SMS and I visited family over the extended 4th of July weekend. For the 4th itself, we went to the Shook family annual party. It was a little more mellow this year compared to others (no swinging fireballs!), but it was a lot of fun. The company was great and we had an awesome view of multiple firework shows. I also got to run around the beach with my nephew Luca, which was a lot of fun. He’s a spirited kid! He also moves quite fast so no pictures from me although Mark caught him in action.
That weekend, we headed up to New Jersey to see my grandfather and Dusty. It was a quick trip since we arrived on Saturday and left Sunday. We went out to a local restaurant since SMS and I hadn’t thought to bring nice clothes for a dinner at Navesink. Doh! Never fear, the local restaurant was really good and it was nice to hang out with Grandpa, Dusty, and my aunt Maria.
The next day, we went to the Thomas Edison National Historic Part in West Orange, NJ. It’s at the site of his larger, industrial sized laboratory and factory. We saw his chemical lab, production line, office with his huge roll-top desk, and the Black Maria. The Black Maria is a tarpaper-covered video making studio on a lazy Susan to maximize light. I’ve linked to a PBS short that talks about the Black Maria. The current studio is actually a replica since the original burned down. It was really neat to see someone’s idea constructed, from paper concept to large physical structure. The scope of industrial engineering is something I’m in awe of- it’s hard for me to think on that scale. But it is absolutely amazing to behold.
We stopped for lunch at MishMish cafe where we both ordered the Israeli brunch, which consisted of two fried eggs, halloumi, labne, sour pickles, tomatoes, cucumber, and pita. I asked for sliced veggies instead, which also paired nicely. It was really delicious.
Afterwards, we quickly stopped at the Glenmont Estate, labelled “Glenmont Garage” on Google. It’s the estate Edison gave to his second wife (he was a widower) as a wedding gift. Niiiiiiccceeeee! We didn’t have a lot of time but we peaked into an open window in the garage. There, I saw Edison’s DC electric car charger- from 1904! He charged neighbor’s cars and Alma Edison actually drove a 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47. We walked behind the house and saw the gravesite of Thomas and Alma Edison before leaving for the airport. Hmmm, typing that seems a little morbid pre-flight, but we didn’t have time to go inside!
Portmanteau Suitcase 