"Thanks for meeting us for dinner," my friend Kevin said, sitting next to me at the table.
"Thanks for the invite," I said. "It's good to see you guys again. Thanks for coming in for my tour." I'd met Kevin about a year ago, when he'd been looking into Thunderbirds. Since then, we'd occasionally gotten together when he'd visited from New Jersey, and become friends. At the table was me, Kevin, Kevin's wife Donna, my wife Michelle, and of course Paul.
"So you're writing a book about Thunderbirds?" Michelle asked.
Kevin nodded. "When I called around this county, pretty much everyone told me I had to talk to Lou. You know a lot of people around here refer all questions to you?"
I laughed. "I've even had it happen to myself. If I have a question and start making phone calls, everybody tells me there's a guy at the library who can answer it."
Donna smiled. "What do you say?"
"I tell them he's a jerk."
"We'll be going to New Jersey next weekend," said Michelle. "It's a company trip to Lyndhurst."
"God, what's in Lyndhurst?" asked Donna.
"Medieval Times," said Michelle.
"Oh, right."
"I'm hoping to get a shot at the Jersey Devil while we're there," I said.
"The Jersey Devil has been sighted in that area?" Kevin asked me.
"I defy you to find any corner of New Jersey without sightings of the Jersey Devil."
He laughed. "True enough."
"Okay, check out that car," I said. "A Cadillac that's over-weighted. No way there's not a dead body in the trunk."
"Oh my god, you're right," Tif said from the back of the Prius. "That really does look like a mobster's car."
"New Jersey," I said. "He's gotta drive around a lot because all the good swamps are already filled with bodies."
"Which way am I going?" Michelle asked me.
I checked the map. "Look for Forty-six west. We'll find the place, watch the show at Medieval Times, and maybe afterward, get a shot at the Jersey Devil."
"You don't want to shoot it," said Tif.
"No," I agreed. "I'll settle for a photo."
"Is the Jersey Devil like the Snallygaster?" Paul asked.
"Maybe a little," I said. "The Jersey Devil is often described as a sort of flying kangaroo with hooves, wings, and horns, and thus the second or third weirdest thing ever spotted in New Jersey. It's been said to be the thirteenth child of a woman from southern New Jersey around 1735, and the story was even covered by Benjamin Franklin in his publications."
"You've mentioned this on tours," commented Tif.
"And tonight we turn the clocks back," I said. "So that gives us an extra hour tonight. In New Jersey. Yaaay."
Medieval Times is in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and it's shaped like a castle on the outside. On the inside, you get to eat a meal with no utensils and cheer on knights as they fight a staged battle. It's a totally cheesy roadside attraction, and completely worth the trip.
I returned to our table with my second beer, after waiting in line behind, apparently, a sorority. Paul was polishing off all of the garlic bread they'd brought. As I sat down, he said,"Hey, Daddy...."
I handed him my garlic bread. I was just glad he was eating.
The knights raced back and forth on their horses in front of us, battling with swords and lances. Paul loved it. I'd never seen him like this: Standing on his chair, screaming for a winner. My little boy, who loved sharing and singing and rescued worms from the sidewalk, was calling for blood.
"Great slippers, Dad." Tif looked down at my Bigfoot slippers as I sat down on the couch.
"Seriously. Right?" I grinned, holding up one foot. The slipper was a furry Sasquatch foot, with three claws. "Since we can't wear shoes in this place, I picked these up." I was also wearing my newest sweatshirt, black with a white ghost on the left side. It was rapidly becoming my new favorite.
"Where'd you get them from?"
"Ordered them from Amazon. They came just in time to wear for this."
"Can I try them on, Daddy?" Paul asked. "They look snuggly."
I took off the slippers and handed them to Paul. "What's your favorite cryptid, little man? Out of curiosity."
"The one we were looking for in Virginia."
"Virginia? I was mostly looking for Chessie...."
"I mean Maryland."
"Oh, the Snallygaster."
"What's the Snallygaster?" Tif asked.
"Sort of a weird dragon with tentacles that appears in Frederick, Maryland," I said. "I got one on a T-shirt."
"Tentacles?"
"Well, sometimes the term has been used to just refer to Maryland Bigfoot sightings."
"I see."
"Gonna go out for a little while." I stood up. "I figure I'll use my extra hour to explore a bit. Maybe spot the Jersey Devil. You never know."
I changed into my sneakers, sitting on the steps. Paul said,"Can I come, too?"
"No," said Michelle. "It's almost bedtime."
"You and me will find somewhere to explore tomorrow, little guy," I said. "I have a couple of places in mind."
I made sure my backpack had everything I needed, and slung it over my shoulder. I walked up the stairs and went outside.
It was warm for early November---I didn't even need my coat. I checked the map of the town that I'd shoved in my pocket, and headed out toward the avenue.
Okay, New Jersey. You don't like me and I don't like you. But let's power through this together, and then I'll get back to telling people you're only there to keep the hypodermic needles out of Pennsylvania.
I acanned the sky with my new night-vision binoculars, and realized almost immediately that I was unlikely to spot the Jersey Devil. I wasn't even going to spot anything that could be mistaken for the Jersey Devil. Lyndhurst, New Jersey, lies between several big airports, and I'd been seeing planes take off all night. I might have spotted a water monster. Not a flying monster. Too much interference.
But I didn't give up that easily. I kept walking, Lyndhurst quits activity pretty early, apparently---A Saturday night, and I was the only pedestrian I'd seen out. In Lock Haven, I'd have passed fifteen drunk college students and three vandals by now. I hit the boulevard, and to my delight found a nice-looking little cigar bar that was still open. I walked inside and bought a decent-looking cigar. There were a few other people smoking inside, and I lit up and took a seat.
"So," I said to the room at large,"I'm a freelance writer specializing in the paranormal. I'm looking for information about the Jersey Devil. Anyone have an experience?"
I'd long ago gotten over feeling stupid when I said stuff like that. Interviewing witnesses is important. I got a few grins, and shrugs, and one man said,"A long time ago, when I was in college...."
I turned. He was a heavyset man, balding, with a big bushy mustache. I said,"Yes, sir?"
"I used to have a biology professor who took us on field trips to the Pine Barrens," he said. "We were out there one evening, as dusk was falling, and I saw two red, glowing eyes looking at us from behind a tree. Never did figure out what it was, for sure."
I grinned. "Thanks."
The cigar was good. I was still smoking it when I left. I took out the map and looked to see what the most likely place was. There was an industrial complex up and over the hill, and I headed for that.
As I rounded up over the top of the hill, I stopped. The complex lay below me, and across the river, I could see straight into Manhattan. I was looking miles away, into the next state, and I saw the lights of the industry below, and the skyline of New York in the distance. It was a beautiful view, in spite of being obviously New York.
The view of New York City made me think of the Coney Island Creature, which I'd read accounts of in the past.
Between 1877 and 1880, a flying creature was seen over Coney Island. I never connected this before, but given the proximity to New Jersey, could it have been a Jersey Devil outside his usual territory? Hell, the Jersey Devil had been sighted in Lock Haven---New York isn't even that much of a stretch.
I may not have seen the Jersey Devil, but I might have solved the Coney Island Creature. I stood and looked at the view.
And, for just a moment, New Jersey didn't seem all that bad.
We pulled the car in at the overlook by 80. Paul jumped out and ran into the grass. I let him go---The little guy was dying to explore.
"I'll just wait here," said Tif. "The view is beautiful enough right from the car seat."
I got out of the car and followed the kid. The mountain overlooked in the distance, off to the west---We were standing on top, looking far out over Pennsylvania.
I found Paul climbing a rock at the edge of the forest. Standing on top of it, he threw his hands up and cried out,"I'm on top of the world!"
I laughed. "Want to use my binoculars, little man?"
"Yeah!" said Paul.
I hung them around his neck, and he looked out over the valley. He said,"We're really high up! I can see everything from here!"
I smiled.
"You got it, little guy," I said. "There's always a lot to see."
