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Thanksgiving in New Jersey
It seems that New Jersey has dominated my weekends these last few months, so it was only fitting that I be there for Thanksgiving. I would have flown out to Florida, but with ticket prices reaching ludicrous levels, and the hassle of flying on the holidays, it made more sense to stay local this year. Meanwhile, I had the good fortune to be invited to my very own Morristown, New Jersey to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with my best friend and his family. Dinner was, of course, phenomenal. Naturally I was sent home with at least twice what I ate at dinner, so I’m still enjoying the leftovers to this day.

But perhaps more fulfilling still, was simply spending time at home. We went for walks around the neighborhood, visited familiar landmarks, and took a ride around and got lost somewhere past Chatham. Eventually we found our way back an hour later, but despite getting completely turned around and wasting that hour figuring out where the heck we were, I couldn’t have been happier. We visited a national park near town and walked around in the woods for a while too. Getting lost in the woods was actually also a lot of fun, especially when I’m so used to being surrounded by tall buildings and pavement. I didn’t even mind when we found ourselves caught in a thick patch of pricker bushes trying to find our way out.

When it comes down to it, I think NJ fulfills my need to not be surrounded by people all the time. Most particularly people I don’t know. In the city, they’re everywhere, all the time. Even if you live alone, chances are you can still hear the neighbors, or at the very least the noise from the street. The luxury of space is almost impossible to find here in NYC, but fortunately for me, release is not so very far away. So I’ll keep crossing the river.