Down the Shore

We've been pretty much playing the role of slugs lately but today we decided to do a little road trip. In New Jersey, the idiom for describing a visit to beach is "Goin' down the shore". Hard to believe it's been five months since the Astrals have seen the ocean. And that was that cold, cold Pacific out in San Diego.  Today 

we went totally Atlantic. And the sea air made us crave cod. Act now before the extinction!

The day started beautifully so we figured we'd head down the shore. 

On the drive down, ( about an hour) we started to second guess our
decision because the early sunshine gave way to mostly

overcast skies. When we got to Point Pleasant, though, 

the sun came out and stayed out for most of our visit. Cool. 

Point Pleasant is kind of a weird place since the beach is actually

owned by a commercial enterprise, Jenkinson's. I think 

New Jersey is the only state where the beach

 is not free in most places. So much for 

my illusions of Quadrophenia.

Astral Wendy got right to work.

Yes, I do need to go on a diet.

Gulls, of course.

I'm pretty sure that palm trees are not indigenous to New Jersey.

Let go into the illusion.

There's been a few hurricanes and tropical storms passing through.

I think this was a hunk of flotsam (or perhaps jetsom) collected

by the local authorites.

Yeah, there's a kitschy boardwalk. Who would want

to take this home? And then live with the unnameable

fear?

Ditto for clowny.

Close enough for Ozzie fans.

Hurtricane Katia was offshore so the surf did a little bit of pounding.

Swimming was banned. OK for us, since we weren't prepared.

Ever since I was a young boy,

I've played the silver ball.

From Soho down to Brighton

I must have played them all.

But I ain't seen nothing like him

In any amusement hall.*

Step right up, step right up, step right up
Everyone's a winner, bargains galore
That's right, you too can be the proud owner
Of the quality goes in before the name goes on
One-tenth of a dollar, one-tenth of a dollar, we got service after sales
You need perfume? we got perfume, how 'bout an engagement ring?
Something for the little lady, something for the little lady
Something for the little lady, hmm
Three for a dollar**

The nice thing about semi-off season New Jersey shore is the lack of crowds.

Cheesecake boat's acomin'...We'll party tonight.

Oh! The humanity!

Do you know the way to Staten Island? Just talkin' 'bout Snooki. 

That cat Snooki is a mean mutha-f---. Shut yer mouth. Just talkin' 'bout Snooki!

The Astrals love a rainbow. You should too.

If I could type with a Scottish accent,  I would.

Back at home. Gonna cook me some cod and

cauliflower. Alliteration works in the kitchen too.

A partially neglected coney chaws some cauliflower greens.

Oh Yes! Baked cod with roasted tomatoes and panko.

Roasted cauliflower tossed with garlic, roasted peppers,

capers, and crushed red pepper. Yowzers! Cotes du Rhone

you say? Yes, the Astrals are red wine people, regardless of

menu. 

*The Who, Pinball Wizard

**Tom Waits. Step Right up

Irene Stops By to Say Hello

Sometimes you don't have to be nomading to find high adventure. Sometimes the high adventure comes to you. New Jersey has been wild lately, first with an earthquake, then with hurricane Irene. The earthquake was almost laughable by West Coast standards but it was still pretty wild for New Jersey. The media frenzy over the little rattle had just about subsided when we heard Irene was a-bearing down on the Garden State. Don't know if I believe in global warming, but I sure do believe in Global Weirding. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K, my friends.

Well, the New York media went absolutely and breathlessly bonkers

over Irene, so the nomads built a hurricane preparedness center. Then,

I got to work making a big pot of chili con carne. After the disaster

unfolded, we lost power for 72 hours. So we wound up having many meals

of cold chili by candelight. Tres Romantique...

As if the earthquake and hurricane weren't enough, we also had a

mini-meteor shower right in our own dining room. Weird, right?

The cornbread was decimated.

Over night, the winds howled and the rain poured. Next morning

the water started to rise. This is in the early stages when you could

still see part of the tennis court net. The water was rising at about a 

foot an hour at this point.

Net's all gone and the water, she's still a-risin'

At this point we're asking ourselves: Should we move our cars or 

have another glass of wine? The wine prevailed.

Down at the end of scenic Busky Lane, it was almost game over.

I think this was about the high-water mark.

The water stopped rising and we saw this great rainbow.

Hope abounds.

We've always dreamed of riverfront property.

Otis finally came out and said "WTF?"

These new trees survived. Overnight they were bent over sideways.

The Raritan Driving Range was turned into one huge water hazard.

The only light that night was the powered by the

generator at the back of the supermarket.

The next day when we got up, our river was gone but we still had

no power so we took a stroll in search of coffee. This is one of the

country roads near where we live that was still flooded.

Astral Wendy finds beauty everywhere.

The bridge near where we live was covered with

snails. Where's the butter and garlic when you need it?

Irene definitely tired out this mantis. The guy looks bushed.

Day Two without power and this guy paid us a visit.

Eye of Hurricane or Eye of Astral Gerry? You be the judge.

Beauty is everywhere.

Last Stop in NM: City of Rocks

Our last stop in New Mexico was the City of Rocks State Park. We've been camping in the desert or near-desert for quite awhile and, as beautiful as it is, we've about exhausted our tolerance for all things dry, dusty, and windy. I am crying in the wilderness for the sight of something green and for some humidity. The City of Rocks is pretty cool, though, if you're a fan of megaliths rising from the desert floor. It's like a natural Stonehenge rising from the desert floor, with the campsites nestled among giant boulders. 

Here's the approach: You're riding through the desert and you go

over a rise and there it is: a large pile of boulders.

There's only one hiking trail and, not surprisingly, it wends its

way through boulders.

Suddenly a meteor crashed to earth. Just kidding. We were there during

an episode of the 'super moon', when the full moon occurs while

the moon's orbit is closest to earth. My camera (Astral Wendy's

not at fault for these), was set to auto-exposure and was apparently

using a slow shutter speed because it was getting rather dark.

Once I discovered that, I tried to make a carbon atom.

Cows? Of course.

This nearby mountain has yet to undergo the erosive forces that

will someday turn it too into a City of Rocks. Or, perhaps, just

an outlying Suburb of Rocks.

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

This cactus looks like it belongs on another planet.

Astral Wendy sees a rabbit here. I see something else.

Yes, more rocks.

Not quite the regularity of Stonehenge. If anything special happens

here on the Winter Solstice, it's purely by chance.

Otis has his spot in the shade and, apparently, doesn't give a crap about rocks.

Ingrate!

The super-moon also rises.

Way to shoot Astral Wendy! Take that, Ansel Adams.

Here's the Eurovan, nestled amongst the boulders.

Time for the winning field goal attempt.

It was a super moon indeed. It was so bright that night you didn't even need

a flashlight to walk to the bathroom.

We did a bit of hiking and it was dry and dusty.

One day it was so windy, we just mostly stayed in and read, We are

sick of eating dust.

Luckily, it was not hot, so we could keep the flaps mostly zippered

to keep out the dust.

The hiking trail.

If this doesn't look like a mountain lion resting its head, I don't know

what it looks like.

There were lots of huge boulders balancing on other boulders.

Yeah, these rocks are huge.

Here I am lounging out in the dust. 

Except for Otis and some vireos, there was very little wildlife here.

There were more trees than we've seen anywhere else in the desert.

We really have the jones for some temperate environs or, at least,

a beach. I need to see some green soon. 

Here's a final shot of the super-moon.

We're currently hunkered down in Tucson AZ. Gonna see what's going on here but I think we're done with desert camping so we need to also figure out our next steps.