Turtle Tales: Day 24-26 - Family Time, Football and "Home"

We have truly enjoyed the time we have had with Jim's family here in northern New Jersey! The weather has been perfect, and the time we have had just relaxing and enjoying the family, the dogs and each other has been a blessing!

Saturday we ran a few errands, and pretty much were lazy. We grilled hamburgers on the grill and watched football. Penny has given me a new pattern for knitting prayer shawls, and I have been working on that. She also taught me how to crochet ribbon yarn necklaces and I have made a few of those as well!

Sunday we again went to the Stanton Reformed Church for services. The congregation is very welcoming and the pastors are very dynamic and well versed. What amazes me most about the church is the number of young children that attend! There have been no less than twenty children attending the Children's Message each Sunday that we have attended. This is so good for the church as it means that the church will continue to grow in the years to come!

At four on Sunday afternoon, we went to Billy, Karen and Barbara's house (the main homestead on Four Acre Wood), as they had invited us to dinner. We had a lovely dinner and they made it special by using the china that was once Penny and Jim's mother's. We had a great meal and wonderful conversation and we enjoyed playing with their cats! They are "cat" people and do cat rescue.....I've decided that when I return to this earth, I want to be one of their cats! They get a square meal twice a day, milk and warm blankets in the barn when the weather turns cold - and that's just the stray cats that live here! The inside cats are pampered by Barbara even more so - I think she is is the Cat Whisperer (shhhhhh)

Today we drove to New York to visit my hometown of Cornwall-on-Hudson. It had been 42 years since I had been back, and I was curious to see how much things might have changed. Some things did change, but some remain the same. I did not recognize any of the towns on our way to Cornwall-on-Hudson, but once I got into town, it all came back to me...........funny how that happens after such a long time!

We visited the house I grow up in, the Yacht Club where I spent most of my free time with my Father, and ventured down the street where my Grandparents home is located. I showed Jim where I went to elementary and high school, as well as the church I was baptized in and attended while growing up. We also went by the New York Military Academy, which is a military prep school, as this is where I held my first "real" job as a waitress in the Faculty Dining Hall. Of course I had to go by a few places and point out "when I walked a mile-and-a-half to school, these are some of the places I passed along the way".......Rings Pond where we ice-skated after school, the corner drug store where we got ice-cream cones after visiting the dentist (the dentist gave us coupons!), the movie theater, etc. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane!

After visiting Cornwall-on-Hudson, we drove to Newburgh (neighboring town) as I had told Jim that I wanted to go to Pete's Hot Dog Stand - if it was still there - and have a hot dog for lunch. Well, Pete's was still there, and I had a hot dog for lunch and Jim had two! They were just as good as I remember them! When I was growing up, Pete's was a Saturday night treat prior to going to the
drive-in movies! ( I know, I'm really showing my age here....). At that time, it was a walk-up "dive" and you ate your hot dog in the car! Now they have upgraded, and have in-house dining and plumbing! :)

After lunch we drove a few blocks to visit a childhood friend of mine. She had moved back into her parents old house and has renovated and restored it into a beautiful Bed and Breakfast. (www.dennistonbb.com) Nancy and I met at the Cornwall Yacht Club where her parents also had a boat. We became good friends and I spent many a night in her parents home running through the halls! It was wonderful to see Nancy again, and I hope we have another opportunity to visit again someday! Thank you Nancy for the house tour and your friendship through the years!

After visiting with Nancy, we headed back to New Jersey. We didn't want to get caught in the rush hour traffic if we could avoid it. The ride was pleasant, although we were somewhat disappointed that the trees haven't really turned their fall colors yet.

Cornwall-on-Hudson and the Hudson River Valley has a lot of history, perhaps I can give you more on that on a later blog. For now, this is probably enough.

It was a wonderful day of reminiscing and memory making..............