Trips:
Corson's Inlet- I was at my house in Sea Isle City, NJ. I was all by myself and had no work that day so I was free to do whatever I wished to do. Well, I wished to take a little bike ride. I'm on the Townsend's Inlet side of the island, but there are some walking trails in the marsh at Corson's inlet which is at the other end on the island and across the bridge in Ocean City, NJ. So I packed my bag with sunscreen, a towel, shoes, water, and my wallet; turned on my favorite podcast (Weekly Planet) and hopped on my bike for my journey!
The ride was simple through the beach town and was through relatively empty streets and a boardwalk. I had to go through some construction on the one lane road into Strathmere. So I made it down to the inlet and parked my bike and walked onto the beach. It was low tide so I had a little ways to walk through the sand. On the jersey shore you can see all up and down the coast. So on that beach I was looking all the way from Ocean City to the casinos of Atlantic City in the distance. Here's the view I had...
So I decided to not go over the bridge to the actual trails. The beach was enough for me. So I relaxed for a bit and stood in the cool bay water and then headed back. The ride back was pretty much the same only more wind so needless to say I was tired by the time I returned home. The whole trip took 1 hour and 35 minutes and was just over 13 miles.
Later that evening I decided to go to the other end of the island which is Townsend's Inlet. I grabbed my cruiser board and headed off! The skate took about 15 minutes and I was into the greenery of the dunes. A new wooden path led me through the dunes and to the beach with another glorious view of the bay (this time with a perfect South Jersey sunset). Thus ending my end to end island journey.
Books: Due to the boring nature of my summer job, I have been reading a bunch! I have read 3 books this summer so far and I want to do a little review as each poses a new adventure. I will also start a rating system for books, shows, movies, and music reviews and my favorite show is Dragon Ball Z; so the scores will be from 1 to 7 dragon balls. Hope you enjoy week 1 of book reviews!
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace was an interesting book to say the least. It had my attention for me to read it all the way through but I would not say I enjoyed it. There were to quirks on how the novel was assembled. The main one being the end notes. I understand he wanted it to simulate a tennis match and make the reader be an active one. But a whole chapter as an end note and then that chapter having it's own end notes was a little much. I really want to meet someone who thoroughly enjoyed this book so they can tell me what I missed; but I could not understand the importance of this book in contemporary literature. Infinite Jest receives 2 out of 7 dragon balls.
The Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind is book three out of the Sword of Truth series. I enjoyed this book a lot, it picked up the slack I felt occurred in the second book (Stone of Tears) and brought it back to form with a great change in tone. This was more of a political book even though there was plenty of action. I enjoyed it though, I felt that even though politics usually are boring it changed the perspective you had on the main character and put the whole world in a new light. The Blood of the Fold receives 5 out 7 dragon balls.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is a novel about the author and his own journey down (or up) the Appalachian Trail. It had an interesting cast of characters, lots of good facts about the history, wildlife, foliage, and geography of the trail but also kept the story going. The novel is split into two parts and I liked part one much more than I did part 2. Sometimes while reading I would get inspired to hike all of the trail and other times it made me never want to set foot on it. To show both sides of the coin like that takes a lot of talent as writer and so... A Walk in the Woods receives 4 out of 7 dragon balls.
TV Shows: I've been watching one show since the beginning of March and finally finished it earlier this week. It's been a show I've hear lots about (good and bad) from both its American and British counterparts. The Office (U.S.) was phenomenal! I started the first season and hated it, but because it was so short of a season, I kept at it. The show only got better from there with characters become more fleshed out, the show figuring out it's style of humor, and an ever changing cast of characters revolving around 2 central characters. My favorite is Creed for his complete incoherence to the outside world and the humor he would bring with it. Jim and Pam's relationship was such a huge journey from the beginning with Pam and Roy to the end with Athlead (or leap?) But all in all a solid show with a beautiful and perfect ending giving The Office (U.S.) 6 out of 7 dragon balls
Albums:
The Red Hot Chili Pepper's 11th studio album titled "The Getaway" was a great journey for me. While in the car one day driving to meet some friends Radio 104.5 had on the Red Hot Chili Pepper's album release show. It was a great idea! They played a few songs (some off the new album) and then answered some questions. This process went on for an hour and then BAM! the new album released. I listened to it the next day and on my first listen was a little disappointed. The first song on the album "The Getaway" was over produced. I thought that because of their new producer Danger Mouse but the rest of the album was not that way at all. Although I did have a problem with it... I had one full listen through and there wasn't a heavy rock song in the album. The closest thing to it was "This Ticonderoga" but it still didn't feel the same. But then I remembered... it was their 11th studio album. They've been recording music for over 30 years. They were growing as musicians; they were maturing. The more I listened to it songs like "Sick Love" and "Go Robot" really jumped out to me as a more mature take on their signature sound. They were growing as artists in their writing style, sound, and studio production. Their music is a journey that is still evolving and growing with every performance and album and is continuing with The Getaway; which will be receiving 5 out 7 dragon balls!
Culinary: Alright last section of Week #1, I know it's a long one! This week my sister's boyfriend brought in some sea bass from Long Beach Island and my dad found a recipe for scallops that we could sub out for the sea bass. The dish had the sea bass over a bed of spinach, chick peas, onions, corn, and roasted red peppers. It was delicious and diffidently sent my taste buds on a journey! Hoping next time for scallops which are my favorite but the sea bass will do for now!
Well I hope you enjoyed all of the adventures of week #1 it was a big one for reading with a tiny adventure thrown in there for good measure. I feel like the tables will turn for next week! Lots of traveling in store! So please stay in touch with us and follow us on the twitter and share us with a friend!
There will be more adventures to come!
All the best, Ross
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