Plan B Forum

Vive le friends!

Sue is in Boston this weekend for a conference, so we had a lovely dinner last night at a beautiful French restaurant overlooking the public garden -- with lots of French wine. I got home exactly at the stroke of midnight, and avoided turning into a pumpkin. So far, that's 2 visits and 2 fun French meals. I've got restaurant #3 already picked out for your return

Enjoy the conference and my lovely city. Salut!

Always fun to hang out IRL. Excellent choice of eatery, and delightful conversation. This evening we have a tour of Fenway followed by some sort of "jazz reception." Boston really is a lovely city, I'm enjoying every minute. Already looking forward to next time.

Glad you had a nice time...

And now Sue, you can reciprocate the hospitality with a night-on-the-town in beautiful Camden New Jersey...

Lord Jim wrote:... And now Sue, you can reciprocate the hospitality with a night-on-the-town in beautiful Camden New Jersey...

My daughter's SO is a CCPD detective. I'm sure he can point out all of the night-life hot spots the city has to offer.

Here's one:

That's just an empty street, Ray. Here, go for a drive down Federal Street, where people work and shop. Sure, it ain't Paree, but it's still a living, breathing community.

Sue U, yeah, I use Federal St. whenever the Adm. Wilson in closed due to flood or accident. "Downtown" Camden is fairly vibrant in the daytime but it's nowhere to be after the sun goes down. It will be a long time before you see me shopping or dining there in the evening hours. Even the Aquarium, BB&T Center, The Victor, and Wiggins Park can be somewhat intimidating after hours.

That said, things are changing in a positive way. I have a palpable sense that the "NEW" CCPD as protectors, not warriors, is gaining a lot of traction within the community. There is much more interaction between the police and the 'hood and violent crimes are down. (Way better than the old, corrupt, Camden PD -- "The Blue Mafia.") So much so that Philly PD and even the Chicago PD have dropped by for an occasional seminar.

Maybe someday I'll take a stroll down Federal St. as the sun sets but I ain't there yet. Even with a Camden officer walking beside me. Peace.

Camden, NJ. When I went there in 2014, to visit the USS New Jersey I had been told ahead of time to "park at the aquarium and take the shuttle". And not to stop anywhere else in Camden.

From the freeway I saw streets with burned out hulks of cars. Never seen the like. The stares as I drove through the center of what used to be a city... Yeah, having Washington (State) plates on a beat up Pathfinder... I ended up taking a wrong turn and ended up at the USS New Jersey's pier instead of the Aquarium. A guy stopped me as I turned around, asked where I was going. "Well, here, but I missed the Aquarium Parking Lot". He told me not to go there, no shuttle on weekdays, see. Just go up of the gate and park where that guy is standing at the guard shack.

Little, fenced parking lot. It's where the volunteers park. It has an ARMED guard.

Other than that, I had a wonderful time aboard the NJ (other than they wouldn't let me in the engine room) and I then spent the afternoon across the river, on the USS Olympia and Becuna. Didn't hit any other Philadelphia hot spots. Just the ships. The next day, taking a midday stroll through Hells Kitchen in NYC (that's the way to the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum) was anticlimactic.

Camden gets a worse rap than it deserves. Sure, parts of the city are pretty rough and can be dangerous, but mostly it's just poor; poor people are not inherently violent, they're just like you but with less money. During the years I lived on the other side of the river in fancy Philadelphia, I was mugged twice and my house was robbed once. But I was never the victim of a crime in Camden. The problems in Camden today are largely related to the drug trade and the ready availability of handguns. I am much less concerned about being targeted for an attack than I am about being caught in the crossfire of someone else's beef. (Also, I don't live in Camden anymore, but I still go to court there.)

Sue U wrote:Always fun to hang out IRL. Excellent choice of eatery, and delightful conversation. This evening we have a tour of Fenway followed by some sort of "jazz reception." Boston really is a lovely city, I'm enjoying every minute. Already looking forward to next time.

Avoid Copley Square and the Pru...they're replacing a bridge, resulting in a fairly high-grade clusterfuck.

And the locals are weird...like the dude I saw a few weeks ago. He was standing on an overpass...whizzing on tbe Mass Pike.

Vive la France! Vive la Boston!

I'm sorry you fixed the typo in the subject line...

I liked "Vice la France!"

Ha!

It was a pretty good one

Jarlaxle wrote:

Sue U wrote:Always fun to hang out IRL. Excellent choice of eatery, and delightful conversation. This evening we have a tour of Fenway followed by some sort of "jazz reception." Boston really is a lovely city, I'm enjoying every minute. Already looking forward to next time.

Avoid Copley Square and the Pru...they're replacing a bridge, resulting in a fairly high-grade clusterfuck.

And the locals are weird...like the dude I saw a few weeks ago. He was standing on an overpass...whizzing on tbe Mass Pike.

Peeing in the (car) pool?

-"BB"-

Jarlaxle wrote:Avoid Copley Square and the Pru...they're replacing a bridge, resulting in a fairly high-grade clusterfuck.

And the locals are weird...like the dude I saw a few weeks ago. He was standing on an overpass...whizzing on tbe Mass Pike.

The conference I was attending was at the Hynes Convention Center -- attached to the Pru Center. (Also went to a bangin' party at the Pru, put on by the Louisiana Trial Lawyers, with a super-hot band.) I had no problems with transit, mostly using the T, which I have found to be very efficient and more comfortable than the NYC subways. Ubered to a couple of off-site events; the drivers were friendly but I cannot even begin to comprehend how they navigate the city, since apparently all the roadways head off in entirely random directions. I stayed at a hotel right by the Berklee School of Music, so the neighborhood was constantly crawling with musician kids; took me back to the olden days when I was a conservatory student, and gave me lots of smiles.

ETA:

This is the band that played the Louisiana party at the Pru:



I'd definitely go see them again.

Lord Jim wrote:I'm sorry you fixed the typo in the subject line...

I liked "Vice la France!"

As in "Veni, Vidi, Vice la France"?

Yeah, who hasn't?

Sue U wrote:Camden gets a worse rap than it deserves. Sure, parts of the city are pretty rough and can be dangerous, but mostly it's just poor; poor people are not inherently violent, they're just like you but with less money. During the years I lived on the other side of the river in fancy Philadelphia, I was mugged twice and my house was robbed once. But I was never the victim of a crime in Camden. The problems in Camden today are largely related to the drug trade and the ready availability of handguns. I am much less concerned about being targeted for an attack than I am about being caught in the crossfire of someone else's beef. (Also, I don't live in Camden anymore, but I still go to court there.)

Ah, the bucolic, green acres, of Camden:

https://tinyurl.com/y7y9adj4

Speaking of New Jersey, I highly recommend the delightful little indy film Patterson - it's a gem.