Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
August Re-cap
It’s definitely been too long since my last update. I am going to attempt to do a short recap; however, I’m sure it won’t be as “short” as it should be.
The week of August 7th was super packed with Kendra’s Birthday celebration on Tuesday and a trip to Boston on Wednesday to Thursday. I went to Boston for work, but was able to fit in dinner and a movie with my cousin Andrea. After driving 8 hours in 24 hours and being stuck in traffic for 2 of it, I was in no mood for a fun-filled weekend down the shore. I opted to stay in North Jersey and baby-sit on Friday and Saturday nights. The family I baby-sit for was kind enough to let me visit on Saturday in the afternoon to use their pool. It worked out great because I was a little worried about my tan from fading from missing a day at the beach. Even though I was baby-sat for the majority of the weekend, it was so relaxing to just stay home, get to bed on time and sleep in. That Sunday, I met Kendra and her mom in New York City during her mom’s visit from Florida.
The following week was fairly uneventful. The weekend however was a different story. On Friday, Adam and I met our friends Matt (a.k.a. Fink) and Sarah in Morristown for dinner and drinks. Fink and Sarah are friends from Michigan who recently got married back in November and moved to NJ about a month ago. It was great to see them and so nice to know that they’re so close (only about 25 minutes West of us)!!!
On Saturday our newly-wed friends Mark and Diana came to the shore house for the first time. A first impression of Diana would be very shy, timid, and reserved, however, after 6 beers or so she’s anything but shy or reserved. I’m fairly certain they had a great time and I know it was a nice addition to the usual crew.
The following week brought another trip to Boston and another dinner/movie with my cousin Andrea. I love to hang out with Andrea, probably because it’s never boring or awkward. Between family gossip, memories of our childhood, or her dating horror stories there is never a lack of conversation. Below is a picture of Andrea from our dinner at Armani Cafe on Newbury St. It was so great to see Andrea twice in one month; I certainly hope it won’t be another 6 months before seeing her again!
The week of August 7th was super packed with Kendra’s Birthday celebration on Tuesday and a trip to Boston on Wednesday to Thursday. I went to Boston for work, but was able to fit in dinner and a movie with my cousin Andrea. After driving 8 hours in 24 hours and being stuck in traffic for 2 of it, I was in no mood for a fun-filled weekend down the shore. I opted to stay in North Jersey and baby-sit on Friday and Saturday nights. The family I baby-sit for was kind enough to let me visit on Saturday in the afternoon to use their pool. It worked out great because I was a little worried about my tan from fading from missing a day at the beach. Even though I was baby-sat for the majority of the weekend, it was so relaxing to just stay home, get to bed on time and sleep in. That Sunday, I met Kendra and her mom in New York City during her mom’s visit from Florida.
The following week was fairly uneventful. The weekend however was a different story. On Friday, Adam and I met our friends Matt (a.k.a. Fink) and Sarah in Morristown for dinner and drinks. Fink and Sarah are friends from Michigan who recently got married back in November and moved to NJ about a month ago. It was great to see them and so nice to know that they’re so close (only about 25 minutes West of us)!!!
On Saturday our newly-wed friends Mark and Diana came to the shore house for the first time. A first impression of Diana would be very shy, timid, and reserved, however, after 6 beers or so she’s anything but shy or reserved. I’m fairly certain they had a great time and I know it was a nice addition to the usual crew.
The following week brought another trip to Boston and another dinner/movie with my cousin Andrea. I love to hang out with Andrea, probably because it’s never boring or awkward. Between family gossip, memories of our childhood, or her dating horror stories there is never a lack of conversation. Below is a picture of Andrea from our dinner at Armani Cafe on Newbury St. It was so great to see Andrea twice in one month; I certainly hope it won’t be another 6 months before seeing her again!
This past weekend was another rainy one down the shore. Adam’s flight got canceled and moved to Saturday morning so before heading down we grabbed dinner at Blue Moon Café in Wyckoff. The food was so good and I can’t wait to go back! Kendra and I drove down after dinner and found out, after driving to 3 liquor stores, that state law requires they close at 10:00pm. Luckily, Kory and Lauren had stopped for beer on their way down and shared a couple with us. After relaxing for a bit and falling asleep on the couch, I made my way to bed. On Saturday it was raining on and off all day without much sunshine. Nick and Dana stopped by with their daughter, Talia and later we played a really fun game that Kendra brought with her called “Apples to Apples” before eating dinner. Later on we went to Osprey before passing out for the night.
On Sunday it was another crappy day so we took our time getting home. I drove Kendra back to my place to pick up her car. I showered, grabbed dinner with Jim and then dropped him off at home.
In 2 days Emily will be here visiting from Michigan. I had originally planned on taking Friday off from work to give her a tour of NYC, however, because of scheduling issues at work, I will be leaving at noon. She’s never been out “East” to visit me yet, and it’ll be great to see her and I can’t wait for her to experience the Jersey Shore.
Looking back over the past several weekends I’m still fairly indecisive about the shore house for next year. I’m leaning towards not getting the house next year so I can spend my weekends relaxing, saving money and visiting family.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Weekend update
My plans quickly changed for the weekend. It ended up that I didn’t have to baby-sit and I drove down the shore after work on Friday. Adam and I picked up John at the train station for his 1st weekend down the shore this summer. Once we arrived there was already a bunch of people at the house and I got excited for what I thought was going to be a fun night. Keith, John, Giancarlo, and Dave were all special guests that evening but I was far too tired to keep drinking and decided to skip the bar and sleep instead.
On Saturday all of us went to the beach. This weekend the water temperature was 72 degrees and once the initial chill passed it felt more like bath water than the cool ocean from the week before. It was nice to have everyone on the beach for once instead of the usual few.
That evening instead of barbequing we took the short drive to Point Pleasant and had dinner at a small seafood restaurant. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. Adam complained a bit about portion size, but he was able to eat my and everyone else’s leftovers at the table. After dinner we went back to the house and hung out for a bit. My friend Lindsay came down after she got out of work and arrived in time to go to the Osprey for a couple drinks.
On Sunday Lindsay and I headed to the beach. We stayed for almost 2 hours, but then headed back to the house as Adam and I had to leave a little early since I had to visit a family interested in having me sit for them. We didn’t make our usual stop at Wegman’s on the way home, but made it home in time to shower and relax a bit.
I’m still not sure how I feel about having the house for next year. This weekend was a great example of a typical weekend down the shore, and I can’t say that I’m as excited about it as I was a year ago. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the summer brings!
On Saturday all of us went to the beach. This weekend the water temperature was 72 degrees and once the initial chill passed it felt more like bath water than the cool ocean from the week before. It was nice to have everyone on the beach for once instead of the usual few.
That evening instead of barbequing we took the short drive to Point Pleasant and had dinner at a small seafood restaurant. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. Adam complained a bit about portion size, but he was able to eat my and everyone else’s leftovers at the table. After dinner we went back to the house and hung out for a bit. My friend Lindsay came down after she got out of work and arrived in time to go to the Osprey for a couple drinks.
On Sunday Lindsay and I headed to the beach. We stayed for almost 2 hours, but then headed back to the house as Adam and I had to leave a little early since I had to visit a family interested in having me sit for them. We didn’t make our usual stop at Wegman’s on the way home, but made it home in time to shower and relax a bit.
I’m still not sure how I feel about having the house for next year. This weekend was a great example of a typical weekend down the shore, and I can’t say that I’m as excited about it as I was a year ago. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the summer brings!
Friday, August 04, 2006
Manasquan '07? Not too sure...
I love the summer because I count down the days until the weekend when I know that the beach and cold drinks wait for me down in Manasquan, but lately I’ve been feeling a little different. And so it’s Friday and for the first time, I’m not all too excited for the weekend. I’ll be babysitting tonight, and then heading down the shore in the morning.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the shore, it’s just that it’s starting to get old. I’ve begun to question whether or not I want to get a shore house next year…It’s a lot of money. It’s not just the initial lease payment but the money spent every weekend on gas, food, drinks, etc. I figure that if Adam and I didn’t get the shore house next year we could save over $5,000 together.
Last year I didn’t know anybody in NJ, and going down the shore was the only time that I got to hang out with anyone besides Adam. Kendra is here now, so instead of going down the shore we could do something together, like we did a couple weekends ago. I’ve also made other friends besides the ones that go down the shore every weekend, and have found several great families in the area I could baby-sit for. Basically, I just think that unlike last year, I could keep myself occupied on the weekend without the shore house.
I don’t think not having the shore house will keep me from the beach. A lot of people drive down for the day to lay out and swim. Maybe we could even rent a house for a weekend or something, but I’m definitely leaning towards not going in on a shore house next year. Maybe this weekend will change my mind…we’ll see.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the shore, it’s just that it’s starting to get old. I’ve begun to question whether or not I want to get a shore house next year…It’s a lot of money. It’s not just the initial lease payment but the money spent every weekend on gas, food, drinks, etc. I figure that if Adam and I didn’t get the shore house next year we could save over $5,000 together.
Last year I didn’t know anybody in NJ, and going down the shore was the only time that I got to hang out with anyone besides Adam. Kendra is here now, so instead of going down the shore we could do something together, like we did a couple weekends ago. I’ve also made other friends besides the ones that go down the shore every weekend, and have found several great families in the area I could baby-sit for. Basically, I just think that unlike last year, I could keep myself occupied on the weekend without the shore house.
I don’t think not having the shore house will keep me from the beach. A lot of people drive down for the day to lay out and swim. Maybe we could even rent a house for a weekend or something, but I’m definitely leaning towards not going in on a shore house next year. Maybe this weekend will change my mind…we’ll see.
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