Wawa-ing

Had today's expedition gone as we hoped, the heading for this entry would have been Somewhere in Salem County, because that's where Mike, Bob Auster and I were this morning, searching for Barn Owls in a desolate area of that county where we had been told they could be found. They could be found, but not by us, so instead we have the neologism coined by Mike for a title, since that is more or less what we wound up doing as we wended our way across the widest part of New Jersey from the Delaware Bayshore to Brig.

Since we didn't exactly know where we were in Salem, we decided to orient ourselves by finding the closest Wawa, which turned out to be one of two in Pennsville.

Pennsville

Unfortunately, this is a Wawa Market, which means no rest rooms. Worse, the coffee was lukewarm. But, it was on a major road which made finding our bearings easier (cell phone service is spotty in the Salem County marshes). We then started heading east and it wasn't too long before we came upon a Super Wawa, also in Pennsville. Naturally we stopped to use the facilities and for me to refill for a hotter cup of coffee.

Pennsville #8332

I mentioned to the guys that I had started the day with 96 Wawa's on my life list, so this one was #98. Mike took that as a challenge and figured that we had to hit at least two more Wawas on the way to the east side of the state. The question was, which one would be #100?

#99 turned out to be in the toddling town of Upper Pittsgrove (not to be confused with nearby Pilesgrove, which sounds like an orchard of hemorrhoids), where we stopped for photos, snacks, and facilities again.

Upper Pittsgrove

Driving east along Route 40 (which is not as easy as it sounds since the road tends to veer off in unexpected directions) we left Salem County and crossed into Gloucester where, in Malaga, a rather old Wawa (you can tell by the slab serifs on the logo) became the 100th Wawa that I have visited (or, at least that I have recorded visiting). It was a cause for celebration, with handshakes all around, the planting of the flag, a 20 gun salute, fireworks, and congratulatory telegrams from various heads of state. It is quite an accomplishment and I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family who never wavered in their faith in me.

Malaga. #100 (Bob & Mike)

Malaga (Bob & Larry)
photo by Mike

Counting our first stop in Clarksburg this morning, that made 5 Wawa stops for the day, which is a personal high. As we continued, there were at least 4 more Wawa's that I had never visited we could have stopped at but by that point, basking in the glow of Malaga, I considered the rest of the journey to Brig as a scouting trip, sort of what one does before the World Series of Birding.

(All the Wawas, plus bonus material, can be seen here)

Oh yeah, I heard two Eastern Towhees today at our first stop in Salem County. Year bird.