New Jersey Trip Report, Part 1

July marked our annual pilgrimage to New Jersey to visit my parents and sisters’ families. The trip was divided into two halves. The first half consisted of hanging out in New Jersey at my parents’ house and a visit to my sister’s house in Connecticut. The second half was our 3rd Annual Trip to Long Beach Island at the Jersey Shore.

This trip was typically exhausting, but especially important because my father has some health issues that we needed to discuss. Most lung cancer patients at some point in time will face a reoccurrence of cancer, and my father is preparing for that eventuality. He’s done quite well with his current cancer drug, but will need to move on to another drug soon. We spent some time discussing his options, and reviewing research material on the internet. On a side note, the Brewster Boys were delighted to see their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. I’ve never seen them so happy.

I hadn’t seen my sister in Connecticut for two years (I think), so we spent an overnight with her family in their new house in the woods. While we were there, we visited two farms nearby. One was a dairy cooperative and the other was a vegetable and poultry farm. The boys loved it. We don’t have anything like it in our area. As a result of these experiences, we thought seriously about getting a pet animal for the boys. Maybe someday.

Punky was very happy to see his grandfather after a year

Russell employs an unusual release during our game of mini-bowling

Punky shows off the guinea pig at his Aunt Katy's house

Russell especially enjoyed hearing the rooster crow

The Brewster Boys pose with a group of real farmers

Here we are at the dairy farm