Bagels, NYC, and OHOP

So our trip to Jersey has come close to the end. We venture back to sweet North Carolina early tomorrow morning. It's been loads of fun, as always. It's always a pleasure to spend time with family and friends here and always brings back memories.

Friday afternoon we had a long-awaited lunch at Livingston Bagel with Avi and Oreo. We had been preparing for this trip at least 6 months ago through our conversations on Facebook. Avi recommended his favorite tuna salad on bagel so that was what I got. Yum. That's one of the things missing from the south...good bagels, delis, and bakeries. We ended up sitting there catching up on life for three hours. Of course, with those two, we could probably sit there forever. Haha. The night was spent hanging out with our family, eating tasty Jersey pizza, and watching Transformers. A great start to day one of our trip.

Yesterday we ventured into New York City with our Jersey boys: Alex, Adam, and Oreo (minus Avi...sad). The city is only 40 or so minutes from Livingston. We usually go in at least once a year with our dad, but this time we took a new route with our native city-goer, Alex, who goes to NYU. We started off walking down Wall Street, SoHo, and then took the Subway to Southport and ate some lemon Italian ice while admiring the East River. Then we went to down to Canal Street where we made the boys suffer as we searched for new "designer" purses. After all that shopping we ate a late lunch on Broadway. I'm not sure where we ate but they served water in wine bottles and my tiny watercress, pear, and gorgonzola salad cost $10. Pretty nice. Our last stop of the day was at The Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker St. where their cupcakes are famously-known. I ended up with a mini-pumpkin cheesecake and let me tell you--we were all on a sweet sugar high on the ride home. Haha. I love the city...it's always so much fun, always new sights to see. Our whole family got together that night for a cookout. Friends, family, and food--the three F's that usually sums up our trip to Jersey. Haha.

I started our last day with a nice long run around the Circle before going to OHOP with all the boys. I can never say no to a breakfast meal at any time of the day. Later today we'll spend time with our grandparents and go out to a lovely Italian dinner, before we have to come back to my aunt's house, spend some more time with our cousins, pack up, and get some rest before our early departure.

It's been fun. So long, Jersey...see you again soon.

"We are from Jersey. Not New Jersey, just Jersey.
We say "yo" and we say it often.
We curse a lot.
We sure as hell don't pump our own gas.
We know what real pizza tastes like,
and we know that a bagel is much more than a roll wit a hole in the middle.
We judge people by what exit they are off the parkway or by what mall they live closest to.
We drive SUVs and we tailgate any chance we get.
We can navigate a circle with attitude.
All good nights must end in a diner, preferably with cheese fries.
I have a dawg, and I drink cawfee.
We don't go to the beach, we go down to the shore...
and New York City, is "the city."
We know 65 mph means 80 mph."

So true. Haha.