#30, New Jersey NJ (Been There, Done That)

My fonder memories of New Jersey centered around vacation times while a kid in New York. My parents had a good friend who let them use their little cottage on a lagoon by the ocean near Staten Island. We went there many years and it was probably the first time we as kids all got to go out on the borrowed boat. It would be many more years until we learned to water ski. We also took trips to Atlantic City where I had my first taste of saltwater taffy. Still like it to this day. I get some handmade fresh water taffy whenever we go to Gatlinburg.

Heading out to the ocean

Playing in the waves

First time eating crabs

While we played in the sand and the water of Jones Beach not far from Brooklyn on the south side of Long Island, there was another place that we spent summers as us kids got older. Southwest of Jones Beach was the coast of northern New Jersey, just around the corner through the layrinth of streets and bridges. We had been given permission to use a friends summer house on a lagoon off the ocean, and that had allowed us the chance to use their boat while were there and go fishing while we rode on the waves. We would all put on those puffy orange life jackets and climb into the boats for a ride to the ocean and the smell of salt water. This was the only time and place we'd get to ride in a boat and we soaked it up as best we could. Sometimes we try fishing or putting out a trap and we seemed to catch more crabs than anything else. I remember one my mom caught a small white shark, less than a foot long, with a fishing pole. We got it off the hook and threw it back.

So that's how I know we had a great time in the ocean. We liked to go out every day in the ocean and get knocked around by the waves. In the second still above it seems like the waves were maybe three to four feet tall and we just jumped in them anyway.  We were little kids and we weren't afraid of the water in the least. There's a 5-minute section on the four of us just jumping around like we were having the time of our lives, because we were. We had taken swimming lessons on that very beach and knew how to swim. I imagine that's why I like it so much today.

That third picture shows a plate full of cooked crabs. We always seem to catch a lot of them and that was where we learned what seafood was. They were small crabs with not a lot of meat in them but I can remember us picking out the meat and using it as a garnish on a salad. But just the idea of putting a hook in the ocean and pulling up something that you would eat later was amazing. Once my dad went out on the ocean with some friends on a larger fishing boat and came home with a huge fish over two feet long. I remember we had fish for dinner many times until it was gone. I don't really remember if I liked fish or crab that much but there's a good chance I did since I love seafood today. I've enjoyed my share of endless shrimp at Red Lobster and New Jersey may be where it all started.

The 8mm Bell & Howell 252

I don't remember that we had a still camera when we were that young but somewhere along the way after I was born my dad got a Bell & Howell 252 8mm camera that was only video with no sound. These little reels of film were pasted together into larger reels and we have nine of those larger reels in digital form. Us kids recently put them all on cd's and now we can watch them anytime we want. Those first three pictures are not from a bad still camera, they are screen shots from watching them on my desktop and converting them into a still image. Most of my memories of early life were reinforced by watching these whenever mom or dad got out the projector. This movie camera in this recent photo is not dad's original movie camera, as we don't know where it is or what happened to it. But my wife saw this one in an antique store and bought it for me in 2023. I know everyone has a video camera on their phone and take them all the time, but back in the day this was a pretty big deal.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#29, New Hampshire NH (Been There)

During our stay in Vermont in 2011 during the fall colors season, we discovered that there were really no places to eat near where we were staying. Since it was a nice drive to a town in New Hampshire that had actual restaurants we made the drive every day to see what was happening there and finding something to eat. Turns out there wasn't much happening there either so we usually just went to the restaurant. Now that we had the internet to find things my wife looked for the closest restaurant which happened to be the Applebee's in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Using her phone maps (this was before we had Android Auto or a built-in vehicle GPS) she directed me to our dining location.

Map of New Hampshire
Used by permission of Nations Online Project

Years before when I used a TomTom navigational device they had names you could choose from for the voice to guide you where you wanted to go. For years I had Mandy who led the way with a pleasant recorded voice, and later there was Susan when they gave you digitized voices. But once we had smart phones I had Kathy leading me around in the car, just like she had in life for over thirty years at that time.

I don't remember if we ever mixed it up and tried to find a different place to eat, or if we did and we decided to stick with Applebee's after that, but we did try to get different meals each day. I know we did the 2 for $20 most of the time as there were things we both liked on that menu. Plus it was cheaper and included a drink. Music to my ears.

When you get to the Maine blog you will realize that we made that trip to the Northeast corner of the United States during the trip to Vermont. There was stuff to do in Vermont and there was stuff to see and eat in Maine, but New Hamphire was the "dinner at night" and "getting from Vermont to Maine" state. Sometimes you have to just accept who you are.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#28, Nevada NV (Been There)

On a beautiful day in August of 2012 we took out from Tucson, Arizona, for a couple days at the Grand Canyon. My son was driving and I was supposed to be navigating but we missed a turn and ended up at Hoover Dam. We made the best of it by taking in the sights around there and we drove across the Dam which meant we were officially in Nevada. My wife is still miffed at me for ruining that day and said we should have gone into Las Vegas just to see more of Nevada. We didn't and she's still miffed at me for that as well.

"Nevada Time"

At least it was a rather nice day to be out and about. We were there an hour or two and got a bunch of photos, only a few which are seen here.

That's a lot of concrete

Should have gone all the way to Las Vegas

The "Dam" Angels

This one is from the Nevada side

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#27, Nebraska NE (Not Yet)

Nebraska has Omaha, and friends of mine moved there for a number of years, but other than that you're on your own. I have driven from Illinois to Colorado on highway 70 which brought me within 100 miles of Nebraska and Wyoming, and within maybe 200 miles of Utah, but other than that those three states have eluded me thus far.

Generated by AI

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#26, Montana MT (Not Yet)

What is there to see in Montana? Since I haven't been there I can only ask the Google, who tells me there are mountains and lakes and a lot of nature. Oh, and bison, courtesy of Ted Turner.

Generated by AI

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#25, Missouri MO (Been There)

Besides my wife's home state of Michigan, namely the Upper Peninsula, we've probably spent the most time in Missouri. For nearly five years we lived in the Illinois side of the Metro St. Louis area and had many reasons to go into the state. Obviously, with St. Louis so close, we went there a lot. Unfortunately hat was in the early 1980's and we didn't have mobile smartphones at our beck and call.

Busch Stadium III

Packed House

St. Louis Arch

At the St. Louis Zoo

St. Louis was a place we enjoyed, in particular the St. Louis Arch, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, and the St. Louis Zoo which is still free. We went to Six Flags Great America on our honeymoon and my wife nearly passed out from the heat. Coming from near Lake Superior she was not a fan of such high temperatures. We would hit one of the malls in South St. Louis now and then as it was a nice drive there and not right in downtown. One of the first things we did in the area was to go to the Arch and take the ride up to the top. Having lived in New York for twelve years without visiting the highlights available there was something I did not want to repeat.

My mom and dad had liked the Ozarks and had a few different homes on the Lake of the Ozarks, so us kids liked going there as well. Later when they retired my dad built a couple homes down in southern Missouri near Branson. We visited them many times there and checked out Silver Dollar City as well. My enjoyed living on or near the water.

Top of the Rock near Tablerock Lake

Branson Ferris Wheel

Taking the train on the Branson Scenic Railway

We ended up with a bunch of our family near Springfield, Missouri in more recent years and so we have gone there to visit and have spent birthdays and Thanksgiving and other occasions. On one of our last trips we spent a couple days near Branson and took in some of the sights. We hadn't been there in quite a few years. We went to Top of the Rock, the Branson Ferris wheel, and had a nice ride on the train. The Ferris Wheel happened to be the one that was originally at Navy Pier in Chicago, and though I had never ridden it while up in Chicago it was satisfying to finally get the chance, albeit in another state.

My mom still lives in the area so I'm sure we'll be back to Missouri.

Until next time,

Arktander
(aka David Andreasen)

#24, Mississippi MS (Been There)

Mississippi falls between Louisiana and Alabama as one of the states of the Deep South. While there is no universal agreement as to which states meet that criteria, it usually includes at least Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Yes, I live in the Deep South.

Tiled artwork in the Rest Area men's room

Mississippi started as a passage state as we traveled to Missouri or Texas over the last year since coming to Georgia. But if you look you'll often find more intriguing reasons to stop and investigate. 

Birthplace of Elvis Presley: Tupelo, Mississippi

This is the actual house, fixed up a bit

More details on a sign

Elvis with flair

We were looking at the halfway point from here to Missouri and I mentioned a few towns that had nice hotels and mentioned the name Tupelo to my wife. She wondered why that sounded familiar so she looked it up online, and turns out it is the birthplace of Elvis Presley. So that's where we stopped for the night and then couldn't leave until we looked around the Park area.

So many signs in town you'll never forget you're in Laurel

Ben's workshop where he makes his furniture

There's a little General Store inside where you can buy Sasparilla

Another place that is a destination is Laurel, Mississippi, where television personalities Ben and Erin Napier film their popular show "Home Town" is produced. On one of our trips back from Texas we decided to take a detour south of the highway to spend a couple nights and take in the sights. We did all the touristy things and my wife decided she had to have a special Magnolia flower pillow like they showed on the program. It still has a prominent place in her decor and she has added other magnolia decor here and there. The highlight of the trip for my wife was driving down a street and seeing Ben and Erin walking down to their vehicle. Sometimes it's the little things.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#23, Minnesota MN (Been There)

I decided to go to college in the Twin Cities of Minnesota as I finished up my senior year of high school. By the way, the Twin Cities are Minneapolis and St. Paul which are paired together at the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix rivers. What struck me the most was the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" on their license plates and I didn't think that was possible. But it is a fact that Minnesota has over 14,000 lakes of over 10 acres in size within its borders. Within the city where I went to college it was a short drive to one of those lakes and it was open to the public.

Downtown Minneapolis with the IDS building the tallest

Minneapolis at night from the roof of the building where I worked

If there was one thing that stood out from my time in Minneapolis it would be the severe cold in the winter, especially with the wind chill factor. When I started my first job I decided to take the bus but after one minutes in that cold and wind my eyes felt like they were freezing open and I headed back to my car and drove to work instead. It was so cold that cars refused to start, and since mine already had problems starting that made it worse. I made a plan to start and warm up my car every six hours or so, doing so at 7am before first class, 1pm after lunch, 7pm when going to work, and 1am when heading home after work. That seemed to do the trick. At least it seemed to be a better idea than what others came up with, which was to start a small charcoal burn under the engine to keep it warm. The only problem with that was when the fire picked up speed or oil from the engine dripped and accelerated the burn. Every winter several cars caught fire in the neighborhood.

The Mississippi headwaters begin at the north end of Lake Itasca and make their way all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans, Louisiana, a journey of 2,348 miles. As it works its way south through Minnesota it runs right through the Minneapolis/St.Paul metroplex and is the dividing line between those two cities. I've walked parts of the Mississippi River and the Minnehaha Creek, taken photos of the flowers at the Arboretum, hiked through Minnehaha Park and checked out Lock and Dam Number One, and sat along the edge of some of those 14,000 lakes.

Arboretum, I love the symmetry

Lock and Dam Number One on the Mississippi River

Bridge over Minnehaha Creek in Minnehaha Park

I mostly liked my jobs while in Minneapolis. My first year I worked in a bank building cleaning up offices and collecting garbage in locked rooms and cages. In case they thought they accidentally threw something useful away they asked us to go retrieve the marked bag. One night I came into building and ran into a friend from school. After a little chit-chat he asked if I wanted to see the computers in one of the bank rooms. Of course I did! It was a huge room, air-conditioned to a nippy uncomfortableness, with dozens of those huge machines lined up around the edges with their tape drives spinning. That may have been one of my very first introductions to computers and over the next few years did some reading about "personal" computers that were in development. I used to sit in the University of Minnesota and try to understand all the jargon and the technology but I knew I wanted one of them. A number of years later I had one, although at a budget level I could (somewhat) afford.

My other job lasted longer and it involved being a courier driver for a company called Courier Dispatch. I know this will be hard for some of you to understand but if you wanted to get forms signed immediately you would call for a courier to come and pick them up and deliver them to where they needed to be signed, and then you might be asked to bring them back to where you picked them up. Fax machines were still a rarity in smaller offices and we drove all over the metroplex getting things from one place to another. Mostly I picked up sacks of mail from companies for hours and then dropped them all at the Post Office. My last day of work, which I had hoped would be taking enveloped from here to there, ended up being me moving an entire office of furniture and beds to another location. I was not amused. Winter was brutal in those old vans as there was no insulation and a very poor heater. It was always freezing there so you had to dress appropriately. At the end of the shift a few of us drivers still working late ended our night at the inside parking area for the vans. Then we'd go get our cars and bring them in to wash them before heading home. We never personally got in trouble but we found out through the grapevine that the bosses found out about it and notified all drivers that they could not do that any longer. It was good while it lasted. I made $5.50 an hour when the minimum wage was $3.10 an hour, which would be like making $40.15 an hour today.

1978 Buick Limited

One Thursday night during my Junior year this little blonde comes up to me and asks me if I wanted to play a game of pool. This was an unusual turn of events as all the girls I ever asked for a date either laughed, said no in no uncertain terms, or agreed to go with me just one time. So I said yet and we chatted about this and that. It seemed like she wanted me to ask her on a date and so I brought it up, but said that I had already planned to go back home in Illinois for the weekend to get my car. She did not seem happy. Dad made good on giving me first chance to buy it and I was stoked. At the moment, more stoked than dating a girl apparently. When I saw her Monday at classes she said she had gotten back with her boyfriend so I went on with school life. A few days later her roommate came to find me in the library and said the little blonde wanted to see me again. Now I was ticked as she was the one who went back to her boyfriend but I went ahead and asked her out. I had my "new to me" car but she never said a word about it, just ignored it as if it didn't exist. So now the both of us still have issues about the other. Somehow some way we got over our intial feelings and ended up dating for over a year, and then married after I graduated. 

She was surprised when I let her borrow the car and take her friends to the mall and wherever else they chose to go. Not many had cars at school and my Buick was known as the nicest car at school. That lasted only a year as the next year a guy came in with a brand new Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird and I was relegated to second best. But she eventually, grudgingly, told me the car was "alright."

When we drove to her home from school we'd take Highway 35 (an interstate highway) up to Superior, Wisconsin and then over into the Upper Penninsula. Even with rear wheel drive back in the 1970's we'd drive through the snow with several inches on the ground. Looking back it was probably not the safest time to travel but sometimes you just had to get away from college and head home.

Going the other direction I would take Highway 61 (not an interstate) all the way down along the Mississippi River to Quincy, Illinois. That trip was back roads all the way with many towns and many stops along the way. That's just how it was back then as there wasn't always an interstate to take you straight to where you wanted to go. I would often head for home right after work after midnight and drive until I got there by nine in the morning. I'd leave Sunday afternoon to be there ready for class Monday morning.

Put a bunch of different foods on the Christmas table and call it a buffet

For someone who liked to eat a lot college wasn't the best culinary experience. We were served normal portions for normal persons but I was always hungry. But I did not have the money to just go out and eat when I wanted. So I would eat from the cafeteria during weekdays, but the cafeteria was close on Saturday and Sunday. My first year of school I had to come up with some sort of plan over the weekend. My solution was the Smorgasbord near the school. The word smorgasbord was used to describe a place where you could eat a variety of foods for a fixed price, before the word buffet became popular. While these types of restaurants have mostly gone out of service in post-Covid life it was a lifesaver for me. I would get up Saturday morning and get there about 11am when they opened. I would sit there for two or three hours and eat about 8-10 plates of food, just drinking water, and only had to pay $1.99 plus tax. I particulary loaded up on the fried chicken, roast beef, ham, and fish. Then I wouldn't eat until lunch on Monday. It wasn't a perfect system but it worked that first school year.

The other all-you-can eat restaurant I liked, as did some of my friends, was Anchor Inn. They served mostly seafood like fish and shrimp and crab and such, but also threw in frogs legs for good measure. I did try the frogs legs but they were crunchy-chewy and tasteless so I went for the better tasting items on the menu. They served you much like Red Lobster does with their Endless Shrimp, bringing you portions of what you request until you're done eating. Anchor Inn was more a special place to go as it cost way more than $1.99 to eat your way through their offerings.

I'm sure there are more stories to tell but I'm not sure anyone wants to read that much more of my college years. So, I will end it right here and find another state to write about.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#22, Michigan MI (Been There, A Lot)

Michigan is where my wife hails from, more specifically from the Upper Peninsula area of Michigan. Who thought it was a good idea to take a chunk of land away from Wisconsin, separated by lakes and a five-mile bridge, and hand it to the hand (of Michigan)? Well it's a riveting tale of sloppy surveying, the infamous Mitchell map, the Toledo Strip which sparked the Toledo War except nobody ever fought, and a final quid pro quo between Michigan and Ohio so that Michigan could be admitted to the Union as a state. Reading about that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Meeting for the first time

What it looked like in the winter...every year

I met my future-wife in college while we were in Minneapolis. I took her back to her family home in Upper Michigan after the school year was over and I was greeted by the first photo. Beautiful weather, lots of trees, nice family. But after we got married we tended to use holiday events like Thanksgiving and Christmas to visit her family. At those times of year it looked like the second photo. It sometimes snowed several inches every day and we'd have to get out the snowblower and clear out the driveway and the sidewalks. Thankfully we also made some trips there during better weather.

A look out towards Lake Superior

One of the Jilly Cows

Marquette Harbor Island Lighthouse

There wasn't a long list of things to do there but we always took a trip to Marquette to see the Lighthouse and walk out on the rocks to the marker. We also had to stop at Jilbert's Dairy for Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream as it was the favorite of nearly all of us. We would also go see the animals at the Presque Isle Park Zoo until that was closed down, but it was still worth the time to take the drive around that point. For dining there was The Villa Capri which was a staple in the area (now closed as well ), as well as Ralph's Italian Deli in Ishpeming for cudighi to bring home and make sandwiches. It is their version of spicy Italian sausage patties, found in the Upper Peninsula. The other local food is the pasty which is a meat and veggie hand-held pie that miners would take to work for lunch. I have eaten all of the above and probably still hold the record for eating the most pasties in one sitting.

The family Christmas tree

Christmas was the special time for my wife and it didn't feel like Christmas to her if there wasn't any snow, so we did go up there a lot in the winter. There was always more than enough snow to go around. The time was made even better as other family members also came and we had visit from other friends and family in town. So did we ever go to Lower Michigan? Yep, had a number of adventures there plus went to Mackinac Island, which lies between Upper and Lower Michigan. 

Went to Joe Ricci Dodge to get my wife's 2006 Charger because she had to have a red one

Celebrated another anniversary at St. Joseph on Lake Michigan, too cold to swim

Took a ferry to Mackinac Island and spent the day looking around

As I close this chapter down I will also mention that I have driven the Mackinac Bridge, the five-mile long suspension bridge that connect the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with the Lower Peninsula. The bridge is off-limits to pedestrians every day of the year except for one, and that one day is Labor Day. On that one day the bridge is closed to vehicles as well as ships below. The Governor of the State normally leads that walk. Put in on your calendar and give it a go.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#21, Massachusetts MA (Been There)

Our visits to the state of Massachusetts occurred in 1990 as part of the trip to visit my parents when they lived in Schenectady, New York. This particular trip took us through a number of states on the drive to New York and then other day trips.

AI Generated Image of an 1800's scene

Maryland is remembered fondly by my wife and I for a day trip we made to Boston with my dad, and by a day trip I mean hours and hours of driving but only about an hour in Boston. While he was taking care of his errand, we took a walk around the downtown areas, with a special interest in Beacon Hill. That was a place my wife had heard about and was thrilled to see it in person. We didn't have cell phones in 1990 (some people might have but we didn't) so we had to guess how long my dad would take, and I guessed an hour. I don't remember who waited for whom, but we met back at the car at roughly the same time. Then we drove back into New York.

The Round Stone Barn, a good name for it

Got to have a sign somewhere on site

Living Quarters

Since it was our ten year anniversary right around this time, my wife wanted to do something special, which meant something she wanted to do and I would despise. She directed me to this former Shaker Village that  emerged in the towns of Hancock, Pittsfield, and Richmond in the 1780s, organized in 1790, and was active until the year1960. She was excited, me not so much, but such is married life. Pittsfield is just inside the Massachusetts border when driving in from the west and we were shocked that it only took a half hour to drive up to the border. Illinois is six hours or so from north to south and Massachusetts perhaps an hour. Looking at the paper map (pre-GPS days) made it seem the state went on forever but before we knew it the state ended. We continued on a bit further and ran into a covered bridge in Bennington, Vermont, and took some pictures which you can see on the Vermont page. And then we headed back to New York.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#20, Maryland MD (Been There)

Maryland occupies a tight relationship with Delaware, and I tend to think of them as a pair. Much of what I said about Delaware applies to Maryland and they make to two bookends for Washington D.C. if you're ever heading there. Alas, except for the obligatory drive through Baltimore on Highway 95, we didn't really do anything special in the state. Living so far away from it and not having any relatives in it didn't help.

Used with permission of Nations Online Project

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)

#19, Maine ME (Been There)

Maine is an interesting state from a geographical perspective, tucked away in the far northeast. New Hampshire is right up against its western boundary, and then the three provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia surround it on its northern half, while the Atlantic Ocean runs along its eastern edge.

Welcome to Maine

I know that I went to Maine as a family trip when I was a child so there wasn't a whole lot to remember from being so young. My memories of that trip are less from memory and more from the silent movies mom and dad took at the time, which we were corralled into watching on a regular basis. Of course, mom and dad gave the commentary throughout the whole event so it was never really a silent movie. The trip that was talked about all through my childhood was going to Maine to see dad's college friend. I remember pictures of those two guys throwing snowballs at each other, up on the mountain, on a very nice day, in short sleeves, and that story never got old. I do no have that particular piece of film but there was this one below with an old car on a lake.

Waving from an old car on a lake

But we did make it there on a scenic trip to Vermont that wasn't (head to the Vermont page to read that one). We made a day trip from Vermont to the closest accessible part of Maine and rode up and down a small portion of the coast checking out lighthouses and lobster and shrimp. It was a several hour ride from Vermont to Maine but it was a beautiful day. We spent most of our time in York, Maine, and took a lot of photos. But the first item of business was to get something to eat and I was wanting to try those Maine lobsters and heard about. Sure enough, the restaurant we were pointed to turned out to be great with a picturesque view of the ocean. The lobster dinner included a baked potato, corn on the cob, and two lobsters that were a pound each.  Of course I had to get the clam chowder since that's one of my favorites. So good! The wife got shrimp and said they were the freshest she's ever had. I think we'd go back there just to try the food again.

Then if was time to head out for some sightseeing. We drove the road right alongside the ocean and had breathtaking views all along the way. We stopped several times to walk around and take pictures. The boats were pulled up close to the beach and anchored. The lighthouses we saw were each better than the one before; we concentrated on this one. Later on in the afternoon it started to cloud up and I took the photo of someone reading at the ocean's edge. Now that's the way to relax!

This is one of the states we wouldn't mind visiting again. Very picturesque and charming. And it would be nice to see all of the states and not just the first twenty miles. But most of all we'd like to drive all the way up the coast to see as many lighthouses as we can find and eat seafood like there's no tomorrow. Sound like a plan to me!

Later,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)