Philcon 2022

      Friday, November 18, 2022: The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) played host to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference (Philcon) at the same hotel as last year, but with a different name: DoubleTree by Hilton, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. After I registered, I visited the Convention Suite (Con Suite). Just like last year, the con committee offered plenty of snacks, soft drinks, chances to talk with other science fiction fans (SF fans), and views of Route 70. Later, I spent most of my time recruiting our space exploration support club, National Space Society/Philadelphia Area Space Alliance (NSS/PASA), at a fan table in one of the main hallways. Again, just like past years, Philcon offered different kinds of activities and programming: animation, art, and costuming, as well as music, gaming, literary, media, science, etc. PSFS also offered workshops in writing, and other stuff to see and do. Anyway, a few hours later, I headed home for the night. 

     Saturday, November 19: I started Philcon’s busiest day by visiting the Art Show. For 2022, I noticed that there seemed to be a little more SF and space art—about one-third, and the rest displayed fantasy art. Meanwhile, about three-fourths of the art medium exhibited paintings and drawings, and the remainder showed other kinds of art: sculptures, quilts, jewelry, and so forth. Overall this room was about the size of a small art museum. Then I spent the rest of the day at the NSS/PASA table where I noticed other clubs and conventions promoting their interests. (It’s a great way to meet other SF fans because almost everybody stops at our table or passes by: I stay in one space, and the con comes to me!)
     That night I watched the Masquerade. I was disappointed to see only nine costume entries, and all of them wore fantasy costumes. Earlier, I also glanced at hall costumes when I was at the NSS/PASA table, and in some cases, they looked better than the costumes in the Masquerade. (If for no other reason, you should go to Philcon to show off your costume in the Masquerade. Philcon also sells one-day memberships in case you don’t want to attend for the whole weekend.)

     Sunday, November 20: As Philcon wound down on the third day, I stepped into the Dealers’ Room. Just like other years and similar to other literary-based SF cons, about half of the dealers sold reading materials in the form of books, magazines, comic books, and fanzines. The other half of the dealers sold other merchandise: jewelry, accessories, and toys, as well as games, clothing, models, posters, and so on. I ended up buying a few books. For the rest of my time at Philcon, I sat at the NSS/PASA table before I headed home.     

New Jersey Counties I Visited

      When I turned 50 in 2006, I decided to visit 12 places each year in my home state of New Jersey. Therefore, in this order, I visited and wrote about the following:
2006: I visited 12 major attractions in different parts of NJ and wrote about them in The State I’m In, Issue #1.
2007: I visited more major attractions, and the reports about them appeared in The State I’m In, Issue #2.
2008: I visited even more major attractions that appeared in The State I’m In, Issue #3.
2009: 12 places in Atlantic City in The State I’m In, Issue #4.
2010: 12 places in Sussex County in The State I’m In, Issue #5.
2011: 12 places in Morris County in The State I’m In, Issue #6. 

     Starting in 2012, I started a twice a year publication called The Column from 2012 through 2019. In those issues I wrote about visiting 12 places, six places in each issue, about a different county in NJ—and about other places outside of NJ:
2012: Warren County
2013: Somerset County
2014: Hunterdon County
2015: Passaic County
2016: Bergen County
2017: Hudson County
2018: Essex County
2019: Union County

     I didn’t go anywhere in 2020, but I made up for it in 2021 and 2022, and those reports are in Dotty’s Dimensions Blog. 

Howell Living History Farm

      Tuesday, August 2, 2022: After becoming more educated about water conservation earlier in the day, after lunch, I learned more about farming, circa 1890 to 1910, at this Mercer County, New Jersey place: Howell Living History Farm, 70 Woodens Lane, Hopewell Township (609-737-3299). After I picked up a map of their 130-acre farm, I learned that parts of the farm went back to the 1700s. Through the years, different owners ran this farm until the last owner, Inez Howell, donated the farm in 1974 to Mercer County in the hope that people, and especially children, would experience farm life as she knew it. Therefore, the Mercer County Park Commission has been restoring this farm to the way it would have looked around the turn of the 20th century. As I walked through the property, I noticed fields, fences, and a garden, as well as an orchard, pond, and plenty of buildings! Those farm buildings included barns, a corn crib, and an equipment shed, as well as a wagon house, outhouse, farmhouse, etc. I also looked at some people, many of them wearing early 20th-century-styled clothing, doing farm chores. Meanwhile, someone working here informed me that much of the food produced on this farm would be donated to local food banks. I also saw some of the farm animals: chickens, sheep, hogs, horses, and so on. Anyway, throughout the year, Howell Living History Farm presented events for the whole family to either watch or take part in. They also played host to the Mercer County 4-H Fair. While visiting this farm, you could be as active or as passive as you wished. 

Watershed Institute

     Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Many people were not aware of how important their actions could be toward water conservation and of how water & nature go hand in hand! Nevertheless, at The Watershed Institute, 31 Titus Mill Road, (Mercer County) Pennington, New Jersey (609-737-3735) I became more informed by way of the facts presented at their nature center. Here, I looked at texts, pictures, videos, and hands-on exhibits that explained in detail the need to conserve water and about the local flora & fauna of the surrounding area. Other displays showed taxidermy animals and some live animal displays. Even the flowers and plants outside were native to NJ. After seeing the nature center, I entered the nearby butterfly house where I noticed mostly monarch butterflies and a few other kinds of butterflies freely flying around and landing on the different flowers & green plants. Finally the other areas of this nearly 1000-acre parkland included a weather station, a historic farmstead, an organic farm, and several trails for hiking. If nothing else, I became more enlightened about where my water came from and how it became clean enough for drinking.  

130 Farmers' Market

 

    Tuesday, July 12, 2022: After being at the Robbinsville Farmers’ Market earlier that day, I went to another Mercer County, New Jersey farmers’ market: 130 Farmers’ Market, 370 US-130, Town Center Shopping Center, East Windsor (near Hightstown) (609-308-2654). Unlike the earlier open-air farmers’ market in Robbinsville, this market looked like a mid-sized food store in a modern shopping plaza along busy Route 130. Inside, instead of vendors, the store management sold different foods on consignment, and it reminded me of typical supermarket—at first glance. On its 9,520 square feet, I noticed plenty of fresh produce, dairy, and meats. I also viewed jarred foods, packaged foods, baked goods, etc. In addition, I even found certain foods that I couldn’t find in my local supermarkets! While this market didn’t appear as quaint as the earlier farmers’ market, the foods seemed just as fresh. 

Robbinsville Farmers' Market

     Tuesday, July 12, 2022: If you read some of my past blogs, you would know that I enjoyed visiting farmers’ markets! On the date above, I visited one in Mercer County, New Jersey: Robbinsville Farmers’ Market, 66 Sharon Road, Robbinsville (609-259-3600). Although it wasn’t a large market, there were over 20 profit vendors selling mostly edible merchandise: produce, baked goods, and dairy, as well as jarred foods, packaged foods, and snacks. The non-edible items for sale included candles, crafts, soaps, and so forth. I also noticed a few non-profit vendors promoting their causes. Meanwhile, the market was located on a former golf course that has now been parkland containing a butterfly garden, a community garden, and walking paths. It made for a pleasant hour for me.  

Huber Woods Park

     Wednesday, July 6, 2022: After doing the scenic tour of Ocean Grove, New Jersey earlier that day, I visited another place in Monmouth County, NJ: Huber Woods Park, 25 Brown’s Dock Road, Locust (Middletown Township) (732-872-2670). The Huber Family donated this house and grounds to the Monmouth County Parks system in 1974. This 103-acre land has grown through the years to 390 acres, thanks to other nearby land donations. Meanwhile, this park contained over eight miles of trails: some for walking and others for both walking & riding horses. Those trails ranged from easy, to moderate, to challenging hiking. Because I was still tired and aching from my walk in Ocean Grove, I mainly visited first, the reptile house that showed cases of live snakes and turtles as well as frogs (amphibians). Afterward, I spent most of my time in the environmental center. Here, I found myself drawn to one of the rooms exhibiting text, pictures, and some items that explained more about the Huber Family and about the flora & fauna of the surrounding woods. Nevertheless, my favorite room gave a detailed account about the history and lifestyles of NJ’s first people: the Lenni-Lenapes! Besides texts, pictures, and items to look at, this area also contained plenty of “hands-on” exhibits that looked like it would be popular with children. This place even had areas where children could sit down and read books written for them about the Lenapes as well as about the nearby animal and plant life. Another room I liked presented cases of models of animals, both wood carved and taxidermy while another side of the room provided a big window with bird feeders outside where I could sit and watch different birds eating. If nothing else, a visit here could make you more aware of the environment around you and about the people who first lived here.