FP- is a "road warrior" in terms of his work in the computer spectrum of things. What this means is that he sent out to client sites to encode or configure software applications for them. What the weekly routine schedule for us usually means is that Sunday is a jam-packed day as he does errands and chores around the house while I am packing his dress work clothes and shirts. We have dinner at 2 PM and he heads out the door at 3 PM to go back to the airport to fly off to where ever it is that he is assigned to go. Sunday nights (generally 10 or 11-ish) we chat online in the evenings until Thursday night in the week, when he starts to re-pack his clothes for the trip home. On Fridays, he generally arrives home about 11 PM and unpacks after having a snack and visiting with family. Saturdays his laundry is done up, we run our errands, and he spends time chatting with Robby. We also use this day to spend time together, walking about in neighborhoods that we like to window shop while talking before going out to eat dinner before heading back home. Now, his laundry is done so we can start re-packing clean clothes into his suitcase and duffel bag. Generally all we pack on this night is his underclothes, socks and casual shirts cause he isn't too concerned about them getting wrinkled. So, in our household, we usually refer to the week-ends as "Wardrobe Rotation Times". *grin*

In latter part of July he was sent to the Princeton, New Jersey area to do a large project for a corporation there. The scheduled ending date was the last week of September. After it was confirmed that yes indeed he would be there for that amount of time, in late August the people he works for told him to get corporate housing and take Robby and I to Princeton with him when he came home for one of his week-ends.

So after packing, unpacking to pull out some items deemed not necessary to take, repacking, unpacking to lighten the "load", repacking, unpacking to filter once more some things out, debating on wether one item could be dome without for about 3.5 weeks or not, and the last click of the suitcases -- we were finally ready to head out on August 29th. Or so we thought....

We loaded the baggage and Robby's necessary gear into the car and once more had to debate as to what to leave behind. At long last we were finally ready to pull out of the driveway and head towards the Pennsylvania Turnpike!!! Yea!! We settled in our seats to the tune of "Born In The USA" playing from the tape deck for the estimated 10 hour drive (with breaks included in) to the Princeton city limits.

Now, I could tell once we were near the New Jersey state line... I had heard about them having the highest insurance rates in the area and there really is no secret as to why once you witness their driving habits. They seem to have a back bumper fetish cause they have to be almost right up on your's as you drive along, speed limit signs are just roadside novelties, They wait until a car is about to pass them before deciding to get into that lane also, it wasn't uncommon for me to see cars acting like they were on a weaving loom in the New Jersey area -- dipping in and out of traffic and trying to see how close they can maneuver themselves around other cars, and lastly - they like to drive in the shoulder area of roads 'cause they just might decide to turn right, dontcha know. they can't blame this on other states as every car I saw do these stunts had New Jersey license plates on them. I particularly liked the one stunt a driver pulled: He had missed his exit ramp which was on the left side of the 3 lane highway, so he pulled over onto the right hand side shoulder and backed up. Now we all know this move is illegal in what he was contemplating in doing instead of driving up to the next exit to turn around. So he sat there, and there was a moderate load of traffic on the highway that day ... so there were a "pack" of 5 cars or so before there would be a clear spot in all lanes. Did this guy wait for a clear shot? Nopers!!! He turned his car so it was aimed straight at the exit ramp area then hit the gas. The woman two cars ahead of us slammed on her brakes just in time as he sped in front of the unsuspecting driver, causing her car to start to swerve sideways -- well the guy behind (recall the bumper fetish I told you about) slammed on his brakes once he heard hers lock-up and squeal, and he too locked up his brakes and his car started to almost go into a "doughnut" wobbling as it shifted it's weight from the sudden stop and out of control sensation of the moment and almost tilting over, and FP- came about ---> <--- this close to being a part of it also as we were the third car in the line. All this unnecessary excitement due to a guy not wanting to drive a few more feet up the road to turn back around to catch his exit. *heart still skips a beat in memory* And they wonder why they have the highest insurance rates in the country yet almost every car in a mall parking lot has a ping or dent in their trunk/back bumper area. *shrug* No idea....

Now, FP- had a rental car that we were using while in Princeton, so when he left to work his typical 10 to 12 hours days -- I was left to my own defenses in as far as transportation. Now, we were in the suburb type area of Princeton -- which is not really suburban in appearance to be honest -- along Highway 1. We were staying in a place that was conveniently located between two strip shopping mall set-ups. FP- thought that on some days I could go to them to kill some time, per se ... yeah right ... There wasn't any bus routes along this stretch of the highway, and if I did happen to see one cruise by it was either headed to New York City or didn't stop as it was a "rush hour" route bus that toured the many corporate campuses to pick up folks. So, I tried to call a taxicab so I could go into the Princeton "proper" area (the actual downtown/college area of the town) for a couple of hours. After an hour and a half of waiting, I called them back to tell them I no longer wanted the cab to come by ... and the guy said "We were already there, I *think* we told them to call your room to let you know..." to which I replied, "Strange -- the phone here never rang once all day..." So needless to say, Robby and I were confined to the corporate housing complex -- unable to walk to either mall due to NO sidewalks and the cars along the highway using the shoulders as well to drive in.

Now, before you say "Boy, she is just whining about her stay in the area...", I want to point out that when I finally made it to the Princeton "proper" area I was utterly amazed at the charm of the place!! This area maintained a strict building code of where the business buildings and new homes have to blend in with the already existing "look" of the place -- banks look like colonial style homes or farmhouses for an example of the novelty and homey charm of this small section. They are proud of their historical roots here and it clearly shows! Nassau Road, as it is now called, is the original road that went through this area -- starting off as an Indian trail and later becoming the King's Highway as the colonists started to settle in this area.

The downtown shopping area isn't that small either ... a bit of walking can be done on a window shopping spree and even then you may not walk past them all. They have some rather unique gift and clothing shops here, too, filled with interesting and beautiful items to look at or try on. I highly recommend "The Annex" restaurant in this area ... the prices are decent, the food is excellent, and the portions aren't stingy either. I can't be the only one with this opinion of the place as it is always busy!

The campus itself is also a gorgeous place to stroll through, the archway openings to get into many parts of it are a definite cool feature of the campus -- along with the gargoyles, engraved walls, ivy covered structures (it is an Ivy League school after all), and the stone used to build many of the buildings and dorms. The Nassau Hall is near the front main gate entrance to the campus and hard to get a clear a picture of due to all the trees (mainly oak) that are also a part of the campus' looks and charm. This hall is the first structure of the college built back about the time of the start of the Revolutionary War (back then Princeton University was known as the Jersey State College) and was used as barracks and a hospital for both the American and British troops that fought in this area. Their mascot is the tiger, and this is apparent as you stroll through the campus ... tiger statues and stone carvings dotting the landscape as well.

While we were in New Jersey, we decided one Sunday when FP- was home from work to go visit Cape May. This area is known for the lighthouse in the area (this is not a small area though -- has 3 sections to it, but we only toured about one of them), the sunken remains of one of the concrete ships (the front part of it is still visible though to view) attempted to be built back around the time of the Civil War, and the impressive architecture of the houses in the area -- Queen Anne, Greek Revival, traditional Victorian, etc.

We took Robby to the beach and let him dip his foot in the water, which he didn't much appreciate as the first wave rolled in and shocked him as it covered his tiny feet on the sand. *chuckle*

The main shopping mecca of the area is pretty neat also... the buildings are reminiscent of old-timey business storefronts. They closed off the little roads in front of the shops (that weren't along main roads to the beach itself) and filled them in to make them large sidewalk areas that the merchants also used to set out some of them wares for the folks who strolled by to see and put up benches for folks to sit down and take a breather while shopping.

They have boat tours and whale watching tours available in this area. And guess what? They even have a restaurant that boasts of being haunted and you can have a ghostly dinner there as well as maybe take in a Mystery Dinner Nite as well!! Pretty neat huh?

Well... as September started to draw to a close, FP-'s time in Princeton area was extended two more weeks. We shrugged our shoulders and said "OK, no big deal...". Then it got changed to October 18 ... Then to October 27... Then it wound up that we didn't get to leave there till almost the middle of November. Which was ok on one hand ... but on the other hand, we didn't pack any heavy autumn clothing as it was still in the 90s and 80s when we went there for what was supposed to have been "just a month..." *laughing*

Last Updated October, 1997

Carol aka Secretive, 1997