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!

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.