I can tell that this is going to get seriously backlogged. Waterlogged even. There are a number of topics still left over from last week: namely (1) The Port Authority (2) The Turacamo Girls and (3) the other boats I saw last weekend and later on this week.

I'm not entirely sure how in depth I can get about the Port Authority without reading this book . It looks excellent. To elaborate briefly from last week, the Port Compact of 1921 established "The Port District" which is 1,500 square miles encompassing New York and New Jersey, within which, the proceeds of tolls are used to undertake various projects of infrastructure, such as the Port Authority Bus Terminal etc.

One remarkable thing was that the Outerbridge Crossing was named not for geographic positioning. I had always thought that its remote location from New York City was the source of its name: it connects Perth Amboy, NJ and Staten Island. On the drive up to New York from DC, Outerbridge was the signal that we were getting into metropolitan NY. In reality though, the bridge was named after the first commissioner (or possibly, one of the six commissioners) was Eugenius Outerbridge. Apparently Outerbridge had started a company that produced fiberboard. How he got involved with the Port Authority, I have no idea.

One final note: the name Perth Amboy remains one of my favorite geographical names. Apparently, the settlement is quite old: it dated back to 1651. The Amboy part comes from an Algonquin word that means "valley" -- Ompoge. Ompoge -> Emboyle -> Amboyle -> Ambo -> Amboy Point -> Amboy. Perth was added when the town was named the capital of East Jersey. Yes, New Jersey once was two separate staes: East and West Jersey. James Drummond, the first Duke of Perth was its second namesake.