I can’t recall who said these true words; you never get a second chance to
make a first impression, but somehow that doesn’t seem to bother some
people involved in the service industry in New Jersey.
The first time I encountered a problem in their service industry was around two years
ago when we were going to Philly but decided to overnight in New Jersey. As I had
always used Comfort Inn establishments when on the road, I made the
reservation through them.Bridge over Delaware River joining Pennsylvania to New Jersey |
Never again.
The motel they gave me should not have been open to the public. For it was being expanded and lots of workmen were around doing all types of construction work, so the rooms and even the lounges were full of cement dust.
We stayed there about two hours, just long enough for a breather and worse, we had to go through the Better Business Bureau to get a refund from Comfort Inn for the terrible state of their accommodation!
Strike two was in August 2019, as four of us from a Meet-Up group in Florida led by Jennifer Weise, headed out to tour points of interest in Pennsylvania. One stop was at the famous Wilmington Railroad, near where with the Delaware River separates Philadelphia from New Jersey.
Feeling adventurous, we
decided that after a wonderful train ride, we should walk across
the bridge to over to Jersey to have dinner.
BIG MISTAKE.
First, we researched on line and found a nice sounding restaurant
called “Boathouse “which advertised a wide-ranging menu on its web page.
That suited us perfectly as one participant was vegetarian and another on a
keto diet, so we needed good variety. However, when we walked over the bridge and followed
directions to the location, we were met by a hostess who informed us that,
despite what they had posted on line, they did not serve dinner, only Cocktails!
BIG MISTAKE.
Hungry and disappointed, we were still determined to try something in New Jersey, so we walked around and found a nice-looking historic building on Bridge Street with a restaurant called “Lambertville Inn" with seating on the patio. It surely looked attractive and the menu posted outside was appealing.
A section of graffiti highway |
Well that was where the drama started, for the waitress was
so rude that she walked off while one member was still making her order. Then
the same customer got cold overcooked chicken as her main course, which
could not be eaten. The manager was called and said he would take care of it.
He didn’t however, for when the bill came, she was still being charged for
the unpalatable food which they had taken away, uneaten. This led to a verbal
confrontation which ended with the manger threating to call the police if
the unpalatable food was not paid for! Rather than waste time, our coordinator,
Jennifer, decided we should pay the bill but I don’t think anyone in the
service industry in New Jersey will see any of us soon ever again!
We could still smell the smoke coming up from under the highway |
Ghost Town and Graffiti Highway, Pennsylvania.
Another section of the sinking highway |
Our visit to Ghost town in Centralia, Pennsylvania
was far less eventful but quite interesting.
It is amazing , but Pennsylvania has quite a few ghost towns,
seven to be exact.
These are towns that have been totally abandoned by
residents for one reason or the other.Some "artists" at work. They offered to share their paint. |
They then declared the town of Centralia, population of just under 2,500, a danger zone.
were everywhere.
Interestingly however, since then, people from all over the
US and even overseas, have decided that despite the danger signs, the
highway, should become a giant canvas.It is now known as Graffiti Highway.
Even some plants got painted |
As we drove around the abandoned and densely overgrown town,
not even the foundation of the houses and businesses that were there in 1962, could be seen anywhere. However, there were still three occupied houses, where the few who
refused to leave, now reside.
No comments:
Post a Comment