Mills Reservation

We had a hot one the other day.  We had those dreaded 3-H's and when that happens everyone retreats into their air conditioned homes and others head down the shore.  This type of weather makes for quiet neighborhoods and empty local roads.  I decided to take advantage of the later and took a drive to a quiet and much cooler place, Mills Reservation.

Mills is a relatively short ride but for some reason I got distracted and took a wrong turn so my mistake added another 5 minutes to the ride, no big deal.  Lost in my thoughts, I began thinking about a house that was for sale in Montclair 12 years ago that was afforable enough but there was a downside, the taxes.  The upside was the backyard to this house butted up against Mills.  You couldn't have found a better setting for an extended backyard.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this on this one particular trail I was on!

Along with this house comes your very own personal entrance into Mills.

If you have never been up here you need to understand that Mills is void of noise.  It is you and mother nature and only the occasional train horn sounding from the distance.  I have always admired this property, not so much the house.   

I don't get up here very often.  Maybe once a year but if I had a dog I'd probably do it more.  If you are a dog owner, this is paradise for your canine but pick up after him.  People that come to Mills seem to be very honest as you can see from the picture below.

All worthless weather worn junk.  I guess the keys are still good for the right person.

Now I'm backing up some with this day.  As I entered the trails one of the first thing I noticed was this purple contraption.

It does stick out like a sore thumb against the many shades of green and browns but it serves a real purpose.  It's like a big sticky trap to survey the bugs in the area.  The real concern from I could figure is a bug called Ash Borer.  I think the Ash Borer is deadly to some of the native trees in NJ.

I mentioned those faint train horns as they only thing you will hear but I should add chipmunks.  They're all over and they actually do make a squeaking sound.  The other sound is the soft sound of the leaves lightly brustling in the summer breeze.

Left or right?  I always take the left as I think it's more interesting.

On this trail is where I found the house for sale.

The path on the west side takes you along a cliff line and the vegetation can be very dense in some of those areas.

These things have been here ever since I discovered this place 30 years ago.  To me they are as mysterious as Stone Hedge.  I'm sure there is an explanation other than some bored kids partying there at night.  There wasn't one beer can, bottle or cap anywhere.

But this one below is definitely newer than the above.  "A" frame style.

Wild raspberrys are everywhere.

I think the first time I heard of this place was around the year 1978.  Like all kids back then if you had a car or access to one you took advantage of those wheels.  We didn't know how to enter Mills (years later I discovered there was an actual parking lot) so we would park above the Presby Iris garden and hike up the side of a mountain.  It wasn't easy but everyone would say it was worth it....lots of curious things to see.

This is one of the 2 brownstone columns.  Self explanatory.  Not nearly as strange as those Tee Pees but what is this thing?

Logic wins on this.  Definitely was a foundation for something.  Maybe a lighthouse?  Possibly, because on a clear day the New York skyline is very visible.

This is the path leading up to that concrete platform.  You can't go any further or you'll fall off the cliff.

See that house in the top left?

Here's a close-up shot.  I have to guess there is a staircase hidden in all that green.

How times have changed.  Years ago this cliff was covered with broken glass.  Yep, beer bottles, what else?

As much shade as there is here, there are clearings here and there where trees just can't grow due to the mountainous formation.

Once again, left?  Or right?

These areas have gotten smaller since 1978.  The trees are considerably larger but the sun is still very strong in these spots.

The camera doesn't give this area it's true sense of size.

Looking back into the shaded woods.

While standing in the clearing I got brave and stood on the edge of the mountain to take these pictures.  Yes, that is someone's backyard down there.

I guess someone attempted (and succeeded) in climbing the mountain side?

Good Intentions Gone Bad?

I hope not!  When I have posted in the past I truly enjoyed it but priorities get in the way.  It has nothing to do with being a procrastinator .... well maybe a little.

I am surprised that I even have a following at this point. Based on  the hits I've been getting on Nutley Through the Lens, I'd have to assume that there are Nutleyites and others out there in cyberworld that are patiently awaiting my next entry. 

I've been giving some thought about this blog and have concluded that I will post but it will be inconsistent.  I also want to branch out beyond Nutley and post about topics of surrounding communities.  This will remain a picture blog because we all like to look at pictures....as long as it isn't someone's kids.

A Timeshare Story - Martha's Vineyard

Several years ago I bought a timeshare while vacationing in Cancun.  The asking price was relatively reasonable and I liked the concept because I could trade my week in Cancun for just about any place in the world.  I've vacationed in some really top notch resorts and had zero complaints but I have stayed at a few that were, let's just say ...... strange.

Some timeshare owners prefer to return that same exact week, year after year, (boring) to the same resort whereas I like to go to different resorts.  The ones that return yearly, like the swallows of Capistrano, get to know one another very well.  Sometimes too well.  The "clicks" have been established and outsiders are rarely welcomed unless you are that funny guy half plastered at the pool bar.  I really don't mind the dynamics at  timeshares because there is more to do than stay poolside all day long.

The weather on the Vineyard (Edgartown) was cool and damp and when it rained it poured.  Poolside was not the place to be.  The regulars took their socializing to the indoors.

This place was like a social club come mid-day and well into the evening.  A simple swipe with your plastic room key got you in.  I've stayed at many resorts but never saw anything like this.

When I saw this kitchen my first impression was "Home Economics 101" from high school.  Here I was able to get my weak morning coffee.  Being the "newbie" in the crowd the two in the back stopped talking as I poured my first cup that morning.  I'm telling ya, this was the strangest resort ever!

Each fridge was shared.  Three guests per fridge and no more.  I used the fridge on the far right for milk, sugar and a can of coffee.  I never opened the can of Maxwell House coffee because that was not allowed.  The coffee supplied was horrible and when I doubled up the packages for a stronger brew, I was scolded by one the the regulars.  I apologized with a sincere smile, introduced myself and offered to make a new pot.  Did you ever see the movie Deliverance? 

One morning I decided to skip coffee and just sample martinis.  Nah, I sampled them in the afternoon really.  This martini was my friends, I had a beer.  The Atlantic restaurant loves bacon so much that they strategically places these baskets of bacon around their bar for snacks.

The beaches are long and super clean but the water is ice cold.

Here at the "Cliffs" is the place to be for the sunsets.  This area reminded me of a trip I took years ago to Block Island, The Bermuda of the North.

Although I do have an appreciation for nature, this particular day on the Cliffs was not the place the be.  Next destination, Oak Bluffs.

Being that is still off season, parking was ample in Oak Bluffs.  I parked directly across from these homes which look out into the harbor.

There's a small section in town that is very similar to Ocean Grove, NJ..  These painted ladies sit on leased land from the church and there seems to be a strong sense of community.  They even have their version of the Great Auditorium like the one in Ocean Grove.

This particular day while walking around I heard a flute playing.  I soon realized that the flute was being played inside the auditorium and it was being recorded with a make-shift recording studio.  While the fluteist played the birds nesting in the rafters were chirping away.  The accoustics were incredible! 

The auditorium.

Even though I cut this trip short by a day, the week ended on a very high note.  A friend and I have been trying for 2 years to get together.  Timing was always off.  A few weeks ago she sent me an email telling me she would be in New York city for a day before she set off for a month long cruise to Europe.  I told her in an email that I would be away in Martha's Vineyard.  Turns out that her next stop was the Vineyard so we finally met after endless emails and 2 years of bad timing!

Cruise ship coming in.

We had almost a full day to catch up, have lunch, drinks and lots of laughs.