trenton and drove around. It looked very poor. John and Beth had told us it was not a great place anymore. Lots of shady looking people just appearing to be standing around, doing nothing.

The city has grown in around the Capitol.

Some of the neighborhoods looked like they could have potential as the old brick buildings had character and could be lovely. We saw the Capitol and the Museum real close to the Capitol. It appeared there was some major work being done on the Capitol as many of the windows were boarded up with plywood and looked pretty tacky. We tried to find parking, which was hard, and finally found a spot on the street about four blocks away.

Neighbors right across the narrow street.

The Capitol dome is on the right and washed out in the bright sun. It is covered in gold leaf and looks spectacular.

The top two floors are lovely and look good, have aged well. The bottom floor is empty and has clearly fallen on hard times.

We got to walk down the steps to the War Memorial, and then across the street to the Capitol. Did I mention it was COLD? When we got to the Capitol the security was the most severe we had seen. We got there at about 10:40 AM and were told by Security that we could not wait in the warm area, or anywhere in the Capitol, until the tour started at 11:00 AM. We were also told that we could not do a self-guided tour, only a guided tour. We had to wait outside in the COLD! We told them it was cold and we were from California – nothing – not reasoning. You cannot go in without an escort and purpose, or badge. No self guided tours. No true public access.

WWII Memorial with Capitol across the street.

I carried an M16 in my day. God Bless the guys that carried this ancient weight.

Grumpy dressed for the cold at the WWII Memorial.

President Truman was there for the dedication.

Lots of boarded up windows on the Capitol.

When we were finally able to get inside and wait on the tour, it was extremely busy as there appeared to be lots of things going on with police and fire, some kind of mother’s march against guns, and other happenings. Our tour guide, Stan, told us he had never seen it this busy. It was busy but we felt the Capitol in Atlanta was much busier. Stan got his group together, which consisted of Michael and I, and a small group of non-English speaking middle school students from upper New Jersey. We were pleasantly surprised at how well mannered they were (as we normally try to avoid kids on tours).

Center, Brown suit, Stan the Man, our guide for the day.

Nice combination between the color, wood, brass and paintings.

Interior dome. I leaned back and took a picture with the big Canon DLSR.

So, I’m standing there and I see a young kid take his phone, put it on the selfie camera, backward facing, and then hold it out in front of himself and take a picture of the dome. Genius!

I taught Edie the new technique I learned from the kid and she practiced with one.

“Let Justice be done though the heavens fall” – Justice regardless of the consequences.

The eagle is a symbol of the Federal Government.

Lincoln’s life mask and below the Gettysburg address.

Governor George McClellan. Presidential rival of Lincoln, lost. General in Union Army, fired by Lincoln. Settled for Governor.

A porcelain work showing the state bird.

The halls were full of police and fire personnel that were trying to get a major concession regarding their retirement. They want their funds separate from the rest of the civil service employees.

Stan took us into the Senate, House, the Governor’s office (no photos allowed), and showed us where the old Supreme Court used to meet. He told us the history and went into great detail about the paintings, the sculpture, and the history. Very interesting and really enjoyed. The tour lasted a little over an hour and we were given a bag of brochures and things about New Jersey.

Interestingly odd skylight and chandelier in the Senate Chambers.

Inside the Senate. Plaster, mixed with paint to look like a kind of marble, called scagliola. They could not afford marble.

Second floor rotunda. This is the tightest controlled Capitol we have ever been on tour through. I couldn’t go get a picture looking down.

Speaker’s meeting room. Former Supreme Court Room.

The names of illustrious New Jerseyians.

NJ pays homage because of his role in the revolutionary war and saving New Jersey.

Lincoln asked New Jersey to be on the side of the North. He stopped by on his way to his inauguration.

Lovely paintings representing different industries are painted near the ceiling.

Stan would talk to the students in English. The teacher would translate into Spanish. Grumpy took pictures.

State seal. Liberty and Prosperity. Three plows in the blue shield and the horse that pulls them on top.

The gold isn’t popping like it did in person.

We left and drove a few more miles to Princeton University to just look around. So beautiful but different than what I thought it would be. It’s a whole town of quaint little homes, old brick buildings, and then more modern buildings. Nice mix of things. I’ve heard and seen pictures of Princeton for years so wanted to just see for myself. Reminded us of the PBS series, “Inspector Morris.”

Part of Princeton administrative offices.

When we left, the rest of the drive was about 125 miles and took a little over 2-1/2 hours. The drive was to Highland, New York. The roads were good (except potholes), with very few tolls as Clarece (GPS) was taking us mostly on back roads and two lane roads. Lots of snow in New Jersey and New York. Lovely. We got into Highland and were hungry so we asked Clarece for a good Chinese food restaurant and she directed us to “Asian Garden.” Was really, really good. They had a variety of both Chinese and Japanese. I had an avocado/asparagus sushi roll and a vegetable delight dish with tofu. Michael had a teriyaki chicken dish. He wasn’t all that thrilled about it but mine was really good.

Either really odd grape vines, or really bizarre trees.

Edie’s vegetable delight with pork fried rice.

Edie’s avocado and asparagus roll. She shared.

We got into our home for the next two nights, Super 8. Huge room with a sofa, table, and a desk. Clean and relatively comfortable. The people at the front desk are very nice.

Table, TV, credenza, micro, fridge, and desk.

We are tired and ready to get some sleep so we can get up and get going to the FDR Library, and maybe the Vanderbilt Estate, and maybe eat lunch at the Culinary Institute of America. We’ll let you know.

That was our day. Hope yours was great!