berries 4!
Wild raspberries in Allaire State Park.
Unless they're mulberries.
But I'm pretty sure they're closer to raspberries.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
entertainment
For those who have found this blog by Googling "Things to do in Monmouth County:" I am as clueless as you are. My main source of entertainment 'round here is wandering around with a camera, looking for interesting things to photograph.
Here are some things I have done:
1. Bowling. (Often with bumpers for the second game, because I am just that spectacular.) I usually go to The Lanes at Sea Girt, but I've been to Memory Lanes in Shrewsbury, Shore Lanes in Neptune (which is on the Asbury Circle, which is not a fun circle to navigate), and Brunswick Bradley Beach Bowl (maybe that link will work if you have the latest version of Flash, which I don't).
2. Bars (and/or restaurants, grills, etc. that serve liquor). Not so much fun here in suburbia 'cos you have to drive home afterwards, so you really need to (ought to) watch yourself. Unless you have a designated driver, which no one wants to be. (The above photo was taken in the Brickwall Tavern, Asbury Park.)
3. Coffee. Only really works if there's only a small group of you, though.
4. Movies. Hey, it's something.
5. The Datebook. Go find your local print copy of the Asbury Park Press and leaf through it until you find the Datebook, which takes up the bottom half of a page and is usually printed in red or blue ink. A lot of the stuff is craft sales and "square dancing for 'kids' 55 and over," but it's worth a look. I have been unable to locate the Datebook online; you do need an actual physical copy of the APP.
6. Go biking. All right, maybe it's not a 'Saturday night with the gang' sort of activity, but it's healthy. Bob Lucky reviews and photographs several Monmouth County bike paths, and many of the Monmouth County Parks are set up for that sort of thing.
7. Walk around. This sounds monumentally stupid, but if you have nothing better to do, give it a shot. Red Bank, Asbury Park, local parks, and anywhere with a boardwalk can be fun places to do this.
Speaking of Red Bank and Asbury Park, here are some official lists of what's going on in various towns:
Asbury Park
Red Bank (see also the Count Basie Theater, Two River Theater Company, Improv Comedy Jam, and Red Bank Art Cinemas)
Also see Go Kids NJ, which sounds stupid, but you're never too old to enjoy a boardwalk or a festival or an aquarium. You can search for specific towns.
ATTACK OF THE GIANT FRUITS
Here we see a gargantuan lemon on the Belmar boardwalk, innocently attracting absolutely no attention from passers-by.
(Clearly it's a scout for a race of giant space fruits that intend to dominate our planet. But that's neither here nor now.)
tasti!
Apparently, this is business on Ocean Blvd. in Long Branch is technically known as "Ocean D-Lites." But they do sell Tasti D-Lite, which, if you're not familiar with it (since it's only sold in a few states: New York [most of its stores are concentrated in NYC], New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, and Texas), is a soft-serve "guilt-free" ice cream-esque dessert.
I actually just tried the stuff for the first time last weekend. Despite the multitude of flavors, after a few bites, you stop tasting anything at all and only feel the cold softness on your tongue. It's not bad, but it's not real ice cream.
COFFEE
What I really need on Tuesday mornings is coffee from a slightly waterspotted coffeepot.
I dunno about youse guys.
eggies
Ugh. I had ONE piece of candy this morning. ONE! And now I'm sick to my stomach. I guess my famed Iron Stomach ain't what it used to be.
My egg-dying skills, on the other hand, have only improved with age.
Click here for the Wikipedia article on why we dye Easter eggs.
apple pi
Happy Pi Day!
(3/14 is always Pi Day because, for those of you who aren't math geeks, Pi ≈ 3.14159... and the digits keep on going because π [that should read as 'pi,' if your glyphs aren't working properly] is an irrational number. It's very useful for figuring out circle measurements like circumference [i.e. how long the pie crust would be if you stretched it out] and area.)
Here's a song we used to sing for Pi Day in my high school math classes, to the tune of "O Christmas Tree":
"O number pi, o number pi,
Your digits are unending;
O number pi, o number pi,
No pattern are you sending;
You're three point one four one five nine,
And even more if we had time;
O number pi, o number pi,
For circle lengths unbending."
white castle
[1/11/2007]
[4/2/2007]
[2/9/2008]
This is our friendly neighborhood White Castle--yes, just like the movie Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. Some people think of White Castle as a Jersey thing, but it got its start in Wichita, Kansas, and there are restaurants in 11 states (and the rest of the country, except for 10 states, sells White Castle products out of the freezers of various retail stores).
This particular location apparently needed an update. As you can see from the photos, over the course of 6 months or so (I didn't get stopped at that light during the daytime for several months after the renovations were finished), they changed the crenellation pattern, replaced the real tower with a fake one (...I don't understand that), made the whole building smaller (it seems), and completely changed the placement of the windows.
Plus new awnings.
Oh MAN, everyone will be coming in for White Castle Sliders now that the awnings are striped and the tower is only a façade.
grapefruit sky
Even though New Jersey is "the garden state," (especially known for our Jersey tomatoes and corn, but farmers grow berries, squash, gourds, etc., too) we don't produce much in the wintertime. Fortunately, lovely citrus fruits can be shipped up from places with warm winters, so we Jersians can enjoy sort-of-fresh produce all year long.
Heineken Sushi
Sushi made from beer? Beer made from raw fish? The mind boggles.
Found at Klein's Fish Market.
mirror world
Carmella's Cafe, Pier Village, Long Branch. They serve coffee, danishes, and a sparse selection of paninis. If you're a foodie, go to one of the other restaurants in Pier Village... but if you're like me and prefer informal dining experiences (and if you happen to be wandering through Pier Village anyway), check it out.
...I was gonna title this "reflections," but I have, over the course of my life, created a ridiculous number of things with that title. It's even one of my commonly-used (overused, even) tags.
shattered
The front of this soda machine, in front of/under Edison Hall at Monmouth University, has become a bit shattered over time.
(It's just the graphic, though, lest you think that anyone could reach his or her respective hand into the vending machine; there's still a nice solid piece of plexiglass or whatever makes up the front of vending machines on there.)
(Sorry I'm a bit late today.)
pique-nique
In Joe Palaia Park, there are picnic benches near the parking lot, so a lot of people like to come have a snack under a tree during their lunch breaks.
Of course, it's around 40 degrees Fahrenheit nowadays (4.5 C), so it's not such a popular activity at the moment.
circus!
(See MCDP for a different view)
Opened in 1953, the Circus Drive-In is one of the few restaurants around here where you can get curbside service. (We have no Sonics--the closest one is in Pennsylvania!) The clown signs and variagated tents have become a noteworthy landmark on Rte. 35.
I've never actually been there, but I've been meaning to go for years now.
(P.S. I've been a bad blogfriendperson lately, so nobody owes me anything, but if you have some overwhelming desire to improve your karma, vote for me on Illustration Friday...? 'Cos I like drawing and it might be cool to have something displayed in a gallery...?
1. Sign up
2. Click here. See where it says "This week's topic is Extremes"? Underneath that it says "Vote here for entries on the theme Open." Click there. To vote for the Open theme.
3. Vote by clicking the stars by people's names. You get five votes.
I'm number 35! [and about the only person who didn't do a variation on "open eyes/ open mind/ open door"... c'mon, points for creativity...?]
The top 25 winners will have their art displayed in a new gallery in California.
It could be fun.)
something fishy
This restaurant sign always makes me giggle when I pass it. I can just imagine someone's eyes lighting up as he/she squeals, "Sooooooomething's FISHY in here!!!" It's somewhere between intentionally and unintentionally cute.
Have I ever actually been there? Nah, I'm not the seafood type.
still life with fruit
(For those who are here from the Macroday "snack" challenge... what can I say, I try to snack healthily.)
As always, I can verify that this photo was taken in Ocean Township, but if you're looking for an image that is more representational of the sights around the area, I suggest you check out Monmouth County Daily Photo.
I was first inspired by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffer's work about 10 years ago. This is not my first homage to the artists.
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