June 2007 Trip
Last Updated: July 19th, 2007
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Raleigh, North Carolina

I left Jacksonville on Friday, June 22nd and drove to Raleigh.  Stacy, Jed, and I had dinner and got some rest prior to a full day planned for Saturday.  After breakfast on Saturday (my birthday), we went to Durham for an afternoon of activities held at the old "Lucky Strike" factory which has been converted into shops and offices.  The afternoon's activities were sponsored by the local National Public Radio station which has its' studios in the complex.
I shot these pictures with my new Cassio digital camera which was a birthday present from my daughters!


Stacy and Jed

Dad and Stacy

Band- The Squirrel Somethings ?

Hoola Hooping was big!
I had a great time in Raleigh visiting Stacy and Jed.  They are busy planning their Spring 2008 wedding!

Charlottsville, Virginia

I drove from Raleigh to Charlottsville on Sunday, June 24th. I was happy to be able to visit my Cornell Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brother, Reg Woods and his wife Kathie.  Shortly after I arrived, Kathie took the opportunity to "run some errands" so that Reg and I would have a chance to catch up. We had a great discussion overlooking the lake on his beautiful property in wetern Virginia which is located about ten miles east of the University of Virginia in Charlottsville.  When I found out that Meriwether Lewis' farm was located nearby, we had to rush over for a look-see.


Reg Woods with Meriwether Lewis' farm property and Virginia's Southwest Mountains in the background

The house in the center was built around 1850.  But, Reg thinks that the chimney to the right is probably original.
After checking out Meriether Lewis' farm, Kathie had returned so we went out for some dinner.  During the course of the evening, it was obvious that Reg was an expert in local history.  So, we decided to visit Monticello the next day.

Me, blocking out Monticello

An unobstructed view!
After vising Montecello on Monday, June 25th, I left a little after noon for my drive to New Jersey.

New Jersey

I arrived in Toms River about 7:00 and was happy to find my sister Barbara, her dog Maggie and four cats in happy spirits!
Shortly after I arrived, Barb and I went out for a nice seafood dinner.


Barbara has a nice little two bedroom house.

Barb and her eight year old Beagle, Maggie

Two of Barb's four cats; Angel (a Maine Coon) on the left and Tiger on the right.  The other two cats were scarce.

This is Barb with her ex-husband, now friend, Teddy. 
We had a nice dinner on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, June 26th, we drove up to Ridgewood so I could see how it had changed in 45 years.  We were fortunate to be able to visit with Mary Haring who lived a few doors down the road from us on South Irving Street.

364 South Irving Street.  Not much has changed in the front; except, the trellis was not there when we lived there in the 50's

There have been a lot of changes in the back. The window on the bottom left near the trash can was a door.  There was no deck or shed under the deck on the right.

The cherry trees are gone in the back. But the day lillies are still there. My parents planted them in the 50's.

I have a lot of fond memories associated with this path along a stream near our house!!
After visiting our old house, we drove around Ridgewood.

 

This is the First Presbyterian Church. 
This is where Mary and I were married on January 19th, 1963.

Ridgewood High School.  From this view (we can't see the new addition), it looks pretty much the same except there was a lot of ivy growing on the tower when I went there. 
Looks more like a junior college than a high school.

This is the view of the football field from the front steps of the school.  Beautiful, isn't it?

My recollection is that if you had all As and Bs, you were free to study on the campus during study hall much like these two students here!

Wednesday, June 27th was fishing day.  We got up early and were at the boat at 8:00 sharp. We had a beautiful day.  We went on a party boat which was not too crowded.  We fished only a mile or so off shore drifting with the current.  We had to use 12 oz sinkers to hold the bottom.  We caught 21 fish.  I caught 11 and Barb caught 10.  I caught 10 fluke (New Jersey slang for summer flounder) and one skate.  Four or five of my fluke were 16 to 16 1/2 inches.  The New Jersey minimum last year was 16". This year, the minimum is 17" (11" inches in Florida). So, I had to release all my fish!  Barbara caught a 4 foot dogfish shark, 2 or 3 skates and the rest were fluke.  One of hers was the monster (18") you see below. We only needed that one fish though.  I bought some deviled crab which I used for stuffing and we had baked stuffed flounder and steamed clams and shrimp for dinner!


Barbara holding down our spot on the Norma-K III.

Note how close we are off shore!

Barbara with her 18" monster!

Here I am holding Barbara's fish. Don't tell my friend Lehman Barnes though.  It's a secret between you and me!  :-)

On Thursday, June 28th,  Barbara and I drove to her daughter's house in Red Bank to visit her family.  On the way up, we went to the Point Pleasant boardwalk to get my "significant other", Bobbi Jones, some saltwater taffy. Then we continued up the "shore" (New Jersey slang for beach) to Normandy Beach to see if we could find the 'cottage' where our family spent so many pleasant times from the 1930s through the 1950s.


Barb and I on Jenkinson's Point Pleasant boardwalk.  It has remained unchanged for over 50 years, maybe more!

Jenkinson's salt water taffy.
Only the best is good enough for Bobbi!

We should have a boardwalk at Jacksonville Beach! 
The boardwalk was full of summer camp student groups!

 

My grandfather had the fourth cottage built at Normandy Beach. The houses on the right are on the dunes behind the berm. They didn't allow that years ago.  Our cottage on Third Street is gone now replaced by the new tan house in the right center of the picture.
After visiting Normany Beach, we continued our drive north to Red Bank. It was a work day, so Barbara's daughter Melissa's husband David worked in his home office until dinner.  Meanwhile, Barbara, Melissa, Julia (11), Deanna (8 on June 22nd), and Bryan (1 1/2) and I enjoyed their above ground pool. I enjoyed hearing about Julia's and Deanna's exploits in swimming and Julia showed me her mineral collection that I had sent to her.  I had a great discussuion with Deanna about space science subjects.  She must have had an excellent 2nd grade teacher.  She knows more about the planets and the solar system than most 9th graders.  She knew that blue stars were hotter than red stars and how that relates to the blue part of a flame being hotter than the yellow part.  I was really impressed.  David has done a good job in supporting her by taking her out and looking at the stars at night and using the computer to learn about astronomy.  After dinner, we watched some videos of Julia and Deanna singing and dancing and then Deanna and I played on the internet investigating space science websites.  We had agreat time.  I can't wait for my next visit!

Julia is 11 today, July 19th, Happy Birthday Julia

Deanna was 8 on June 22nd

Bryan 1 1/2 crashed at dinner!
 The remaining spaces are for pictures from Barbara when she sends them to me!  :-)
On Friday, June 29th, we drove in to the northwest part of the state near the Delaware River Gap where the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey meet in a very rural mountainous region.  The New Jersey Zinc Company (my uncle Cecil was one of their Vice Presidents) operated several mines in the Franklin and Ogdensburg (Sterling Hill Mine) areas. This area has over 300 minerals which are found only in this unusual location.  I collected at the Franklin Buckwheat tailings in the late 1950s when I was in high school.
Barb and I visited the Franklin museum and then I worked the dump for a couple of hours.  I found several excellent samples of Franklinite, a primary ore of zinc: (Zn,Fe,Mn)(Fe,Mn)2O4; Willemite (fluoresces bright green): Zn2SiO4; fluorescent Calcite (fluoresces bright orange): CaCO3; some Zincite: ZnO; some Sphalerite: ZnS; and some garnet: a complex silicate mineral.  I purchased a few samples in the museum also. I was specifically interested in geting a specimen of Rhodonite, a pink semiprecious gem mineral (MnSiO3), which is very hard to find in the dump these days!.  After completing our visit in Franklin, we had lunch in Ogdensberg and then went to the Sterling Hill MIne at about 4:30.   We missed their mine tour which was at 1:00.  Even though they were closed, the folks there were very friendly and helpful. I was able to get a nice Sterling Hill Mine "T' shirt and one very nice sample of zinc ore consisting of Frankinlite and Zincite.

Franklin Mine- Franklin, New Jersey


This is the site of the Franklin Mine.  It is flooded now because they no longer keep it pumped out.

The Franklin Museum is located in the old pump house.  There are very nice displays of Franklin minerals both in natural light and in a fluorescent room in addition to the mine replica.
 
T
The Buckwheat Dump

This may not look like fun to you.  But to me. it's the best!

Barbara used the rock hammer for awhile and then decided to enjoy her book in the camp chair.

Sterling Hill MIne- Ogdensburg, New Jersey

Two "old" miners!

Next trip, I plan to revisit the Sterling Hill MIne
I can't wait until next spring when I plan to visit again.  I would like to bring Julia and Deanna on the Sterling Hill Mine tour.  I understand that they turn out the visible wavelenght lights and turn on short wave ultraviolet lights.  The whole mine becomes a bright green (Willemete) and orange (Calcite) world.  Cool!

I left Toms River on Saturday, June 30th and drove to Rocky Point, North Carolina.  On Sunday, July 1st, I finished the trip arriving home about 6:00 p.m.  Not only did I have a great time, but I also learned that I am now capable of driving 10 hours without getting too sleepy.
I can't wait for my next visit to Barbara and the girls next spring!