Nov 5 thru 8 2013

Tuesday Carol and Nelson cashed in on the rain check for pool for the guys and shopping for the gals after having a tasty brunch at the  Dover Diner.  Nelson promised to "smoke" Bob, not knowing Bob was quite the bank shot king on a 9 foot table.  Still, Nelson gave him a run for the (no) money.  I lucked out at Burlington Coat Factory, getting a pair of Isotoner gloves that I've wanted for 1/4 of the retail price.  It was good to have some girl time with Carol, and I'm sure Bob and Nel felt the same way being "buds".

Wednesday, we were supposed to got into the Big Apple with Plish and John, but for some reason,  I just didn't feel good about doing that, so we asked them to come to the campground and take a ride up north.  Turned out everyone was going to NYC because I wanted to, so they were happy plans were changed. We  drove once again to the Blue Ribbon Restaurant, which we thought they would enjoy, plus we could stop by at the produce stand with the big cauliflower heads, so I could get one  for Carol.  We had a very nice ride up there, and again a tasty lunch, including French onion soup.  The very personable server there has a mother-in -law who lives in Naples.  Small world.  We did stop at the produce stand, which is owned by a fellow who winters in New Smyrna Beach, FL (another small world), but the produce was not up to snuff...too over ripe and/or suffering from frost.  None the less, we did enjoy the variety of gourds there.  Before parting ways, we stopped at the Jefferson Township Library to see what books they had for sale.  There was a display of someone's collection for Little Women, and then later, at our trailer, Plish  got a replacement hat I had crocheted for the one she had lost. (That's ok, Plish...lately I'm losing things, too)

Thursday and Friday, Bob and I spent most of the time running around trying to figure out how to fix our crashed computer, do laundry, grocery shopping, and other errands.  Thursday evening, Carol and Nelson invited us over to have a dinner of  her delicious "Chachee Gen burgers" (my mother's recipe which we all love) and play Michigan Rummy.

Monday November 4, 2013 Delaware Water Gap

Monday Bob and I decided to head out on our own, taking a trip to the Delware Water Gap that Nelson had suggested.  It was a gorgeous crisp fall day.  We stopped at a scenic overlook picnic area off I-80, then went to the recreation area to the left of I-80 before the toll bridge, then headed east along Old Mine Road.  There were more recreational areas on the road that followed the river, including a campground and beach area, but all were closed due to the time of year.

 

 

Sunday November 3, 2013

Blog has been delayed due to computer crashing.  We were able to restore the internet after visiting a Verizon store this past Thursday.  It is still debatable whether or not we will need a new computer.  Right now we have lost all the prior photo files.  We are hoping to be able to restore them when we get home.

Sunday, November 3, we drove to Garfield, about 35 miles from camp, to meet with my father's relatives...the "Konecny" cousins... at Barcellona's Italian restaurant on Harrison Ave.  It has been in business for about 75 years, and my cousin Anne Rose said it was a favorite hang-out when she was in high school.  My sister-in-law, Bev, who grew up in Garfield, also remembers going to it.

There were 15 of us.  Anne's brother, John, was supposed to come, too, but he was recovering from oral surgery.  We had a very lively visit, although it was much too short.  Below are photos of the family, but unfortunately, for some reason, neither Bob nor I got a photo of the very pregnant, Amanda, who will be having her second daughter in a few weeks.

My dad's niece,  Anne Rose, her daughter, Sherri, and me

Amanda's husband, Adam, entertaining his niece, Madlyn, daughter Alexa, and Madlyn's sister, Morgan.

 

My cousin, Judi and me.  She is my father's great niece, who has been a kindergarten teacher at Garfield Elementary for 40 +- years.

Anne Velicky, my father's niece and Judi's mother, Judi, and me

Kelly, one of the twin daughters of my father's nephew John (Anne Rose's brother) and her youngest imp, Madlyn.

Morgan and her Auntie Anne Rose

Kelly's husband, Ray..on the left their niece, Alexa, then daughters Morgan and Madlyn.

                                                          Judi's son, Dean, and me.

                                                               Brian, Judi's husband, and me

                                                                      Brian and Bob

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Nov 2 2013

This is the 5th time I've tried to post this.  Computer has been very finicky.  Saturday was grocery, laundry and other chores that had been postponed from the day before due to truck problems.  Later in the afternoon, we went to Adele's for dinner.  Carol, Nelson, and Matt were there, too.  Their brother Joe and wife Barbara couldn't come because Barbara's mother is in the hospital.  We are wishing you a speedy recovery, Mrs. Jones.  Adele suggested we take a route where we could see some of the damage from Superstorm Sandy.  It was incredible to see how badly the trees were sheared and toppled.  Adele treated us to a delcious beef bourguignon dinner with apple pie for dessert.

Michael letting Nelson know he's "the best"

Nelson Saves the Day Nov 1 2013

Today we were going to do laundry and get groceries, then meet up with Carol & Nelson for lunch, then the guys were going to shoot pool and Carol and I were going to do some shopping.  But, on the way to Bloomfield yesterday, there was a loud clacking under the truck hood.  When we got back to camp, Bob checked and found the fan belt was frayed, so he ordered a new one from the Napa store in town.  It was due to come in the next day (Friday).  Bob picked up the belt and began working on replacing the old one around 9:30, but ran into problems because he didn't have the right schematic for how to put the serpentine belt on.  Carol called and I explained the problem, and she and Nelson came over earlier than originally planned.  Nelson came prepared with his coveralls to get down and greasy.  After a couple of hours struggling, they decided to return to Napa to see if they could get the correct design pattern for Bob's model, and Nelson drove their car there and they were able to get it.   With the proper instructions, it took them about an hour more to finish the job.  By then, it was 2 o'clock, and we decided to re-schedule our outing to next week.  We had had  heavy rainfall and winds early morning, and it knocked most of the leaves off the trees making the area look really wintery.  In the evening, we went to The Tuscany Brewhouse on Rte 23 in Oak Ridge with Adele and Michael, and then stopped back at their house for a game of 3 handed pinochle.  This time Michael won.

Visit to Bloomfield Halloween 2013

It was a spooky morning at the campsite...the early morning fog looked like wispy ghosts arriving for Halloween.  A drizzling rain persisted for most of the day.  We drove to Bloomfield to visit with Plish and John at their home.  Plish prepared my favorite dish of hers--meatball sandwiches.  Her potato salad is Bob's favorite.  She topped off the luncheon with a delicious made-from-scratch apple cake...perfect for the season.  Their neighbor, Jason, stopped by to use their printer.   Although we have heard about him before from Plish and John, we had never met him, but it certainly was a Halloween  treat to do so.  Jase is an  English instructor for the government working with students and teachers in ESL.  In addition he works at Bloomfield College, and he has a very unique technique for learning English as a second language.  If you google fluency mc or colloandspeak.com, you can find out more about it.  It's worth checking it out. On the way home, little tricksters were stopping at the shops along Bloomfield Ave in Caldwell to get their treats.  Just about every store participated.  We are hoping no one "disguised" as a bear comes knocking on the rv trailer tonight!!!

Country ride to Branchville Wed Oct 30 2013

Branchville is a little town about 25 miles north of the campground where there is a very nice restaurant called the Blue Ribbon on Culver Lake.  Several years ago, Bob and I happened upon it by accident, but as often happens, it turned out to be a good thing, and we try to stop there each time we are in Jersey..  The food is very tasty, and the restaurant has a very nice atmosphere.  Cousins Carol and Nelson came with us  Nelson had a "forced retirement" earlier this year  when the pharmaceutical company he had worked at for probably 40+ years finally closed its doors.  So, he is now, more or less, a man of leisure. We planned on treating them, but Nelson beat us to it.  It was somewhat of a raw day...not so cold, but damp, so we didn't do any sight seeing.  We were planning to stop at one of the roadside produce stands on our way back, but both Carol and I were adamant that the one the guys wanted to stop at wasn't the right one.  We had to admit we were wrong.  Chalk up one for the boys.