Stalex goes to the Garden State: 14MAR 2014

Friday March 14th, 2014: Pie day. 53 degrees, windy. Adventure weather. Stalex awoke at the Opa-Oma Homestead early. A mere two hours later after a lot of showering, make-up, not hustling, and impatient waiting they mounted that familiar fiery red steed Swiper and headed off across the rolling hills of northern Harford County bound for the Garden State. Three minutes later, Stacey's girl brains decided they didn't feel like driving anymore so a brief stop at Wawa saw a driver swap, coffee/chocolate milk, and a breakfast Sizzli in each lap. A short time later, the Ole Susky had been crossed by way of the Conowingo Dam, I-95 had been mounted, and the Old Line state had been left behind. The Delaware Memorial Bridge, once looming in the distance was now in the rear view mirror. Stalex was in New Jersey.

Alex was particularly taken aback by the small town and rural American landscape while Stacey played Snapchat or something. Some time later, after a disgruntled Wawa employee or two, Stalex arrived at destination number 1: a uniform store in Cape May where I needed to pick up a few things for work. It was noon on the dot and they had closed an hour earlier. Well that was a wasted trip I mumbled as we began the drive home. The End.

On second thought, the day was still young and the fun had only begun. We headed for the Wildwood Naval Air Museum and were greeted by a donation box in lieu of a museum attendant. Spike Lee once taught me to do the right thing, so $10 later we were playing some serious make believe. Apollo 13 by the Space Shuttle model, A-team next to the Huey, and of course Tom Cruise by the F-14.. all of the classics.

Square peg, round hole

Next up on the Stalex agenda was a slight detour to a different uniform store were I did in fact buy some things I needed for work. You see, recently I've let myself go a little bit and my work uniform has become a little restricting in some of my lumpy places. A nice new baggy set of threads now allows me to eat all of the delicious foods I've come to know and love with seemingly no regard for my appearance in the office place. Back to New Jersey though.. With a little Dorito/Kit-Kat fuel, Stalex was now en route the ultimate East Coast Funderdome: Atlantic City.

Since I'm sort of a poor person, the cheapest looking casino from a distance was targeted which just so happened to be the same place a quick google search had recommended for $5 blackjack: The Showboat. Stalex spent the next two hours cautiously at times, recklessly at others, playing blackjack until a stroke of good luck put them back in the positive and it was time to call it a day $40 richer. Ten minutes later a half Sausage Parmesan and a half Italian sub were shared at White House Sub Shop, a classic little corner spot with friendly service and great atmosphere where the generously portioned subs weren't necessarily anything to write home about but far from the worst I've ever had. Overall a great experience, I'll give it a B+. Belly's stuffed, it was now time to begin the return trek home.

Seeing as the calender had aligned (or circled?) the numbers 3 and 14, it was in fact Pie Day and what better way to celebrate than with a stop at one of New Jersey's hundreds of billions of roadside diners. A short distance from the Delaware Memorial Bridge lies Woodstown, NJ and in it, a diner bearing the town's namesake. I had a slice of Boston Creme (maybe the least pie-ish pie but excellent none the less). She had apple with a scoop of vanilla. Both delicious. Slightly pricey for two cups of coffee and two slices of pie but a great diner none-the-less, a solid B.

The last leg of the return trip took what seemed like much longer than it's actual 60ish minutes but before long Stalex was west of the Susquehanna, Swiper was back in the driveway, The Garden State's bottom portion had been conquered, another road venture had come to an end.