I'm a Jersey girl.

or I was for 24 hours anyway.  Below are pictures from my speedy weekend trek to NJ. Unfortunately, I'm growing more irritated with the editing/formatting on Blogger, but once again, this is better than nothing, and you'll get the gist of the trip.
Hudson and I rode along with my parents to Northern New Jersey. We left their house at 8 am, arrived at 12:30, and left on Sunday at about 10:45 AM and got back to Falls Church at 3, and Richmond at 7. That's a lot of car time, but Hudson did remarkably well, and equally remarkable, I was able to read in the car. I read 100 pages and for me, having that much time to read is a true luxury!
The visit was lovely, I got to see My 90 year old Grandma Millie who I adore, my aunts, uncles and a cousin.

Portrait by Hudson

Thriving on the 15th floor, Hen and Chicks

One hell of an Italian Squash, grown by my uncle John. In the words of my Dad, "That doesn't make me hungry!"

Birthday Cake for my Mom, a family tradition.

Millie's perfect peach pie, delicious!

Whenever we're together I request a four generation shot.

Late afternoon nap, at last!

A classic, in so many ways.

10 minutes before arrival, 5 minutes before falling asleep!

See note below*

The boys, checking things out from above.

My little boy looks so grown up here!

Togetherness.

NYC skyline from Millie's balcony.

Oh what I love so much about NJ, the bagels, I mean the people, but oh the bagels!!

Shabbat Elevator: My Grandma has lived in a Hasidic Jewish community for over 45 years. My Grandma is not Jewish herself, so everything I've learned about them has been through observation and naive questioning. Being as 90% of our visits fall on a Saturday, I see her neighbors as being a wholesome, friendly bunch. They are always going on family walks, going to the park, playing in back and front yards, and generally relaxing and enjoying each other's company on Saturdays. I knew they weren't allowed to drive on Saturdays, but I didn't know until this visit that they are not permitted to push buttons. The elevator labeled Shabbat Elevator stops on every floor so that the residents can stand and wait for the elevator to come without calling it, and eventually end up at the floor they need. This got me thinking what would it be like to spend 24 hours not touching any buttons; no cell phones, no tv, no driving, no water from the fridge, no electronic toys....some day I'm going to try it!