The Great 2013 Vacation: Jennifer's New Jersey Family

As I mentioned in the beginning, the main reason for this trip was to visit with Jennifer's New Jersey family.  When the plan morphed from a two week stay in NJ to what I am now chronicling, the trip became two parts.  Week one would culminate with the visit to NJ and week two became an opportunity for us to follow the original Saints from upstate New York to Nauvoo, Illinois.  For a brief time I toyed with the idea of trying to make it to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, but the logistics of such an addition didn't add up within the timetable.  We had to complete our trek in time to be back for Jennifer's commitment to the Victorville Stake's Girl's Camp (maybe I can sneak that destination in another time).  Personally, I think we were able to have a very nice visit with Jennifer's Aunt Ann and Uncle Ernie and their family.  Although the time was condensed, I think Jennifer enjoyed the opportunity to visit with everyone.  Also, this portion of the trip gave Ben and Isaac a chance to truly meet the people they had seen in videos taken 13 years ago when they were too young to remember.

Of course, how could our visit really begin without me forgetting to make a map of how to get to Aunt Ann and Uncle Ernie's home.  Before we left I had printed a good 20 or so maps directing us to every place imaginable; yet, I forgot one of the most important stops on our journey.  Sheesh!  There are times I wonder if I'd forget my head if it wasn't securely attached to my neck.  On Tuesday (June 18th), my map gaff was overcome when one of Jen's cousins was able to give us the directions we needed.  Actually, to my surprise as we came closer to Ringwood, the area began to look more and more familiar.  By the time we reached the final couple of turns, I pretty much remembered how to get to the house without help.  It is interesting the effects time has on a person.  In one sense, thirteen years seems like such a long time, but in another, it doesn't.  We had watched our videos from 13 years ago just weeks before we embarked on this adventure and were reminded of how we all looked at that time.  When we walked through the door and met Aunt Ann and Uncle Ernie, we were all the same people, but we were different.  It became clear that the intervening years had slowed them down and made certain physical activities more difficult for them.  Watching them as we gathered around the dining room table to talk, I was reminded of something President Gordon B. Hinckley said after being sustained as the 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: "Sister Hinckley and I are learning that the so-called golden years are laced with lead" (Ensign, May 1995, 70).

We had a nice initial visit with the two of them, talking about our adventures and catching up with family news.  Aunt Ann then told us that she wanted to take us out for lunch.  Uncle Ernie decided not to come with us.  She took us to a place called Prime.  The food was very good and we also got to meet one of Jennifer's second cousins, Derek.  He was probably five or six the last time we visited.  During lunch, he told Ben and Isaac that he wanted to take them fishing later on and they liked the idea.  A driving tour was planned after lunch.  Aunt Ann would direct us to the two houses Jennifer lived in when she was a resident of Ringwood (she was five when her parents came to California).

Afterward, she also took us to the three beaches of Erskine Lake (Little, Main and Upper--I think they're called).  At each of these stops, Jen and the boys would get out of the car to take pictures and look around while I stayed with Aunt Ann and we talked.  It was fun to hear her stories about when she was a teenager and would come to Ringwood for the summer.  It was nice getting to know her better and I think the feeling the mutual.  We left the lake and saw a few other places around town before returning to her house.

Not long afterward, a light rain began to fall, but this did not deter the three intrepid fishermen!  Derek came up from his bedroom with a fishing pole and tackle box and hot dogs for bait and he, Ben and Isaac left to walk the quarter mile back to the Little Beach area to catch fish: mostly Sunfish, also called Sunnies.  Both boys caught several and released them back into the water.  When the mighty anglers were finished, we stayed a little while longer and then returned to the hotel with plans to come back on Thursday.

The first place Jennifer wanted to visit on Thursday morning was Ringwood Manor.  I don't want to turn this into a history of the Manor (if your interested, click here), but apparently Robert Erskine, whom the lake is named after, was a map maker for George Washington and managed several iron making plantations that helped the cause of the Patriots during the Revolutionary War.  Over the years, the manor has been designated a historical landmark and people can take tours through the mansion.  Also, the grounds have many hiking and mountain bike trails that can be used by the public.  One of the best pictures of Ben from our original trip was taken on these grounds.  I remembered I had a copy of it at work and scanned it to post here.  We walked around the grounds and took some pictures.  Ben and Isaac tried unsuccessfully to chase some geese.

After about thirty minutes we drove over to the home of Marilyn and Elaine Wighardt for a visit.  Jennifer's mom and Marilyn have been friends at least since they were in grade school (at least, I'm pretty sure that's what I heard).  Jennifer thought it would be nice if we paid them a visit while we were in the area and they were very excited to see us.  We were posed for pictures in a couple of places outside and then we sat at the dining room table and talked and ate some light pastries.  About fifteen later, Marilyn and Elaine's sister Kathy arrived.  There were times when three different conversations were going on at once (someone talking to Jen, someone talking to me, someone talking to Ben and Isaac).  It was like one of those plays where several characters are talking at the same time, but if you listen close enough you can follow the thread of each conversation.  After an hour or so, it was time to return to Aunt Ann and Uncle Ernie's house.  We said our good-byes and drove the short distance to their home.

 

Most of Jennifer's cousins were scheduled to come to the house at around 5 o'clock.  Because of prior commitments, Kevin (who is closest in age to Jennifer) and his wife Dayle and their three children came to the house at around noon and stayed for an hour or so.  We talked about our trip and Jennifer mentioned the "mystery places" I had added to the journey.  When Kevin learned we would be heading to Palmyra he asked if we would be going to Niagara Falls.  While Jen said she didn't think that was part of the plan, I leaned back in my seat so she couldn't see me, looked at Kevin, put my finger to my lips and gave a slight nod.  This was, in fact, my final "mystery place" of the trip.  He caught my intent because he dropped the subject and moved on to other topics.

During this time, Derek took Ben and Isaac back to Little Beach to do some more fishing.  This time, the plan was to take a boat onto the lake and try their luck on the water.  A little while after Kevin and his family left, I decided to walk down to the lake and see how the mighty fishermen were doing.  When I arrived at the lake shore, the three fishermen were still in the boat.  Not long afterward, however, Derek rowed them to shore.  While Ben helped Derek with the boat, Isaac told me they hadn't been able to catch anything.  They had better luck on the shore, however, and were able to catch and release five Sunnies each before returning to the house.  These are pictures of their first catches.

The remainder of the afternoon was taken up by the arrival of the other cousins: Glenn, Steve, Karen (with her husband Rich and daughter Alyssa), and Lynn (Derek's mom).  A little later, Derek's older brother Kyle arrived with his girlfriend and very frisky dog.  We ate pizza and talked.  I had a very nice time and I know Jennifer was very happy to see everyone who was able to make it.  After a few hours, we took pictures and the party broke up.  Finally, it was time for us to go back to the hotel.  We said our good-byes to Aunt Ann and Uncle Ernie, made sure we were leaving with everything we came with, and left Ringwood.  It was sad to have to go, but I am glad we were able to spend some time with Jennifer's New Jersey family.  As the day came to a close and we got into bed, the first week of our journey ended.  Now came the return trip home by way of Church history sites.