Fireworks

Fireworks round up for 2026.

Princeton Reunion Weekend in May. As it was raining, we watched from the parking garage near the WaWa.

Hopewell: perfect viewing place atop the hill, watched from inside the convertible.

West Windsor: LEAD festival in Mercer County Park, bonus fireworks as the B Street Band performed Springsteen hits.

Lawrence: Rider University campus, Ashley joined us.

Ewing: behind Trenton State College/TCNJ, Ashley joined us again.

Bad picture, but they had these fireworks
that then transformed into pink dust

Washington Crossing (Delaware River): lucked out with getting out of the parking lot in record time. Started 30 minutes early due to an impending storm, and were only ten minutes long. Great spot.

 Cranbury's were postponed until August 4th due to the threat of thunderstorms. 

Happy (?) 4th of July

Well, that felt like a bust.

I vaguely remember 1976 and America's Bicentennial Celebrations. 

Well, not really. I was only six years old. 

Anything happening that year did not seem anything different from any other Fourth of July. I had a younger sister, who was three at the time. The youngest wasn't even born yet. My aunt had not met her future spouse, which is important because my parents have spent many Fourths of July in Bexley, Ohio where they really turn on the small town charm. They even have a street with stars painted in the pavement indicating the annual parade route so potential buyers are warned.

I've been to Ohio a few times for the Fourth, but I like being home for the holiday. I like bouncing between different towns for their fireworks displays.

This year was supposed to be extra special, after all we were celebrating the Semiquincentennial, or half of 500 years. My friend, Mike, was organizing a parade to pass the Battle Monument and end up on State Street near the Old Barracks. The Old Barracks, which has been closed for an extensive renovation, was set to reopen on the Fourth to much fanfare. 

That last one at least happened. The parade was announced it would be postponed to a later date when temperatures were forecast near 100 degrees, with the heat index even higher. Fireworks in Cranbury were put off until August. The fireworks in the Delaware River between the two Washington Crossings (Pennsylvania and New Jersey) went off a half an hour earlier when the dark clouds appeared to be heading in our direction.

I also headed to Bordentown to her Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Unfortunately it was moved from near his statue to inside an arts venue, and the venue lost power taking lights and air conditioning with them. It seemed like an apt metaphor for the day.

I then braved the heat to hear the Declaration of Independence read in front of the Clarke House at the Princeton Battlefield. It is powerful hearing the words read in public, the way the colonists would have first heard them. 

In other words, I really tried to get into the spirit of independence 2026-style.

In the days leading up to Saturday the Fourth we enjoyed fireworks displays in Hopewell, West Windsor, Lawrenceville, and Ewing. The beginning of the week had perfect weather, and the end felt as if we were in an inferno. Things were being canceled or postponed.

It is not just the local scene. The weather in Washington, DC was even hotter and more miserable. 

In general, no matter how much I tried, the vibe was not there. I saw some 250th merchandise in Lexington and Concord, MA (their big celebration was a year ago in honor of the Shot Heard Round the World), but none in Mercer County.

In the leadup 1976 there were 912 televised Bicentennial Minutes. Don recorded them each night. I suspect the recordings are in our basement someplace. They were designed to educate the general public about United States history.

My mom remembers when the fire hydrants were painted to represent patriots. She wishes she had taken pictures of them to be able to share now.

Flags and red, white, and blue bunting were all over the place.

The air was electric.

This year it felt like any other Independence Day. We saw firework displays that were nice, but not any nicer than past years.

I heard a story on NPR that said the 100th and 200th were huge celebrations, but not the 150th (1926).   

Blame it on the heat or blame it on the current political situation, but we will not be waxing poetically about the semiquincentennial. May the country do better by 2076 and the tricententennial.

Hard to believe it is over. It went out with a whimper and not the bang I was expecting.

I suspect these were to be
handed out along the parade route

A decorated mailbox in Princeton

Bunting in Trenton

Cheap Date Night ... and more

I debated about what title to give this post as the night started with seeing a local Springsteen knock-off band, and ended with honoring a recently deceased carny worker.

Tonight we went to Mercer County Park to see the B Street Band play at the annual L.E.A.D Fest State Fair. LEAD stands for Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence. Over the years I have heard about the event, but it wasn't until I saw a Facebook post on the Spring-Nuts page that I was enticed to attend. 

For $5 we could hear the B Street Band, the world's longest running tribute band. Or, as I thought of them, the poor man's Springsteen concert. Looking at their website, they perform quite frequently in the area driving distance to Asbury Park, NJ. The lead singer is great. If you closed your eyes, he sounds a lot like The Boss. We had a great time. Hopefully they were not too disappointed to only be performing to a couple of dozen fans. As a bonus, there was a great fireworks show as they were closing out with "Born to Run."

After the show we walked through the carnival. Carnivals have never quite been my scene since I started thinking about the safety of rides I see being transported in pieces down the highway. There used to be a carnival that was connected with my parents' church. They would take the grandchildren to it, while I adopted a "what I don't see won't hurt me" approach. 

Thank goodness there never was a problem. 

The weather was perfect. No hint of the heatwave coming later in the week.

As the event was not that crowded, leaving would not be a challenge. Still we took a stroll through the carnival side and compared things to Disneyland. 

Fireworks. Check!

Mousetrap ride=Mickey. Check!

Carousel. Check!

Then I noticed the lead horse, which is Jingles at Disneyland, was turned backwards and had a sign attached to it. It took me about a split second to identify that as a tribute. Game over. No Disneyland equivalent, but my curiosity was piqued.

Gloria passed away two days ago. She was traveling on the road with Reithoffer Shows up until she was 93 years young. Carny tradition is that the lead horse is turned around as a tribute. Someone with the parks was able to answer our questions about the tribute, and tell us it is an industry tradition, which then made me wonder about other carnival traditions.

May her memory be a blessing.

 

Basking Ridge, NJ: Lord Sterling Manor

For years Stacy has been telling me about Lord Sterling. His wife, Lady Sterling, was the focus of her graduate dissertation. Since the early 2000s she has been involved with this site. When I heard they were having a public archaeology day, I decided to make the hour-long drive to Basing Ridge to see the place for myself.

Atop where Lord Sterling's 18th century home stood is a 1923 Marshall Fields catalogue home. I happen to think that is more exciting than his original home. The dig site is trying to learn more about what happened.

In the 1980s Mr. Cooper did extensive archaeology. He uncovered over 80,000 artifacts. Even after culling the collection, there were still 50,000 left. Some of the highlights were on display inside the house. Outside students were excavating place where Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) identified there were things of interest under the ground, such as a cistern on either end, part of a hearth, etc.

I showed up at lunchtime so I did not see the students at work. There are students doing field work for college credit, and Hunter Research professionals on hand.

It is so much fun to see the underground world they are uncovering.

I left with archaeology envy. It is clear they are well-funded. The metal trays they use for drying artifacts have holes in the bottom for draining and rest inside a metal cart. Throughout the site were similar hints of money behind the project -- things the students involved likely do not even appreciate.

As today was the last digging day I asked if they were filling in the sites by the end of the day. They looked at me funny and said, no someone else will do that later. Someone from the county, or maybe from Hunter Research. People will study it before sealing it all up again. Yup, they don't know how spoiled they are. 

I'm glad I made the trip. I wish it was closer.

NYC Ferry System

Back when the cherry blossoms were in bloom Don and I went into NYC to see them on Roosevelt Island. Instead of a beautiful Spring day, we had a dreary one. We took the tram from the 60th Street station, and flew over the East River. In trying to figure out the best way back a couple we passed suggested taking the ferry. All this years we have visited New York City and neither one of us realized the city has an active ferry system. The fare is higher than the subway ($4.50 vs. $3), and on bad weather days it does not run, but it seemed like a fun way for us to get from Roosevelt Island to the theater district in time to see Schmigadoon at the Nederlander.

We learned there is a serious space limit on the ferries. We were not even close to making the boat we wanted to be on. Along with dozens of others, we were left on the dock with the next ferry not set to arrive for another half an hour. 

When we looked at the ticket, we realized it was good for three months. Surely we would have a chance to use it before July 3.

We have been back to New York City several other times, but never with enough time to take a joyride. A couple of weeks ago we intended to use it when we decided to get distracted at the REI store before it was set to close. 

Today we set aside a couple of hours to ride the ferry. We walked from the World Trade Center PATH station to the Wall Street ferry station. Unlike Roosevelt Island, though, the Wall Street Station has about a half-dozen different docks. We wandered around and asked advice before opting for the local ER boat. 

Once we boarded we walked through the indoor area, up the stairs to deck. Unsure if we were allowed to stand, we played a silent version of musical chairs and snagged two seats and rode to the first stop: DUMBO (otherwise known as Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). That looked like a lively area. We hardly ever cross the East River and explore the neighborhoods. Maybe we should sign up for a tour someday.

That was the longest stop. We paused at both South and North Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Hunters Point South, and ended at the 34th Street port, which is a terminus. We were surprised the stops varied in length. Unlike our day on Roosevelt Island, everyone who wanted to get on did.

After that first stop we decided to stand near the front of the boat and act like tourists. Based on the number of people we saw posing for selfies and taking pictures of both Brooklyn and Manhattan, most people upstairs seemed to be tourists. As we left, we noticed a worker with a serious toolbox. He looked like his shift was over for the day. Taking the ferry has a relaxed pace, vs. taking the subway or a bus. I commented to Don I am glad to not live someplace where I am dependent upon a ferry to get to work.

We enjoyed ourselves. The ferry has views of both sides of the river, plus Roosevelt Island. I don't know if we'll ever do it again, but we are glad we did it once. As Don said, it was the best $4.50 spent in NYC. At free, the Staten Island ferry is a better deal, plus it passes the Statue of Liberty, but this ferry showed us a part of New York we never visit.

NYC Peace Museum

Wandering around New York City's Finance District we stumbled upon this bicycle:

As it was covered in fake flowers and attached to a street sign, it caught our attention.

On the front is a sign:

PEACE

Peace Museum NY

The world's smallest mobile museum

PEACE MUSEUM NY on Facebook @peacebike #peacebike on Instagram

Looking at the bright bicycle I couldn't help but think this is as good a symbol of peace in New York City as anything else. We haven't earned the right to have a brick and mortar museum dedicated to peace since it is fleeting and doesn't sit still. Nor is it very large.

Concord's Thinking Man

"At first I seem delirious, but once explained, I'm nothing serious."

This Into the Woods quote floated in my head as we were approached by an older gentleman wearing a bright yellow vest with the words Thinking Man on them. I knew we were in for a long conversation that would either be annoying or life altering, but would definitely leave us with a story.

Last year John was interviewed by the local NPR station, WGBH. Reading his transcript sounds exactly like what he told Don and I as we walked from our car, across the North Bridge, on our way to the Concord Historical site. We were pressed for time, but John is very persuasive and he encouraged us to pause and listen to him. As we parted Don asked if we could take his picture, which he readily agreed to.

A decade ago John's cardiologist diagnosed him with congenital heart failure and told him to step away from screens and get out and walk. I feel a smidge of guilt typing this on my screen when I should be following his advice and going out for a walk on this rainy day.

John, a retired Harvard history professor and finance guy by trade, started walking around Minute Man National Park. He decided to start saying "Hi" to strangers. He has a knack for languages and decided to sing their national anthem to international visitors. Sometimes this meant learning their songs. He has a  repertoire of 46 songs from around the world. He sings in the park because his family does not like his singing voice.

He was nervous when he reached out to his first person, a woman from France. After breaking out into La Marseilles, he was afraid she would think he was crazy and he would be banned from the park. Instead, she told him he made her day. He repeated this with the next person, a woman from Mexico. When he meets someone from a country where he does not have a song at the ready he asks them for their favorite song.

"What a dopamine rush!" He says enthusiastically lifting his arms in a cheer as he describes the feeling he gets when people are moved when they hear their song. Each positive experience encourages him to meet more people. The negative ones sadden him, but he continues. I'm glad we stayed and talked, even though my instinct was to press on.

Upon meeting us he asked where we are from. When we said New Jersey he listed positive things about our state, leading with Albert Einstein lived there. 

Reading his story it says he launched a short-lived presidential campaign in 2024. I wish he had won. His positivity is infectious. 

We ended with his eight-word mantra:

Inhale with gratitude.

Exhale with kindness.

Repeat.

I was to mull this over and get back to him in three days letting him know if I agreed with him or had a better one. It has been more than three days, but I am still mulling.

He asked us for our best advice. A tough thing to come up with on the spot.

Mine was: always bring a book; always keep moving.

Don's was: invest early

He rises early each day to write before he embarks on his walks. I am not following his blog.