Weekend Recap: Driving, Eating, Scanning.

For me, this is the true sign of a road trip:

I was a little wary of eating McDonald's the night before a 14 mile run along a trail with absolutely no bathrooms, but it didn't prevent me from getting my usual - 6-piece chicken nuggets, hamburger with extra pickles and fries. I know, gross, right? Well, it all worked out for the best. The run went splendidly - more on that tomorrow - and I got my quintessential road trip food.

The main reason I went home was to work on a project I'm putting together for my grandmother's 90th birthday. I spent all afternoon Saturday and most of the day Sunday looking through old family photographs, like this one: 

I only took breaks from my sorting and scanning to eat. My mom made a fantastic early dinner of spare ribs, potato salad and fresh Jersey tomatoes. Later, my aunt stopped by and we all drove up to my favorite Jersey restaurant Hot Dog Johnny's. It's an establishment. 

We took the long way home. Crossing the Delaware River on a small (toll-less) bridge into Pennsylvania, we drove along the river to the Portland, PA, pedestrian bridge, where we were blessed with this view of the Delaware Water Gap:

Looking south from the bridge gave us an almost equally beautiful view. The juxtaposition of the smoke stacks and the natural landscape is interesting. Sadly, this GenOn Energy coal-burning power plant is the main source of sulfur dioxide in North Jersey, negatively impacting air quality and, likely, the respiratory health of New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents.

And considering this is the New Jersey I grew up in, with trees, rivers, vast farmlands with the best tomatoes and corn you will ever eat, this is particularly upsetting. I know most people think New Jersey is Camden, the Turnpike, or the oil refineries they see when flying into Newark Airport, but this is is my New Jersey:

Ok, I'm climbing down off my Jersey soapbox now. I'll just say that it was a wonderful weekend, filled with my favorite things - long drives in the country, farmer's markets, food and family.