i keep a diary

August 01, 2009

Suburban NJ Summer Paradise

Leigh got a free car rental for the weekend and we all decided to pile in and head to the Jersey shore for a day at the beach!

Saturday, August 1st

leigh, scott m
We were all in the car and on the road by 11am!
driving ˆ rental car ˆ leigh ˆ scott m
alexis, geordon, justin, me, scott m
No small feat for such a big group! (This group, in particular)
best ˆ driving ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ justin ˆ me ˆ scott m
Leaving.
driving
Turnpike Apocalypse.
driving ˆ nj
alexis, geordon, scott m
A little more than an hour in, we took a break.
rental car ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ scott m
Mob scene.
burger king
zane
Zane and his friend were following us down in a separate car.
zane
justin
Back on the road.
rental car ˆ justin
We went a bit further south and hit total gridlock. Traffic was so backed up that the highway signs started announcing that some of the beaches were CLOSED because there was no more parking anywhere near them. With a car full of people and nowhere to go, Justin spoke up and said "My parents live near here." Silence. "Oh, and they have a swimming pool, paddle boats and a trampoline." The group unanimously decided to head to Justin's parent's house! Haha.
driving ˆ nj
We took the next exit and the traffic disappeared!
best ˆ driving ˆ nj
I know it's hard to read - but Montel Jordan's THIS IS HOW WE DO IT came on the radio as soon as we hit the traffic-free road. Haha.
driving
alexis, geordon
This is how we do it.
alexis ˆ geordon
You can always tell when you down near the shore in Jersey because the soil gets all sandy and the only trees that can grow are pine trees.
trees
Oh, and because all of the Jeep spare tire covers have Tweety Bird and/or Taz on them.
driving ˆ nj
Beachwood.
nj
Lonely Carvel.
nj
Almost there! (Four hours to drive 77 miles! Noooooo.)
driving
Getting close to the water.
driving ˆ nj
But it ended up being SO worth it. Justin's parent's house was even awesomer than we'd imagined!
porch
justin
Thanks, Justin (and Justin's parents!).
justin
geordon, leigh, ryan m
Backyard.
geordon ˆ leigh ˆ ryan m
Dock!
dock
Paddle boat!
boat ˆ ocean
geordon
Capt. Geordon readies his ship for sea.
ocean ˆ geordon
justin, me, ryan m
Preparing for launch.
justin ˆ me ˆ ryan m
alexis, geordon, leigh
Heading out to sea!
best ˆ boat ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ leigh
leigh, me
Steering a paddle boat is not easy.
boat ˆ sunglasses ˆ leigh ˆ me
Getting the hang of it.
justin, ryan m
Ryan and Justin kayaked out to say hi.
boat ˆ justin ˆ ryan m
justin, ryan m
Hi.
boat ˆ justin ˆ ryan m
justin, ryan m
Ooops! Haha.
point ˆ justin ˆ ryan m
geordon, leigh
Haha. Captain Geordon's hair is unstoppable.
hair ˆ ocean ˆ geordon ˆ leigh
leigh, scott
Back on land, we went around to the front of the house to check out the TRAMPOLINE!
trampoline ˆ leigh ˆ scott
me
Which is what we did for the next THREE HOURS.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ me
scott m
Scott.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ scott m
me, ryan m
It wasn't long before we started going on two at a time and seeing how we could bounce each other.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ me ˆ ryan m
geordon, ryan m
Aerial high five.
high five ˆ jump ˆ trampoline ˆ geordon ˆ ryan m
alexis, geordon
Alexis and Geordon.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ alexis ˆ geordon
leigh
Our faces hurt from smiling.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ leigh
geordon
Snoopy.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ geordon
geordon, leigh
Geordon's form was impressive.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ geordon ˆ leigh
geordon
Crouching Tiger....
best ˆ jump ˆ trampoline ˆ geordon
geordon
...Flying Homo.
best ˆ jump ˆ trampoline ˆ geordon
geordon, leigh
Geordon & Leigh.
jump ˆ trampoline ˆ geordon ˆ leigh
After our serious trampolining, we moved the action to the pool to cool down.
pool
alexis, geordon, scott m
Haha.
pool ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ scott m
leigh
I brought my underwater casing for my camera
best ˆ underwater ˆ leigh
alexis, geordon, justin, leigh, me, ryan m, scott m
Group shot.
best ˆ pool ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ justin ˆ leigh ˆ me ˆ ryan m ˆ scott m
SWIM TO ME!
pool ˆ underwater
geordon, me
Even the pool can't tame Geordon's majestic hair. It just wants to be free.
get a load of this guy ˆ hair ˆ sunglasses ˆ geordon ˆ me
geordon
Hahahaha.
best ˆ pool ˆ geordon
Leigh took all of her video footage from the day and made this awesome movie. It makes me laugh out loud EVERY SINGLE time I watch it. Holy shit, is it funny.
best ˆ video
alexis, geordon, leigh, scott m
We'd worked up a big appetite, so around 7:30...
pool ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ leigh ˆ scott m
...we headed inside to grab some food. Tater tots. Mmmm.
crab ˆ food
I walked over to the kitchen sink to wash my hands totally unaware that it was filled with living crabs and totally almost screamed out loud. Haha. I HATE CRABS! EWWWW! (I love their pretty blue claws, though)
best ˆ crab ˆ sink
Veggie burger!
bbq ˆ corn ˆ food
leigh
Time to eat!
bbq ˆ food ˆ leigh
alexis, geordon, justin
We had dinner out on the back porch.
food ˆ porch ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ justin
leigh
Haha.
best ˆ crab ˆ leigh
alexis, geordon, justin, leigh, ryan m, scott m
Went down to the dock to watch the sunset.
boat ˆ dock ˆ alexis ˆ geordon ˆ justin ˆ leigh ˆ ryan m ˆ scott m
scott m
Haha.
boat ˆ dock ˆ swim ˆ scott m
Campfire.
fire
Full moon.
best ˆ fire ˆ moon
alexis, justin, leigh, ryan m
Relaxing.
fire ˆ alexis ˆ justin ˆ leigh ˆ ryan m
Late night paddle boat excursion.
boat ˆ ocean ˆ swim
scott m
Packing up to head out.
scott m
Full moon over the bay. Thanks for having us all over, Justin's Parents!
ocean
geordon
I know, I know. I don't want to leave either, Tiny Dancer.
best ˆ rental car ˆ geordon