NYC 2025-Day 9

Today was spent entirely in New Jersey. And though we are really enjoying Jersey City and time with Peter and Val, we have been reminded of a special trick that New Jersey has played on us many times over the years; if you know, you know, and if you don't know, we don't feel any particular need to tell you.

In other words, New Jersey does not give the clear, explicit directions we've grown to love from our time in NYC.

The first time I remember it happening was 25'ish years ago when I had gone to somewhere in NJ for training for my work at a Huntington Learning Center. I was away for two weeks and my boss agreed to let me keep the hotel room rather than paying for my transportation home. Buds drove over from Delaware to spend the weekend with me. This was pre-GPS, pre-cell phone days, so he had printed out paper instructions from MapQuest and set off after work. By the time he pulled up at my hotel hours after we had planned, hours after dark, he was shaking with rage. This was the angriest I had ever seen him, and it was directed at the entire state of New Jersey.

"There are NO street signs," he sputtered when he calmed down enough to breathe. "I've been wandering for hours!"

The lack of direction brought us into some interesting situations during our NJ time, including walking out through doors we're pretty sure we weren't supposed to go out, and a time wandering through construction equipment at Hoboken station that was definitely not for us.

We had another _ moment_ with this state when we realized they use different names in different locations for the PATH trains. (The subway/train system in northeastern NJ.) They used colors in one part and names of the destination in others, and then they told us our train was loading on track 2, but we searched in vain to know which of the two sides was track 2. Buds finally found the sign.

Where was the only sign?

Despite all this, we found the people we interacted with delightful. And certainly we love our favorite New Jersey native, Jenny. 😘

On with our day:

We started with coffee from a place close to home and I had my first beetroot latte.

Then we figured out which PATH to take to Hoboken, hopping off at what we hoped was the right location. Then we wandered through the Hoboken station like newbies trying to find the exit at IKEA. It worked out beautifully because we stumbled into the Grand terminal, and it's gorgeous.

We did see several rough-looking folks sleeping in here. It would be a safe, warm spot to catch a couple hours sleep, amongst all the beauty.

After leaving the terminal, through apparently the wrong door, we crawled our way out of the construction equipment at the side of the station, looking back long enough to realize the outside of the place is gorgeous, too.

Then we began our walk around Hoboken and we were enchanted. Peter had told us to be sure to walk along the water to get the views of Manhattan, and it was splendid. The City, as everyone here calls it, seemed so close, so vast, so sprawling yet manageable.

This place looked magical, and with a bit of research, I figured out what it is.

The boardwalk was busy with runners and families with strollers and dogs being walked. It was gray and cold, but alive with activity. Eventually we moseyed our way to the downtown strip which felt like a gritty Hallmark movie, and actually has a store named like in "The Good Witch."

A stop for second breakfast was in order since that beetroot latte didn't last long.

A few purchases for kid gifts, then with a bit of fear in our hearts, we started back toward the train station, wondering how we were going to get back inside. The architecture here also captured our attention.

As is New Jersey's way, it had made us suffer enough directionally that day, so we found our way easily back to the train we needed.

When we got back to Jersey City, we had just enough time to grab some train snacks from Whole Foods for the long ride back to Rochester the next day, then we met Pete and Val for a scrumptious lunch at https://www.gaiaandloki.com/

We bid them farewell for a few hours since we were having dinner at their home. A chilly walk back to our room for an afternoon with a bit of work and a bit of a nap. Buds considered heading into The City for more time at his new favorite store, Muji, but decided listening to me snore was more fulfilling. 😁

We walked to Val and Peter's house with a stop for ice cream and our contribution to the meal, then we had a delicious dinner and set a new record on "A Gentle Rain"! Twelve flowers!

Once we got home, we packed and snuggled in because 5 a.m. was going to arrive early.

Thanks, Jersey City. It's been a trip. 💖💖