After the picture of the floor that ended the last episode, it was
discovered that the trip to the floor had caused some damage
to the camera. I could still take pictures
of whatever was in front of me but I couldn't remove the memory
without a pliers which seemed inconvenient. So, I dug out my
extended warranty coverage (best $50 I ever spent) and this
gentleman
gave me a new camera. As I left their venue
to return home to Suzanne
who was hard at work, I resolved to be more careful about
dropping the camera on a hard floor.
A few days later, I decided it was time to see if the new
camera could take good food pictures, so I recorded Carole Messersmith's
apple pie
from a prize winning recipe while Dana and Sarah watched
and Suzanne
debated whether to have a piece herself. We created this picture for
Carolyn's birthday
and dragged Ben away from the next round of his penny sorting
to come along to deliver the card.
Then, the next day, knowing that the camera worked, we headed off
on a real excursion with wheels up
at very close to on time. We went to Lucy's house
and while waiting for the pick up, I took a picture of my
wonderful hat
which somehow got lost during the day. Lucy emerged
and she and Jane posed before getting into the car
so that we could drive past Jamesburg's old gas station pumps
and traffic light
at the intersection in town
or do they have 2 intersections?
Eventually we got to Mastoris
where they also do catering
and have a beautiful tree
in their parking lot. They brought us both menus (lunch and dinner)
which kept Jane and Lucy busy
and Benjamin hidden
while I recorded the offerings
and the bread course arrived
though efforts to record the restaurant's story with flash
and without
were not highly successful though they filled the time until our drinks
came -- hot chocolate for Jane,
apple juice for Ben,
orange juice for Lucy,
water for me
and ketchup
for the table.
The main courses were quite impressive -- burger for Ben
sausage for Jane
hashed browns for Lucy (since her twin sister had ordered
enough food for 2)
fries (on the side) for Ben
and huevos rancheros
for me. In the second round, Lucy tried Ben's cole slaw
to see if it really tasted like fish. Then, Jane ate her bagel
with lox
which did taste like fish. I was the closest to the clean plate club
which made our waitress happy
as she inquired about our family situation, ...
We drove on to Brendan T. Byrne State Forest where we found the
park office
and this lady
was nice enough to get us set on the trails. After the obligatory phone booth
pictures without
and with headset,
we were ready to find the trail head
and start the hike. Benjamin
lead the way with Jane and Lucy
following as we passed the leaves and moss
and these pretty forest scenes
of the kids getting ready for a group picture. The ground cover
and some trees
were colorful. Ben found a 3 way acorn
that had lost its nuts. We marched on
and rounded the bend
as the nature area
spread before us. After another turn
we crossed the bridge
and peered at the water
below. This marker
pointed us forward
tot he picnic table where we stopped for group pictures
which again took a few tries. The trees looked good
and my feet
weren't too tired, so we decided to hit the trail
again. But first, Ben decided to take pictures of me with the
sun at his back
and then at his back.
he also took this picture of all of us on a diagonal
and then got us back in order
in time for Jane to do her Eminem imitation
which did not amuse the man who took this picture
though he would not let us take his picture. This group of hikers
marched away singing ``The ants go marching 2 by 2'' a little too loudly
for us. But we were back at the picnic table and so could again
try to get a group picture
in 3 tries. Benjamin studied the trail back
and we noted the nature signs
as we found the marker
heading home. We stopped at the bridge again and I tried to get the
clear water
that you get see through as Jane did Eminem
and Lee and Krissy
were still an item. Another water picture
led Ben
and Jane and Lucy
to try to get closer to the water
but this didn't help the pictures. Benjamin
walked around and hid in this tree
though he is still slightly visible. After one final
picture of the bridge
it was time to move on, so we did. On the way out, we had to rescue Benjamin
from the soda machine so that we could take this promotional picture
for the value of a cold drink after an invigorating walk.