Not in Kansas... er, Vermont, Anymore

I just have to say I'm not a huge fan of New Jersey. I'm sure it is a lovely state - in spots; it must be called the Garden State for a reason - but from where I'm sitting, it ain't so grand.

The wind is howling around and right through my 8th floor hotel windows and the gray clouds are making the already gray panorama, well, grayer. All I see from this vantage point is asphalt and concrete; roads, parking lots, and boxes of concrete, with only panels of black windows to break up the concreteness. Cars and trains crawl through this tangled mass of blah and I have to wonder, why would anyone choose to live here?

Last night, after my husband's 11 hour day in a conference and my day of writing (and re-writing and re-re-writing), we took our courage by the hand and ventured out. We knew there was a mall nearby, and after a couple days of over-priced and over-cooked hotel food our budget badly needed a food court. The map indicated we needed to turn left, right, then go straight and the mall would be right there.

Ha!

Turns out you can't turn left in New Jersey, only right. We could see the mall just over there, but could we get to it? Heaven forbid! That big ol' Neiman and Marcus sign was shining bright - a beacon, a north star - but we two kings were lost in the desert. Round and round we go, no left turn, no left turn, NO LEFT FREAKIN' TURN. Eventually, (we ain't too smart at this point, hunger had taken over our senses) we figured out that we had to turn right to go left. Well, duh! And, of course we're cruising along in the left lane (as any intelligent being who wanted to turn left would be) and the Saturday night traffic, which is heavier than the worst Vermont rush hour, is preventing any intention of moving over in time to exit to the right.

By this point we are so far away from the mall, we give up and turn wherever we could and hope any dining establishment would be appear. As luck would have it, we had discovered another mall, a Macy's and Nordstrom mall. But I am so frustrated and hungry by the time we get out of the car (an hour after left the hotel) that the normal little thrill I get from walking into a busy mall is replaced by fear and "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"-ness. I didn't think I had become such a small town girl but the ugg-wearing, designer bag toting masses, the pre-Thanksgiving Santa, the knock-you-on-your-ass perfume fumes, and the racket of the food court - oh, the noise! - was too much. I, me, who can't pass a clearance rack to save my life, was inhaling my philly cheese steak and racing for the nearest exit, my very un-designer bag flying behind.

Later as B and I were safely back in our dull hotel room, crying with laughter over an HBO comedian, I thanked my lucky stars that tomorrow we go home. Home, where you give directions according to the nearest barn, where you can turn left wherever you like, and the only concrete is the path leading to your own front door.