Well, this is my second recent painting that will appear in Joe Bilby's upcoming book. That was the subect of my previous post. I'm really excited about that, but that's not the reason for this post.

Joe was kind enough to give me and the kids a personal tour of the Sea Girt National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey this weekend. If you live in the area and haven't been, you should get there. Joe's extra effort made it special, but there's a lot to see even without a private tour.

Their pride and joy is the 1861 12lbs. Napolean Civil War Cannon that, through volunteer effort, now sits on a brand new carriage with accompanying limber. Most it was made from scratch and seeing it's worth the trip alone. You'll also see reproduction and original uniforms from Dutch settlement days to the present. Photo's and anecdotes from the base's history abound. The biggest political rally (for FDR) occurred there. 100,000 people attended. New Jersey has a rich history and Joe certainly brings that to life.

This little museum also has the only potentially operational Civil War Submarine in the country. Stay tuned for more info on it, but let me tell you, this thing looks operational to me! Being a life long Jeep driver, I loved seeing their original Bantam model of that famous American 4 wheel drive vehicle! Only in a Jeep!

Finally, I was introduced to an artist (not personally but through his art) that I'd never hear of before. William Foley was just a grunt who turned out to have an amazing artistic ability. He started drawing in the field as a therapy for the stress of combat. He started drawing almost by mistake. He was a local New Jersey native and the subject of a community college interview not too long ago. I never would have heard of him but for this little museum in Sea Girt. Now I can't forget him. Check out the video here.

This place is a bike ride away from my house, but this was my first trip. We always overlook what's in our back yard don't we? What treasures do you have just steps (0r pedals) away?