day trips

Review with Mime

mime on boardwalk at Asbury Park
Mime performing on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey

It was fun to watch this mime perform on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. He would start to move towards you and then suddenly stop and freeze. When I gave my daughter some money to put in his bucket, he motioned toward her, but she didn’t know why. You can see what happened next in the photo at the bottom.

On My Blog

rhododendron mid may bird flies synagogue in the old city of Jerusalem
path in old city   jazz girl   flowers in migdal david
Nutty Cookies New Hope stuff columbine with marigolds

The BIG GIGANTIC news today in our household is that the RPRY team of middle son (5 of them) won the Torah Bowl Championship. They previously won the New Jersey division, and today they beat New York schools SAR and HALB. Torah Bowl is sort of like Jeopardy – they get asked questions about certain parts of the Torah, and they have to answer quickly.

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

mime with girl
Here’s my daughter and the mime – he had motioned toward her so she could get her picture taken with him. He did that to anyone who put money in his bucket.

I posted these mime photos as part of Straight Out Of the Camera -I have a bit of time online on Saturday night. On Sunday, I’ll be marching down 5th Avenue in New York City with my kids’ school.

Nature Notes: Asbury Gulls

gulls on rocks at Asbury Park Beach
There are many gulls sitting on these rocks at the Asbury Park beach. But you will see at the end of the post, the humans out number the gulls.

gull flies
One lone gull (is he a gull? See this list of sea birds) flies away from his friends. This one appears brown.

bird flies
A brown gull flies by the active waves. Crafty Green Poet writes: “the brown bird is probably a young gull, most species of gull have I think three years in brown plumage (slightly different each of the years) before they take on adult plumage” – thank you!

people on the rocks at Asbury Park
A few brave souls sit on the rocks at the beach. My kids both went dunking into the freezing May waters. I just put in my toe. My husband relaxed on the beach – too cold for him.

Asbury Park beach
This photo should give you an idea of how crowded it was on the beach. And economically, this is good news. Asbury Park was very depressed in the past thirty years. My husband grew up in this area, and he saw the decline. About one hundred years ago, it was quite a fashionable place. People may no longer walk in fancy dresses and suits, but the new restaurants and shops are upscale. I hope the gulls don’t mind.

Pictured in the crowded beach photo are the Asbury Park Theatre (see it in my Asbury post from last year) and the Berkeley Carteret Hotel.

For more Nature Notes, visit Rambling Woods:
Nature Notes

Rutgers Gardens March Reds

red shed
Yesterday we visited Rutgers Gardens. It is mostly winter bare, but if you look carefully, you can find some signs of spring.

plants with red berries
These plants with red berries were growing by a stream.

red buds in trees
Red buds were in many of the trees. Some of the trees at Rutgers Gardens have little signs stating what type of tree it is, but most don’t.

red budded trees
And more red buds in trees!

pink magnolia bud
If you take red and white on a paint palette and mix them together, you get pink, like the pink bud of this saucer magnolia tree.

For more red, visit Ruby Tuesday:
Ruby Tuesday

Water at Philadelphia Zoo

waterfall at Philadelphia Zoo
Water falls from above.

Philadelphia Zoo water
Here is the watery scene below.

For more photos with water, visit Watery Wednesday:
Watery Wednesday

Review with Maple Leaves

leaves in East Brunswick
Red Leaves in East Brunswick, New Jersey

We visited the Butterfly Park in East Brunswick last Sunday. I was planning to post a Nature Notes about the park (didn’t happen! not enough hours or energy in a week); instead, I have material for next week’s Nature Notes.

On My Blog

compost heap with mums, orange peels, cabbage, leek Rutgers New Jersey Jewish Film Festival 2010 featuring Father's Footsteps Charles Dickens
parrot looks in the mirror bridge under Route 18 faded rudbeckia and verbena
goldenrod bingo the guinea pig 

I have two more interviews with bloggers on writing coming up for this blog – one for this coming week, and one for the following week. I will post the answer to the Film Festival quiz tomorrow morning on Sunday (in the comments of the film festival post). Still time for guessing – thanks to those who already tried!

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

  • Jew Wishes reviewed Irretrievably Broken by Irma Fritz, saying “Fritz has woven a tapestry that is profound and compelling within the pages of Irretrievably Broken.” She also has a post with photos by Irma Fritz of Wernher von Braun’s lab at Peenemunde (links no longer exist).
  • Shimshonit interviewed Ilana-Davita as one of her favorite foodies.
  • Ilana-Davita shares photos and history of Lübeck’s synagogue.
  • Mimi cooks up a delicious looking tabbouleh.
  • Finally, prayers and thoughts for RivkA: Robin’s love, Batya’s letter, Jameel’s latest update on RivkA’s blog.
  • Update on Friday: “Baruch Dayan HaEmet – Blessed is the True Judge.

    This is the blessing said upon hearing the news of someone’s death.

    About 11:10 AM this morning, RivkA passed away.

    Funeral plans are in the process, and we’ll post them as soon as we know.

    May RivkA’s family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”

    One more update, a parsha thought on Hayye Sarah by Jeffrey Woolf: “Abraham came to Hevron to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. The Rav זצ”ל used to emphasize that ordinarily the order is the reverse. First once cries. Only after time passes and perspective returns, can one eulogize the departed and evaluate who they were.

    Sometimes, though, one is obligated to suppress one’s primal shriek of pain in order to tell the world just who the person was who has gone. That way, the Rav said, we try to involve as many people as possible in mourning the tragedy. Once the eulogy is achieved, we may all let ourselves go and cry out in pain.”

    Philadelphia Zoo Carousel Reds

    parrot on the zoo carousel at Philadelphia Zoo
    My daughter and her friend enjoyed their ride on the Philadelphia Zoo carousel last week.

    parrot looks in the mirror
    I imagine this parrot is saying “Awk! I am a handsome dude, aren’t I? Awk!”

    Philadelphia Zoo
    There is so much to see at the Philly Zoo that we only saw about half the place when we heard it was closing time. The girls really enjoyed the petting zoo and the big cats (pumas, leopards, lions).

    For more posts with a lot or a little red, visit:
    Ruby Tuesday

    •  •  •

    I am running a new series interviewing bloggers who like to write about writing. The first one was an interview with Lorri of Jew Wishes. Please come back tomorrow and next week for the next two in this series. Thank you.

    Bridge over Raritan River

    bridge under Route 18
    Sometimes you can photograph an ordinary bridge and get some good shots. This bridge goes over the Raritan River, and on top is Route 18, a busy thoroughfare that takes you from New Brunswick, through East Brunswick, and eventually leads down to the Jersey Shore area.

    top of bridge of Route 18
    This is the top of the bridge. I liked the colorful leaves growing on the fence.

    graffiti under bridge
    Unfortunately, graffiti is too common a site on bridges in our area.

    bridge near Rutgers Gardens
    The bottom of the bridge with the Raritan River: the bridge is at the end of our walk that started at Rutgers Gardens.

    Past posts with bridges and the Raritan River:

    For more Sunday Bridges:
    bay bridge

    Apple for Ruby Tuesday

    apple on a tree
    Two weeks ago we went apple picking (at Terhune Orchards near Princeton, New Jersey), and I made a cake using this recipe (but without the nuts). I am planning to make an apple pie this week.

    What do you like to make with apples?

    For more photos with red, visit:
    Ruby Tuesday

    Asbury Park Theatre

    asbury park theater
    Facade of the Asbury Park Theater, New Jersey Shore

    The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey was built in 1927: The entire complex was designed in a combination Italian-French style, with an emphasis on nautical themes in recognition of its oceanfront location. The interior of the theatre was dominated by gold, black, and purple, and featured a giant rosette on the ceiling.

    Thursday Challenge theme is CREATIVITY (Art, Music, Writing, Photography, Architecture, Handicraft,…).

    Next Week: FUN (Festival, Fair, Carnival, Party, Playground, Dancing, Laughing,…)

    Batsto Village Reds

    main house at Batsto Historical Village
    This is the main house at Batsto Historical Village. Originally built in the 18th century, businessman Joseph Wharton added unto and renovated the house. We received a tour of the large, spacious house, but no pictures were allowed, similar to our tour of the house at Allaire State Park. If you want historical homes in New Jersey where you can take photos, try Longstreet Farm or East Jersey Olde Towne.

    stagecoach
    This old-fashioned stage coach seems to scream: I want to be in a Ruby Tuesday post!

    Richards and Joseph Wharton
    Pictured in the little museum in the visitor center are Batsto village owners William Richards (early 19th century) and Joseph Wharton (second half of the 19th century). The man on the left may be Charles Read of the 18th century. See history of Batsto Village.

    Pure Turkish Emery
    Pure Turkish emery was one of the items advertised for sale in the Batsto shop. Note the crescent moon on the advertisement. This was from the days of the Ottoman Empire.

    For more photos with a little or a lot of red, visit Ruby Tuesday:
    Ruby Tuesday

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