~Funerals and weddings always have a way of bringing people together.  It’s unfortunate when it’s a funeral~

On June 22nd, my husband’s uncle died.  He had open heart surgery a few weeks prior to his death and seemed to be recovering well when we went to see him the weekend after his surgery.  Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worse and passed away.  The family had a viewing, a mass and a military service which was very beautiful and emotional. I’ll always remember him as a warm and kind man who loved his family beyond words.  I’ll miss him a lot and know for sure that he is with his wife of 50+ years who had passed a year ago. May they rest in peace, together.

The services and burial were to be in New Jersey since he had spent most of his life there before moving to Florida a couple years ago. When we heard of his passing, we contemplated driving up (I hate flying) but decided to fly since it would be faster and with a holiday week approaching, we knew that I-95 could be a mess.  On our trip home, our flight out of Newark was delayed 2 hours because of nasty weather in the area which made us wonder if we would make our connecting flight from Atlanta to Daytona.  The flight attendant told us if we didn’t make our flight, they would pay for us to stay at a hotel and get us out in the morning.  Needless to say I was praying we would make the flight!  Luckily, we made it by the skin of our teeth and my calves were killing me from running! Time to get in shape!

While we were in New Jersey, we had a chance to eat pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches (yes, it’s pork roll north jersey peeps!), pizza, chicken parm sandwiches, bagels and did I mention PIZZA?  Nothing compares to New Jersey food so whenever we are in town we make sure that we visit Sciortino’s Harbor Lights, Delio’s, Broadway Bagels and South Amboy Deli.  And now that we are home it’s….Time to get in shape! Waaaaa!

We also had a chance to visit Monmouth Park ! It was a very hot day but at least in New Jersey you get a cool breeze which was refreshing.  In Florida, it’s hot in the summer with a breeze that never seems to cool you down, at least for me!  Sorry…..as I’ve gotten older my need for coolness has grown and I’d love to find a cooler climate to live in.  My thyroid and allergies would probably thank me too!  Anyway, we bet on some horses (didn’t win anything) and couldn’t leave without a dirty water dog and beer! It’s so hard to think about healthy eating when you only have a few days to scarf down endless calories of deliciousness! Time to get in shape! Ugh!

The rest of our trip consisted of a few visits, laughing and drinking with our friends (MISS YOU ALL!) at  Teddy’s Bar and Lagoda’s .  If you are in the Central New Jersey area, I recommend that you grab a drink at one or both of these bars.  Not only because the bartenders are my friends and I know the owners (HUGE PLUS cause they are awesome people!), but, they are the best bars in the area!  Lots of fun had by all!

We also made a few quick visits including a trip to see my brother in law, sister in law, nieces and Lucy the sweetest German Sheppard in the world! It’s unbelievable how my nieces have grown and how they all have their own unique personalities and talents now.  I’m really proud of them.  Time flies and stops for no one I tell ya!  Blink of an eye, and they’re grown.

I’m glad that we were able to come up and say our final goodbye’s to uncle Ralph.  Life is precious…live it YOUR way!

Until next time New Jersey….and hopefully under better circumstances…..

“Be safe, be happy and don’t let anyone make you afraid” ~ David Coverdale

~Stacy

Extra:

The piece of steel below was part of the north tower’s antenna and was donated to the City of South Amboy on 9/6/2014.  South Amboy was one of the many city’s that risked their own lives as they rushed to NY to help others on that dreadful day.  I will never forget.