mortonfox | IKEA Breakfast, Central Jersey, Central Connecticut, Earthstock Mascot Gig (Reply)

I started the day on Saturday with a free small breakfast at IKEA in Paramus. I believe this is the second weekend this year they're running this promo. I missed the first one. As I expected, the place was packed but it didn't take long to pick up the food and coffee. Then I went geocaching in North and then Central Jersey. It was sunny and the temperature as high as 82°F. I nearly died of heat but before dying, I climbed Snake Hill in Secaucus for Another Secaucus Panorama (Climb'&Find' 6). My approach to the peak ended with a crawl up a 45° slope. It was slippery because of leaves on the ground. On the way back, I slid down the hill while holding on to a wire fence.

For the rest of the day, nothing else was as challenging as the Snake Hill climb. I ran into Vegan Freaks on the way out from CJCC: India. They were going for the whole set of CJCC caches. As I mentioned to them, I wasn't doing the set all at once. I'm just picking up a CJCC caches a few at a time since I wasn't in a rush for the geocoin prizes. Dinner was at Burrito Royale in Monmouth Junction. I was curious about that little taco stand on US-1 as I've driven past it many times. I had super nachos. The verdict: It's not that special, although the food portion was huge.

On Sunday, I joined

coyoty, Damian K.,

sunookitsune, and

sunookitsune's friend to do a mascot gig at Earthstock on the Tunxis Community College campus in in Farmington, CT. I left home early in the morning so I could grab a few geocaches along the way. I did one in Westchester and two in Connecticut, all near the highway. The cache in Westchester, luck,some need it,some dont......, is notoriously difficult because it is in a very busy area but early in the morning, the place was quiet enough that I didn't have a problem finding the cache. The Other Tunxis is right in the parking lot of Tunxis Community College so I found that one too just before the gig.

Earthstock was a low-key event. There were vendors and exhibitors, a band, a drum circle, and a small crowd of attendees. It had its moments though. In costume, I took part in the drum circle, balanced and danced on top of the rocks, tried the hula-hoops (not so good at that in costume), and generally interacted with people. Funny thing is if I sat down at the picnic table in the center of the courtyard, more people would come up to me. I guess I'm more approachable when I'm not standing over 6.5 feet tall. (costume adds a bit to my dimensions)

The after-gig meal was at 99 Restaurant in Bristol. I had the captain's combo platter. Then we went our separate ways. I continued geocaching around Bristol and found 9 more geocaches before it got too dark.

Monday was a cold and rainy day, but I saw a new geocache listing not far from home so I went for Cabbage Patch in Ho-Ho-Kus. The cabbage in the name probably refers to the skunk cabbage in the swampy area and it wasn't a good idea to go looking for a cache near the banks of the Saddle River on a rainy day because this river is notorious for flooding the area. Nevertheless, I found the cache without a problem. Then I had a turkey sandwich and Caesar salad You-Pick-Two at Panera Bread in Woodcliff Lake.