DigitalRoadtrip: June Roadtrip, Day 18, Fun Facts about Saturn

Day 18

Friday, June 18

When we were growing up in New Providence, if you knew someone, you could get on the call list for experiments at Bell Laboratory. It's a large corporate and research facility. You got paid $5 an hour, which was pretty good back in 1980. I was only called a few times and it was always something different. One time they were trying to improve how computers speak. So, I was put in a soundproof room with headphones and asked to compare and contrast what I was hearing.

A few years ago, the facility was sold to Nokia. This seems so very wrong...

I know I've mentioned the delis before. The one closest to our house was a small italian deli, run by a really nice family. The smell when you walked it is something I'll never forget, in a good way. The family sold the deli and it's changed hands numerous times.

Out by the town line, there was Towne Deli. It's still there. In the heart of downtown sits Avenue Deli. It's the one place in town I visit every single time. They've remodeled a bit. There's also a sign by the cash register that credit card purchases come with a 4% surcharge. I asked about it at a place earlier in the trip. It's a combination of these companies raising their fees and profit margins being thinner than usual due to Covid.

Over the years, another deli has opened on the other end of town and seems to be doing okay. In the main shopping center downtown, a Jersey Mikes opened a few years ago, as did a Subway. Yes, we like our deli. I noticed the sign over the Subway. On the one hand, I felt for the franchise owners. On the other hand, what were they thinking?

My friends were all working, so I had the day to myself. What better way than hitting a trail. A relatively short drive away was the parking for Washington Valley Park. There's a 5.7 mile double loop that seemed perfect for the day.

Good thing I had the hiking boots in the car. It was mostly forest floor and rocks.

One thing I wasn't expecting were these posts...

They were topped with fun facts about the planets.

Alongside the Washington Valley Reservoir...

After negotiating a few unexpected forks in the trail, eventually I came to Buttermilk Falls...

On the far end of the trail sits Chimney Rock...

This area is where General Washington monitored British troop movements through the valley, thus the name Washington Valley. Not much of a view these days...

From the loop trail back to the car...

Back at the car and feeling pretty good, it was time to decide where to go next. My home town was pretty small and we often got blank stares when you mentioned New Providence. But, most people were familiar with Summit, the larger town next door.

My friend Jean had mentioned a new brewery opening up there. So, off I went. But first, a late lunch. The Summit Diner seemed the perfect place. It was opened in 1929 with the idea of great food at a reasonable price. They open early and close at 4P. Easy, or so I thought.

One of the things Covid changed is parking. Instead of one or two spots for restaurant pickups orders, there are a bunch of them, and all with a fifteen minute time limit. Add in a few blocked streets and I wound up parking on the far side of downtown.

In fact, I was parked in front of the Central Presbyterian Church. I spent a lot of time here back in the day. Down in the basement was the Public Access Cable channel, TV-36, Communities on Cable. Yup, my first TV experience outside the classroom. A great deal had changed since then. But, it's still there, in a bit of a different form.

I cut across the Summit Green and paused to watch a group enthusiastically plant these posts with balloons into the ground. I asked about them. Inside the balloons are small lights. They tell me it's quite striking at night.

And I had completely forgotten about the stained glass bus stops.

I finally made it to the Summit Diner. I walked in at 3:45P and they told me they were closing in fifteen minutes. It was pretty obvious the place had been cleaned and they were ready to go. So, I just asked for a sandwich. Easy enough. Still, I wasn't the last customer of the day.

As for the sandwich...

Yeah, I was good for the rest of the day. Walking down to Springfield Ave, the main road through town, I saw this across the corner. I'm really not sure how burgers and pancakes go together.

I dropped a lot of money in Scotty's in my youth...

Just up the street is the Bull and Bear Brewery. It was pretty quiet when I walked in and I wound up having a great conversation with one of the owners about their plans. Their Baltic Porter was amazing. As we do when we hit a new brewery, Jean and I trade pictures and reviews.

Jean texted me back that she was about to get off work and could meet me there in a half hour. We wound up shooting the breeze for an hour or so as the band set up.