An American Adventure!

Hello to everyone, and welcome to my new readers, too!

I'm currently installed in my hotel room in New Jersey, having set off on my adventures once again, just three very short days after returning from my honeymoon. I'm missing my new husband very much, but needs must.

Never mind... I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to see new places,even if there's not terribly much to see. I won't be able to travel to New York, like I did the last time I was here, as I landed very late last night and needed to recover from jetlag today to be fresh and ready for the week - today being my only free day.

So, impressions of NJ so far...

Right now, it's very similar to the UK weatherwise... a bit wet and damp, so not ideal walking weather. I still risked it.

Now, I've been here before, and already knew that the streets around office and hotel estates are not geared up for walkers. There are hardly any sidewalks. However, I'm in a budget hotel that doesn't do evening meals. There are nearby Pizza Huts and Taco Bells and a Subway. Apart from that, there's microwaveable pizza and snacks available from the lobby (there's a fridge and microwave in the room). Now, I love my chocolate and stuff... but the prospect of not eating properly for a few days is daunting to say the least. I need my fruit and veg!

So I thought I'd see if I could walk to the nearest shops.

Alas - Sai's Supermarket was shut down.

I knew there was a Stop and Shop on Eastern Avenue, but I got as far as Cedar Grove Lane before the traffic got too busy for an eccentric pedestrian like me to continue. There were splatted Canada geese and deers on the roadside (saw the deer as I went to push the button on the crosswalk - bloody made me jump!), so what chance might I have stood?

Not much to see en route apart from housing estates.

Back at the hotel, the receptionist gave me directions to a grocery/pharmacy that was easier to get to. Still missing sidewalks, but it cheered me up.

New Jersey is the Garden State, and it is indeed pretty. The air was fresh and clean smelling, and I walked by an abundance of fir trees, sycamore and birch, and the sound of birds chirping away high in the canopy.

 However, when I got to the store, I felt down once again, as the only 'food' available was either frozen Lean Cuisines, tinned soup, crackers, crisps, nuts and sweets, or dehydrated mac and cheese.

It almost made me regret chucking this out of my hotel fridge...

 

In case you can't see what that is, it's breast milk. But the provenance is clear at least - made by Andrea on 30th April.

Breast may be best, but I've replaced it with semi-skimmed.