Princeton, NJ 9/8-9/11

Steps of Nassau Hall-oldest building on campus

This trip was entirely different than our trip to Tybee on the previous weekend.  First of all, I didn't really have the money to do it comfortably, but I couldn't pass up an excuse for a weekend road trip. Secondly, this wasn't really a 'planned' trip.  My brother had miscalculated the cost of a last minute flight to New Jersey and the cost of shipping all of his belongings, so driving was the cheapest option for everyone involved, since he was going to have to borrow money from me anyway.

Bates motel 

Let me stress that this is not a fun drive to make in a single day.  Just like all road trips, the drive was really fun for the first three hours or so, when the music was still fresh and everyone was talking and cutting up with each other.  Then the state of Virginia happened, and 300something miles of roadwork and nothing to look at can really take the excitement out of traveling. Hurricane Irene had just happened also, so after 2 hours of being lost in I-don't-remember-where Pennsylvania and almost being crushed by a semi truck, we ended up getting rerouted to another interstate because the highway we were on was flooded. Finally, after 14 hours of driving, we were close enough to look for a hotel.  We drove around (got lost) in the creepily deserted suburbs of New Jersey for what seemed like hours before calling and locating what sounded like a promising, cheap place to stay for a few hours: The King's Inn in Rahway, NJ.  Notice the accompanying article of a man who was shot/arrested here for walking around with a "harpoon-like knife" and generally being crazy, Norman Bates style. 


This place had it all:  knocked down walls, dirty mattresses leaned up outside, floor to ceiling glass windows in every room (really safe). I knew immediately that this was not where we would stay.  Capers, however, thought it was still "doable for a couple hours," but he was probably just temporarily delusional from exhaustion and desperation. Luckily, none of the rooms would sleep 4, so we eventually ended up at an Econo lodge near the Newark Airport at 6 a.m. 

Finally, the next day I got to see the Princeton campus again.  It really is an amazing campus with beautiful architecture. 

      Whitman College-Dorm and Dining Hall

Inside the chapel 

Nassau Street 

The actual town of Princeton is pretty small and all of the things visitors may want to do besides look at the campus is on Nassau Street. There's quite a few local bookstores and shops that are worth checking out, as well as a coffee shop and pizza place. There's really not much in the way of "night life" in Princeton, besides Princeton Brewery and Princeton Sports Bar. We walked in the brewery and it was expensive and had an uptight atmosphere, so we left.  Princeton Sports Bar was underground and a lot friendlier. 





Princeton Record Exchange is by far one of my favorite stores to visit in Princeton, as they have a great selection of new and used vinyls. This time around I bought Beirut's newest The Rip Tide, a reissue of Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate, and a cheap Greatest Hits of Bob Dylan. 






Another great thing about Princeton is the fact that its a short train ride from other awesome cities, such as Philadelphia and New York.  My next post will talk about our experiences in NYC.