Stalking Bon Jovi in New Jersey :)

I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses...
For the night I sleep on a bed of nails...

Remember this song?
Yuuup, Bed of roses...beautifully sung by Bon Jovi..

Well, to get straight to the point, I am such a big fan....

I have most of their albums (in cassettes and CDs, back to the 90 ;) ) and I do remember those lyrics. I keep singing their songs whenever I have the chance in the band or wild karaoke night..

I remember when I was in high school, I gotta chance to actually see their live performance!  Oh my gosh. ..Bon Jovi performing live! Quite a dream come true :).

I was luckily saving enough money to buy the ticket, come to Jakarta, and watch their concert in Ancol. 
Jon Bon Jovi, Tico Torres, Richie Sambora, Alex John Such and David Bryan...welcome to Indonesia :)

the complete formation :)

I remembered singing along with the band for more than 2 hours and there was a guy, big, bouncer body and tattoos and hard look on his face. And guess what...by the time Jon was serenading us with Bed of Roses, he was crying like a baby! I was so taken a back and didn't know what to react...laughing out loud or crying together with him :).

What a great memory!  

So, while we're here in the US, I really hope we can see Bon Jovi performing live again. Meanwhile, he's also living in SoHo apartment here in NYC and his lovely hometown, New Jersey, is just an-hour drive from Astoria :). 

After searching in TripAdvisor, where I'm one of their senior contributors :), about all Bon Jovi-related places in New Jersey, I got this long list of places associated to this band. All set then...

it was such a ling list indeed. But our heart was set, so on one lovely weekend, we went to New Jersey and started our mini adventure ;0).

We started with the childhood house of Jon. Got its complete address,  put it on waze and voila,  we were right in front of it :) 

A lovely 2-story house in lovely neighborhood of Seryeville, New Jersey.

nice house indeed :)

Then, while Rudi, Bo et Obi were waiting in the car, I took the liberty to take selfie in front of it :). You know what they say...no photo is a hoax :). 

cheeeers...

We managed to browse around the neighborhood but the kids said they were hungry. So we were quite determined for the next destination.

 

Next on our list was Roadside Diner, where the band had the photo session for their album Crossroad. Located in Route 33/34 West in Wall Township.

It was surprisingly small and very intimate...love it! 

We were greeted by a friendly lady and we have many other customers as well at that time. 

the cover and the original diner :)

The interior of the diner was dominated by red, it matched my rocker hubby's jacket that day. So, I asked him to pose for us and he did :). 

While waiting to order, I took the liberty to look around and saw some memorabilia from Bon Jovi in this diner :). Including this precious old photo with the complete signature of the band. 

So, the kids wanted to have burgers, cheese fries and hot choco milk. 

Bo and Obi devoured those plates with no complaints.














I get all those fresh cut fries and big plate of fresh veggies plus pickles. A typical American plate that you will definitely love. 

We enjoyed the cheese fries  as well, with pepper jack, my fave :). 

french fries with cheese...

While enjoying our warm food, the weather outside was brightly freezing. 
So we really took our time inside this cozy diner and peeked the list again. 
And we took more pictures as well here and there, as always :).

Obi, Jon (on the wall) and I :)

in front of the diner :)

Of course we still have a lot on the list, but we decided to head to Asbury Park and see the Stone Pony, one of the clubs where the band was performing on their early career.

It was another 20 minutes drive from the diner but Asbury Park, by the North Atlantic Ocean, is beautiful. It was just the freezing wind that stop me from exploring the area. And the sleepy kids :)

If only the weather were warm...

So, we only managed to stay around for a while and took picture of the Stone Pony from outside. 




Well, we had to cut the tour short but we were quite content with our trip today. We might want to come back pretty soon and try the Soul Kitchen, Jon's restaurant that provides food for free. And I will definitely keep an eye for their next concert here in NYC :)...

DO you like Bon Jovi as well? Will you sing a long with me...

Shot through the heart, and your to blame, baby...
You give love a bad name ...

The long winter

No, this is not the review of Laura Ingalls Wilder ' s book titled the same..

The long winter...
But it feels like one..
Well, again...at least for me..

It's March and winter loves to stick around..

But I'm happy today the sun is brightly shining...

Clear blue sky, super fresh and crispy air...

Alhamdulillaaah...

This morning, the temperature dropped again to minus 11 degree Celcious...
Enough to freeze my hands, ears and nose :)

And Obi got sick...
Oh my..

It might be the virus or it might be the cold...

So she will have to stay at home today :(

get well soon, love...

Meanwhile, Abang Bo is, as always, more than happy to play outside with the snow and go to school cheerfully this morning..

It was a bit tricky to walk down the pathways due to the ice...

And we walked very slowly just to make sure we didn't slip...

In front of the school this morning...

But I know winter will be over soon..

Right?

Pretty soon I hope..

Join us on Skywatch Friday and be blessed for beautiful sky above our head :)

Happy World Wildlife Day...

Happy World Wildlife Day, people... 

March 3rd is celebrated as the World Wildlife Day. 

It is the day when the United Nation adopted the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or commonly known as CITES. Have you ever heard or known this Convention before? It has lists of endangered animals, flora and species that have to be protected as they are threathen to be extinc. My country, Indonesia, is one of the contracting parties along with other 179 countries. We have ratified this convention since 1978.

But instead of a celebration, we have a lot to ponder as sadly, more than 50% of the wildlife population have vanished from earth. 

the elephant...taken in the Parc Safari Peaugres, Lyon, France...

On the very day, the United Nations has conducted an informal meeting involving high-level panel such as the UN Deputy Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Jan Elliasson, as well as the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Sam Kutesa. We also had Mr. John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, Ms. Chelsea Clintion, the Vice Chair of Clinton Foundation and Ms. Nadya Hutagalung, the Ambassador for the UN Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP).

Photo is taken from http://www.cites.org/eng

Lets Get Serious about Wildlife Crime is the theme and needless to say it's very succinctly put and urgently needed. 

I want my kids and grand kids to be able to meet this bear as well..the one we saw on Lyon, France..

As Wildlife Crime deters sustainable development, unfortunately, this transnational organized crime has also escalated more and more amidst the increasing demands, corruption and weak government. I won't be surprised to see many still boastfully  enjoy the luxury of ivory or rare birds feathers or furs or keep those endangered animals at home as pets for their own selfish life.  Spoken eloquently about the urgent need to #StopWildlifeCrime, the panelists urgently reminded us that concerted efforts still need to be doubled and we all should be on the frontlines for this battle.

Here's the grim reminder that I got from the Facebook page of GRASP 
"The illicit trafficking in live great apes is an increasingly serious threat to chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos in Africa and orangutans in Asia, with seizures averaging 1.3 per week since 2014. It is estimated that a minimum of 220 chimpanzees, 106 orangutans, 33 bonobos, and 15 gorillas have been lost from the wild over the last 14 months, according to the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP)"

You can get more info and read more as well here. 

And I'm so proud that Nadya Hutagalung, a fellow diver and half Indonesian as well as a great TV personality, has become the newly appointed ambassador of GRASP, the UN Great Apes Survival Partnership innitiative.

picture taken from https://twitter.com/John_CITES/status/573265488601604096

Well, I have to say, I literally grow up watching her on MTV and she is still one of my favorite VJs :). Smart, super beautiful, highly committed to the wildlife conservation especially elephants and apes. So cool!

I got a chance to meet this wonderful lady when she stopped by at our Mission in NYC. An avid fellow diver, we shared the same concerns over the alarming phenomenon that . How the beauty of our nature and the wonder of the wildlife world are dangerously tampered by our own behaviour. How our kids and the next generation may not get the chance to see those amazing wild flora and fauna we have encountered now. It's pretty sad to discuss how some underwater scenes we have both enjoy may vanish soon if we don't do something about it. Nadya told me as well about the new found species of apes in here homeland, Tapanuli. That's one of the reasons why she agrees to be the ambassador of GRASP and I sincerely hope this initiative will safe more and more great apes that are left, including in my own beautiful Indonesia.

Cheers from the Library at the Indonesian Mission to the UN in NY

After all, we all should be the best protectors of out own wild fauna and flora!

Learn more about GRASP on http://www.un-grasp.org/  or get the updates from the Facebook page and we can definitely help to conserve all these endangered species.

Happy World Wildlife Day, people..

#seriousaboutwildlifecrime

WW: Heirloom necklace from East Nusa Tenggara

I have this Heirloom necklace from East Nusa Tenggara for quite some times now
But I haven't showed it here :)

It shows a pair of warrior holding shield and spears while riding their horses..
Made purely from silver...
And quite old..

Do you have an heirloom necklace as well?

Join us on Wordless Wednesday and enjoy a wonderful bloghop experience :)

Dear March...

Hi, March...

Good to see you again...
How I miss you and I know you will come with my dearest friend, Spring..

But I heard she got stuck somewhere..
Or maybe she just like to play hide-and-seek with me...
You know...just to tease me...

As she knows for sure I kinda have a thing for cold and snow...
Like embracing them every waking day and kissing them goodnight ...

I know winter will always be eerily beautiful...
With its captivating charm and biting sweetness...

But I miss my colorful world...

And I really need to have a relaxing morning without having some extra exercise every time we need to go out...

So March, please tell Spring..

that we miss her dearly...

March, 2015

New Haven, Connecticut, in a day...

I have shared some photos previously on our visit to the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut..
But not the story of browsing around this beautiful city ... yet :)

Ceritanya waktu libur long weekend yang lalu, kami sekeluarga pengen banget jalan-jalan ke tempat yang agak jauh. Tapi ternyata jadwal padat merayap karena ada Dian Pelangi, Barli Asmara, Asri Welas et Zaskia Sungkar Open Trunk Show (ngg mau rugi dong aaah :) ) dan cuaca bener-bener drop sampai minus 16. Coba ya sodara-sodara, badan biasa kegerahan begini dikasih minus dua digit yah merinding ajaaa judulnya :).

But the show must go on...
Saya harus tetap liat show, dan harus teteup jalan-jalan #halaaaah plus membuat anak-anak dan sumai tetap happy #banyakamattugasnyaaa
Namanya juga pemilik #kakigatal alias #MyItchyFeet :)
Jadi sebagai hasil compromised dengan my darling hubby plus Bo et Obi, kami menikmati museum di hari Sabtu, nonton show di hari Minggu, dan jalan ke New Haven di hari Senin..
Tuh kaaan...penuh aja kaan jadwalnya :).

While accommodating the kids' preferences, we finally decided to go to the museum on Saturday, enjoy the #OpenTrunkShow of Indonesian 4 designers on Sunday, and visit New Haven on Monday. Busy weekend indeed...

And as I said so many times (too often, perhaps), even as the weather was not very friendly, we managed to travel to New Haven on that cold day. We originally wanted to visit Mystic, but as the temperature there was even colder. We also considered visiting Mark Twain house near the area. But we finally decided to enjoy new Haven only, 1.5 hours drive from New York.

So, first destination, Yale University.
No need for further introduction...this beautiful campus stands against the time and elegantly feast our eyes. Well, after spending some times in Europe a couple years go, coming down here is like a deja vu..

look at all those details..

Gothic style architectures..
Intricate details on the doors and windows

Elegant archway here and there...
Big, spacious square ...

Me like it ;)

It was cold, but it's utterly beautiful..
The snow made everything looks so white, clean, and somehow "fluffy" :)

The kids truly enjoy the snow...until we realized how cold it was...way to cold..

Then we desperately tried to keep ourselves warm :). We originally wanted t see the Art Gallery here but since it was a holiday, the place was closed.

So, Bo et Obi chose the burger corner right in front of the square and we were saved from the fierce wind. After one big cheesy burger, mushroom for me, fries and hot chocolates, we were ready to continue our journey. 

This time, continued our drive around the area...exploring the famous port, heading to the lighthouse. But because of the snow, the road there was closed as well. But we enjoyed driving around the lovely neighborhood. 

Then we stopped in the Fort Hale Park just to see the sea was freezing. 
Yuuup...totally freezing. 
At first we just noticed that the birds were resting on the ground...which happened to be the frozen surface of the sea...
You can imagine how cold it was...

My hands were totally frozen, to..but I couldn't resist to take more pictures...
Winter is always eerily beautiful...

eerily beautiful...the charm of deep, cold winter...

Well, it was a lovely day indeed, although it was minus 16 degree Celcius :)

Then we just headed back to NYC as it was way too cold to explore the city again. But for sure I will definitely be back here...

What do you think of New Haven?