415. Adaptable

415. Adaptable
Definition: (adj) able to adjust to new conditions
Location Placed: Morven House and Gardens, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 1:25pm





Much of my day trip emphasized my adaptability to my own schedule. There was definitely a lot of rearranging. In this instance, I realized I was far closer to Morven than my car. Rather than walk back to my car and drive to Morven to then drive to other destinations, I opted to walk there and was able to catch the last tour of the day. (Not to mention I was a bit bummed because I was out of cranes and definitely had more places I could've put them. Note to self: don't leave spare cranes in car; always carry them with you!) But it was a nice house and grounds, not to mention the lovely battlefield memorial that I passed by to get there!

414. Plucky

414. Plucky
Definition: (adj) having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties
Location Placed: Princeton Public Library, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 1:25pm
Status: FOUND!





I hadn't even gotten home yet and I had an email waiting for me from the finder of Plucky!

"Hello,

Just wanted to drop a line and say you brightened my day! I work at the Princeton Public Library and was making my rounds and tidying up when I found crane #414 (Plucky) hanging out on a table between two comfy chairs. Obviously I had to go check out your website and saw you also placed a crane at the Jackson library in my hometown where I worked during high school! I am really inspired by your mission to spread a little joy around. I will be taking Plucky on my ride home (about an hour across the state) and finding a neat place to "re-release" him (her?).

Sincerely,
Elizabeth"

She also brought up a few other good ideas that I might have to do some thinking on. I was so happy to see this in my inbox. It reminds me that I'm not just putting pieces of paper in random places but I'm helping to bring smiles and brighten days. Glad I could reach at least one person today!

413. Banter

413. Banter
Definition: (n) a playful exchange of teasing remarks
Location Placed: Labyrinth Books, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 1:06pm





So for some reason, I've become obsessed with acquiring (and reading) all of Bill Bryson's books that I've not yet read. Not sure exactly what brought this desire on. I've read 4 or 5 of his books, starting in 2006. So it's not like I have just recently heard of him and need to read all the books. But I had to pop into the bookstore and see if they had any sort of deal on the remaining Bill Bryson books. They didn't carry the few I am looking for but it was nice to pop into a local bookstore rather than a megachain store. (But I love me some books any which way!)

412. Frisky

412. Frisky
Definition: (adj) playful and full of energy
Location Placed: Bainbridge House, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 12:56pm





The Bainbridge House is part of the Princeton Historical Society. So there was a little bit of everything in there. Some information about the house, who owned it, and how it got its name were in there, but the majority of it was related to Albert Einstein and his residence in Princeton. (I believe the house is now a private residence, so it makes sense that they have put a lot of the bits and pieces into other museums and areas.) It was interesting to learn a bit more about his history and achievements.

411. Courtly

411. Courtly
Definition: (adj) polished or refined
Location Placed: Frist Campus Center, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 12:27pm





I particularly liked the Frist Campus Center. This might have been mainly due to the fact that I have been a large House, M.D. fan when it was on the air. The back of this building, and the surrounding buildings, are the overhead shots when you see Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital exterior during the course of an episode. (PP Hospital is a fictional hospital.) While it took a bit of looking, some head scratching, and some googling images of the Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital from House, I decided it must be the helicopter angle and was pleased enough to have seen it.

410. Earnest

410. Earnest
Definition: (adj) resulting from or showing intense conviction
Location Placed: Rocky Common Area, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 12:05pm





What a common room!! I was impressed by the dormitory common room in this one college, Rockefeller (or Rocky as it is charmingly called.) The tour guide even commented that it looked downright Hogwarts-esque. I think she even mentioned that a portion of a movie was filmed in this common area. (A Beautiful Mind,maybe, but don't hold me to it!) Maybe it was because I went to a much smaller school, but none of our common areas were so elegant as this one. I hope these students realize how good they have it!

409. Jocular

408. Jocular
Definition: (adj) humorous or playful
Location Placed: Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 11:44am





This is the chapel were students of a graduating class, or at least the same year in school, gather together. It is apparently the only building large enough to hold such a group of students. It sounded like they had a similar ritual to where I went to school by greeting students in their freshman year in the chapel and wishing them well at the end of their time on campus. Definitely a beautiful building. Fun fact: The architect was actually a Yale alum. During the building of the chapel, the architect actually put the Yale mascot, a bulldog, on one of the back drain pipes "to get the last laugh." However, the tour guide informed us that Princeton still got the last laugh as Yale is "in the gutter where they belong." Who doesn't love good-spirited rivalry!?

408. Quizzical

408. Quizzical
Definition: (adj) indicating mild or amused puzzlement
Location Placed: Clio Hall Undergraduate Admissions, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 11:13am





The best way to get to know a place is to take a tour. So I did! I jumped on to a campus tour with a few dozen prospective students and their parents. It made me feel quite old! But it was nice to have fond memories of the campus tours I went on when I was searching for a school. While I didn't apply to any schools in New Jersey (and my high school academics weren't on par with Princeton's standards), I definitely was able to put myself in the shoes of an incoming student and get excited about the campus. Heck, they had basically sold me on it!

407. Sapient

407. Sapient
Definition: (adj) wise or trying to appear wise
Location Placed: Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 11:04am





As I tend to do, I packed my itinerary a bit tight (and woke up a bit late!) and wasn't able to properly see the art museum. I had intentions of going back later on in the afternoon after several of the other things I planned closed, but with free parking being so far away and it being late in the afternoon, I just opted to skip it. But I was able to get a few glimpses from outside as I had a quick nose around the gift shop. I definitely want to go back and check it out because it's free and fabulous (from what I hear!)

406. Amity

406. Amity
Definition: (n) a friendly relationship
Location Placed: Lewis Library, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 6/8/12 at 10:42am





So I decided to take a day trip out to Princeton today on my day off. I had heard of an interesting garden I wanted to see a few weeks back. Today seemed to be the perfect sort of weather day to go exploring. I had never been to Princeton before, University or town, so I was excited to see what it was all about. Boy is the campus big! I got lost just getting to one of the visitors parking lots!