Today was another beach day and another excellent day. Today it was Annemarie and myself along with our nieces Hillary and Cassie, our brother Brian and his wife Karen’s girls. They have a son also who was working and couldn’t make it. It was another gorgeous day with temperatures in the upper 80 degree range and the ocean temperature was about 76 degrees. Annemarie has been staying in Saddle Brook and this morning drove up further into Bergen County to pick up the girls while I waited in Hoboken. There was traffic and things started a bit later than we had planned.

It was all good though, I was sitting on the stoop as they pulled up. Cassie was in the front seat not willing to give it up. I rarely pull rank but this morning I had to. I am an adult, much older than Cassie and therefore she had to sit in the backseat while I took the front seat. Though the car manual says there is an adapter for an iPod or some other device, there was no adapter so last night I made a few CD’s for the drive down the Jersey shore and I think they went down well.

An uneventful ride to Sandy Hook, no need to stop off for food or snacks or sun block since we got what we needed yesterday and also made food to bring down. It was a tight schedule since Cassie had to be back home by 6:00 this evening. The ocean was like bathwater once again, we all went in except for Cassie who just stood at the waterline. We tried talking her into jumping in with us but she was not having it and would rather see us frolic in the water. To each their own, so we frolicked.

The time flew by as we had fun and huddled under the umbrella and before we wanted to, we had to head home. There was no time for an ice cream stop which turned out to be the smart idea since we hit bumper to bumper traffic on the way home. We made it just a few minutes past 6:00 which was just fine. There was Brian and Karen waiting for Cassie. Hillary being 20 years old does her own thing lately. Whatever functions they had to attend was their own business and Annemarie and I were back on Route 17 headed south.

We were both pretty hungry and decided on pizza once we got to Hobkoen. Being in a car meant parking would be a problem but I remembered a coal oven pizzeria across from Julio & Stine’s place. Since we were so close I invited Julio to join us, he’s going to Denmark tomorrow. But Julio was stuck at work, needing to stay longer than he liked. We sat outside on the sidewalk and enjoyed a so-so pizza near a mockingbird’s nest with newly hatched mockingbirds making noises while mama flew around looking for food.

Now I’m home, and that’s about it. Tomorrow won’t be a beach day. We’re heading into the city to have dinner with a friend of Annemarie and her husband Rex. Instead we will probably check out some galleries in Chelsea and maybe check out the latest Woody Allen movie. It seems fitting since Annemarie and I saw a few Woody Allen movies back in the day when we were both living in Lodi. Tomorrow would make it extra special since it would be the first time we’d be seeing a Woody Allen movie in Manhattan. Who cares that it takes place in Rome?

Hillary, Me, Annemarie and Cassie