A tale of two friends...and the greatest song legend ever known to man

Thank goodness for friends. Thank goodness for John Lennon. And thank goodness for three-day weekends. I had the pleasure of enjoying all these things this past weekend with none other than my DINFOS buddy Jacqueline Leeker, who treked all the way from Fort Belvoir, Va., for her first real stay in New Jersey.

Saturday (Oct.9), Jackie and I went to New York City and spent the entire day being tourists. Our adventures included Ground Zero, Wall Street, Central Park (Strawberry Fields in particular), the famous Carnegie Deli, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, a couple cab rides and several confused moments on NJ transit.

My favorite part of our trip was Strawberry Fields, where we sang Beatles songs with a crowd of hippies to celebrate John Lennon's birthday. It was a truly unique experience unlike anything I've ever done - being surrounded by that many Beatles fans, everyone singing all the words, with a few acoustic guitars carrying us along tune. And people brought flowers, apples, wine - which were layered on top of the famous "Imagine" mosaic until you could barely see the tiles. Everyone had a smile on their face, everyone was singing, and the sense of peace and harmony seemed very real to me. I wish people could be like that everyday - no hate, no fighting, no selfishness - but I guess that would be asking for the impossible. But in those moments we spent at Strawberry Fields, I most definitely felt what John Lennon stood for.



Beatles fans adorn John Lennon's memorial at Strawberry Fields, Central Park, New York City,
with flowers and fruits while singing songs from "Abbey Road" on Lennon's birthday, Oct. 9, 2010.



Carnegie Deli was another story. My sense of inner peace was instantly transformed into a guilty, sinful indulgence, as I sank my teeth into a gi-normous Ruben sandwich (so large that Jackie and I had to share it!) and followed it up with the most heavenly-tasting dessert I've ever had in my life - chocolate mousse cheesecake. Oh yeah.

The rest of our weekend was spent enjoying some beautiful north Jersey landscapes (Sunrise Mountain and High Point), along with some antique shopping and lunch at Krogh's Microbrewery and Restaurant in Sparta, N.J. This place was a real find! Great microbrews and awesome food - and it's right on the beautiful Lake Mohawk.

All in all, Columbus Day weekend 2010 turned out to be pretty damn awesome.