January 20 to February 14, 2014 NOMADS Project, Mercedes, MS

February 15 (Approximately) to June - Gate Guarding, TX or LA.

June, 2014 - Up to Alaska!

September - NOMADS Annual Meeting, Branson, MO



Monday, August 16, 2010

Along South Jersey Roads

On Saturday we took our fifthwheel trailer to our dealer for the long awaited repairs.   The drive from our old home in Upper Deerfield Township, Cumberland County to Lakewood is 92 miles each way.

The majority of the drive is through the New Jersey Pine Barrens.   Most people mistakenly believe that NJ is all urban setting comprising of either cities or bedroom communities.   However, in actuality 22% of the state are what is known as the Pine Barrens.   The barrens are supported by a sandy, nutrient poor soil allowing mostly only scrub pine growth as shown on this shot along NJ Route 206.  The area for the most part is undeveloped.   1.1 million acres are under the Pinelands Acts which prohibits most development.   Laying under the Pine Barrens is one of the worlds largest aquifers.

This is our rigs home for the next two weeks or so.  


There are two main crops in the Pine Barrens - cranberries and blueberries

 NJ is the third largest state in the growing of Cranberries.  The largest is Massachusetts followed  by Wisconsin.    Cranberries are grown in bogs and produce berries year after year from the same plants.   At harvest time the bogs are flooded causing the berries rise to the top to be harvested.

The other crop is blueberries.  Blueberries thrive in sandy soil.   Hammonton NJ is world known for its thousands of acres of this delicious blue fruit.
Now for a another great product of South Jersey - WAWA!!!!   In the early 1800's the Woods family of neighboring Millville  opened a small convenience store in Greenwich, Cumberland County, NJ.  At some point they went into a dairy operation and grew from there.  In 1964 they opened the first Wawa (named for a Goose) store outside Philadelphia.   In the 1970's Wawa began staying open 24 hours and started brewing fresh made coffee and preparing sandwiches.    Until 1996 Wawa was a small convenience store but that year they opened the first Super Wawa which included a gas station.   There are now 570 Wawa's located in NJ, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.    We love our Wawa coffee.  The pots are timed and none is older than 20 minutes.    In our travels we have never found a convenience store that in any way comes close to Wawa.
So here we are now.   This is our home until the rig is returned to us and we get on the road again.



After getting settled into the motel yesterday, we were graciously invited to the home of our friends Janet and Erich.   This just might be our last really good meal for the next two weeks!   Not easy to cook on the small microwave here in the room or even keep a lot of food in the small fridge.   Hey, come to think of it, there are lots of restaurants in the area and a Walmart across the street that sells prepared dinners.  I think we will survive.

9 comments:

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

Glad to see you guys will be finally hitting the road soon, Hope Len gives it a good checkover before leaving the dealers, there lack of efficiency in ordering and planning leaves me with a less than hopefull outlook for a trouble free repair. We'll pray for the best for you guys, Where are you planning on heading when ypou leave Jersey? If you head west let us know ..Be safe out there.. Sam & Donna.

Happytrails said...

This is progress in that you have made it to the dealer. Stay with and on them on during the repairs. We will be crossing our fingers that they do the right things and you guys will be back in your home very soon.
In the meantime try to enjoy the moment as best you can.

Mike & Gerri (happytrails)

MargieAnne said...

All the best with the work being finished in good order.

Living in a motel for 2 weeks will be a bit of a challenge. I do so hope you will be comfortable.

Blessings and prayers for this being all behind you soon.

Margie M. said...

That is all very interesting stuff about New Jersey. I did just learn a couple of years ago about NJ being a large producer of blueberries. Who knew?

Hope your 5er gets fixed soon and you guys will be on your way. I know this has been so depressing and frustrating. Good luck to you both!

Anonymous said...

Two weeks of Motel living will make you appreciate your 5ver even more when you get it back.Motels have the same view out of the window every day.With an RV you can be home and still have a different view whenever you choose.

Rick said...

Interesting information about New Jersey! Hope your repairs go well.

ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeR said...

Good luck with those repairs! Hope you get back on the road soon. I loved the NJ info. I love blueberries, but never even thought about where they come from.

Karol said...

Another interesting fact about WaWa is the name. It is Lennni Lenape for Wild Goose. You can see the Wild Goose logo on the WaWa sign.

Texas Yellow Rose said...

Thanks for changing my perspective of NJ! Been there, done that as far as staying in a hotel for a couple of weeks waiting on your home to be ready. It can be stressful but will make that day you get your home back even better! Looking forward to the day we meet up on the road!