Sights Seen and Upcoming PlacesTo Go

Driving home from a store this weekend, my daughter and I passed the MOST enormous American flag we had ever seen, hoisted up into the blue sky by two giant cranes.  I asked a man crossing the street what it was all about, and he said it was  Harley Davidson Memorial 9/11 Rally - hundreds of motorcyclists riding hundreds of miles in memory of the hundreds of Americans who lost their lives.  May they always be remembered.

On another subject:  Do you have books you want to get rid of?  I do.  And I have often bought books from Better World Books via amazon.com, so I was glad to see that they had book drop boxes where you can deposit your books and let them continue their lives in the hands of new readers:  
ShopRite Plaza at Haddonfield Berlin Rd. and Rt. 154 in Cherry Hill
and
Garden State Pavilions at Rt. 70 and Cornell Ave
I haven't visited either one yet, but I am doing a de-cluttering and expect to visit them soon.  I'll let you know how hard they are to find.  

Collingswood always has fun things to do along with beautiful parks to hike, but here are a few things I liked from their local paper, What's On:  Classic Car Cruise, September 15, and Sept 22.(I believe these are in the evening), There will be historic architecture docent guided tours in Collingswood which has some notable houses, on September 22 beginning at noon.  They said to visit their website for more info.  www.Collingswood.com.

I haven't been to any new places and few old favorites to write to you about.  I've been working on my fitness project.  Lost 15 pounds and got into a great daily habit of an hour of walking and an hour of working out at the gym.  This will keep me in good shape to keep up with Places To Go and Things To Do.  Today, I did my walking at Timber Creek Dog Park, on the old horse trail, with two best walking buddies, the two Barbaras.  Every day I am at Knight's Park, usually before I go to the gym around 9:00 or 9:30.  It is very peaceful there then, not to mention C o o l.  Hope to see you -
On the Trail
Jo Ann

Upcoming events from Al Horner

Al Horner is an acquaintance of mine through author Barb Solem.  He is a most talented and respected photographer with a special love for the Pinelands.  He sent this notice of upcoming events and I thought I would share it with you.  One I will be attending is a film on the Pines to be shown at Whitesbog on September 17th.  The filmmaker is a friend of mine and several of my friends are in the film

Upcoming Events

Here are some events that I have coming up. Would love to see you there.
 

Sept. 7th -  noon to 1 PM.

Power Point presentation "Pinelands: New Jersey's Suburban Wilderness" which features my work and all things Pinelands. About one hour and my book will be available for sale.

The New Jersey State Library
185 West State Street
Trenton, NJ
http://www.njstatelib.org/
609-278-2640 ext. 172 for information
 

Sept 16th - 6 to9 PM reception

Will be presented at:
Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
http://www.rrcarts.com/
22 N. High Street
Millville, New Jersey 08332
(856) 327 - 4500
This event will be a presentation of the work created by 8 photographers depicting the work of 16 artist, I am one of the subjects. I, and several artists, will have work showing there at the same time.

 

Oct 1 - 10 to 4PM
Collingswood Book Festival
Haddon Avenue
Collingswood, NJ
http://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com/

This is the 14th annual event for this book festival. I will have a booth there to present my book
"Pinelands: New Jersey's Suburban Wilderness" Also, I will have DVDs, notecards, posters and some art available.

This is a rain or shine event and will be held in the Collingswood High School on Collings Ave. in the event of rain.


Oct. 16th - 10 to 4 PM

Batsto Country Living Fair
Batsto Village - Wharton State Forest
31 Batsto Rd. (Route 542)
Hammonton, NJ
http://www.batstovillage.org/country-living-fair.htm

This is an excellent family event, lots to do for everyone. I will have a booth for the sale of my book, DVDs, notecards, posters and some art will be on display.

Local Links Market Cafe

Local Links is my new favorite place to eat!  I had lunch there today, my favorite breakfast burrito and a delightful chat with the chef and the pastry chef, charming and warm people.  This was my fifth meal at Local Links and every single one was out of this world.  Now, I only go for lunch or breakfast because most of my travel is day trips and I don't like to drive at night any more even close to home, if I can avoid it, because of the Fuch's Dystrophy (a cornea chronic disorder) which makes it hard for me to see in dim lighting at night, but they have famous gourmet meals for dinner at Local Links and today I took their July menu which will be changed for August but it gives you an idea:
Five Course Meal
1. Scallop Crudo (LBI Day boat scallop jalapeno citrus herb)
2.Dirty Jersey Caprese (tomato watermelon House mozzarella herb)
3.Raab Pesto Tagliatelle (Mitchell and Geno sharp and sweet sausage)
4.Pan Seared Local Bass (local vegetables, herb succotash)
5.Panna Cotta (Jersey Fruit compote)
$39 PP plus tax and gratuity
And they are happy to make vegan and vegetarian adjustments

So, I recommend you have breakfast or lunch there, visit the Fair Trade Store next door and possibly sit in the charming garden at the Railroad station before you head for a hike down the path through the Haddon Heights Park to Audubon Lake (each link in the park is about a mile so you can do one link and go back, or up to 3 miles total). 
And, if you go to Local Links on Sunday, you can go to the Haddon Heights Farmers Market, in its 5th Season from 9:30 to 1 p.m. through October.  

Today, though, my friend Nancy and I took our bikes out of our garden sheds and put them on Nancy's bike rack and rode around Knights Park in Collingswood because there are no cars (or no cars during the day, anyhow) and the road is wide and easy for those of us who haven't been on a bike in a few years.  

Needless to say, you can reverse this whole agenda and have breakfast at home, do the hike or bike and end with dinner at Local Links.  All the food is made daily in-house and bought from local farmers or fishermen.  856-617-6227 Eat In or Take Out, Hours Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m. to ?
Sat 9-5 and Sun 9:30-2
533 Station Avenue, Haddon Heights, NJ
Breakfast or lunch usually runs about $10 total, for example my breakfast burrito was $7.98 and then drink and tax.

It was a wonderful day and neither Nancy or I fell off the bikes!  I was prepared, however, with a new helmet purchased at Walmart for only $21.00 which was super cool and comfortable (cool in the sense of breezy, not hip or fashionable - which might not even be applicable to a bike helmet though my brain is grateful for my consideration).  It is a Zefal and so light (made of some kind of foam) with holes for air, that I forgot I even was wearing it.  I wasn't afraid of cars, of course, since there are none usually in that park, but I was afraid I might fall off my bike by hitting a pot hole or something.  

Enjoy your day, we certainly enjoyed ours!  Happy Trails!
On Saturday I'm off to picnic at Pakim Pond and scout out the road for my next bicycle adventure.