No sooner did we put down that we were invited for dinner to the home of Mike and Gail. They  bookend us with shifts working the grille and counter at Lake in Wood’s famous Gnome Cafe. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and catching up on work gossip since their departure in September. We’ve been together several times since, tooling around the area looking golf courses and vacation homes, wharfs, and unique little shops in an attempt to flirt the day away. We met them at Poo’s in Little River, which has become their famous cuisine haunt and enjoyed fresh flounder, fries, and hushpuppies. Apparently Poo’s has become a regualar Friday stop and we’re finding ourselves doing the same.  Later in the week, more of Lake In Wood’s finest appeared at Willow Tree.  Jerry and Cheryl pulled in for a few days by mid week on their journey to Florida. Again Gail and Mike hosted us all for meatloaf, chicken, homemade mac and cheese, beans, buns, and sweet potatoes. However, Mike’s grilled hors-de-ouvres were the hit of the evening in my opinion. They were sublime. The remainder of the week has been spotted with additional Christmas shopping, photos at the beach, walking and lifting weights, a bit of driving golf balls and generally running around and making deposits to the stations owned by the big oil conglomerates.

The other course we played was the Riverwinds in West Deptford, NJ. I was excited when Erin booked tee times here as I knew this course was place scenicly along the Delaware River, and owned by Ron Jaworski, former Eagle quarterback and now and ESPN analyst. I imagined with that name recognition we were in for a great round. Some months ago, combined families dined here as a post-baptismal feast was held after Xavier’s christening. We imagined the golf to be as good as the dining. Not so. Right off the bat, the carts were all gas-powered and noisy enough that any hint of conversation while riding was out of the question. Our cart felt and sounded as if the drive train were about to drop out at any moment, leaving us with only cold clarity. I asked the starter our remedy should our cart falter out in no man’s land once away from the first tee. He noted the clubhouse number on the steering wheel to call. Erin and I glanced at each other with rolled eyes. Our starter instructed us not to adhere to the rule of 90 degress but to actually drive on the fairways as much as possible. This was another first for me. Only once were we out and about did I understand why. The roughs were so parched and dying of thirst they were actually brown. The course was not well maintained at all, and with a lofty fee, this made for an even more distraught afternoon. I do have to say that holes 13 through 17 lie along the banks of the Delaware, and the cargo ships rolling in, the jets approaching landing, made the Philadelphia skyline look pristine and picturesque. However, this was the only highlight of the course. I could not honestly recommend this venue to a friend. Nevertheless, as the ad states, playing with my daughter was priceless and has made ” Tuesdays with Erin” an anticipated event.

We spent a few days last week at the beach. Sea Isle, New Jersey to be specific.

We were fortunate enough to stay in a beach house for a few nights but the days with Xavier is the real reason we made the trek to the shore. Like his mom, he’ll spend the summers of his young life there.

And as he has taken care of the needs of almost everyone he interacts with, his Dad will teach him more about the wilderness, giving him balance.

Not to be outdone by big brother Erin paid a visit for a few days.

She planned to treat me in joining her by playing eighteen on the local links. But my legs ached from a long day at the grille and the best I could so was a trip to Strasburg to ride the local railroad.

There was a child on the train a few seats in front of us. I have no idea who he was but the eyes drew me in and I needed to share this with you.

On the way back home the cornfields that we see on a daily basis never seem to grab my attention with the lushness and conformity of the rows upon rows giving a normalcy to a life speeding by.

Later the following week we took an Amish buggy ride as I clicked in the new family for posterity’s sake.

As we drove down Old Philadelphia Pike we came upon what we thought was an accident as the buggy puller was down for the count. Traffic had slowed thinking the mare a product of a crash with a vehicle but the heat and humidity just got the best of the equine and he decided he’d had enough and went down in a swelter, only to rise again and resume pulling the “plain people”.

Our ride took us down a few secondary roads, onto a dirt lane to a working Amish farm.

There we me a family but the young boys attracted my lens more than others. They seem to learn ropes of driving at an early age.

Although the Amish don’t cotton much to having their photos taken, this lad proved the perfect model. However, not the same can be said for his younger brother. When he caught my lens pointed his way, his reaction was much the adverse.

I filled in the remaining days trying my best to keep balls on the fairway and out of the ponds dotting the Hawk Golf Course.

The little time remaining after creating more family memories and manning the grille at the cafe has been spent watching Robin’s feeders bringing nature’s color to the windows outside the Bus.