New Capitol Hit! Trenton Making, Atlantic City Taking

And this time in the year 2016!

I live in Upstate New York. New Jersey is right there. And yet I had not been to its State Capitol building. Until February when a first time trip to Atlantic City for a Brandi Carlile concert included a return trip by way of Trenton. My family did drive through Trenton on our way to visit my dad’s family in Virginia Beach when I was a tween. I remember my dad pointing out the “Trenton Makes the World Takes” bridge, which I was familiar with from watching the film Stealing Home at way too young an age. Tangent: This movie was the reason I always thought when you added rum to coke that it would taste smooth, less carbonated and like cherry coke – a lie and I hate rum and coke. Also, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch’s Aunt Zelda is topless in a scene. Image when years later I watched an episode of that wholesome goodness and then asked myself why that one lady looked familiar to me…

Back to this trip.

Since I started dating my partner three years ago, food has become a prime focus of our trips. I cannot complain about this direction/attention shift in destination research. Soon after we arrived in town and did a drive-by tour of the main strip, my partner “Yelp-ed” us an awesome place to eat. The Iron Room was tiny, swanky, and served delicious and unique tapas. Our favorite was the bacon. We also enjoyed their Udon Mac & Cheese, Deviled Eggs, Croquettes and Hangar steak. We were very sated for our concert.

The next day we went to see the boardwalk. We didn’t last long. It was February after all.

After warming up in the car, we headed for Trenton. It would be about lunchtime when we arrived. After almost being blown off my feet, capturing the Capitol building from a couple angles and being reminded a bit of Albany, NY by the historic buildings lining the road around the Capitol, we headed north to Rozmaryn Restaurant for some simple, fantastic Polish food.

We both ordered the Polish Plate comprised of potato pancakes, pierogies and kielbasa, and the White Borscht with kielbasa, hard-boiled egg and potatoes. Another nondescript and unassuming restaurant creating remarkable food and providing excellent service.

Check out these photos and those of other US Capitols from my quest to see them all.

 

New Capitol Hit!

…way back in 2013. I made this trip during my three-year void of blogging. I did upload the images getting set to post then but my heart wasn’t in it. But now that I’ve renewed my quest to see all the state capitol buildings, I am ready to share about this one and this trip.

I had gone to visit a good friend, guest blogger Nicole, who lives in the greater Philadelphia area,for a long weekend. The trip was much needed and, of course, it was great to reconnect with my friend. I had been to Philly a couple of times with my family, but I was looking forward to seeing it with my friend’s then boyfriend, now husband Jay, a Philly boy, born and breed.

The trip south had a few delays, one being that President Obama was having press conferences/meet ups along the interstate. I did catch a glimpse of him, or someone who looked like him, standing at the podium at a stop just off an exit ramp. Having seen that made the waiting more bearable.

But once I arrived, the trip quickly turned into a Philly Foodie trip much to my delight. It started with having a huge plate of fries covered in both “Old Bay and garlic” flavor and cheese whiz. The next day was Benjamin Franklin day. While touristing (that’s now a word) downtown, we stopped at The Franklin Fountain to cool off with some ice cream (I recommend the Lightening Rod sundae). Then we headed towards Independence Hall and made our way to Square Burger in Franklin Square. That night I was introduced to water ice. The morning of my departure I learned about scrapple and pork roll, both of which I tried. Pork roll, okay; scrapple, well I’ve tried it.

After breakfast I hit the road. My first detour was Ikea. My second was Harrisburg to see the Capitol. It was a massive complex. The day was sweltering and I really wanted to go in the fountain. This was another of the few state capitol buildings so far that have deserved a shot of the back side as well.

Check out all the Capitols I’ve visited here.

 

Lost photo of Capitol found! – ‘Capitol Travels’ Update

Lost photo of Capitol found! I was looking through some photo albums over the weekend and came across the lost Capitol of St. Paul, Minnesota. A former roommate and I headed up to the Twin Cities for some Spring Break fun one year, fully aware of our non-traditional, opposite-of-the-warmth direction. When I was putting all the photos together the other week I thought it odd that I had not taken a photo of a Capitol while in its town. But then bam! There it was. And now it is here for you.

St. Paul, Minnesota