Moved to New Jersey!

I’ve lived in Montana since I was 4 years old, so to say that leaving was scary is a bit of an understatement. Now that I’ve been in New Jersey just a bit over a month, I thought I would write a little post about it, even though I haven’t learned a whole lot just yet.

The main things I’ve noticed so far…

It’s all one big town

I sort of knew this from visiting in the past. When we go basically anywhere, we go to another “borough” for it. I live in a borough of Passaic County, but We live on the border of Bergen County. I get extremely confused about where I am at any given time. Coming from a place where there are miles and miles of nothing between most towns, it is a big change.

It is the most densely populated state in the country, Montana is third to last… Wish me luck!

The Garden State

It is not full of gardens. It actually gets that name from it’s rich agricultural history. It is a leading producer of fruits and vegetables. The coolest part is that there is a wonderful Farmer’s Market nearby that goes YEAR ROUND.

Sure, in Montana there was too, but it was the “Winter Market” and it was moved indoors and usually consisted of crafts and pickles.

I arrived to NJ at the end of January and went to a farmer’s market that very weekend, and there were several produce vendors!

Also, to say the produce is great is an understatement, and if I have to hear my husband say how much he loves the produce here one more time, I might pitch him headfirst into the Hudson.

Basically in NYC

I never really grasped how close NJ and NYC are. I knew they were next to each other on the big map of the country in school, but moving to NJ where my BFF and husband both commute into the city for work was a bit mind blowing.

Just last weekend I went into the city for the first time since moving to NJ and we drove… approximately half an hour… I kid you not. I had no idea. There are even views of the NYC skyline from some of the hills around where we live, and I did not consider us as living all that close to the border. That also says something about the absolute grandeur of NYC itself.

First visit to NYC

The City through the Central Park Trees in March

A month in, I finally got to go to the city! I’ve visited before, but never a day trip from home!

We had some friends visiting from Montana, and it was so truly wonderful to see some Montana faces again so soon.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon at the Central Park Zoo

We all went to the Central Park Zoo together. I did not know that there is even a zoo there, but I also wasn’t too surprised. The zoo was really nice. A bit small. And by far my favorite part was the tropical zone with all of the birds! If you know me, you know I love birds. I even recognized a bird and knew it was a starling of some kind because it looked just like a drawing I did last year. That was a very fun and proud moment I had with myself.

Green Peafowl at Central Park Zoo

After the zoo we went walking a very short way and found Balto. This is my second time seeing Balto, and yes, I have seen Togo and I know that Balto has been given some bad press recently… BUT I CAN’T HELP IT, I STILL LOVE HIM TOOOOO!

Jon and Bre Selfie with Balto

After Central Park, we squeezed into an Uber… Literally squeezed all 6 of us… and found ourselves at a pirate-themed establishment called The Folly. We had a blast, and though I personally don’t like coconut, the Frozen Grog was a really fun drink that everyone loved.

Last but certainly not least, we went to Lombardi’s pizza. It boasts being America’s first Pizzeria, and apparently we were so hungry we forgot to take pictures of the actual food, so instead, I grace you with their mirror and my face.

I must say that my first day trip into the city was a fabulous one.