October, 2018 Day 18-23 The Rest of the Journey

Day 18 Monday 10/29/18

       The only thing on tap today was the drive to Mom’s house in Maryland.  My good friend Andrea wasn’t able to join us Saturday night.  So, the deal was, I’d text her Monday morning and we would try and meet for coffee.

      There’s a new Embassy Suites hotel in Berkeley Heights, right off Diamond Hill Road.  Just off the lobby sits a Starbucks.  We decided to meet there.  Their seating area has one larger room, and one smaller room around the corner.  It was nice to have that smaller room to ourselves.  There are conversations with friends that are light and full of laughs.  There are conversations where you just want to catch up.  Then there are those deep, heavy conversations.  Two hours later, we shared a long hug and said our good-byes.  Andrea showed me the easy way to I-78 west which brought be to Hwy 206 south to Trenton. 

      I had never gone this way.  I could have done without all the traffic lights, but I  did drive by the governor’s mansion.  From there it was all interstate the entire way.
     Leaving New Jersey...

Crossing into Delaware.  Note the leaden sky...

But, as soon as I crossed into Maryland...

Monday-Saturday

     As some of you know, my Mom is in the process of trying to downsize.  So, we did some sorting and took a few loads of stuff to places like the Salvation Army, and basically just tried to get things done.  But, we also had a lot of good, quality time together.  And yes, I did find myself bringing home some stuff from the house.
   On the dry days, I also took my camera out to photograph her neighborhood.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

    Door to door from Mom's house, it's 675 miles.  It makes for a long day in the car.  So, I was packed up and pulling out at 7:30A.  The sky was this amazing shade of blue in the developing light.  Mom found it humorous that I grabbed my camera and stood in the middle of the street to shoot this.  Imagine the trees being darker, but the sky being a lighter blue. 

     As for the drive, it was relatively painless.  But, it does seem to feel longer and longer every time.

As expected, the trip ended as it began...mired in Atlanta traffic.....

     There's just something about a roadtrip.  But when it's all over, there's something to be said for being home.  The car never left the garage on Sunday.  Of course I'm already thinking about the next one.     I

Dave 11/18



PS:  This is it for scheduled time off for the year.  My next scheduled adventure is in April.  The plan is to head back to Clarksdale, Mississippi for the annual Juke Joint Festival. I met my friend Tracey there two years ago and we've decided to do it again.  Ordinarily that would simply be a long weekend.  But, all I've seen of Arkansas is Little Rock and all I've seen of Missouri is along Route 66.  So, I've tacked on two weeks and think I'll poke around this area of the country a bit.

PPS: Phone Update.  I did some research on replacements for my phone and didn't realize just how much the new ones go for.  Crazy.  This morning, I spent some time playing menu roulette and being transferred around on the phone by the folks at first Boost Mobile and then Lg.  Part of my monthly fee includes insurance on the phone.  So, I talked with the insurance folks.  For a $50 fee, they're sending me a replacement phone.  It's not the latest and greatest.  But, I'm okay with that for now.   So, hopefully, by the end of the week I'll be good to go with my old number.  I just wish I could have recovered some of the photos.  Some of my favorites made it into travelogues.  Others are just lost forever.

October, 2018, Day 16...Back in Jersey

Day 16 Saturday October 27, 2018

     The original plan for the day was a lazy drive through North-eastern Pennsylvania and into North Jersey.  However, three days prior, Hurricane Willa had come ashore in Mexico as a category three hurricane.  The final remnants were passing through the area bringing a slow and steady rain. 

      So, I didn’t stop for the various lakes outlined with autumnal colors.  I didn’t stop in the Delaware Water Gap for the waterfalls.  But, no complaints.  Instead, I got to spend the morning with my sisters Maggie and Mary as well Steven and his wife Rhonda.  We don’t see each other that often and mornings like this one are always welcome.

      I gave Mary a life from Hawley to the train station in Summit, NJ before the short drive back to the old home town of New Providence.  Downtown was unusually busy and there were police directing traffic. 

      There were also quite a few kids in costumes trick or treating in the businesses downtown.  It was pretty busy, even with the rain.  There was just one stop I knew I had to take. 

      The Avenue Deli  hasn’t changed much over the years.  This used to be in the front window.  Now it's on a wall in back.


And the turkey sloppy joe was just as delicious as I remember it.  As you can see, in North Jersey, a sloppy joe isn't meat and tomato sauce.  Mine was turkey, swiss cheese, russian dressing and coleslaw.  There's nothing else quite like it.

       After checking into the motel, I had some time.  It took a few attempts, but I found someone at the LG help center who didn’t seemed stumped by the dead phone.  She explained how to restart it and have it default to the factory settings.  Of course this meant I would permanently lose all the phone number and all the photos.  To get a working phone again, I was okay with that.

      In the end, this still didn’t solve the problem.

      The evening’s plan was another get together at our usual haunt, the Stirling Hotel.  Due to conflicts and work scheduled, there were only three of us this evening.  But, that worked out extremely well.  Jeff and I had an hour before Jean arrived.  And Jean and I had an hour after Jeff had to go.  Once again, some quality time with some of my favorite people.
     The waiter took a few moments to figure out the Powershot.  

Coming up,
Chatting up the Politicians

October, 2018 Day 15...Carlos and Becca's Wedding

Day 15 Friday October 26, 2018

     On the previous day's drive into Hawley, I passed a number of trails and places that seemed like they could be interesting to explore for a while.  But, It's rare when at least four of us five kids are in the same place.  It felt good to just linger around the house catching up.  Maggie had to slip away and do some Mother of the Groom stuff.  Mary and I hung out and yucked it up.  My brother Steven and his wife Rhonda arrived and it turned into a really great gathering.  
      While the rest of us were back at the house, Maggie would periodically text us photos.  I'm not saying my nephew is tall, but...



    Eventually, it was time to head out.  We piled into the car and drove out to the wedding site.  Carlos and Becca had planned an outdoor ceremony.  A few days earlier, Hurricane Willa had come ashore as a category three storm in Mexico.  It's remnants were headed our way.  But, once again the weather gods smiled on them and the rain held off until much later into the night.
    We arrived just in time to catch Becca and her bride's maids getting ready.

 

      

My brother doing a reading

      The guests went inside and mingled while the families did the photos outside.  I haven't seen the pictures, but I heard they did get their sunset shots.
      

   

Atop the wedding cake

The Mother of the Groom dance...

    Ordinarily, I would have sent a lot more photos.  Not wanting to bring the big camera, I just used a pocket sized Canon Powershot.  I didn't realize it at the time, but a whole lot of photos came out soft.
    But, the wedding was perfect and the rest of the night just a whole lot of fun.  Best of luck to Carlos and Becca!

Coming Up,
Where else but Jersey