New Jersey names highway rest stops after Jon Bon Jovi and other home-state stars

Sure, getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is nice, but now New Jersey's own Jon Bon Jovi is getting a real honor: a rest stop named after him on the Garden State Parkway.

The neighboring New Jersey Turnpike has rest stops named after historical New Jerseyites, like Thomas Edison, but the Parkway is going for star power, reports NorthJersey.com.  The rest stop formerly known as -- no joke -- Cheesequake will now be known as the Jon Bon Jovi Service Area.

Other famed New Jerseyites who are getting the rest stop treatment include Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Toni Morrison, James Gandolfini, salsa legend Celia Cruz and author Judy Blume.  It's all part of a campaign by the New Jersey Hall of Fame, which is installing displays about each rest stop's famous namesake.

But wait, you ask -- where's the Bruce Springsteen Service Area?

"Bruce Springsteen respectfully declined to have a service area named after him," a New Jersey Hall of Fame spokeswoman told NorthJersey.com. "It should be noted, though, that Bruce has been very supportive of the New Jersey Hall of Fame over the years, and is very much a part of the fabric of the Hall."

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