A Wandering WeyrCat...

Three years  sounds like I should be a lot of time to tour small states like New Jersey or New York, but there's so much packed in that you still have to be choosy or lucky. This state has a lot of history and a lot of passion, and they can both be found roadside in any of the many small townships that clump tightly together, separated by just a "Welcome to" sign.  Memorials and Murals are liberally sprinkled everywhere. Everywhere. Some, I haven't been able to stop for because they are literally on the shoulder of a highway or in the middle of a stone bridge. Photo by facilitron, where you can sign up to rent classrooms in the weekend. George Washington Carver Elementary School, Newark NJ, has a huge mural of GWC in their chain-link-fenced in playground. (It may also be called Carver Bruce Elementary, according to the soft sign on the building.) And no, I don't know why there seems to be a bronze butt included in the mural. "Una Gota Romp...

Hobbit and I joined a couple friends to visit Northlandz Model Railway System, the Guinness Book of World’s Records for being the World’s Largest Model railroad. It was started in 1972, and all the models are handcrafted by the owner, Bruce Williams Zaccagnino. The whole layout spread over 52000 sq feet having 8 miles long railroad track with 100 + miniature trains, 1000+ buildings, 400 + bridges, and 250,000 trees that cover the whole landscape. It's  a Mile just to walk through the linear layout. Hobbit Loved it. He begged to be picked up to see, because often the step was still too low for him.  There's even a construction scene (one of many). Hobbit was encouraged to name all the vehicles, and of course, he did. There was a sign stating that some bridges required as many as 23,000 hand placed pieces. This was not even the most elaborate. They spanned chasms, scaled wall high mountains in zig-zags, and some had multiple track that ran at the same time...