Couple of Coffees

Jersey girl in Jersey

We're in north New Jersey tonight, happily off the road after some early holiday weekend traffic. The roads will be thick the next few days, we expect, with beach goers and partiers, patriots and escapees from the daily grind. Or those, like us, searching for the perfect grind (of coffee).

Tonight we had dinner at The Office on Bloomfield Ave. in Montclair. We've managed to have some missed connections with friends in the last two days, but it's OK. We came into this adventure knowing we wouldn't be able to mesh our schedules perfectly with everyone we hoped to see.

On our way to our hotel, we saw some poor person's car on fire, and I mean a raging fire. The flames and smoke were pouring out on the other side of the highway. And traffic was stopped for miles. Also yesterday we saw the machinery that moves the concrete barriers on the D.C. highways to grow or shrink lanes going in certain directions for rush hour. And, being in Jersey, I'm talking faster, interrupting my poor husband and generally pointing out every tiny landmark from my childhood (piano teacher's house, old bowling alley, flute teacher's place, etc.) with much excitement.

We spent a few days with my parents, my aunt and uncle and my grandmother in the great state of Virginia. It felt strange taking off for the next part of our trip this morning, clean laundry and finished projects in tow after our road break. I had to let go of the idea of bringing every single thing in my old room back to Portland in our minivan. Like that would have worked. I managed to tuck a few old yearbooks and my diplomas in the van, at least.

Last night, we went to the Kennedy Center to hear the National Symphony Orchestra perform highlights from next year's season. The free preview encouraged people to buy season tickets. It was a great, varied concert of numerous small pieces. I loved Leroy Anderson's "Typewriter," performed by a percussionist on, yes, a typewriter. Also of course, I loved the piece of the last movement of Mahler's First Symphony, one of my favorites.

This New England trip is going to go fast. Well, the cars might go slow. But the time will snap by, and we'll be back here, in New Jersey, watching my friend Chiara get married and wondering where half our summer has gone.

posted by Laura the Writer @ 6:42 PM