805. Detailed

805. Detailed
Definition: (adj) made or done with great care
Location Placed: Buckingham Valley Vineyards, Buckingham, Pennsylvania
Date Placed: 10/29/16 at 4:42pm





While I was not as impressed with their fruit wine selection, the grounds were really lovely. We took a stroll among the "wine trees" (grape vines) and enjoyed our lunch in their covered picnic area. It was such a wonderfully mild day, although getting a little windy at points. They also had a really neat wine cellar with a bit more information on their wines. According to the grape-wine folks, they enjoyed the reds and whites more than the previous vineyard. Not to mention we got to keep our tasting glasses!

804. Stimulating

804. Stimulating
Definition: (adj) encouraging or arousing interest or enthusiasm
Location Placed: Rose Bank Winery, Newtown, Pennsylvania
Date Placed: 10/29/16 at 2:57pm





As a non-wine drinker, I was not feeling particularly enthusiastic about tasting wines. I am not a fan of grape-based wines that I've tried, but did find a different fruit wine to be alright. I love visiting vineyards and wineries as they are often very pretty locations, with very knowledgeable staff. I enjoy a good poke around nature and seeing how things are made. They had a larger section on the website for their non-grape based wines, so I was very keen on seeing how I felt about those. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by how much I genuinely enjoyed some of the ones I tried. Particularly the Spiced Apple (apple, cinnamon, cloves), Cappuvino (coffee based wine), and Hallowine (apple, pumpkin, spices). All quite sweet, so no more than a small glass a piece, but extremely delicious varieties! I think all of us tasting agree that those were all great flavors, and the rest of us were split on the other types we enjoyed. (The grape-based wines were apparently nothing to write home about, but the non-grape wines certainly were!) I absolutely would recommend going in for a tasting if you're there. They have 8 tickets for a couple sips of wine, with several seasonal varieties as "freebies".

806. Ready

806. Ready
Definition: (adj) easily available or obtainable
Location Placed: Provident Bank, Manalapan, New Jersey
Date Placed:10/28/16 at 12:00pm





As it sometimes happens, the cranes managed to be placed out of order this time. But it's alright, all that matters is they managed to get placed at some point in time! I remembered this was a bank that I hadn't stopped at before for a crane placement, so I did one on the fly. So far, I've not been discovered as placing any cranes at a bank. Since they have cameras, and we've established that I wind up looking irrationally guilty when placing cranes, I'm surprised that no one has called me out. Only at The UPS Store did an employee utilize the security cameras to find me!

803. Cultivate

803. Cultivate
Definition: (v) to try to acquire or develop
Location Placed: Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/28/16 at 1:21pm





I had been wanting to go visit Drumthwacket, which is the mansion of the New Jersey state governor, for many years. They give tours only 1pm on Wednesday's Fall-Winter-Spring. Although most governor's don't end up living there full time, they do often work out of the house or hold functions there. It's a gorgeous mansion where we were able to tour the first floor and some of the grounds. True to form, my favorite room was the library. It was styled after the old British style University libraries, dark with a fireplace, tall bookcases, and comfy chairs, it was breathtakingly wonderful. I would 100% live there if I were governor and would spend all of my time in the library, around all of my governor-ly duties, of course.

If you get the chance, and it's difficult with only a small visiting window, I highly recommend you check out Drumthwacket for the free tour. It does require advanced registration but only so they can make sure to check you off as they wait for folks for the tour to start. I hear they dress up the place really nice for Christmas visits.

802. Significant

802. Significant
Definition: (adj) sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy
Location Placed: Marlboro Library, Marlboro, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 12:29pm





 What better way to conclude a day of placing by coming full circle and placing the last crane of the day at a library! Not planned that way, but a happy coincidence. You'd think I'd run out of local libraries to place at, but you may be happily surprised to find out just how many libraries are out there. It seems like each town has their own, even if it's not a part of the larger county network. I may take stock in the near future and see if I can do a full day of placing at different libraries! You guys might get tired about my talk of books and library love.

801. Imperturbable

801. Imperturbable
Definition: (adj) unable to be upset or excited; calm
Location Placed: Marlboro Post Office, Marlboro, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 12:15pm





Although I often stop in to certain places I deem good for crane placing and then not get anything, I realized I actually did need to pick up some stamps! There are so many adorable stamps out there. My current personal favorite at the National Parks System stamps. I am a big fan of our park system, so I am happy to send the few pieces of mail I do send with those stamps on it. People rarely take the time to notice the stamps on their letters, but I am always quick to appreciate a really neat stamp. Even more so do I appreciate them when they are international!

800. Precocious

800. Precocious
Definition: (adj) unusually advanced or mature in development
Location Placed: The UPS Store, Matawan, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 11:55am





800 cranes. It's just crazy to me to look back on all the cranes I've made, the places I've gone, and the wonderful finders I've come across. It's been such a rewarding project, and I look forward to placing the remaining 200. It's been a wild ride, and I don't want to slack off when I'm in the home stretch!

799. Equanimous

799. Equanimous
Definition: (adj) even-tempered
Location Placed: Starbucks, Matawan, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 11:54am





Do you ever see a word and think it just looks... wrong? That maybe you're losing your mind, but it doesn't look quite right? Equanimous looked that way to me. I may, or may not, but definitely may, have incorrectly spelled a word on a crane a time or two. And this word is not one I manage to use rarely, if at all. However, despite my spell-check giving me the red squiggle of anger over it, this word is correctly spelled. It just looks off, and doesn't seem to sound like it ought. English is weird guys!

798. Sane

798. Sane
Definition: (adj) reasonable, sensible
Location Placed: Matawan-Aberdeen Train Station, Matawan, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 11:43am





I had never been to this train station before, but have gone through it to get to New York City many a time. The trains have an automated message system for each stop. They say the station name, and then in an oddly ominous voice, "When leaving the train...", back to a more pleasant voice, "...please watch the gap." Even typing this, I can hear that voice angrily saying the first part of the sentence and carefully instructing for the second part. It makes me wonder how that message was created and whether or not the message intent was created to sound that way, or if it was just a sheer accident.

797. Tact

797. Tact
Definition: (n) adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others
Location Placed: Matawan Library, Matawan, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 11:26am





This is one of my favorite paper types to make cranes with. Who could say no to origami cranes made with origami animals printed on it?! Sometimes you have to take joy in the little things such as leaving a favorite paper folded crane in a library, which we all know is one of my favorite places. Such a fun library with its split level construction and fun color patterned upper level for kids. Definitely killing it in the library game, that's for sure!

796. Perspective

796. Perspective
Definition: (n) true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion
Location Placed: Matawan Post Office, Matawan, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 11:20am





Having never been to downtown Matawan before, I thought it was quite adorable! It had a main central street with all the small town feeling usual shops. Obviously the post office, several quaint eateries, banks, with people walking about. It reminds me of my hometown, but considerably more plentiful on the shop front. It's the sort of place that I imagine has Halloween costume contests, Christmas tree lighting and caroling, sled riding on a hill (I didn't see any, but there probably is one), and Memorial Day parades. That's the sort of small town feel I imagine for it.

795. Enough

795. Enough
Definition: (adv) to a moderate degree; fairly
Location Placed: Rook Coffee, Middletown, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 10:18am





As I am not much a coffee person, I love going in to Rook Coffee for their iced teas. The only downfall is that they only have them in the summer. Unfortunately the day I went was no longer a day they were selling them. Drat! I'll have to wait again until next year.

794. Prestigious

794. Prestigious
Definition: (adj) inspiring respect and admiration; having high status
Location Placed: Middletown Post Office, Middletown, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 10:09am





Thankfully no one was in the post office when I got there. Sometimes I worry that I will be seen leaving a crane, and then in turn worry that I look suspicious while leaving a crane. I imagine myself looking like a furtive cartoon character, trench coat, sunglasses, and all. Nevermind the fact that I don't even own a trench coat, and in over 750 placements, I've only been "caught" once. Perhaps I'll finally get in the groove by the time I hit my 1000th crane placement...

793. Assure

793. Assure
Definition: (v) tell someone something positively or confidently to dispel any doubts they may have
Location Placed: The UPS Store, Middletown, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 10:04am





Are you ever struck, when looking at greeting cards, by just the sheer number of them out there? How we end up having to pick up so many just to get the perfect one for that special someone, that beloved family member, that cherished friend? Each and every one of those cards are different and were printed because someone thought they were cute, or funny, or conveyed the right type of message. But, of course, when we're going through them, we come across ones and wonder, "Who would ever think of buying this?" That's the beauty of it though. We're all so different and like different things. There's a greeting card out there for everyone.

792. Inviting

792. Inviting
Definition: (adj) offering the promise of an attractive or enjoyable experience
Location Placed: Middletown Public Library, Middletown, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 9:54am





It's crazy how life sometimes happens and then a lot of time passes before you manage to get back to writing the blogs you kept putting off. Eek! But I am back now to catch up on a dozen or so cranes that I am behind. Thanks for sticking with me!

I had a day off to do some poking around, and opted to do so in an area I've never been. And if you know anything about me by now, it's that I can't avoid a good library. The Middletown Library was quite a bit larger than I expected. I would've loved to do a lot more exploring but it would've been too much of a temptation to go around looking at books I wouldn't be able to select since it wasn't my home library. Just know I certainly wanted to!