Day 1 - June 17, 2005
Princeton

Princeton Battlefield
An intendend brief visit to the Thomas Clarke House turned into a most educational and historical informal tour conducted by my friend Bob Rosetta. Also adding information to satisfy my inquisitiveness was the curator by the name of John Mills. Upon entering the house, my attention was attracted to some very detailed and well preserved gun displays; consisting of various types and sizes of muskets used in the Revolutionary War, along with cannon balls also varying in size. Each display held captions outlining their history. I observed several pieces of artwork depicting the war and with my two guides, a brief tour and a handful of brochures, the Battle of Princeton came to life.

Upon touring the house, I was most taken with the bedroom where General Hugh Mercer died nine days after receiving seven bayonette wounds.

The farm house was of small size. Well preserved in an effort to keep this great battle memory alive. As I entered the kitchen, I could almost feel the strain of those times, not just from the war, but from the hardship of the times that has been lost in our own techonologically advanced lives.

Later we walked the very path General George Washington had. We then came to where the great tree known as "The Mercer Oak" once stood and where Hugh Mercer was wounded and would later die. A little further beyond stood a structure marking the tombs of several unknown American and British soldiers. All this surrounded by large open fields of finely manicured lawn.

Our walk was brisk and the sun was warm, but as we left the farm I remembered thinking or perhaps it was feeling, how I crossed their paths. Was I there or were they here, or maybe we met somewhere in the nmiddle. One thing I do know is meeting them this way is unlike doing it through any history book, call it "up close and personal" and timeless.
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(note: Robert Rosetta is on the board of Directors for the Princeton Battlefield Area Preservation Society)

Princeton University & Princeton
We topped off the evening with a visit to Princeton and a walk on the Princeton University Campus. A unique place to say the least, especially the architecture. Although a small quaint institution, it bears the credit for some of the country's best minds. There is no doubt that the quality of education is high, but luring this mind to the campus is easy with it's sereen campus setting of gardens, fountains and laid back setting.

After, we walked through the town of princeton. An inviting community of shops and colonial style homes, it sends out a feeling of a simpler, friendlier time when people were close knit and out walking after dark, eating ice cream and enjoying spring time.

Day 2 - June 18, 2005
Battle of Monmouth Reenactment

We spent today at Monmouth Battlefield for the Monmouth reenactment. The players costumes were great and we attended several demonstrations, from learning how the women did the the soldier's laundry to how to fire a cannon to hearing the talk of Molly Pitcher.

The actual reenactment was good, but could have been better if not for a lack of players. All in all though it was an interesting learning experience.
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(Note: usually the Battle of Monmouth reenactment is much much larger, but due to several things, such as Father's Day and Battle of Springfield'ss 225th, there were only about a quarter to one-fifth of the reenactors available)

Day 3 - June 19, 2005
New Jersey Renaissance Festival and Kingdom

Today we went to the Renaissance Festival. It centered around Camelot and the quest for the Grail. The performers weere superbly outfitted in medieval attire and their acts were obviously well rehearsed. Most of the day was filled with their comedic talents from opening to closing ceremonies. The most entertaining being the flying Tortellinis. I was impressed with the actors abilities to interact with the audience, and especially in their focus on the importance of actively involving children.

Day 4 - June 20, 2005
Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari

Today was probably one of the most fun days of my visit to NJ so far! Today we went to Six Flags Great Adventure. This was going to be a hard sell to prove to me that this theme park was all that it is cracked up to be since I am from Ohio and Cedar Point is GA's greatest rival. Although I have not been to CP for a number of years, it has always been a thrilling eperience even in the distant past. It isn't called the "amazement park" for nothing.

As we went through our day at GA, I was dealt a hard pill to swallow. Although my comparison between Cedar Point and Great Adventure may not be a fair one because my long time absence from CP, it was easy to see why these two top world theme parks are neck and neck in competition.

I must admit upon entering the park, I was immediatel intimidated by the many coasters, whether this is due to years of not riding coasters or because these coasters truly were talk and fast, or perhaps it was due to both, I can only say I was nervous. Of course my guide could not be too helpful or objective when I would ask if the next coaster was going to be as scary as the last. Although to him he was offering up an honest answer, based on his coasterholic experience, the answer was never any consolation to me.So, as we went from coaster to coaster and each time I thought death was nigh, I had to consider wanting to do it again.

We also drove through GA's Safari. This is a large area devoted to various species of animals from all over the world ranging from elephants to tigers and lions to bears, kangaroos, camels and baboons. After that we returned to the coasters and topped off our day with two goes on what became my favorite ride, and that was Superman.

Sunburnt, blistered feet and aching legs, I left Six Flags Great Adventure behind as the best day of my trip. With a little more than two weeks to go, this day may be hard to top.
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By Janet Flanagan - Akron OH