Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Hey youse guys...Leave New Jersey Alone!!!

The wife and I just returned back home to L.A. on the last flight last night from Philadelphia after attending her family reunion in the southern New Jersey town of Cinnamonson.

Arriving into PHL at noon on friday(yeah...I sure do "like" those red-eye flights, alright!!!) we rented a car and drove to Atlantic City and spent the night there. Found that city going through a renaissance of sorts. Played about 4 hours of Texas Hold'em friday night at the Trump's Taj Mahal.

Saturday before driving to her cousin Kathy and her husband's home, we drove down the beautiful Jersey shore and stopped for lunch in Ocean City. The weather couldn't have been nicer as we marveled at some of these multi-million dollar homes right on the water there.(though I'd hate to have to pay for their yearly storm insurance, I'm guessin')

Sunday morning, Mike, her cousin's husband, loaned me his newly purchased Star 1100 cruiser, and so I put about 100 miles on it riding around the Garden State's roads.

I gotta tell ya(how's THAT for Joisey Speak?!) what a beautiful ride I had. I rode mostly two-lane country roads past green farmlands and homes that aren't on postage stamp-sized lots.(kind'a the norm out here in California, ya know)

What a day. The temps were in the 70s with little humidity, and I found that Yama...err...STAR motorcycle isn't a bad bike at all, though the vibration in the handlebars was a little more than I am accustomed to after owning the BA these past almost 6 years. I grounded those floorboards a "few" times, I must admit, and the power output for a bike with a 300cc larger motor isn't much more than my BA's either, with probably less power available up high in the rev range.

Bottom line: I'll keep the Triumph, but thank you Mike for the loaner.

(of course the ongoing joke was that Judie and I had brought the nice low-humidity California weather with us back there)

SHHHHHHH we're tying to keep the amazing weather and incredible roads all to ourselves..
joisy g

there's nice roads in Jersey?

Yeah, Mark! Well, "maybe" not as nice as all those beautiful roads I'm sure youse guys have there in BROOKLYN, you know with all that there "lush greenery"(hey...wasn't there a famous book written long ago about a tree growing there or somethin'???) that youse guys have in that borough o' yours there...but nice all the same.

69 Ways to Tell You Are from New Jersey

69. You went to Seaside after your Senior Prom.
68. You watched "Mallrats" and said, "I've been to that mall!" [Even though it was filmed in Minnesota]
67. At least half of the people you went to high school with went to Rutgers.
66. You know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.
65. Your big class trip in elementary school was to Morristown.
64. You long for the days when the Devil wore Christmas colors.
63. You know that the only people who call it "Joisey" are from NY.
62. You've been to the Meadowlands Fair.
61. You've planned a local trip around passing at least one Dunkin Donuts.
60. You do not think of citrus when people mention the "Oranges."
59. You know that it's called "Great Adventure", not "Six Flags."
58. You actually know bakeries that are not part of a supermarket, but are individual stores.
57. You've ordered a "hard roll with butter" for breakfast.
56. You've gone to a diner after drinking all night.
55. You've eaten at that diner at 3 am at least a dozen times.
54. At least 3 people in your family still like Bruce Springsteen.
53. "Anyone who makes bad pizza can bite me!"
52. You always use at least 10 variation of "******" while driving.
51. You don't have to go to Red Lobster to get fresh seafood.
50. You once said "It smells like New York in here."
49. You can go bowling at 1:30 am (w/ automatic scoring).
48. In high school, you knew someone who worked at a Friendly's or Stewart's.
47. The Garden State Parkway does not freak you out at night.
46. You know what a "jug handle" is.
45. You have mandatory recycling - enforced by law.
44. You've eaten a porkroll, egg & cheese on a hard roll -- and loved it.
43. You go to the boardwalk at least once a year.
42. You've pondered..."Maybe basketball would be more popular in NJ if the Nets weren't here."
41. You say the words "water", "coffee", "dog" and "whatever", like this "wadder", "cawfee", "dowg" and "wadever".
40. Even your high school cafeteria made good subs.
39. You've lived through hurricanes, nor'easters and brushfires, but you have never seen a tornado, earthquake, tsunami or volcano.
38. You can't believe that MTV went to Seaside Heights.
37. You know that ACME is an actual store, not just a Warner Bros. creation.
36. You only go to NYC for day trips.
35. You've run out of money on the Parkway.
34. You're Italian.
33. You know where to get a great bagel.
32. You think Perkins is terrible and should have never opened any restaurants here.
31. There are no self-serve gas stations -- and you like it that way.
30. You have had sex on the beach (not the drink).
29. You know how to successfully handle a traffic circle.
28. The Jet/Giants game has started fights at your local bar.
27. Your car is covered with yellow-green dust in April and May.
26. You can't understand why there aren't any 24 hour diners in the rest of the country.
25. You live within 45 minutes of at least 3 different malls.
24. Someone at the beach once called you a "benny."
23. You can see the NYC skyline from some part of your town.
22. You know what MCCC is and a good percentage of people from your high school went there.
21. You've seen or been in a fight over the Rangers and Devils.
20. You have, or know someone who has, Mafia connections.
19. You're related to someone who think the NY Jets should be the New Jersey Jets.
18. You have at least one friend who drives a truck.
17. You've been camping.
16. You've been in a city or town where Spanish is spoken more than English.
15. You can't remember when Clifton didn't win a softball championship.
14. You know where to gets drugs in Trenton, Paterson, Newark or New York.
13. You've been to a party in the woods.
12. You've purchased fireworks in Chinatown.
11. You've played in a P.A.L. league.
10. You liked the Jets, even before Bill Parcells.
9. You know where to get a fresh Taylor ham, egg and cheese at 2 am.
8. You don't take no crap from no one.
7. You remember Action Park and may have been seriously injured there.
6. At sometime you got on the wrong highway while trying to leave Willowbrook Mall.
5. Z-100 used to be your favorite, now it's K-Rock.
4. Anything less than 3 inches of snow isn't worth your time.
3. Someone on the road cut you off and you used at least four swear words to tell them what you thought.
2. You think people from South Jersey talk funny.
1. You know someone who lives in a neighborhood with contaminated water, because of toxic chemicals.

Next time you visit, head north to I80 and then get back to me...

Well, ya see Benny, I think the problem here may be that YOU haven't gone far enough south on that there Interstate to see the beautiful half of that state.

(this, of course, is akin to somebody coming to L.A. and thinking they've "seen California")

And Patriot, that list was great!

(especially the part about being Italian...I was literary surronded by the wife's Vinci and Schiappa familys at that reunion...no "connections", if ya know what I mean, as far as I know though...but Uncle Donnie sure had "the look")

I bought my bari in souther Jersey. Took a wrong turn and ended up "over the bridge" in Philly on the way home! Oops. I know there's more than one part to the state, I just wish I didn't have to go to Parsippany so often!! Pretty much only one way to get there... Cross Bronx, GWB, I80 thru Patterson. Yippee...

You mean there are no decent Triumph dealers on "Lawnggg" Island?!(did I pronouce that correctly?)

Quote:

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Bottom line: I'll keep the Triumph, but thank you Mike for the loaner.

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Mike sounds like a cool cousin-in-law, perhaps when they visit the left coast you can loan him your bike and take him away from "the dark side". I bet he's a prime convert.

Saw these NJ driving rules on another list:
1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name, it is New-erk not New-ark.
2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 a.m. to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00 p.m. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.
3. The minimum acceptable speed on the turnpike is 85 mph. On the parkway it's 105 or 110. Anything less is considered "Wussy."
4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Jersey has its own version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second.
However, in Monmouth county, SUV-driving, cellphone-talking mothers ALWAYS have the right of way.
5. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot.
6. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It's another offense that can get you shot.
7. Road construction is permanent and continuous in all of Jersey.
Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting.
8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, skunks,dogs, cats, barrels, cones, celebs, rubber-neckers, shredded tires,cell-phoners, deer and other road kill, and the Homeless feeding on any of these items.
9. Mapquest does not work here -- none of the roads are where they say they are or go where they say they do and all the Turnpike ez pass lanes are moved each night once again to make your ride more exciting.
10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been "accidentally <BR>activated."
11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 70 in a 55-65mph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be "flipped off" accordingly.
If you return the flip, you'll be shot.
12. Do not try to estimate travel time -- just leave Monday afternoon for Tuesday appointments, by noon Thursday for Friday and right after church on Sunday for anything on Monday morning. __._,_.___


I added the number one rule they missed:
When turning left, of course you must first turn right. This does not apply to new intersections. At these intersections, you will notice the way you wanted to go only after you have passed through, thus requiring a u-turn at the next intersection where the first part of the rule will apply. Make sense?

The coastal section of NJ is wonderful. Yeah, AC is going through a revival, that's it....

Hey man Im from Cinnaminson. Thats crazy your were in my town all the way from CA..And thanks for the good comments on NJ, the taxes are high but its a nice place and gets a bad rep.

I've been through New Jersey a few times and I love it. But I was only passing through - I was surprised by the beauty. Just as pretty as Alabama. Next time I visit a foreign country, I'll get Bedouin to escort me to his next international border. This is not an insult, I just don't belong anywhere between Maryland and Connecticut. I'll get to go through there again on my 48+ ride. My wife loves New England. I worked in Vermont for about 8 months and she wanted to quit her job to move up there with me. She said, "Give me 15 acres in Vermont and we won't need anyone else - just you and me".

Check out this website... Weird NJ. Click on "Roadside, Weirdside" and "Roads Less Traveled."

Some weird places & stories...I want to take a weekend, get a handful of people together on motorbikes and try to find as many as we can.

As long as I don't see "Jersey City" signs, I'm OK!
(made a late night trip there one night, NJTP closed, big mistake...)

I picked up a neat book on my last trip to AC at a flea market - "Discovering America on the New Jersey Turnpike", by Rutgers Press. Restrospective of the history of the turnpike, where I spend a lot of time, in fact heading there this morning.

I have fond memories of living in Willingboro in the late 60s and joy riding in South Jersey in '69. That's a whole world away these days...

I lived in NJ for 2 years and can add a couple to the list:
70. You know what "Free to get in but pay to get out" means.
71. You would rather go to a Wawa than 7-11.
72. When the light turns green you just turn left regardless of whether there is a car coming straight at you or not.

Thanks for the list. It brought back a lot of weird memories.