Travels with Bob through New Jersey

On the docks at Bahr's Landing  Restaurant, Highlands, NJ.

We had the opportunity to spend some time in New Jersey yesterday. My cousin's daughter Lexi received her First Communion in Hazlet, New Jersey and we were invited to the festivities that followed, including lunch at Bahr's Landing in Highlands, NJ. It's always great to spend time with family and even though it's a 3 hour drive from our condo we always try to attend these events. Sometimes we spend the night in a hotel, but often a family member offers us a bed. In this case we stayed at Lexi's house and had a delightful visit with the family and hanging out with the two little ones - 7 and 4, the adorable Lexi and Livi. We had dinner with them at the eclectic Carlos O'Connor's in Red Bank and then window-shopped the rest of evening. Fun times. We found this great little gift shop called Toad Hollow where we all bought a few fun things.

By Sunday morning, Bob had the girls giggling and the dog in love with him so that by the time we said our goodbyes we got warm hugs and kisses, the best part of staying over and having some "one on one time" with our family/hosts!

Heading home, we decided to explore the Jersey shore a bit, staying away from the main roads. The day was overcast and rained on and off so it wasn't a particularly good beach day which meant the traffic wasn't bad as we meandered through this area that was so hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. And even though it's been over a year since it happened, there is still much destruction visible. You can see where some houses have been repaired, while others are still being worked on - or the empty lots where a home or business once stood. I cannot begin to imagine what it looked like in the immediate aftermath. It was impactful to see it first hand.

We walked along the boardwalk at Broadway Beach in Pt. Pleasant, ate zeppoles and big soft pretzels (note exactly on our diet!) and had fun people watching. Back in the car, we headed south and made our way to Millville, NJ and the Glasstown Arts District there. Sunday, wasn't a great day to do this as so many shops were closed. Even the Riverfront  Renaissance Center for the Arts was closed for a private party. Driving further along we saw a sign (by now we had headed back to the Garden State Pkwy) for the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center and decided to follow the signs and see where they led. We were delighted to find it open - but had only half and hour to explore. Since it was so late, we didn't have to pay the entrance fee but vowed to return when there was more time and I could do some sketching and we could watch the glass-blowing demonstrations in the Glass Studio. Photos below are from our quick tour of the Museum of American Glass: