Back At Lake Adventure For Some Swimming!

A few visits have been made to Lake Adventure since we've brought in our new Park Home, but with Max's apprehension with staying over night, our visits this summer will be limited to day trips--hardly a big deal. While the weather holds up, we're going to pound the pool as our primary source of entertainment. Yesterday was a great pool day for Lynn, Max, and me. While it's nothing different for Max to don the inner tube while putzing around in the water, he did exhibit for the first time interest in 'jumping' into the pool, as well as going underwater, two activities I was eager to help him with (since I never lost my love for swimming). So, a few leaps into the water he took, and I made sure that while I was close enough to practically catch him, I did give him enough room to get the experience of 'splashing in' (so to speak) so he could get the sensation of being underwater, albeit briefly. He LOVED it. In typical Max fashion, he wanted more, more, more. Luckily, the pool for him isn't something he needs to be in for too long, so for the 75 minutes or so we were there, he was more than satisfied--no doubt more days like that will be on the horizon (look for the web album at the right for images of the day).

Another nice detail about our visit to the camper stemmed from a customized sign Lynn had made while down at Great Adventure this past Wednesday. Though initially intended to hang outside near the camper, she decided for now to leave it on the windowsill just above the lot numbers I pasted to the front. In the web album to the right, you'll see pictures of Max holding this sign on his lap as well as it's current address in the window. I think it adds a nice touch to our place! Kudos to my wife!

Take Her to the Zoo

This past Thursday was a picture-perfect day weatherwise for a return to Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange. Lynn and Max had been up there a handful of times already this season, but this day was my first time back this year. Making this trip intriguing was the opening of a couple of new exhibits--a walk-through aviary, and a kangaroo, wallaby, and emu pen. While much of what was seen Thursday was not much different than previous visits, Max was a bit more amicable this time to try a couple of new things--one was spending more time near the barns housing the livestock, as well as his first attempt at feeding birds, separating himself from them using only a small stick smeared with a mix of seed and a honey-type glaze purchased from the keeper (See the web photo album at the below-right of this page to catch a glimpse of his new-found bravery).

A very nice time was had by all! Fortunately, we got out of there within an hour of rain.

Visit to LBI

What an amazing day for a trip to the shore (I know some of you say 'beach', but I'm from New Jersey). Lynn, Max, and I packed up for a day of visiting with family at a beautiful beach house in Long Beach Island, co-rented by the Weisbrod's, People's, and Pepitone's. My mom, dad, sister Dionne, and brother-in-law Bob also visited for the day (my mom and dad were also celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary). It was Max's first extended visit to the beach this summer (not including a Sandy Hook lunch and sight-seeing trip earlier in the season), and Brayden's first time to play with Max on the beach. Well, the water was cool but bearable, and we remained at the beach for nearly 3 hours. After some time to clean up, Lynn, Max, and I headed back to the beach house and just visited for the remainder of the afternoon with everyone who also ventured back out of the sun (it was at this point I noticed I got A LOT of color, some would call it 'burn', I call it 'less pale'). When it neared Max's limit with visiting (and we always get warning signs from him), we headed out, but not before taking a few pictures (see album below).

A special thank you to Uncle Dennis, Aunt Grace, Theresa, Bruce, Brayden, Mike, and Laurie for inviting us down for the afternoon! And special congratulations to my mom and dad for another anniversary in the books!

Better Late than Never

A number of weeks ago I published a post on how my wife got a shout-out from Gary Vaynerchuk (Director of Operations, Wine Library, and star of the video Blog "Wine Library TV" aka "The Thunder Show") at http://lot829.blogspot.com/2008/07/birthday-shout-out-for-lynn-4-seconds.html . I thought I'd follow up with the news that my shout-out can now be heard on http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/08/11/a-3-country-pinot-noir-challenge-episode-516/ .

I had an email exchange between Gary and Gary's assistant, Matt at the end of July. I was told by Matt that my shoutout WAS in fact slated for Episode 500 (the live webcast at CrushPad on July 10), but Gary obviously did not remember to do shout-outs that day. Since Gary was about to travel abroad, he asked that it be penciled in at the first taping of WineLibrary TV when he got back to the states.

Thank you, Gary! See you at the next event at the Wine Libary!

Saturday Night with Lynn's Entourage

Saturday night saw a nice night out with my son and my wife as we visited Lynn's friend's housing complex in Clifton (very snazzy, I must say!)


Cambridge Heights of Clifton, NJ (a nice looking site just off the northbound side of the GSP around exit 155) has a phenomenal clubhouse usable by it's residents for parties, gatherings, etc. Lynn's friends Cathy and Cheryl hosted a shindig for all friends, spouses, and kids there this past Saturday Night. Visiting were all of Lynn's dearest friends and their spouses (Lauren and Kevin, Donna and Mike, Mike. Jr., Lauren's dad and "Hutch", Lisa, etc.) and all the kids (Max, Matthew, Karlie, Conner, and Christopher). Two LARGE rooms afforded everyone a chance to enjoy each other's company, eat (oh man, by the way, amazing food), and let the kids run themselves ragged. The featured attraction was a surprise game of "Hotseat", a game I never heard of as a board game. Basically, questions get asked of everyone about others participating in the game, some questions of which were rather personal (which of course made it all the more amusing!).

All in all, it was a very nice evening, and I was glad my wife had a chance to unwind with friends with which she's shared a LOT of history!

A Sort of Homecoming

(First things first--no, this isn't a write up about U2)

Today was the first time in 10+ years that my parents (or Paul and Bernice or Uncle Paul and Aunt Bernice, whatever you call them) took a ride to Pennsylvania to visit Lake Adventure. I have been eager to show them the place, and with good weather and an eager little swimmer in Max packed into the car, a nice afternoon was anticipated. Along with the walk-through of our new place would a long afternoon up at the pool. They were very impressed with the new place, and were looking forward to having more family come check it out! After the walk-through of the place, it was time for swimming! Once settled in at the pool (which was busy today given the nice weather), my folks shared how being at the site once again brought back tons of fond memories --memories not only of the times they had with family up there, but times with the good people that also had properties adjacent ours going back as far as I could remember. Ironically one of those good folks happened to be there this afternoon at their property when we returned to ours from swimming. My folks spoke with him for a while to catch up on current events while Max and I took a short walk. When we returned and it was evident that it was the right time to head back home, I saw an opportunity for a photo-op:



The day was a walk down memory lane for my mom and dad, and hopefully a springboard for paying their old site, and the old friends they made, another visit.

Birthday Shout-Out for Lynn! 4 Seconds Of Fame

You might be aware that I've gotten a bit into learning about wine over the past few years, but this year has been one where I've really moved up the learning curve, spending more time reading and following a daily wine blog called Wine Library TV. The host of the program, Gary Vaynerchuk, has a daily video blog on the subject, and has made numerous television appearances to date. I have had the chance to meet him on two different occasions, and have kept in touch via e-mail.

Since part of his video blog involves acknowledging his viewing audience with "shout-outs" for things like anniversaries, birthdays, etc., I had the idea of requesting he do a shout-out for Lynn and me for our birthdays. Well, as irony would have it, the shout-out to Lynn got on the air, while mine is still a work in progress, it seems. Check this out, and go to the 20:04 mark:

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/07/21/gigondasrhones-little-secret-episode-505/

Enjoy!