"I'm from Joisey, you from J ..." a New Jersey Travel Page by feline01

New Jersey has been the butt of many jokes throughout time. The page title was taken from a skit Joe Piscopo (a true New Jerseyan) did on Saturday Night Live years and years ago. Many, many famous people were molded on NJ soil including Meryl Streep, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Jon BonGiovi, Elisabeth Shue, Martha Stewart, Thomas Edison, etc. Lately, NJ has been famous for the HBO series, The Sopranos. Many natives are upset that their state is depicted as a mafia-infested crime haven. It doesn't bother me in the least. And this is part of the reality of NJ and many other areas on the east coast. I was reading the paper yesterday (6/11/03) and saw that next door to the the laundrymat that we wash our clothes at there was a mafia bust. The bar was the headquarters for some crime families involved in money-laundering, illegal gambling, guns etc.. Mind you, this all took place in a small suburban town less than 2 blocks from its police station.

I was born in New Jersey and lived most of my life here (except for a couple of years living in London). I have a love-hate relationship with the state. It is dirty, crowded, stinky and tacky in many parts. It is also interesting with ocean-mountains-forest-cities-culture and much to see and do all packed into a relatively small area. You can drive from the Northen tip of NJ to the southern tip in a little over 3 hours. New Jersey is often considered the garbage dump between New York City and Philadelphia. It is much more than that. I recommend everyone visit New Jersey and try to eliminate some of those prevailing stereotypes.

One might look at the above photo and think of a tropical island somewhere but it was taken at the Twin Lights Lighthouse in Highlands, NJ looking out at Sandy Hook, NJ. From Sandy Hook, you can see straight into New York Harbor. As a child, we would spend the day at the beach here and I'd be swimming in the Atlantic while looking at the World Trade Center from afar. One of countless memories that I have that involve the WTC.

People who live in NJ are well aware that this rather urbanized state has a large population of squirrels, deer and even bears. What is often surprising is the unexpected wildlife that survives the tough NJ lifestyle like the dolphins off of Cape May and the Pelegrine Falcons who have been living in an office building in downtown Jersey City. Too check out live webfeed of the pelegrine falcon chicks check out: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/peregrinecam/

One doesn' t think of natural beauty when driving through NJ but this photo is of a field of flowers that I pass on my way each Saturday to Merrick Farms, an organic farm in Howell, NJ.