All my life I’ve traveled alot – but after welcoming a child into my life – travel has taken on a new dimension. No more tossing together a weekend bag at the last minute or splurging on last-minute trips. Travel now is akin to a full-fledged military operation. It requires stupid things like planning in advance and lots of packing. BOOOoooooRING!!!
That being said, these past couple of weekends hubby, Ava and I have done some real roadtripping. First to Pittsburgh for a wedding and now to Summit, New Jersey to see friends. We’ve seen alot of pavement and alot of tolls and alot of traffic – but it has been so great! It’s not until I return to the grind at home on Monday morning that I realize how much fun and exciting it has been.
You’ve read about our trip to Pittsburgh last weekend. This weekend we descended upon our NJ friends Scott and Sarah and their two sons for a whirlwind of BOMB ASS pizza (What is the name of that Trattoria, Sarah? I must cite them!). Imagine any flavor of pizza that you can. I mean any kind (I saw shredded BBQ chicken topped with crinkle fries, greek salad, or penne pasta as some of the more “wow” inducing options). And make it the best NY/NJ style you can imagine – delicious sauce, not too sweet not too thick – thin decently crispy crust with a nice yeasty undertone. And then they stick it in the oven to make it toasty, crusty warm for serving. All of this and served up in one of the more charming independently owned (no Subway, Borders, Starbucks, Gap…) boutique-filled downtowns I’ve seen in a while. It was so nice to be able to actually feel a place and its uniqueness – is it me or is the world just becoming way too homogenized??
Wear the kids* out, toss them in bed…open wine, apply liberally to the gullet… And Scott and Sarah are known for knowing wine. While I head out to Trader Joe’s and purchase their cheapest, Scott and Sarah head out to Napa Valley and stock up on really good stuff with a story behind it – then rather than hoard it, serve it to their guests. I’ve never fancied myself a sophisticated palate (I mean, I can tell the difference between Boone’s Strawberry Hill and a decent Cabernet…) but I could definitely appreciate what was served.
True quality cannot go unnoticed. And that not only applies to the delicious pizza, velvety wines, or the savory homemade vodka sauce that Sarah whipped up (just off the cuff!), but especially to Scott and Sarah and their boys. Good friends never go stale – you just pick right back up where you left off. Thanks for the laughs, the warmth and generosity of your home, and the continued years of friendship despite the distance. CHEERS!
* Scott and Sarah’s two sons are about as cute and charming as they come. They’re friendly open books, just like their parents – with the sparkliest smiles you’re likely to find on a young’un. And their eldest was seriously thrilled to have Ang so enthusiastically play along with his Superfriends toys; what he didn’t know – and what Ang would never admit – was that Ang probably was having even a better time than he was. (I mean – LOOK at those nutbags up there in that photo! Are they happy, or are they happy??)
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