So here I am in glorious New Jersey! The plane ride went well enough, although it was a bit bumpy at times. That night, my aunt and uncle held a pizza party for the immediate family of the bride and groom, so I got some good ol' thin 'n' floppy New York pizza for the first time since college. Mmmm, delicious. The place had just the right mix of floppy and crispy, although perhaps a touch too much grease.
Unfortunately, the flight time had been a bit... awkward. I had to be at the airport at just about the same time I normally go to bed. And I wasn't able to sleep at all during the flight — not because of the bumpiness (it really wasn't all that bad) but from the seats. Those chairs are just not conducive to actually relaxing. So thanks to all that, I wound up crashing at around 10 PM (EST).
Yesterday was the wedding rehearsal. I had nothing to do during it, but my mom did. And given how this trip was planned out, I'm the only one able to drive the car. (My dad figured that since I'm staying later than they are, I'd be the one to return it, so the car is in my name. Then he didn't want to spring for paying for extra drivers. So I'm playing chauffeur.) Which means I had to drive them down to it, and then had an hour to kill.
I spent it on the beach. The water was listed as 66 F, but damn it it didn't feel at least 70. Nice gentle surf, clean warm water, sand that was hot but not sole-burning, and a simply gorgeous day combined to make it an absolutely perfect day for the beach.
After the rehearsal was over, we wanted to visit Manasquan, where we spent so many summers when I was a kid. My dad insisted we take the scenic route, though, so instead of taking the highway straight there, we took regular streets right down the coast, hitting every town along the way. Along with beach traffic, lots of pedestrians, and skimming by a beach volleyball tournament. So it was an interesting drive, but it took pretty much the rest of the afternoon. Still, we did reach Manasquan in time to check out a few places, such as the inlet and the place where our old beach house was. Emphasis on past tense; the near-shack that used to be there has been replaced by a very nice two-story home.
And last night was the rehearsal dinner. This is apparently a very swank wedding. The restaurant was very high quality, there was an open bar, the bride and groom were giving gifts out to the wedding party, and so on. Very, very nice! Darn good meal, too.
Unfortunately, I still haven't recovered from the whole "not enough sleep" thing, and I went to bed early. Double unfortunately, my father seems to have taken it upon himself to cure my snoring — by waking me up every time I start. Nice. I told him if he keeps this up I'm going to start randomly throwing cups of water on him as he sleeps.
Other than that, though, it's been a pretty good trip so far.
Unfortunately, the flight time had been a bit... awkward. I had to be at the airport at just about the same time I normally go to bed. And I wasn't able to sleep at all during the flight — not because of the bumpiness (it really wasn't all that bad) but from the seats. Those chairs are just not conducive to actually relaxing. So thanks to all that, I wound up crashing at around 10 PM (EST).
Yesterday was the wedding rehearsal. I had nothing to do during it, but my mom did. And given how this trip was planned out, I'm the only one able to drive the car. (My dad figured that since I'm staying later than they are, I'd be the one to return it, so the car is in my name. Then he didn't want to spring for paying for extra drivers. So I'm playing chauffeur.) Which means I had to drive them down to it, and then had an hour to kill.
I spent it on the beach. The water was listed as 66 F, but damn it it didn't feel at least 70. Nice gentle surf, clean warm water, sand that was hot but not sole-burning, and a simply gorgeous day combined to make it an absolutely perfect day for the beach.
After the rehearsal was over, we wanted to visit Manasquan, where we spent so many summers when I was a kid. My dad insisted we take the scenic route, though, so instead of taking the highway straight there, we took regular streets right down the coast, hitting every town along the way. Along with beach traffic, lots of pedestrians, and skimming by a beach volleyball tournament. So it was an interesting drive, but it took pretty much the rest of the afternoon. Still, we did reach Manasquan in time to check out a few places, such as the inlet and the place where our old beach house was. Emphasis on past tense; the near-shack that used to be there has been replaced by a very nice two-story home.
And last night was the rehearsal dinner. This is apparently a very swank wedding. The restaurant was very high quality, there was an open bar, the bride and groom were giving gifts out to the wedding party, and so on. Very, very nice! Darn good meal, too.
Unfortunately, I still haven't recovered from the whole "not enough sleep" thing, and I went to bed early. Double unfortunately, my father seems to have taken it upon himself to cure my snoring — by waking me up every time I start. Nice. I told him if he keeps this up I'm going to start randomly throwing cups of water on him as he sleeps.
Other than that, though, it's been a pretty good trip so far.