Jersey Girl

I've never been to New Jersey, but I'm going this week. So, in preparation for my trip, I've been doing a little reading. A few "Fun Facts For Ya..."  (name that movie!)

Did you know that:

1) New Jersey has the highest population density in the U.S. An average 1,030 people per sq. mi., which is 13 times the national average. (Franklin has 71.3 people per square mile)

2) North Jersey is the car theft capital of the world, with more cars stolen in Newark then any other city. Even the 2 largest cities, NYC and LA put together. (WE WILL BE IN NEWARK THE WHOLE TIME. Note to self: leave NOTHING of your personal belongings in the rental van.)

3) North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world with seven major shopping malls in a 25 sq. mile radius. (Not that we'll have time, but this might be kinda fun to explore!)

4) New Jersey natives you may have heard of: Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Shaquille O'Neal, Judy Blume, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money and Frank Sinatra. (Everybody's gotta be born somewhere, right?)

5) New Jersey has 108 toxic waste dumps. Which is the most in any one state in the nation. (awesome)

6) Software and software-related companies account for nearly 2,700 companies in New Jersey. (Good to know in case we have any IT issues while we're there...)

7) New Jersey is home to the Miss America pageant held in Atlantic City. And Atlantic City is where the street names came from for the game MONOPOLY. (Kinda cool)

8) New Jersey has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the U.S. (Glad I will not be driving the rental van)

9) New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries. (What does this mean, exactly...?)

10) The light bulb, phonograph and motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey. (Brain power)

***SMALL TOWN Utah/Tennessee girl travels north***

OKAY...so the top things I'm looking forward to:

* Traveling with my DVL film crew buddies (always a HOOT!)
* Filming CorizonTV at Essex County Juvenile Detention Facility
* Avoiding having our rental car stolen
* Taking in some northeastern sights, like those exciting petroleum containment areas
* Wearing 'lay-ahs, lay-ahs, lay-ahs" to stay warm in projected 30-40 degree weather this week (feels colder by the water, I'm told). I think that with ALL THOSE PEOPLE we will be walking shoulder to shoulder at any given moment, so we should be fine.
* Getting some kind of New Jersey magnet for my collection
* EATING dinner at Fornos of Spain Restaurant, which comes highly recommended by our NJ Corizon team.

And you should know the biggest thing I'm excited about is:

* Using my new PINK travel bag for the first time! YAY! :) Seriously, you have no idea how COOL this bag is...