Took Uber this morning, partially due to concerns about the weather, and partially because Jessa was picking me up later. It only took five seconds for me to get a ride and five minutes for the gentleman to arrive, confirming my suspicions that it was just too darn busy yesterday to get any kind of public transportation.
Work went perfectly fine. I spent the morning sweeping and gathering carts. I did end up behind on the carts when they kept getting me to put cold items away. Unless it's meat, the cold stuff can go in freezers or coolers until I have time for it. The carts kept emptying. They needed to be done first.
After work, I changed into a normal shirt, then grabbed a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero to get money for the Girl Scouts. I tried to get cookies from them last week, but forgot the money. I always buy cookies from the Girl Scouts. I remember when my sisters were Girl Scouts in the late 80's and early 90's and had a hard time selling cookies to the few people who were actually living on the northern end of Cape May in January. I got peanut butter sandwiches, Lemonades, and Caramel Delights.
Jessa was already there when I was buying the cookies. We went straight out to the sculpture garden in Hamilton from the Acme. The drive was mostly on highways until we hit Hamilton, a suburb of Trenton. One of the premiere attractions in the area is Grounds for Sculpture, an enormous sculpture garden featuring works by many different modern artists. We stopped and bought the tickets and used the bathroom at the sprawling modern visitors center, but we'd explore it more extensively later.
Grounds for Sculpture is a rambling sculpture park, featuring many types of statues in a natural, woodsy setting. We followed paths under arbors, through random small doors, and over Monet-style wooden bridges. Statues of artists painted by a gurgling waterfall. A statue of a woman in red flaunted her gown on the placid pond. More provocative and less family-friendly statues and house-art could be found wandering around in the woods and on the path around the lake. We ended up at their restaurant Rat's at one point, but it would seem they were closed for the season.
In addition to the realistic artists, my favorite statues outside were the duo in the courtyard. One reclined on a bench. The other reached to the heavens. Snow began to fall as we arrived in Hamilton, allowing a strange, magical hush to fall on the area and giving the statues an otherworldly air. I was actually grateful for the snow. It made the place seem even more supernatural and gave the statues a unique perspective that was far different than a sunny day. The tangle of woods and house-like "scream" buildings with bodies popping out of every corner looked even weirder with a frosting of white.
We were going to have lunch at the cafe, but they were only selling drinks and small snacks. The cafe that sold meals was also closed for the winter. The gift shop wasn't terribly interesting, either. We did admire a huge gallery of the work from Seward Johnson, the artist who founded the park. My favorite indoor statues was the realistic jazz band "playing" in the gallery. Apparently, Johnson had been a huge jazz fan in his youth, which explained the jazz music piped in around Rat's, too. The statue "house," complete with furniture you could walk in and look at, was neat too.
Here's the link. It's worth checking out if you're ever in Central Jersey and are interested in learning more about sculptures or modern art, or just want a nice, relaxing walk in a tranquil setting.
Our next stop after we left the Grounds for Sculpture was a huge thrift shop a few blocks away. We thought the place looked intriguing. It was, and it did have a lot of neat stuff...but it was either having a sale, or the residents of Hamilton had nowhere else to go on a snowy Saturday. The place was so mobbed, there was a line half-way around the store. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth the long wait and left with nothing.
Jessa recommended a diner not far from where she lives for a late lunch/dinner. The Piston Diner was a small but nicely remodeled local watering hole with great prices. Soup and sandwiches are their specialty. We both had iced tea and Italian wedding soup. She had a tuna melt and strawberry shortcake. I had a crab melt and peanut butter cake. Yum! The sandwiches were tasty and used real seafood, the fries were crispy and perfect, and the cakes were huge. My still-settling stomach regretted the indulgence later, but it sure felt good going down.
By the time Jess dropped me off at home, the snow in Hamilton had given way to all rain. It looks like it'll stay rain all through tomorrow. Not even snow here this time.
Watched Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale while changing and getting organized. I go further into this independent family film from 2010 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Finished the night with the Saturday Match Game Classics marathon at YouTube. We celebrated Black History Month with some of the most beloved black stars to appear on the show. Later angel Della Reece was the first to appear on the second week in 1973. She'd turn up sporadically through 1977, usually sitting in the fourth ingenue seat. Comedian Stu Gilliam also appeared on two memorable weeks in 1973. Nipsey Russell was one of the most popular semi-regulars, tossing out his poetry on and off from 1973 through 1979. He even turned up in the week with Valernie Bertanelli that was rediscovered a few years ago. Isobel Sanford was a calming, motherly presence on two weeks in 1976. Her first screen son Michael Evans had his only appearance on the show in 1974. Round and jolly Johnny Brown had a lot of fun on his only week in 1974.
His Good Times cast mate Jimmie Walker got far more out of the show. Walker was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through into the 1990-1991 run. I honestly thought he was at his best in the 90's, where he was a bit more subdued and less annoying. Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosely also had fun on the 1990-1991 series. Arsenio Hall and his wild antics was one of the best things about The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what he'd do, including jump into what Gene dubbed "the canal" in the area behind the risers.
Celebrate Black History Month with some of the best African-American panelists around!
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