I have seen the future

Magnet #1243 - Elizabeth Taylor

Ok, folks. Tonight I've seen the future, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for it.

I'm using this Elizabeth Taylor magnet from my Union Square magnetdude, because she was British-American, of the 20th Century's Golden Age, and because with only five years separating them, she kind of reminds me of the woman I met tonight in a random West Side bar.

So yesterday, I wrote that "I am woman, hear me roar" post. You know, the one about having no other master than me.

Today, I met my future sitting in a bar built in 1868. Early for drinks with some pals, I made friends with this older lady sitting next to me. After telling me the history of the bar (sound familiar?), she moved on to telling me she was born in 1927 in Rockland County, and she's lived in NYC ever since.

Her relatives on both sides of her family came over on the Mayflower (in 1620!, she said). Both were from England - on her mother's side, they just didn't like England. And on her father's side, well, he was the King's Taster - the dude who didn't die from tasting the king's meal before he ate it. To hear her tell it, her family was English through and through. (Nothing she could do about it, she said, it wasn't her fault.)

My God, the life this woman has lived.

She basically grew up in New York City - lived through the Depression (her older brothers were all born in the 1920s as well) and remembered Pearl Harbor.

She spent 18 years living and working on Broadway as a dancer, working with the likes of Bob Fosse and other greats.

She spent 2 years straight going to every 2nd night of every Broadway show, free for this newspaper she worked for, seeing the likes of Laurence Olivier staring right at her in the audience.

She lived in a Hell's Kitchen (before it was called Hell's Kitchen) railroad apartment for $200 for 50 (not 1-5, young lady, 5-0!) years, her rent never going above $400 (big deal!, she said).

Finally, her friends insisted that she move to an assisted living home near the bar we were at, where she hates it. Not only does she hate having helpers she doesn't need, but she's surrounded by folks who've never traveled and seen and done the things she has. (I always traveled, because I had money and I could. They didn't! Now they know nothing of the world and other cultures!, she said.)

She insisted that she would never marry. She didn't. She insisted that she would never have kids. She didn't. Even when the guys promised they wouldn't have to have kids, she said, hell no, not for me, move on!

Seriously - if you know me at all, you've heard me claim the exact same things. And, if you know me at all, you know this extremely personal question did not come easy for me. I asked her straight out if she ever regretted never getting married or having kids.

She looked me straight in the eye and goes, "Hell. No." To which I replied, "Hell. Yes. Thank you."

She relented a bit, and said "Now, that's me. You have to decide for yourself." And I said, "No, I'm in agreement." She asked how old I was, replying, You're just a baby!, when I told her.

On the one hand, she's right. On the other, it was like God sat her right next to me to give me an idea of what my life would be in the next 40-50 years.

She was a tough old broad, right down to complaining about the Irish bar we were in (it's Irish bar food, what the hell do you expect?), and it was kind of ridiculous seeing her having to repeat things for me to hear.

But honestly, ya'll. I can't imagine living my life almost twice over to get to her ripe old age of 84. Jeez.

It's one of my favorite things, listening to older generations tell their fantastic stories. I probably could have chatted her up all night, except sadly, after telling me everything I mentioned above, she then started telling me about her family coming over on the Mayflower, like she hadn't just talked to me for the last 20 minutes. Sigh. Sad.

Still, she was absolutely amazing, and I was kind of sad to join my friends. I did start to worry that she'd escaped from the old folks home down the block...but since she knew the bartenders, too, I figured she'd be ok.

So I'm sharing her stories with you guys - after such a great conversation, I couldn't just let her memories fade away!

These are great days, indeed

Magnet #1208 - Churchill quote

If there's one epoch my sisters and I are well familiar with, it's World War II - on both sides of the Atlantic.

Between books, movies, television, work, our father, yeah, I would argue that it might be the time period we know best. (Or, at least enough to possibly get us through a couple of Jeopardy! or Trivial Pursuit rounds, anyway.)

Which is why I so love this Churchill quote that my friend gave me.

Actually, if I'm honest, I just love the big guy himself as one of my fave historical figures, but this quote, taken from this speech given to Harrow School students is just so indicative of the indomitable spirit of England and her leader at the time.

Figured I'd use this magnet as we all head off this evening for a few great days ourselves in Merry Olde England.

Just a very short holiday, we'll be back before we've had a proper visit. My original intent was just to fly in for David Tennant's performance and fly back, over a weekend. But then everyone started piling on to the trip, adding people, days and things to see, until it became not quite a full-blown vacation, but not quite a fly-in/fly-out trip, either.

Whatever. We're still gonna have a blast.

The non-itinerary's as done as it's gonna get, and I've decided if we see it, great. If we don't, then there's always post-Olympics 2013.

Unless David decides to do another play in the meantime, and then we'll have to talk.



*Note: This is the first trip in several years where I'm opting not to bring along my laptop. The very thought of it, makes me feel superduperunconnected to the world. I'm actually a little uncomfortable at how much I already miss her, and I haven't even left yet.

But her absence by my side (sniffle), means I will likely not do any joymagnetism updates until my return, unless I just get industrious while away.

Mind you, I've totally opted for international coverage on my Droid, so dammit, my TweetDeck had better work!

I don't want to live in a totally unplugged world!

**eta:
Having now re-read and posted this magnet, there's a part of me that just wants to pack up the laptop and bring it with me anyway. I mean...what will I do at the airport? How will I cope?

*hyperventilates*

Living Memorial

Magnet #1061 - United States Holocaust Museum

When I was in high school, our band made a stop at Dachau Concentration Camp. Like most band trips, it had been a barrel of laughs, up until that day's tour, when we suddenly all the lessons we'd learned from books and lectures about the Holocaust became very, very real.

When they built the United States Holocaust Museum in DC, I put off going.* Put it off, in that way that you know you should do something, but you know it will make you sad, and really, who actively runs into that situation? But you know you must eventually do it, because it's something that you just must do.

I finally went late last year, and am convinced that it's something everyone must do at least once. Sad though it is, the museum itself is truly an amazing experience, one that's made all the more real by the footage, the artifacts, the castings, the stories, the exhibit design, and especially the stark museum design.

You start from the top floor, where the films and exhibits explain how Hitler and the Third Reich came to power, the beginnings of Antisemitism, and with each passing picture and caption, the groundwork is laid toward one of the biggest tragedies in human history.

Just before the end of the upper level, you're faced with the question...when all the build-up was happening and (judging by the newspaper headlines of the day) America knew about it, then why didn't we do anything? There's a multimedia room with several carrels that explain America's response, but even if you sit there and watch each video, there's no real answer to be had.

As you leave the upper floor, you pass through one of my favorite (dubious word, I know) sections of the museum is the Yaffa Eliach Shtetl Collection's Tower of Faces on this magnet. It's a three-story tower of photographs taken from 1890 to 1941, of everyday ordinary Jews from a town called Eishishok (now in Lithuania). Looking up and down at all the photos, they're all strangers. Just seeing their faces and both somber and happy poses, though, it hits home that these people could easily be folks you know. But you don't know them - because as you find out in the later floor, 900 years of a rich Jewish history in Eishishok were wiped out in the space of two days.

The next floors retrace the steps of what they call the Final Solution to the Jewish Question, the stories of the ghettos and containment, until finally you enter into the concentration camp exhibit halls. If the horrific feelings of what happened so long ago haven't come back to haunt you by this point, stand in the musty, darkened railcar for just a minute. Or, really, even just a few seconds.

Throughout the exhibit halls, there are fairly high walls that shield the monitors showing the most graphic of footage, of the abuse, the violence, the experiments, etc. The concrete walls are there to protect young kids and presumably anyone of any age who doesn't want to see the footage.

For me, there was a strange dissonance here, the need to want to physically pull away the young prying eyes from the footage, coupled with the need to make sure they watched, if only to make sure their generations didn't follow in these sad footsteps.

That's the nature of this museum. By the time you get to the Last Chapters of Liberation and the trials, you've learned more than you ever wanted to know about the evils of mankind. And that's good. The learning, that is. It's no longer some ethereal lesson you've had to memorize for an AP test or pop quiz. No longer something far away in some book you read long ago.

It happened, and the takeaway from the museum is to honor the memories of those millions and millions lost by learning from it, and not letting it happen again.




*Oddly, my reluctance to write this magnetpost is kind of why I put off writing this rather sobering blogpost for a week.

What's for dinner?

Magnet #1058 - K-Ration Dinner

I picked this K-ration magnet up at the Brooklyn Museum for 92 cents!

I don't even remember the last time I saw any magnet (or anything, really) on sale anywhere for less than a dollar! So of course, I picked it up. And you know I had to stop myself from picking up the Breakfast and Lunch magnets, too. They were supercute, but I didn't think I could field two additional magnetposts for them. Not really, anyway.

How cool is this magnet, though? I love that it explains right on the box what's included for the meal. There is something really funny about the government repackaging the rations boxes with something they called the "Morale Series," where each meal was color- and letter-coded. As if making the meals pretty on the outside were going to make it more palatable to the men.

K rations were introduced to our troops in 1942, right in the middle of World War II. They were supposed to be emergency rations only, but as the war wore on, it was increasingly used as their main staples.

I mean, just look at the contents - all that sugar! But, apparently, they went through all this rigorous field testing with each set of rations to see if they would be sufficient for the troops.

The poor guys got tired of eating the same rations day in, and day out, and truth be told, the rations weren't even really enough to keep them moving, because their calorie content were somewhat less calories than what active men need.

By the end of the war, the army moved on to the new and improved C Rations, leaving millions and millions of surplus of K rations to feed the hungry overseas.

"Never in the field of human conflict..."

Magnet #938 - Churchill Quote

"...was so much owed by so many to so few."

- Prime Minister Winston Churchill

I must have started this magnetpost a few times, on a couple different days, but since @stephenfry (#ff, if you don't already) Tweeted about the 1940 Chronicle, I figured this particular magnet works for any day this week.

Forty years ago around this time, the London Blitz was in full swing, and I honestly can't even imagine how that felt. Imagine, every night, going to bed, knowing that the Luftwaffe was headed your way, and being powerless to stop it.

The chronicle keeps you up to date with what happened forty years ago each day, related to readers as newsreports from correspondents and diaries. Such a great idea, because it gives today's audiences a better context to learn history.

Despite the fears of the people, they must have felt a little better knowing the Royal Air Force was bravely defending the skies and warding off the Germans. Mind you, this four-month Battle of Britain (celebrating its 70th anniversary), fought mostly in the air, is considered one of the turning points of the war. The RAF successfully defended the UK from German invasion.

Which brings us to the point of the 1940 Chronicle. Without being terribly salesy about it, the site is actually part of the very clever digital fundraising campaign for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

They have a fundraising spot featuring Winston Churchill, (sloooowly) talking about the speech he gave to the House of Commons, regarding progress of the Battle of Britain - which included the quote on this magnet.

There's also a second microsite, where you can leave your Heartfelt Thanks to those in the RAF. Oh, it makes me sniffle!

Seriously, I love this campaign. It's just well-done, all around. Of course, my first instinct was to check out who produced it - a digital agency called reading room. What a terrific project for that digital team to work on.

It's not often that you're privileged to do great work for even greater causes, so cherish that.

"If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going"

Magnet #787 - 787 Dreamliner

I love tours. I've said it before, I'd take a tour of a paper bag and the factory that made it, if there were one available.

So when I was in Seattle late last year, I totally went to the Boeing plant in Everett, after hearing what a great tour they had. And, dudes. They totally had the best tour ever! It comes in a close second to the VIP WB Tour, my favorite tour ever.

Part of this enthusiasm I know is because of the work I did with Brazil's Embraer years ago - and I loved seeing the concept work, the factory shots, the brochureware that we did. Seeing a plane go from a drawing to a fully flight-tested piece of machinery that flies? In the air? With people? That's pretty freakin' cool.

So, yeah. All over this tour. On the drive in, you kinda freak out when you pass by the largest building in the world, with apparently the largest digital graphic sign in the world. It's the Boeing factory, where they build the 747, 767, 777 and the 787 Dreamliner.

The Dreamliner's the latest in the long line of airplanes from Boeing, and it basically carries 210-330 passengers depends on the airline carrier (who, by the way, decides exactly how many bodies they want to fit. So Delta, when you're squeezing us in, it's your fault, not the manufacturers. I'm just sayin.). It's been a long time coming, and they finally testflighted it the week after I was there. They've got several big orders on the line, so it's cool that the 787 Dreamliner program is finally...getting off the ground. (Sorry, I had to!)

The 787's supposed to fly more people for less fuel and energy and time, and uses soooo many different parts from so many different places, the darn thing has its own plane! They've had to retrofit the 747-400 into a cargo plane called the Dreamlifter. It's sooo fat and cute, I love it! It was actually my favorite plane there.

The tour actually starts at the Future of Flight building, where they make you check all your electronics. Dudes. My blackberry and my cell. Talk about trauma. I was a little freaked out over not having either on my person. For two hours. Heh. But, the corporate video was pretty good - you have to love a good corporate video. If they're good, they make you tear up, and go, dang, what a great company! Then again, a lot of their corporate ads do much the same for me anyway.

Then, they pile you all into a motor coach, and you get driven out to the giant factory - where you get to enter from the basement...which was supercool. It's like miles and miles of corridor, I would bet money any action flick would so want to use for a location shoot. The coolest thing ever. You can totally pretend that you're in that action flick. As I was. In my head, of course. Saving the world from evul. Right from the bowels of the Boeing factory.

They take you up to the factory, and you get to walk around on a bird's nest type level, where you're above all the action, but totally seeing it all. How they're riveting the planes together, how they're putting components together, how they're painting. From start to finish.

And it's not just one plane, it's like several. At one time. Turn here, and here's where the nose is being attached. Turn here, and here's where the tail section's being attached. Turn here, and the wings are getting ready to be riveted on. That's just how big the building it - several, several football fields big! It's amazing! They apparently have 1,300 bikes to help the factory's 30,000 employees get around.

After a quick trip around the tarmac, the tour ends with a ride back to the admin building, and of course, a trip to the gift shop - seriously, I could have walked out with like a dozen magnets. Restraint, people, that's also what I learned there. Plus, they hand you a superfun, and of course, well-designed DVD piece filled with fact sheets. What? It's part of what I do for a living, look at what other people's branding! Mind you, it's not like I'm running out to buy a plane, but still - fun!

But, no best tour ever would be the best tour ever without the best tour guide ever. And that's what we had. The best tour guide ever. No, seriously. He knew his stuff, he was a former Boeing designer, a former serviceman, and it helped that he was a funny, funny guy.

The fun part for me, is that he was also a Big Band guy. No, like he plays in a Big Band combo. He's a little young for that generation - like my dad, he was born a bit after his time. But you know that sax part in Peggy Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree? Totally him, when he was like 16! It was Christmastime, and I literally had just heard that song on the way in. He was tickled. As was I.

But, then, he went on about how he knew a few people from the actual Glenn Miller Orchestra. I love Glenn Miller! Because I'm secretly a 90-year-old chick in a mid-30s body! But whatever!

The dude even had a couple of Glenn Miller orchestrations - one of which was American Patrol, the song my dad hummed to us growing up. So, yes, in the middle of the Boeing plant in Everett, WA, I held up my hands and did the hand dance my dad always made us do, as I hummed along with the tour guide. What?

Like I said, best. tour. ever.

It's time to say thank you

Magnet #471 - World War II Memorial

Theme weekend! I was going to use this World War II Memorial magnet for Memorial Day, but this D-Day weekend works just as well, if not better.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the dedication of the memorial, built to honor the 16 million who served during WWII, the more than 400,000 who died, plus the millions more here at home who helped in the war effort.

It's one of those things where you wonder why it took almost 60 years before a national memorial was built for the WWII veterans. The truth was that there were dozens of local memorials, but nothing on a national level. Then, the right veteran wrote the right letter to the right member of congress, and the rest is history.

And, it's a fascinating history - American Battle Monuments Commission couldn't build the memorial without the funds to build and maintain it in perpetuity. What'd they do? Raise twice as much money as they needed.

They needed someone to help drive the fundraising, what happened? Tom Hanks mentioned the memorial during an awards ceremony and money started flooding in, and he became the national spokesperson, with a couple of commercials telling everyone that it was time to say thank you.

The design itself is as fascinating a story as its history - again one of those stone memorials that say so much. The design of it is quite intricate, from the two pavilions - one for the Atlantic and the Pacific, to the pillars for each state, to the incorporation of the existing rainbow pool, and the Freedom Wall, a field of 4,000 gold stars, representing the 400,000 that were killed. There's also the bronze eagles and wheat, and inscriptions, and bas reliefs, and I could go on and on. Luckily, someone recorded a tour! Whoa.

Dedication weekend 2004 was amazing - it ended up being a four-day Tribute to a Generation, with concerts and ceremonies around town, and presentations and exhibits on the Mall, all culminating in the dedication of the memorial. It's so funny, though I worked on the advertising team for the memorial, I didn't go down to help out with the dedication team.

Instead, my sister and I volunteered for the Smithsonian's reunion weekend, which was even more fabulous than I could ever have thought.

It was the largest gathering of the World War II generation before or since. One particular tent we worked in was the Reunion Hall - it's where all the vets could come in and hang out, sharing stories with each other and with the volunteers. But best of all, they could post notes for men/women in their battalions and fighter groups and bases, or whatever designation they were seeking. Meet me here, are you still alive, would love to talk and catch up - some of the loveliest notes. And watching them reunite with hugs and tears in their eyes after so long was just the best thing - ever. Smithsonian photos are here, but here's a fantastic aerial shot of the ceremony, where you can see all the way back to the stage toward the Capitol.

Still to this day, it's one of the best weekends of my life. It just made you want to thank everyone in uniform everywhere. So thank you.

Later that year, my parents went to visit it, and according to my sister, as my dad (a baby boomer born at the tail end of the war) was walking around, someone came up to him and said very somberly...thank you.

Seeing this thing through

Magnet #334 - Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Whew! Big day yesterday, huh.

Amidst a flurry of Facebook statuses that were all over the place - from extreme jubilation and awe, to hand-wringing and portents of doom (No surprise, since my FB friends are pretty much evenly divided between New York and North Carolina.) - one status stuck out for me:

"____ ____ says whether you voted for Obama or not, you cannot and must not dismiss the historical significance of yesterday's events."

Too true.

To wit: The inclusion of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Apparently, the Obama campaign invited the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen to the inauguration. And about 200 accepted. Which makes me even happier that my sister and her fiance went to visit this national historic site, and brought me back this magnet.

You can learn a lot more here, or by watching the movie, but if you don't know, the Tuskegee Airmen were the only all-black fighter group to fly in WWII. The then-segregated military was under pressure to expand the role of African Americans in the war effort. And so the Army Air Corps began their great "military experiment" at a small black college - Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington - in Alabama.

They already had a civilian flight program in place, but in the end, the Tuskegee Airmen included the airmen (pilots, navigators, bombardiers), their instructors, and maintenance and support staff. These men and women trailblazed their way through history, trying to overcome segregation and prejudice, and proving themselves one of the most respected fighter groups in the War.

And, in July 1948, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order No. 9981 which provided for "equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." This order marked the first time a president used an executive order to implement civil rights principles, widely considered a major victory for civil rights advocates.

Flashforward 60 years, where a man by the name of Spann Watson, from Westbury, NY, and several of his fighter group, journeyed to DC to see Barack Obama become president. Mr. Watson's 92 years old! And flew in formation for Harry Truman's inauguration ceremonies!

C'mon. How amazing is that?

His "Invitation to History" was captured in this NYTimes video.

Bring tissue.

Never again

Magnet #289 - USS Arizona Memorial

"December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

- FDR's Pearl Harbor Speech

I've never been to this naval memorial, but from all accounts, it's one of those that you never forget. The USS Arizona had 1,177 souls aboard, when she went down - that's just over half of those 2,335 killed at Pearl Harbor. Most of them are still down there, considered buried at sea by the Navy, making this place not only a memorial, but a haunting war grave.

I'll be honest, it feels weird to write this magnetpost about this memorial that I haven't seen, and still be so moved by it, while writing it.

So, I'm taking the easy way out, and just pointing you to the National Park Service site, as well as this other USS Arizona Preservation site, dedicated to the preservation of the ship below.

Before Bath

Magnet#278 - Bath - Roman Baths

My sister brought this back from her Great, Great Britain tour, but many years ago, a friend and I made it a quick daytrip. Both of us were avid romance readers, and any romance reader worth her salt knows all about Almack's, White's, Gretna Green, and the restorative waters at the Pump Room in Bath.

As we trained our way west, we made friends with this trio of guys, alpha-maled by this guy named Mario. Or Mary-o, if you're an ex-military guy turned cop from Queens. So adorable. Still have the fun pictures.

He and his friends were headed to Southampton to catch the English Channel ferry to go volunteer for the D-Day 50th Anniversary ceremony. Time passed, and soon the guys were asking us to ditch our Bath trip, in favor of hanging out with them in Southampton until time for them to leave.

After a bit of furtive debate, we stuck to our guns to go to the place of romantic legends, versus making a little romantic legend of our own. A year later Before Sunrise came out, the movie where Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy met on EuroRail, and ever since, I've always wondered what would have happened if we had ended up going with them, besides being late for class the next day.

Turns out, as I was looking this Google map tonight, I realized Southampton isn't really on the way to Bath.

I'm just sayin'. Yay, not dead!

Kiss and tell

Magnet #263 - Times Square

I ransacked my walls looking for an appropriate Veterans Day magnet that didn't center in on just one branch of the military. Not surprisingly, I think I do have a magnet from each.

But, I think this will do for my feel-good post.

I worked on the advertising team for the World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and, while doing a photosearch through the National Archives collection, I came across that iconic V-J day in Times Square image.

You know the one - where the sailor's kissing that nurse in the middle of Times Square?

Did ya'll know that no one knew for sure who that couple was? I remember being scandalized when I found out that they weren't actually a couple!

Apparently, when word came across the ticker that Japan had surrendered, everyone poured into the streets of Times Square and celebrated the end of the War, in and out of bars, strangers kissing strangers, etc. I just love how Alfred Eisenstaedt, the photographer, was running around in the middle of the madhouse, snapping pictures. Must have been insane. But, I guess it explains how even Eisenstaedt couldn't say for sure who the kissing couple was.

Over the years, several people have come forward to say it was them, and have backed it up with forensics analysis, even. In the end, the two that are widely accepted are Edith Shain and Glenn McDuffie.

So how terrific is it that the 90-year-old Ms. Shain will be serve as the grand marshal at today's Veterans Day Parade in NYC!

Totally makes me all sniffly.

So, today's Veterans Day, and with it comes a big Thank You to all veterans - here, and around the world.

I shall return

Magnet #241 - MacArthur Memorial

When I was young, my dad somehow got me interested in reading about the only 5-star generals ever. There were only five of them: George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry H. Arnold, and Omar N. Bradley.

Like most Filipinos of the post-WWII generation, my dad had a special interest in General MacArthur, whose famous speech promised his return to help save the Philippines from Japanese Occupation. And today, in 1944 (about two months before my dad was born), MacArthur made good on his promise, and landed back on the island of Leyte. This famous image of the landing is forever stamped on the minds of Filipinos the world over.

So, it's no surprise that we totally had to visit the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA. I mean, how could we not. It's a great way to spend a quiet morning - a small museum of his personal belongings, he and his wife's final resting place, visitors center, a library and archives, and, duh, a little shop!

Mind you, MacArthur was a hard man, impatient and often at odds with his superiors. That's what I got from the books. But, I got second-hand confirmation, eventually. One holiday, we had some company over - this family and their grandfather who used to keep my sisters and me when we were little. During dinner, somehow MacArthur came up, and old Grandpa Joe, (whom I'd known for 20 years but didn't know he was a vet), sat at the head of the table listening to the conversation, and in mixed tone of admiration and ire, busts out with, "MacArthur! Now, he was a son of a bitch!"

Down the Jersey Shore

Magnet #163 - Cape May, NJ

Soooo, yesterday, if you'd said that I'd spend my sister's big birthday weekend down the Jersey Shore, I'd probably have laughed at you. Mostly, because ya'll know how I detest beaches. But also because for some reason beyond me, I didn't associate either Atlantic City or Cape May, NJ, part of the Jersey Shore.

Clearly, both are next to the water, but I just didn't think about it.

We spent much of today in Cape May - the only town in all of America designated as a historic landmark - looking at the supercute Victorians, visiting the lighthouse, running around the little shops, and yes, walking on the beach and even(!) dipping a toe or two or ten in the freezing cold Atlantic.

The best surprise of yesterday was a giant elephant (yep, I'll eventually get to that in a later magnetpost), but the coolest surprise of today was seeing a World War II bunker on the beach. I've been to Normandy, and seen the WWII bunkers there, so, seeing a bunker on a beach shouldn't have been so jarring. But, I honestly hadn't a clue that we had our own bunkers on U.S. soil. How cool is that. A little scary, but still cool.

Also a little scary? How much food one can consume in a weekend. Between the Philly cheesesteak taste tests between Pat's and Geno's in Philly (jury's still out), the Borgata buffet (pretty damn good, though the Bellagio's better), and seafood (seeing as how it was the beach) along the shore, I'm surprised I didn't just roll down the railroad tracks back up to NYC. Yikes.