21 counties in 3 days: the jersey tour
day one: hudson, essex, passaic, and bergen
by carol van houten
originally published on
october 18, 2004 Naturally, this is where it starts.
Saturday morning in Jersey City. Breakfast at the Miss America Diner, on West Side Avenue.
We exited out of town a back way, parallel to the beautiful and mysterious Pulaski Skyway, which John admirably shot from the moving car. I got out in South Kearny to take some more shots of it, but his was really the best. We cruised swiftly into lovely and urban Essex County, specifically downtown Newark, where we immediately got stuck in a huge traffic jam, the only one of the entire trip.
Both these pictures were taken while sitting in the traffic jam.
There was actually a police officer behind me and I paused a moment before taking a picture of Penn Station, but he didn't seem to care. I even used both cameras. (I took black and white with my old Minolta. By the way, all the pictures on this trip are really the first digital pictures I've ever had on this site. Yes it took me this long to buy a digital camera. I rarely rave about products but I got the Nikon D70 and let me just say, it is such a superb camera it actually makes you a better photographer. Totally worth it.)
Slowly, painfully escaping the traffic, we popped onto Route 280 and headed to historic Paterson, Passaic County, to finally find the Passaic Falls. I have gotten lost several times trying to find the falls and this trip was no exception. We tried to stop in at the Paterson Public Library, but unfortunately it was closed at 2 in the afternoon on a Saturday. Luckily some polite Patersonite gave us directions.
We found these two churches while we were lost. They were across the street from each other. Above: Union Avenue Baptist Church. Below: St. Mary's Roman Catholic Chuch.
Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson looks to have been abandoned for some time.
But you know how I'm sucker for ruined structures.
Here are the falls, second highest east of the Mississippi, after Niagara.
At this point the tour was cut short because we had to go back to Bloomfield (Essex County) for our home inspection. Here is the house:
Really, it's good that it took three hours; it means our home inspector was thorough. Plus, since the house is quite old (1914), there was, you know, a lot to discover. I guess this is my not so subtle way of telling you, Constant Readers, that after nine years packed with wonderful experiences and incredible tragedies, I am actually moving out of Jersey City. I'm still getting used to the idea.
But frankly, since it's only a 12 mile move, I really have to stop being so damn sentimental. My sister moved 1,700 miles this year (to Texas) so let's keep it in perspective, shall we? Well.
I'll try.
After the home inspection, it became painfully obvious that we were not going to be able to shoot Bergen County in daylight. Partly because this was still Day One and I was still tied up in trying to find places I had never been before, we nearly had an accident at a POORLY SIGNED traffice circle in Ridgefield Park. It was one of those "there is a God" moments. After that I came to my senses and drove back to the only part of Bergen County I really know well, Edgewater.
Whole Foods, Edgewater. The Edgewater Joseph Mitchell wrote about is pretty much gone at this point. It is a fascinating town. It's easier to see that during daylight hours, however.
Kinara Indian Restaurant, where we had dinner. End of Day One. Well, except for driving back to JC.
Day One: Hudson, Essex, Passaic, and Bergen
Day Two: Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Union, Middlesex, and Monmouth
Day Three: Ocean, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Mercer, Warren, and Sussex.
--cvh
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