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The beautiful and stately Old Whaling Church in Edgartown.
Do you know where these places are? How about picture #8, do you know what that is? Leave a comment if you wish 
HIGH POINT STATE PARK, which is the highest point in New Jersey is located in Montague in Sussex County. At 1,803 feet above sea level it is the highest peak of the Kittatinny Mountains. At the peak of the highest point is the 220 ft High Point Monument- from the top you can see New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
It’s been 40 years since I’ve been there so on a recent summer-like day in March my daughter Patty, granddaughter Tiffany, and I decided to go exploring.
There are 291 stairs to the top. I climbed it on my first visit to the monument in Sept, 1972.. I snapped this picture because I knew I’d never do it again. The monument isn’t open for the season yet so I didn’t have to find out if I would or not.. I like to think I would have tried.
Same view today but from the base of the monument.
Views of New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
With a little help from this…
… you can see really, really far…
There are hiking and biking trails, picnic areas and a lake.
As the name of my blog implies yes, I am obsessed with Martha’s Vineyard… but I am also proud of my home state of New Jersey.
(There may have been some liberties taken with a few of the photographs… can you guess which ones?)
A few years ago along with my daughter Deb, her dog Chappy and two dog friends, we went walking in the Tisbury/W Tisbury woods of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission.
While the 4-legged walkers sniffed their way through the woods I let my eyes feast on the beauty. Looking down I saw this beautiful green mossy growth…
…and this old stump that somewhat resembles an airplane part (to my eyes anyway).
Raising my eyes a bit there was …
And finally, looking skyward and spotting something nestled among the trees !! Do you see it – is it a bird, is it a plane !!
I’m looking forward to my next walks on the Vineyard… there’s no better place to stretch your legs and your paws.
These beautiful stone sculptures were done by a Native American from Aquinnah whose name unfortunately I’ve forgotten. I asked him how he knows what to sculpt and he told me that he has to get to know the stone first… let it speak to him and tell him what it is meant to be… only then does he begin the process of letting the spirit emerge from the stone.
This particular stone is double-ended.
The face of a Native American.
The spirit of an eagle.
I particularly like this one below. I like the way the face looks peaceful and wise.
Something I find interesting about these sculptures is that when you’re holding them they’re both cool and warm. Perhaps it’s the spirit from within.
(Click on pictures to enlarge if you wish).
As promised in my last post, here is the NY Public Library on 5th Ave.
The cornerstone was laid in May 1902. It was completed in 1910 but it took another year for all the books to be moved in. The library was officially opened at a dedication ceremony in May 1911.
Click here to read the history of the library.
Let’s enter …
(You can click on pictures to enlarge)
The reason Deb and I were at the library in the first place was to see a small exhibit they had on the wonderful PBS Masterpiece series ‘Downton Abbey.’ Turns out the exhibit was across the street but had we known that we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of exploring this beautiful building.
In my post of Feb 24th…’Painting Party’… I said I had one more birthday gift to collect. I did that recently with my daughter Deb. There are actually two gifts to tell about. One I knew about, one I didn’t.
Dylan’s Candy Bar I knew about… but before we went there we walked a little further down E 60th St to.
Serendipity 3 for lunch. Why there? Well, because of their famous, delicious, heavenly chocolate dessert….. Frozen Hot Chocolate, which I adore.
I would have gone straight for the frozen hot chocolate but Deb said we should at least have a sandwich or something first. They were okay. I only ate half of the chicken salad and Deb’s prosciutto sandwich turned out to be less than fresh… I’m pleased to say that the management generously rectified that situation.
And then…. tah dah… THE frozen hot chocolate.
This is me today.
This is me in 1994 the first time I had frozen hot chocolate.
Good to the last lick.. and as sinfully delicious as I remembered it… and yes, I drank it all by myself.
You might think we had no desire to even look at anymore sweets. Nope. Still had Dylan’s Candy Bar to visit and use my gift card from Deb.
So down the block we waddled to…
We were literally like kids in a candy store.
So much to look at, so much candy it boggled my mind. And there were other interesting things like this illuminated staircase.
Miscellaneous this and that… a birthday hat, and yes, apparently chocolate does aid in healing.
Um… hmmm…
Our loot.
Starting at bottom left going clockwise: chocolate/raspberry bar – chocolate covered pretzel balls – a box of chocolate covered pretzels – chocolate covered krispies and chocolate covered sandwich cookies.
There was one other stop, the New York Public Library, but you’ll have to wait a bit for that post as I’m coming down off my sugar high and think I need to rest a bit
(CLICK HERE for a sneak peek at the library lions at ‘Through Jersey Eyes’)
MV Obsession is four and a half years old and I’ve never done a post about my obsessive rituals and quirky have-to-dos. So here it is.
I HAVE to wear something Vineyard related every day. I’ve been wearing this watch since 1995. But sometimes, like today, I like to wear…
… a Vineyard shirt.
I’ve had a Vineyard related license plate on my New Jersey car since 1993.
And since 1988 I’ve been carrying this stone from State Beach in my wallet.
Those are just my quirks when I’m not on the Vineyard. When I’m on the Vineyard I have other rituals and compulsions, here are a few of them.
Espresso Love’s blueberry scones. I love them so much I bring them home, put them in my freezer and sometimes, just sometimes offer them to other people. Espresso Love coffee is of course a must to go with the scones. (CLICK HERE)
The Tabernacle. I love this place. No visit is complete without visiting this hallowed place and doing a bit of reflecting… and always taking ‘just one more picture’ because, well, I’m obsessed. (CLICK HERE)
The Bandstand in Ocean Park is one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy just being. I’ve been known to take ‘just one more picture’ here too. (CLICK HERE)
The house my godparents owned. I spent every summer of my childhood here and I always, always drive past it at least twice when I’m on MV. One time years ago I was fortunate enough to step back into the house and step back in time.
Heading Up-Island now. Almost every trip includes a visit to the Gay Head cliffs. No matter how many times I see them they always take my breath away. (CLICK HERE)
When our dog Chappy visits the Vineyard he has his own ‘must visit’ places. The Black Dog for their droolicious biscuits. Good Dog Good for their goodies as well, and to visit the ladies there who always remember him. (CLICK HERE) and (HERE)
All my obsessions, quirks and rituals are not necessarily Vineyard related though. I’ll admit to one that makes my family chuckle every time I do it. 
I have to end up on my right foot going up or down stairs… stepping on or off curbs… putting on shoes and socks.
Now that you know my obsessions let me hear from you about yours.
