In New Jersey at Last



On June 27 we bid farewell to Pigeon Forge and ran over to Buddy Gregg's RV in west Knoxville to get our oil changed and our slide motor looked at.  I noticed a little spot of oil on top of a plastic container lid which was apparently dripping from the motor above it.  They had to order the motor, so we will have it replaced when we leave New Jersey the end of July.  Hate to drive all that way again, but we get to see our friends again, too.

The northeast has been having record rainfall and flooding and we were hoping for good weather, and we only had a little sprinkle in the three days it took to go 664 miles.  We are staying at my brother's in Stockton with 50A we rigged when we stayed here three years ago and water.  His house has the sewer. 

First on our agenda was the fourth of July Great Crate Race (alias the soap box derby) and Parade.  We skipped the parade, but drove some of Bob's refurbished antique cars to the race grounds.  He has refurbished about 15 antique cars as old as a 1904 Glide.  Gary got to drive the hot rod, and my brother drove his handmade 'racer'. 

 

 

This little girl is the epitome of the patriotic American.  Freckles and all! 

 

On Friday we climbed up on the roof and removed our in-motion satellite King Dome which our previous owner used.  It never did work for us, and it would have involved shipping to King Dome, updating and reshipping to us which was too expensive.  We use our portable Direct TV dish which we can place anywhere for great reception. 

 

Saturday was picnic day.  BBQ pulled pork and fish caught by my fishing-loving brother, Kirk.  Mmm, delish!  Tristan and his girlfriend, Tracy took the train in from Brooklyn, and we picked them up at the station that morning.  Bob gave Tracy a ride in the racer while Tristan remembered how to cut the grass.

 

 

 

 

After gorging ourselves, it was time to walk to the creek at the back of the property.  Bob outfitted Tristan and Tracy and I wore my duck boots.

 

 

 

We mucked around in the stream looking under rocks like I did as a kid.  It was a very warm day with no breeze, so we enjoyed watching my grandniece, Gabrielle, splash in her pool.  Isn't she a cutie?

 

 

 

It was great to see most of the family, and with promises to see each other again, we all departed.  Tristan and Tracy stayed overnight.  And around eight the next morning, we jumped in the Jeep with our suitcase and headed into Brooklyn to Tristan's apartment.  We had tickets to see Monkey - Journey to the West at the Lincoln Theater Sunday night, but we spent the day at the Museum of Natural History and eating a food truck lunch.  Fabulous!

 



I haven't been on the NY subway since my old work days in the city.  It hasn't changed much, except for the ticket price!

The show at Lincoln Center began at 8 and we had fifteen minutes before curtain to take some photos and look for celebs. 

Our celebs



The show incorporated animation, acrobatics and subtitles (as it was all in Chinese).  Interesting concepts combined into a unique production.  They got a rousing reception and a ten minute ovation.  Afterwards, we cabbed it down to the Village for our favorite Blue Ribbon Sushi.  Ahh, the New York life.  You need to be young to walk miles and miles.  At least on pavement.  Give me grass any day.

The next morning I was surprised to be able to get out of bed, and we walked 10 minutes to a fabulous bagel shop then walked over to Prospect Park.  There are free concerts and plays all summer in the Bandshell that Tristan attends regularly. 

Lilly and us ready for a walk
 

After our walk, we went back to the apartment and Tristan played the piano for us and we sang songs. Then we decided to head back to the country as thunderstorms were predicted for later in the day.  Hugs and kisses, and promises to see each other again before we left NJ.  Glad we had our GPS on our iPad, however it did tell us to go down a one way street the wrong way, so we had to quickly improvise.  We ended going over the Manhattan bridge into NYC and down through the Holland Tunnel.  It was actually fun to remember how many times I did that when we visited NY in a previous lifetime. 

We stopped at Wegman's, a HUGE grocery store, and visited with my niece and her husband who work there.  We also had lunch in the café: more sushi!  We arrived home just before the rain and had dinner with Bob.

We had planned to repaint the front and back top of the coach, as Bella is losing her clear coat.  But, we haven't decided to spend the money yet.  Paint is really expensive.  Meanwhile, we will continue to do a little maintenance here and there and also go play.  Riding bikes along the Delaware tow path is on our list for this weekend!

Family is good.