New Jersey and Philadelphia

Sunday, 31.07.2022

Last night the power went out in our hotel room. After several failed attempts to fix the problem, we had to move to another room.

The alarm clock goes off at 4:50 am, and at 5:30 am we are sitting in the shuttle to the airport. Check-in is smooth, and we have a chat with the man at the counter, who is from Mexico. There is a long line at security, but we are not worried yet. When entering the USA from Canada, immigration and customs are done at the departure airport, in our case, Montreal. The line is huge, and it's moving very slowly. Boarding is at 8:00 am, and just 2 minutes before 8, we get our stamps in the passport. In the departure hall, we find out that our flight is delayed by 30 minutes.

After a calm flight, we land at Newark Liberty International Airport. From the plane, we can see Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. Newark is located in New Jersey, on the western bank of the Hudson River. Gary and Tamar are already waiting for us at the baggage claim. We drive to Sommerset, a small town with 23,000 inhabitants and the hometown of Gary and Tamar.

Monday, 01.08.2022

Today we drive to Philadelphia, about 1 hour and 15 minutes away. Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. It became famous mainly for its significant role in the American Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed in the Independence Hall. 

We park the car in the parking garage at the zoo. Tamar booked tickets online for the Hop On Hop Off bus, which according to the plan on the internet, has a stop at the zoo. We can't find a stop, and there is no bus in sight. A call to the organizer informs us that three stops, including the one at the zoo, have been canceled since Corona, but the plan on the internet was not updated. They send us a minibus that takes us to Station 1, right in the center. From there, we ride almost the entire route and get off at Logan Circle, where the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter & Paul and the Free Library are located. We have a snack at the Sister City Café. Then we walk down Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Love Park and City Hall (cover image), and from there to Independence Hall. The next station is Chinatown. We get back on the bus and ride to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The steps to the museum are called Rocky Steps because Sylvester Stallone ran up these steps in the movie Rocky 3, Eye of the Tiger. We discard the idea of walking back to the zoo from there because it's too far and the temperature is now 30 degrees Celsius, so we book an Uber taxi instead.

On the way back to Sommerset, we visit New Hope, a small, beautiful town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The town is located on the west side of the Delaware River. We have dinner at the Havanna Restaurant. On the way back to the car, we see a brightly lit cannabis shop. Should we go there?

Tuesday, 02.08.2022

It is very hot here every day now. We decide to go for a hike along the Delaware and Raritan Canals. We park at Colonial Park and then visit the Rose Garden. Gary and Tamar show us all the beautiful places with attractive downtowns in the region where they live. For lunch, we drive to Somerville, a small town in Somerset County. We enjoy a delicious lunch at a small Thai restaurant. During a subsequent stroll through town, we have an ice cream. Now it's time to go home because we have a FaceTime appointment with our mutual friends Nancy and Fred tonight. After that, there will be a virtual reality session. Mega interesting.

Wednesday, 03.08.2022

We are going to Princeton today, a small town here in New Jersey with just over 16,000 inhabitants. It is known for its prestigious university where around 7,000 students prepare for their professional life. The oldest buildings of the university date back to 1746 and are very venerable. The symbol of the university has been the tiger since the 18th century, and all sports teams have the tiger in their name, Princeton Tigers. We enjoy a coffee in a small French café. In the evening, we spend time in a convivial atmosphere at the home of our friends Gary and Tamar and their friend Heidi, who came to the US from Denmark 38 years ago and has been living here ever since, recently acquiring US citizenship.

Thursday, 04.08.2022

Today it is over 36 degrees Celsius here, about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, so very hot and dry. After a late breakfast, we set off on a tour to New Brunswick and Piscataway. We visit the Rutgers University, which is the largest university in New Jersey with around 66,000 students. It is the eighth oldest university in the United States and has over 300 research centers. Our friends Gary and Tamar worked here for many years. The size is incredible to us, and it takes us a long time to drive through the huge campus by car. Since tonight is our last evening with our friends, we decide to spend it together at their home. Tomorrow we will continue our journey, flying from Newark New York to Boston, where we will visit our friends Abbey and Ryan before returning home on Wednesday.