Jersey Visit Continued

The week down the shore spending some QT with the family was great. I got to hang out a lot with my nephews Will (2) and Danny (just shy of 3 months). Seaside Park has a "baby beach" with a large enclosed area of the bay that is consistently about 1.5' deep. Will can splash around in there in his floaty vest and be able to touch the bottom if he wants and not be scared by waves. He spent hours in there. I went for some nice runs and bike rides and took lots of naps. I didn't have a room so I was couch surfing in the living room, and the living room is ruled by Will starting around 6am every day, at which point I switched into Will's bedroom to sleep a few more hours. We got to watch the sun set across the bay every evening and played some dominoes at night. Kate saw the Jersey Shore film crew out with their cameras and lights when she drove through Seaside Heights. I did a bit of coding in the heat of the afternoon and released a major update to Linkzie.

Friday we drove back to Lambertville. I went for a long bike ride heading south along the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park. It's totally flat and paved with fine-grained gravel. It's great for biking. However, on the way back while I was still about four miles from town it started pouring rain and I got soaked. The weather was hot so the rain felt great and in general I didn't mind it. I did have my phone with me, which I tried to keep dry by wrapping it in some dollar bills and putting it in my back pocket (first world problems), but that was about my only concern. Dad drove down to the base of the hill leading into their development to offer me a ride, but I just gave him my phone and biked up the hill. It's nothing compared to what I routinely mountain bike in Colorado. We planned to go to Bell's Tavern where my parents typically eat on Friday nights but it was too crowded by the time we got there, so we ate at Number 9 instead, which was slow but tasty.

Saturday I went out to West Long Branch for a fun summer BBQ at Thorp and Rox's house. There were a lot of folks and a lot of kids there. We had the PA set up outside and there was some jamming going on. The kids hit a piñata. Eventually the cops showed up and we had to move the music inside. I got to visit with the Sunny Daze crew and some of my other friends from that area, which was great.

Today I biked north along the canal up past Bull's Island park to Kingswood Boat Launch, and then turned around. As I left the Lambert's Hill development, I crossed paths with Mom, who instructed me to stop at Rojo Coffee Roasters on the way home and try the green tea mango smoothie which she had just discovered. She has an account there and I could just "charge it to her account". She's so adorable. It was a great summer day and there were lots and lots of folks drifting along the Delaware river in inner tubes. I stopped in Stockton and grabbed a sandwich to go. Back in Lambertville I did as ordered and got the smoothie at Rojo.

My folks left for Portland this afternoon so I have one more day here to myself before heading back home.