B&B Heaven by the Jersey Shore

Some of the finest B&B by the Jersey shore, courtesy of NJ Savvy.

 

Sea Crest By The Sea

 

La Maison Bed & Breakfast Inn

 

Cashelmara Inn

 

The Beacon House

 

The Sand Castle Bed & Breakfast

 

Julia's Of Savannah

 

Atlantis Inn

 

Conover's Bay Head Inn

 

The Southern Mansion

 

The Gables

 

Have a nice day!

 

A Taste of Spring and Summer To Come

It is the last day of a long holiday weekend.

WE invited a couple of friends for a cook out with homemade burgers and Jersey manufactured hot dogs. We hanged out by the pool with wine, Samuel Adams beer and some hors douevres.

It was a laid back afternoon enjoying an 80 degree weather with sun and clear blue sky.

But a taste of spring and summer to come was when I was tending and exploring my backwoods yesterday. In addition to the beautiful sounds of birds, occasional sights of deer and hopping wild rabbits, there were these voracious blood sucking mosquitoes and horse flies getting onto my skin. By the way, horse fly's proboscis can get through a regular cotton t-shirt! And also the gnats...those tiny insects that hoover your head, it can get into any unprotected human orifices.

I said to myself, welcome to the countryside of Tewksbury.

Our Weekend Holiday

We went to our family friend in Hillsborough for the weekend holidays. It was less crowd but more personal and have the same amount of fun.

My family has always a good time when we meet our family friend s on any occasion. It is just the way it is.

That was yesterday.

Today, we have our time on our own. I got the pool going, chemicals and heat in order. It was ready by 10 AM.

My family dipped in after that.

I dipped in later in the day after tending to my trees and backyard getting rid off the invasive vines and bushes.

My great discover for the day was to identify a tree that has been growing in my property for eight summers now. The clue was this specific tree bear a fruit or flower called samara. The leaves, twigs and flowers were classic description.

Seedlings were all over my property.

The tree is called Boxelder maple (Acer negundo). A tree truly indigenous to New Jersey.

I grilled sirloin steak with cucumber and onions, a great dinner.

Tomorrow, a few friends will stop by for a swim, drinks and appetizers.

Memorial Day Weekend

I am not a deep thinker.

I think of Memorial Day weekend as a celebration of the beginning of summer with family and friends, a new cycle of the season.

But I do recognized this weekend event to pay due respect for the men and women who sacrificed their lives for a higher cause, our freedom.

Rewilding USA

There is some wisdom about rewilding North America with megafauna, meaning large animals, that went extinct thousands of years ago. These animals include ground sloth, saber-toothed cat, woolly mammoth, western horse, western camel, mountain deer, mountain goat and many more.

It is called Pleistocene rewilding.

The above species can be replaced by close relatives like elephants, camels, lion, and cheetahs.

It will also provide a refuge for our endangered big animals and developed a more healthy ecosystem.

The re-establishment of the gray wolf in Yellowstone Park has been a well documented positive impact to the environment.

I think these are wonderful and noble ideas I read from the July issue of Scientific American.

I'd rather visit these beautiful animals in parks or wilderness than spending my time in a mall or casino.

A Tick Bite

I was on my way to do some errands when I noticed a red welt with a black spect in the middle on my inner elbow.

I plukced it out and rest it on the pulp of forefinger. This thing started to crawl, then I realized it was a tick.

I dropped it in a plastic container and laid over a saran wrap on it so as not to wander in the container.

I will bring this specimen to the University Hospital for id.

This tick might be the vector for Lyme Disease.

Preparing the Swimming Pool for the Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is around the corner. It is about friends, bbq's, outdoors, and swimming pool if a family has one.

Fortunately, I have one. It is a great family entertainment.

Unfortunately, it is a chore. It is a labor intensive job that without the physical manpower of my son, it would take me at least a week to prepare my 25,000 gallon in ground pool.

In our first two years, we hired people to open our pool. But, it became too expensive. I open the pool by myself since then. All is well so far.

Opening a swimming involves chemistry like free chlorine, pH, H2O hardness, etc.

I enjoy all of these.

I am the (swimming) pool guy in my family,

Some Religious Experience over the Weekend

We have a few Jewish family friends that we like most. But a dilemma happened this Saturday when my daughter was invited to attend a bat'mitzvah by two different families in two different towns.

We decided to split the invitation. Attend the B'nai Mitzvah service of one (we called it bat'mitzvah 1) and join the party of the other (we called it bat'mitzvah 2)

In bat'mitzvah 1, the synagogue was modest and its congregation was relaxed and seems to be accepting to other people. I wore a yamaca. There was one drawback though, service was too long. There was a brunch after the service and everyone are friendly and likable.

In bat'mitzvah 2, the party was a blast!..good food and wine, music and dance. Everyone enjoying the night, young and not too old. This was my favorite part of the whole event.

This was my third B'nai Mitzvah experience.

A Friday Night

On my home, my wife called and invited me to join her some groceries at ShopRite and some garden stuff at HomeDepot in Hackettstown, NJ.

We talked. We communicated. It was our Friday night date.

I enjoyed her company.

Spring Concert In My Town

My son is a member of Voorhees High School jazz band. He performed last night as the lead guitarist in the Latin music "Otra Vez". The band played also "Mambo" from "The West Side Story".

My daughter had her spring concert tonight. Her choir group sang "Defying Gravity" from the Broadway musical "Wicked".

She is also a member of the Old Turnpike School (OTS) Jazz band.

It was a pleasant evening activity for me and my wife.

What a Benny Means in New Jersey

I hope my family is not considered a benny.

We live in northern New Jersey, Hunterdon county to be specific. My son was two when we move to Jersey and my daughter was born in Glen Ridge. My children are basically raised in New Jersey. Now, my son is going to Rugters, too.

We have gone down the shore for several summers since we move to this state with a pleasant visit to the Jersey shore line. Sandy Hook is as far we can commute to due time and distance. It seems like more visitors check out the beaches making commuting time longer. But we always manage to stop-by at Dairy Queen on route 36 for ice cream as a family tradition.

A visit to the shore consists of two umbrellas, 4 beach chairs, small cooler for our lunch, the weekend Star Ledger newspaper and books my children read and lots of sun block lotion. My family does not wear fancy swim clothes or accessories. We bring home our trash or dump it whenever a trash bin is available.

We live in northern New Jersey but we are not benny.

To Cook an Unfamiliar Fish

My daughter had an out of town lacrosse game in Basking Ridge, NJ with mom showing up at the game at 6 PM.

So, I had to figure out what's for dinner.

Fish was an excellent choice, quick and "easy". I bought a 2 lb. (a little less than a kilogram) of Japanese flounder fillet from local grocery store.

The 'Japanese' part of the description made me insecure. I needed help at that moment but I was alone.

We have a book called 'The Joy of Cooking' in my wife's pantry, a classic kitchen reference and a great resource. There was a recipe for flounder saute'.

It was too late.

The fish was in the oven baked at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, dabbed with six slices of butter and gourmet spices.

It turned out tasty.

The lesson was take risk and be adventurous.

A Jersey Tree State of Mind

These are the trees indigenous to New Jersey that I have been able to identify in my property. Coniferous trees are excluded.

Black cherry (Prunus serotina)

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)

Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)

White ash (Fraxinus americana)

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium)

Northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulifera)

Ailanthus (Ailanthus altissima)

It feels good to be green again.

A Mother's Day at Home

My wife spent most of the week in Georgia (USA) for the graduation and commissioning to Air Force of her nephew as well as wedding shower for his bride. The event was a blast for both sides of the family despite some minor untoward incidences along the way. Not unusual for a huge gathering. It is the norm.

I picked her at the Newark Liberty International Airport without any difficulties. I read and heard many horror stories about delays and chaos at the airport, but today it did not happen. Maybe, I was lucky.

On our way home, we talked more of the above. Travel on I 78 west was a zip.

Back home, she went immediately to her garden, which she missed terribly.

While tending her garden, I and my kids prepared her some appetizers for the rest of the afternoon with her favorite wine, shiraz.
'
Cooked her dinner...

Gave her our thoughtfulness after dinner and a bouquet of white roses...

It was a Mother's Day.

Can't Live Without The Internet in New Jersey

My computer just shut -off last night with no apparent reason at all during my internet surfing. I thought of the worse, either computer crash or virus or expired internet security.

I was off the ethernet by about 48 hours.

I seem to log on ok but along the way my laptop turns-off. So, my instinct was to call Dell. I was connected to an IT somewhere in south Asia. Somehow he was able to troubleshoot my dilemma with several off telephone consultations from some IT guys.

None of the above was the culprit.

In other words, my laptop needs an upgrade BIOS, courtesy of Dell. I don't know what it means but I follow what needs to be done to keep my laptop up and running.

Can't live without the internet.

Jersey and Gotham City

I have the itch to go the City. But it is way pass midnight and it is about an hour and a half drive. It is a weekday, too.

It ain't gonna happen.

The thought of it felt good though.

A Grill Dinner in New Jersey

I always grill burgers prepared by my wife. But today I had the chance to make the meat burger and grill them. My wife is out of town.

I dashed them with some homegrown spices and slapped slice of cheddar a few minutes before being cooked.

It turned out to be a hit. My kids cleaned it up.

It was a hearty dinner without Mom.

It will be different on Mother's Day for sure.

Lacrosse at Fairmont Park, Tewksbury, NJ

My daughter had a home game lacrosse at Fairmont Park. Home team won against Long Valley.

I met some family friends and caught-up some recent news about school and ?gossip?

It felt good to be part of the town on a crisp spring afternoon.

Exit Numbers in New Jersey and a Good Reason for Them

There is a major road repair on Interstate 78 for almost the rest of the year. Millions of trucks and cars have travelled this major highway to the city and our seaport. It is showing its wear and tear. The above work is necessary.

To keep the traffic moving, 18 foot high gadget is mounted on side of the road to monitor traffic. It displays real-time traffic flows.

These gadgets were stationed between exits 48 and 52. By the way, exit numbers correspond to mile post on the highways. Most states have catched-up with this idea, a simple but practical sign to motorists.

Between these two exits, I-78 divides to express and local lanes. By installing these gadgets, motorists are given instantaneous information as to the flow of traffic, which lane has the less amount of travel time.

A permanent sensors is being built along I-78 to monitor real-time travel to Manhattan, the seaport of New York/New Jersey and every exits in our highways. This will be a very important feedback to motorist, local and out of state.

Hey, This is New Jersey.

Son goes to Rutgers University

He accepted Rutgers University and today was his orientation. The university gave us the opportunity to be part of this orientation, which was a whole day event.

After a brief welcome address, students were separated from the parents and they were escorted in another building.

Then, members from the faculty spoke about cognitive and emotional development, to housing, to security, to financial aid, etc.

We were impressed how Rutgers related these issues in a parent perspective. By the end of the day, we felt that the university provided us information what we expect from them and what they expect from our son.

He enrolled to the School of Arts and Sciences, interested in political science, history and Latin as foreign language.

He was pumped up and ready to move on with his life.

We are proud of him.

And, we will be wearing red or black hooded sweat shirt with an 'R' on it this fall. Maybe, doing some tailgate party during the football season. Likewise, there will a big red 'R' sticker on the back of my pick-up truck.

Person of Note for 2007

I am very pleased that three of my five worthy person made the list, namely Bloomberg, Gore and Scorsese, in Time magazine.

My stat and belief are not too shabby after all.

A Green New Jersey

A defunct chemical plant in Elizabeth will turn 'green'. It will soon be a site for processing soy bean oil to bio-fuels.

The old plant was retrofitted for the above purpose. Again, the plant has been 'recycled'. How green is that!

With New Jersey's excellent infrastructure of highways and seaport, it can export cleaner fuel to the east coast region and overseas, especially Europe and a very potential market, China.

We may be the 'butt' of jokes of this nation. I do not know what it means. But New Jersey has always been a pioneer in electronics, telecommunications, drugs and now cleaner fuels.

I am a guy from outside looking into the state.

A New Home for the Devils

Jon Bon Jovi and 'The Boys' will rock The Rock (The Prudential Center) in Newark on October 26 for the opening ceremony. The center will be home for the Devils, a truly homegrown hockey team.

I will look forward to the event.

Some Thoughts of my Home Country, Philippines

I am not a thinker, but feel like expressing some thoughts about my homeland, The Philippines. The country is not in bad shape, over all.

My country folks has to focus on what is doable in their family and neighborhood. It takes a village, said by a prominent public person. These small steps give a profound effect to a country or society.

Government, in turn, should enforce the law and protect its citizens, honestly and sincerely. The people (I mean ALL Filipinos) must follow the rule of law.

The society must reward economically and fairly the labor of its citizens.

It is not the high sounding words of love of country, idealism, patriotism, etc. All Filipinos, in the Philippines and overseas, have these attributes already....and hard-working, too!

It is a social contract between the government and it constituents. One can not survive, exists or compete with other society without the other.

A major general election is coming up in (?) May... a major distraction. Politics is almost like a high grade heroin, a cure all to pain and suffering.

I am not cerebral... a doer... using my hands and feet.

I am very fortunate that I live in a country that treats me and my family in a just way.

New Jersey, Rock and Roll Music, Bon Jovi and American Idol

I watched the whole episode of American Idol tonight because it featured the music of Bon Jovi, a rock music theme.I do not watch this prime time program at all. My family does. All contestants did very well. I think Jon couched them all well. Lakisha did very well on "Have A Nice Day", my favorite song, my bias. She had the rocker attitude of Tina Turner. I would vote for her.