Written by Kim
Well it’s been 11 weeks since we moved and thought it was time to drive up north to see family and friends so on the road we went. We normally leave at 0 dark 30 to get on the road. Heck we’re up so why not leave between 5 & 6. We have our routine stopping at Mc Donald’s for a breakfast sandwich and of course Dunkin for my coffee and off we go.
Our first stop was AC. It’s. Good central place for us to see our family and friends in South Jersey. We saw our friends, Patty and Tony for an outdoor chat (social distanced of course), had dinner with Jim and Carolyn and got to see Ryan one evening. It was great to see everyone but so difficult not to hug. We tried Gilchrist for breakfast because so many of our friends told us how good it was. It was delicious and nice to sit outside overlooking the water for breakfast. If you’ve never given it a try check it out if you’re ever in AC.
We were a little tired of the casino and not winning like we did in Vegas so decided to take a drive to see the magnificent homes along the barrier island in Margate, Ventnor and Longbay on our way to take a walk on Wildwood Boardwalk. We took a nice walk on the boards (watch the tram car please!) and had a slice of yummy NJ pizza which was a treat. Since we were in the area, a visit to Cape May Brewery was in order. My friend, Nancie, loves their cranberry bog beer which is hard to get so we picked some up for her and got ourselves some Devil’s Reach, their Belgian style that I like, and Always Ready, a nice pale ale. We enjoy sampling a few beers on the patio at Cape May.
After the brewery we popped over to AC airport to rent a car for me so I could go north while Alex golfed with GCNJ, his golf club, at Harbor Pines. Alex was happy that his son, Alex, has begun golfing so he joined him on Saturday along with his friend, Brad. Both of Alex’s boys now golf so they have a nice activity to enjoy together. Ryan couldn’t join this time but has joined other GCNJ events. Saturday morning I left AC to visit Heather and Antoine. They just moved to a new apartment in Garfield so I was able to help them unpack a bit and get organized. My mom helped Heather put her shelf paper in her kitchen cabinets and setup her kitchen a week ago and I helped with the bathroom. It’s a cute apartment with a 2nd bedroom for the baby. Heather has been busy shopping for baby boy Carter but bought too much so we went through her bargains and decided to bring some things back. We went off shopping (no surprise there) to make some returns and of course a few purchases. Heather is doing the baby’s room with an under the sea theme and we found a big stuffed octopus that Nana had to buy (forgot to take a picture). After an exhausting day shopping, I went to meet Alex at Nancie and Jake’s. We stayed at this fantastic 4 star B&B in Wayne on Saturday, De Bel’s B&B. It was so great to spend time at my BFF’s house. We had takeout on the deck from my favorite Chinese place in Wayne that I miss, we laughed, caught up, drank some wine just like old times when I would come across the yard in my pjs when I lived there. Nancie made a delicious egg casserole for breakfast too. Yum!
Sunday morning Alex left early to golf with his Wayne friends at Preakness Valley. When we lived in NJ our Sunday routine was that Alex would golf in Wayne, I would go to church and then we’d either catch up with friends or have lunch at one of our favorite places in North Jersey. We did a modified approach on this trip. I picked up Rebecca and Aaron to go to church and Aaron got a special treat when we saw Uncle Alex on the 11th hole as we drove down Parish Drive. We beeped and he was happy. It was so great to worship in person with some of my UMC Wayne friends. I missed some friends who aren’t yet worshipping in person but hope to see them next time. Covid stinks! Aaron & Rebecca we’re happy to see me. Of course, we had to get some chicken nuggets so went to Mc Donald’s for lunch but they are not yet open inside so we had to have a picnic in the car because it was raining. A special guest, Heather, joined us at our picnic. Sunday afternoon, Alex, Heather, Nancie and I, drove up to see my Mom and Doug. We had a nice visit out on the deck. It was a beautiful day. Charlie, my mom’s St Bernard, was happy to have company too as my mom hasn’t been going out much and he loves people.
We stayed in Bridgewater on Sunday night and had dinner at 22 West. It was good to be back in the old neighborhood. I am sentimental so took a ride past our old house (no changes that I could see yet), got coffee at my DD and stopped in at Harmon since we don’t have Harmon in SC before meeting Kate and Warren for breakfast. It was great to catch up with them and meet Harley, their new puppy. After breakfast it was time to start heading south to return my rental car to AC. We did some returns at Macy’s and Kohl’s while we were in the area before heading to Philly to have dinner and see Alex & Brianna’s new house. Their home is beautiful. They plan to do some updates but it is a perfect first home for them right near the art museum in downtown Philadelphia.
Monday night we stayed in Delaware so we didn’t have to deal with Philly city traffic for our drive home. We got up early and left the hotel by 5:30 to avoid DC rush hour. We followed our normal routine with a Mc Donald’s and DD stop right off 95 as we started our journey. My hubby is amazing he reasearches exactly where we can have an easy on/off breakfast stop wherever we are. I’m typing as we’re driving we should be through DC shortly and home by 2 or so.
It was a great trip visiting family and friends. We got to see all 3 kids in the area, my mom, and several friends. We couldn’t see everyone we wanted to see but expect to come up to NJ about every 2 months so let us know if you’d like to connect on one of our visits. I have to admit our move has been a little hard on me since it’s been tough meeting people with the Covid restrictions. I’ve begun volunteering and just started going to a new church so I’m hoping that will help subside my feeling of isolation. You all know I love to connect with people so I’m banking all the energy I got from connecting while on this trip to keep me going. Alex is adjusting a bit better than me since he’s already in 3 golf leagues so he’s keeping busy. When unpacking from our trip I proudly displayed my new plaque on the book shelf in the living room.
We have a few upcoming trips to look forward to. Stephen & Bethany are having a gender reveal on October 24 so I look forward to learning the gender of Baby Fiore. Alex will likely be back in NJ on Halloween weekend. I’m not sure yet if I will join that trip since it’s a golf intense trip. Until next time…..thanks for following our journey!
