Our basement is a place that takes a little getting used to. It's dark and primitive - the floor is dirt, and the previous owner did a lot of, shall we say, very crude and messy wiring. As I said previously, no building inspector would ever pass this place without major renovations. Service is 100A, the breaker box is...let's just say it works. I have managed to figure out how to turn most of the lighting on and off, but since I don't like even going down there, who cares?
It's strange living in modern (by most standards) housing for almost my entire life and then moving into a house that is probably well over 100 years old. Cloth-covered wiring. Wooden floors. Red brick walls, the dirt basement - more properly called a cellar, I think. The neighborhood is all antique. Ironically, right across the street they're putting up a brand new apartment building, complete with indoor parking. In this neighborhood, everyone parks in the street, parallel-style. No reserved parking, so if someone takes the place in front of your house, you find the next open space, hopefully within close walking distance. Then there are the parking rules: the 2nd Thursday of every month, in the summer, your car has to be moved (anywhere...they don't care) so that the city can run a street sweeper along the curb. And you can't move your car back until an inspector has followed the cleaner to be sure that cleaning is complete and no major repairs are needed. I'm told that, in the winter months, the car has to be moved for snow removal. Oh, joy! I cannot wait!
The town of Palmerton is about 2 miles, west to east. Main street is Delaware Ave. There are signs prohibiting "cruising" the main drag - 3 times past a given spot within an hour is against the law. For a small town, they seem to have a big police force...I see police cruisers all the time. We've been told that there is no crime in Palmerton, and I'll believe that. It's a very slow-moving 'burg, and there isn't a whole lot going on. I've laready checked out two pizza places, the local Subway (there are no McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, or anything else within the city limits) and a great little sandwich shop called Joes' Place. Both pizza and sandwiches are great - Joe's provides about twice the sub for the money that Subway does, and the meat is sliced to make the sandwich - it's the place to go. We haven't tried any of the restaurants yet. It seems that most of them are bars or taverns which serve food. There's supposed to be a great Italian place out on 248, but we haven't had time to check it out yet. These things take time, you know.
The place to shop, to really shop, is over in Lehighton, about 9 miles east of us. There is a new year-old Lowe's and a massive Wal-Mart Super Center over there, and between the two of them, it looks like we'll be over there a lot. I don't really like shopping at Wally World, but since it is really the only place to go within 20 miles, it's more a necessity than a pleasure. I am pondering applying for a part-time job at the Lowe's...talked to the electrical manager, who told me they could use someone dependable. It's a brand new store, and it's totally laid out different than my store in Orange City, FL. I've already bought several hundred $$ of supplies from them and got to know some of the employees. We'll see...
Interesting thing happened at the Wally World. First of all, it seems to have been built on top of a small mountain itself. You can't see the store from the highway, just a sign. Make a left turn and start climbing a very sharp grade, and probably about 300 yards up, there's the store. It's huge! And the view!!! We park the car, and look out to the west, and there is this beautiful valley, with mountains as far in both directions as you can see! With farms and houses. Toto, I don't think we're in Florida anymore! Jen takes a few pictures with her cell-phone. This shot doesn't do justice but it gives you a good idea (you can see the Wal-Mart sign at the bottom):
This place has to be 200 feet above the surrounding area. Anyway, after the shock and awe of the scenery, we proceed inside. Jen grabs an electric cart, and I grab a push cart, and we walk in. It's as huge inside as it is outside, one of the biggest Wallys I've ever seen. As we start to shop, I notice a guy in cargo shorts and a tank top looking at razor blades. Nothing special, except that he's wearing a Galco Miami Classic shoulder holster, with a Glock G17 9mm and a brace of magazines. His wife, next to him is sporting a Keltec PF-9 in an IWB holster. I have to stop him and ask. "I'm new to the area, just came up from Florida...is open-carry cool up here?" I find out that just about everywhere except Philly, you can walk around with a piece on your side. In Philly, only if you have a permit. If you get in your car with the weapon, it becomes "concealed" and you need a CCW permit to keep it loaded and available. Now I know I'm going to like this place, and this state.
I've been walking along the alley behind our place, and there's a stream that runs along just below it with trout. I don't like to fish, but again, it's a very nice change of scenery from Florida. There isn't a fast flow of water, but there are a few "rapids" within view. I heard a lot of big-engine noises from behind the trees on the other side, so I decided to Mapquest the area to get a satellite view of whatever it was. This is a view from Google Maps: Palmerton South. If you look in the lower left-hand corner, you will see 4th Street and Lehigh Ave. Just below the "e" in Ave, there is a long building with a parking lot to it's right. Well, two houses further right is our house, just above the "6" in 6th Street. You'll notice the stream, and then if you look at what fills up the rest of the picture to the east, THAT'S where all the noises are coming from. Train cars regularly transit in and out, along with big semis. I haven't asked what this is yet, but I think it has something to do with the New Jersey Zinc Co. - Wiki says, "The East Plant continues to operate at reduced capacity, processing electric arc furnace dust into zinc calcine." So it's not quite paradise. Whoops!
I understand that the town is in the SuperFund program, supposedly because of the zinc caol mining and its aftermath. I can truthfully say that I like the small town and its atmosphere. I haven't seen or heard of any adverse effects on the townspeople, and for a small town, it seems to be thriving.
Can't say the same for the pet problems. We never had any problems in Florida with fleas and ticks, but up here, it's tick convention time. As I stated previously, I was walking the dogs along the stream behind our house, but I have been warned, and now know from personal experience, that this is tick paradise. After the dogs brought several ticks into the house, one which ended up on me and another on Jen, we went to the vet and got tick preventative for both dogs. It's costly ($90 for a 6 months supply, per dog), but worth peace of mind. The cats, who do not leave the premises, will be getting flea & tick collars, just in case. I do not fear most animals, but I hate spiders, and I abhor ticks. I'd seriously think about moving right away, but my kids have told me that ticks are bad through eastern PA, and you can't get away from them. So unless we move to...Texas...I guess it's "prevent" time.
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