over 2 mph!

This Sunday's gypsy-esque zig-zagging was actually relatively confined:


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Church visit of the weekend: Old Bergen Church in Jersey City. Beautiful old building with really nice people inside. Not that any of the churches I've visited have been unwelcoming, but this one was especially warm. I got hugged just for walking through the door, and it was a small enough congregation that they knew I wasn't a regular. The pastor was just called from the central church in Louisville, KY, where he used to have lunch with Johnsonburg's former program director, who now works for the central church (who I picked up from LaGuardia last summer). That was a neat connection to have before even meeting the guy. Another good visit-- they even sent me home with the flowers, which I decided to leave at my next stop...

Grandma's house in Belleville. It was actually somewhat of a pleasant drive from Jersey City to there, along the Belleville Turnpike, which runs through the Meadowlands. Taylor was visiting for the weekend. He had seen one of my uncles post on my Facebook wall that another uncle had a concert this weekend, and suggested we go. So, since the plan was to be in Jersey City and later Bergen County, it seemed reasonable to visit Grandma, who lives kinda between the two places. We had lunch with my matriarch and two of her brothers before heading to Ridgefield.

Uncle Fred's concert was lovely, and as always, I was happy to see some Spains. What really struck me about this weekend's adventures is how similar everything in that part of the state looks to me-- all small cities in various condition with cramped, busy streets. My parents both grew up in a similar area, where they could just walk to the store to pick up milk or bread or whatever. Where my grandparents and great grandparents lived without a car for most of their lives, because it just wasn't required. So different from where I grew up!

On the way home, we stopped in Edison in search of Indian food, which we found at a sweet little place called Chopstick. There was only one guy running the front of the restaurant, but he was really cool and patient with my questions. Dinner was great. I'd go back.

My Sunday adventures have really added mileage to my car... I'm fast closing in on 154,000, already over 4500 miles since the new year... that's an average of about 45 miles per day!