A Week in Ocean City

A grand house steps away from the beach. (click on photos to enlarge)
TD and I are back from a much-needed vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey, where we rented a nice beach bungalow for a week. TD is from the area and his mother lived nearby so the idea was to spend some time with her but you may recall that she passed away very quickly in June. We were glad to go to Ocean City anyway and visit with his relatives and enjoy its spectacular beach.

Ocean City is actually an island located south of Atlantic City, which is also an island. Methodist ministers founded Ocean City in 1879, and the town is still "dry," with no alcohol sold within its borders. Ocean City is well-known for its big boardwalk, complete with an old-fashioned ferris wheel.

We stayed in the northern "garden district" where there are still many old homes like the big one pictured at the top of this post. Grace Kelly's family, which came from Philadelphia, had a summer home in Ocean City. Writer Gay Talese was born and raised in Ocean City, and owned a family summer home there until his wife, editor Nan Talese, unbeknownst to him, bought another weekend home in Roxbury, Ct.
We rented bicycles for the week, and enjoyed pedaling around looking at the  houses and gardens.

Some of the big family homes made quite a statement, but I also liked the smaller, simpler bungalows. Tendrils of green ivy were painted on the front of this charming cottage.

Many of the houses had awnings over the windows to keep the hot sunshine out of the interior rooms. Awnings came in many striped color combinations but I was drawn to those in tailored grey and white.

This grey bungalow had a handsome "pinstripe" awning, and the yard was surrounded by chic white impatiens plants. I personally like things to be simple like this; I don't like a lot of clashing colors distracting the eye.

We saw Ted's family on several nights, and it was fun to hear them recall old reminiscences. Every day we went to the beach which is long, wide and crowded with aficionados. Whole families, from great grandparents to infants, came down to the beach, with wagons and carts loaded with chairs, umbrellas, lunch, and all kinds of accoutrements. This community takes its beach-going very seriously!
A path to the ocean -

Stairway to heaven -

Clear skies ahead -

One day dark storm clouds rolled in but other than that we had good weather.

Lifeguards on duty -

TD pedals home from the beach -

On the beach at dusk – we are coming up on our 28th anniversary! 

The beach is always relaxing and restorative for us. And being with Ted's family, I learned more about him, even after all these years. It was a quiet, peaceful vacation; one of those places that was hard to leave, both physically and mentally. I hope you are enjoying these August days too.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Last week we traveled out to Montclair, New Jersey, to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother Eric and his family. My sister Cynthia and her partner Barb flew into New York and stayed overnight with us, and on Thursday we four headed out to New Jersey on the Decamp Bus #66. Darlings, the line for the bus was so long we almost didn't make it on. I held my breathe as we threaded on to board. A couple more people got on behind me and the door closed leaving a long line behind. Oh dear, you don't want to be stuck in the Port Authority on Thanksgiving Day. We were happy to stand for duration of the trip and get to Eric's house. My parents arrived soon after from Connecticut.

My sister-in-law Tracy has a great eye, and we share a love of antiques and things that go back in time. She was talking about how she practically furnished the home with purchases from house sales in Montclair. And Montclair has great house sales.
This metal light fixture in the living room is shaped like a tree branch:

They have a gas fireplace which looks amazingly real, as if the embers are glowing and fading.

Here is the dining, set for the big meal. That's a bird cage standing the corner – love it.

TD and I ran across the street to have a drink with our friends the Beans who also live in the neighborhood. When we got back, it was time for the main event: dinner!
In the kitchen Eric carved the turkey

and the candles on the table were lit.

We sat down to the beautifully set table. My niece Jane made the name cards which were personalized inside with photos for each person. The golden sequins glimmering on the table runner mimicked the little green leaves painted on the china set. Tracy told a funny story about sleeping in her car in a snow storm to get in to an early-morning house sale where she found this dreamy china set.

I meant to take a picture of the meal but I got distracted eating.

We have a lot of family birthdays during this corner of the year including me, TD, Eric and my mother. My grandmother's birthday was also in here, Sagittariuses all. A birthday cake was brought forth to celebrate.
TD, me, my father holding the cake, and Eric:

It was a cozy and relaxing holiday celebration. Many thanks to our host and hostess. And I hope you had a wonderful holiday too.

Family Style in New Jersey

On Saturday TD and I headed out to bucolic New Jersey, where everything is now green and lush. First stop, my brother Eric's house where we met up with my parents. Eric and his wife Tracy own the prettiest house surrounded by verdant gardens. There it was peaceful and quiet.

We had a delicious lunch

and went to a lacrosse game which my niece Jane was playing in. You remember Jane. Here we are a couple of weeks ago on the roof garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She likes art and she likes sports: well-rounded!

We walked two blocks under giant leafy trees to the lacrosse playing field and sat on the bleachers in the shade.

Jane scored a goal! Here she is, bottom row on the left. It was fun to see her in action.

Then it was on to the main event of the day at the home of my cousin Kathleen. My aunt Ellen, my mother's sister, age 73, just graduated with her B.A.! Her three daughters, my cousins, had a party. That's a good reason to celebrate, don't you think? It was a big party with a white tent in the backyard and a lot of family and friends. I took advantage of this garden party to wear my new Liberty tie. The white tent was accented with purple flowers and the setting was picturesque.

Do you think my cousins were influenced by my post on purple flowers?

It turns out that purple is my aunt's favorite color. In fact she was wearing a silk jacket the color of these petunias.

Little pots were arranged with a mix of flowers. My favorite detail was the little purple confetti shaped like graduation caps.

Even the desserts sparkled with purple.




Outside, my cousins Kathleen, Linda and Mary Ellen dressed in black and white gave a three-part toast to their mother. Chic, no? My grandmother would have been proud.

At age 65, Ellen decided to go back to college to pursue her Bachelor's degree. She enrolled at Montclair State College and worked hard at it for six years. A knee ailment made it difficult to walk around the campus plus the academics were challenging. She was always the oldest person in the room, including the professor. Ellen was tempted to give up but she persevered, and in a great example of determination at any age, she ended up graduating cum laude in Women's Studies. At her party she quoted Eleanor Roosevelt: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
Big congrats to my aunt Ellen.