Princeton Trip - Alex Mannherz

Although I have been in and around the Princeton area many times and I had never really taking the time to walk through the town and really discover what it had to offer. So, this trip and the planning that took place before provided me with a good opportunity to get to know the town of Princeton. In our days of research, my partner, Kyle Capello, and I picked out a few of the places in Princeton that seemed the most interesting to visit. By time we set out on our afternoon adventure into Princeton on Monday, April 14, we had already developed a loose itinerary that we had planned to follow. This plan began with arriving in Princeton, and then continuing on to several different places. I was to be the driver and we would find whatever parking was available. We wanted to walk through the Princeton before continuing into the main area of the town. We wanted to head through Palmer Square as it seemed to be the most recognizable part of the town. Next, we planned to stop at either Thomas Sweets or Halo Pub, depending on what our desire for sweets was at the time. Then we had decided that our next stop was to visit the historic graveyard. We knew that there were many famous people buried here, but we were not completely sure how we were going to find these specific graves. After that we planned to loop back towards the Princeton University campus and visit the Princeton record exchange. Our next stop would be a local eatery. Our final destination was supposed to be the Princeton Battle Field State Park before we embarked on the short return back to the Peddie Campus.
Our trip began exactly as planned as we arrived in Princeton and parked right next to the university campus. We walked through the campus on our way to Palmer square. The architecture through out the campus was stunning and it was interesting to once again walk through such a historic and renowned university. When I looked at Nassau Hall I remembered a story that Mr. Clements had told us sophomore year about how Nassau Hall was bombarded with cannons in the revolutionary war by the Continental Army because the British forces had taken it over. As a walked through the main gates of Princeton I thought about the legend that Princeton students who walk through the center gates before graduation will not graduate. We then continued through Palmer square. I was surprised at how friendly the people in the town were as several different people waved and said hello to us. It created a really friendly environment that seemed to carry through the afternoon.
We decided we were in the mood for some quality ice cream so we headed into Halo Pub. We waited for a couple of minutes because no server was present. But when we received our ice cream, it was worth the wait. I enjoyed my cookie dough chocolate chip ice cream as we walked the short distance to the graveyard. We found the entrance to the graveyard we also found a much needed map that showed the locations of the graves of the famous people who were buried in the graveyard. Walking through the graveyard was a very creepy experience because it was uncomfortable to think that we were constantly walking over the bodies of dead people. I stopped for a minute specifically at the grave of Aaron Burr. It was very unique experience to stand over the tombstone of such a prominent historical figure. After we walked around the graveyard for awhile we left to head for the Princeton record exchange. We stopped quickly in the record exchange and I was able to get the vibe of it’s old school nature. I have never seen so many CD’s one store and I am glad that we took a quick look into the store.
Finally, as our day was winding down we decided that we would get some local food for the road. We canceled our plans to visit the Battlefield State Park because it was a little far away, and we were both tired from the days activities and walking. So, instead, we headed to Hoagie Haven to pick up some sandwiches for dinner before heading back to Peddie. I had never actually been to Hoagie Haven but I had heard a lot about it from my friends who lived around the Princeton area. I decided to stay away from more famous items such as the “Phat Lady” or the “Heart Stop” and order a large roast beef hoagie. It was delicious and filling as it lasted me throughout the remainder of the night. Overall, our trip to Princeton was a great success. We were able to view the local places and sample the local foods while touring the great town.