Our carriage (navy blue Jetta wagon) arrived at the airport to carry us on our journey. My friend SM and her son, "the boy", were nice enough to not only invite us to stay with them but they also chauffeured us around, fed us, did our laundry, taught us to play Angry Birds, and didn't call social services after a week of hearing stories about our children. SM, whom I hadn't seen in 10 years, looks fantastic (and she's single... ladies, she can make fried chicken and uses matching napkins and little cream pitchers when serving coffee. Imagine the possibilities...). The boy was only a toddler the last time we saw him, and you can imagine that much has changed in 10 years. I met SM back at good old Wayne State College (where bright futures begin), and the boy is about the same age as Dade.
We headed to casa Sassafras to drop off our luggage. It was immediately apparent on our first trip together in the Jetta wagon that the Sassafras family and the Vescapades family would be nothing but happy during our little vacation. Colby and the boy were two peas in a pod in the back seat while SM and I talked history and politics and cooking. Our frequent trips in the Jetta wagon were not only informative for me, but I know for a fact that the boy learned at least one new swear word. That's saying a lot considering that a) SM has a potty mouth of her own, and B) he lives in New Jersey. It's a proud moment in the Vescapades house when we can expand the vocabulary of a tween.
Our first stop after a quick freshening up at casa Sassafras was Princeton, NJ. I learned that unlike NE where communities are separated by miles farmland, in NJ communities blend together forming one seemingly huge city made up of lots of smaller towns. NJ is densely populated, so it only makes sense that folks are living one on top of the other among Dunkin Donuts and Walgreens. Princeton was filled with great little shops, and taking a photo in front of the university was the closest I'll ever get to an Ivy League education.
The evening's meal was delicious, one of many meals that I neither cooked or cleaned up. Holla! I also got my first NJ bug bite. Sadly, I did not turn into Spiderwoman.
1 comment:
Let me be the first to note that:
1. Y'all were excellent houseguests. We'll have you back any day.
2. I never object to more vocab for the kid, especially words that will come in handy here in dirty Jersey.
3. Behind the Ivy League gates, they could use a hell of a lot more midwestern common sense.
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