Day 3: Baltimore to Aberdeen

We got up early and went for a swim in the hotel's pool. After sitting in the car for 2 days, we appreciated the exercise.

We drove up the Jersey Turnpike and got off at the exit 8A, Highstown NJ. We took the opportunity to revisit some of the places that hold special memories. We passed through Freehold, where the hospital Naftali was born in is located.

We stopped in at our favorite "fruit and vegetable stand", Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck. It was always a treat to go shopping there, regardless of the season, you could always get the best fruits and vegetable there.

From there we drove up to Holmdel, for a quick look at Holmdel park, and Bell Labs Then on to Aberdeen, for lunch with our old friends Barbra & Irwin.

We made a quick trip to the apartment we first lived in when we moved to Aberdeen. This ground floor apartment, was home for several years before we bought our first home.

Later, we drove to New Brunswick for dinner with Yoni in nearby Highland Park. He's been taking a summer class, so we had to grab whatever time we could to see him. When we lived in Aberdeen, Highland Park was the center of Jewish life. It had the school, bakery, pizza shop, butcher, and book stores, everything we needed to 'survive'.

Afterwards, we made our way up the Parkway to Paramus, where we stayed with Sandy & Jonathan.

Day 2: Driving from Savannah to Baltimore

Today we continued our drive north from Savannah. We stopped at the famous "South of the Border" rest stop/tourist trap. Located in South Carolina, just south of the North Carolina border. It has all the stores you'd expect; gas, food, gift shops, and a motel, and is a welcome break from the long drive.




Nomi, again, true to her salesman roots, tried to sell me the Great White Shark at the gift shop.

When we arrived at our hotel in Washington DC, we found that they didn't have our reservation, but since we felt like we could drive some more, we decided to keep going.

On the drive north from Washington, we took the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. While we were creeping along in traffic, a tricked out VW Beetle passed us, it had more tchochkes in the windows than I've ever seen before. It also had hubcap spinners and the license plates "YHWH". I guess everybody has to put up with traffic jams...
(Sorry for the blurry picture, it was getting dark and the camera needed more light.)

Day 1: Traveling to the North

Nomi and I headed north today to visit friends and family. We drove about 500 miles today, and stopped in Savannah Georgia for the night. After we checked into our hotel, we decided to see some of the sights.

First we stopped at an Air Force museum, where Nomi tried to sell me a used Mig-17. She was quite persuasive, with a down payment of only $20,000, this baby is mine after only 120 monthly installments. She even promised me free floor mats and cup holders!

Then we drove to downtown Savannah, and walked around on the cobblestoned streets by the riverside. We sat and listed to two street performers singing a variety of blues and rock songs.





Tomorrow we continue our drive north, and hope to reach Washington DC, where we'll spend another night.

Ready for the Summer

Just before the Memorial Day weekend, our air conditioner broke down (that's why we went to the museum, anywhere that was cool). After having several AC companies give us their sales pitch, we decided to get a larger unit than originally came with the house. Now we have enough cooling capacity to get us through the hottest days this summer.

Upsheren in Bonita

Nomi and I went to the Upsheren of the son of a of local Chabad rabbi today. It was a lovely party, with plenty of food and dancing, and nice decorations (see the centerpiece). I know that this is a common event in NY or in Jerusalem, but here in southwest Florida, it isn't.

Anyway, we had a lovely time a reminder of all the simchot we used to go to in NY/NJ.

Memorial Day Weekend

Gene and I decided to get an early start on the day (Sunday), and go for a ride before the heat and the traffic get too bad. In the background, you can see a golfer who had the same idea. It was a great ride, nice weather, good roads, and a fast pace, all the ingredients for a perfect ride.

Later in the morning, Nomi & I went to the Naples Art Museum.

They had several exhibits:

• Furniture and textiles by Frank Lloyd Wright
• Miniature houses, with incredibled detailed floors, carpets, and furnishings
• Miniature theater sets. I finally get to see what it looks like "behind the scenes"

After all that we went to a local mall for some of those holiday weekend bargains. I wandered through the bookstore, camera shop, Radio Shack... while Nomi looked for clothes. Here she is at the end of a long day.

The Day the House Changed Colors

After living in our pink house (excuse me, it wasn't pink, it was salmon), we decided to have it painted. It was overdue, some of the paint had faded and some of the trim was beginning to rust. We decided to go with more conservative colors, beige with white trim.

Here's a picture of the house as it appeared before the new paint. When we bought the house, it was pink inside and out, even the grout between the floor tiles was pink (ooops! salmon).

The only drawback... I keep driving past the house, looking for my pink house.