Hurricane Isabel got in our way of seeing through our New Jersey plans. Although we still pressed toward Jersey’s coast a couple of days before the hurricane hit land, we needed to beat a hasty retreat to avoid potential tropical storms. Before we did, we checked out Bruce Springsteen’s old haunt, the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Rough neighborhood, but we encountered a nice man offering to clean our windows.

With the exception of the beautiful Kittantinny Mountains which looked more like tall walls of trees upon entering the state, New Jersey seems pretty lame. The traffic is bad and their “Jersey wall” system is too much. There’s something wrong when they turn a simple left turn into a five-step process. I think they call them “jug handles.” I’m not saying a day in Jersey isn’t better than a good day at work, I’m just saying this place ain’t paradise. We hope to explore the more rural southern half of the state and give it more of a chance after we visit Delaware. Depends on how things play out.