{New Jersey's Not So Bad}

Hi everyone! I was born in NJ. I was also raised in NJ. I went to college in NJ. I reside in NJ and work for the NJ Government as an ecologist. Aside from a cross country trip after college and vacations, of course, I have spent 99% of my life right here in good ol' New Jersey...not "New Joisey", thank you very much. I don't know one person who says it like that, so I have no idea where that stereotype came from. You can probably tell I'm a little overprotective about my home state. I've heard a lot of out-of-staters put it down and say how bad and polluted it is. I've also heard a lot of negative references to New Jersey on TV shows that take place in New York. Well, I travel all over the state for my job and I am very fortunate to be able to see just how beautiful it is. I was at a project up near the Meadowlands Sports Complex and afterwards, for lunch, I drove up the Palisades Parkway and went for a hike along the cliffs. See the picture below? Yes, that's New Jersey...not Maine, not Vermont...good ol' Jersey.