VISITING THE NEW JERSEY SIDE OF THE FAMILY

May 23, 2008

 

HADDONFIELD

 

Joe tries out Jim's bike and Camille plays around in their lavender kitchen.

 

AUNT KATHY'S PLACE

Our first stop was Aunt Kathy's.  She has lived here, next door to where Nana lived ever since marrying Uncle Frank, Camille's father's brother.  Click on the photo or here for a closer look.

 

Here's where the memories started flowing.  Camille had not been to this this neck of the woods since Nana's funeral in 1989.    To appease our appetites, Aunt Kathy put out a spread of fruit, cheese and crackers and pulled out the photo album with her wedding pictures.

 

THE STONE CHURCH

 

Bob and Joe took a side trip to the Stone Church, literally a stone's through from Aunt Kathy's back yard which abuts the cemetery.

Joe was quite taken by this peaceful, little church and could envision himself as pastor here.

 

A TIMELESS PATH TO THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR

 

For a moment, Camille tried to remember how many times she might have run across the path between Nana's house and Aunt Kathy's house to play with her cousins and then her feet took over and away she sped.  Here, she is telling Bob, is where the swing set used to be.  Everyone has a special place they go mentally when they need to rebalance themselves and for Camille, this is the place.  Amazingly, others could feel the grounding magnetism of this spot, too.

 

NANA'S OLD HOUSE

 

Our cousin did a good thing after Nana died.  He bought her house, moved in and kept it up.  This month, he graciously gave us permission to explore his home even though he was unable to join us.  Camille stands outside the living room with her hand on what used to be the cold frame.  Louis, Christina, Jim, Camille, Bob and Joe pose in front of the fireplace in the living room.  For more photos of this old house, check out The Home Place.

 

TO THE SANDPITS!

   

After exploring Mark's house, we all went up the hill to the sandpits where we played as kids, huffing up the steep hill, looking for "chocolate" stones and running back down through the thick leaves.

 

Christina, Bob Jim Camille and Joe are quite proud of themselves for making it up that killer hill!

 

FRANK'S SAND PIT

The sand pit of our youth has changed due to housing development.  Frank painted this peaceful picture of the sand pit from memory and therefore it lives on, untouched by time and he has no need to go up there and ruin a good thing.

 

MOUNT MITCHELL

 

Next stop, Mount Mitchell, which at 266 feet (81 meters), is the second highest point on the Eastern Seaboard from the Yucatan Peninsula to Cadillac Mountain that is within twenty-five miles from the coast.  It was a clear day so could easily see Sandy Hook and the New York Skyline.  Click on the photo (or here) to see a larger image.

 

SANDY HOOK

Another favorite childhood haunt as enjoyed on this day by Louis, Joe and Christina.

 

DINNER ON THE DECK AT FRANK AND SHAWN'S

 

After all that reminiscing and running around, we all went over to Cousin Frank's house where he lives with his beautiful wife, Shawn, their daughter Houston and Sasha, their Rhodesian Ridgeback.  It was a perfect evening for dinner on the deck with its view of the water.  The youngsters tromped off for some kayaking and came back damp, chilled and quite pleased with themselves.  Joe, Aunt Kathy, Houston, Louis, Christina, Kathryn, James, Camille and Shawn while Sasha waits for an errant tidbit to roll across the deck.

   

Camille sips wine and trades stories with her cousin, Frank.  Jim, Christina and Kathryn are also enjoying themselves.

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