Anniversaries

We are coming up on our fourth anniversary here at this house in the Poconos. We moved in April 1, 2006 and a part of us is amazed that we do not miss more of the things that were a part of our everyday life in NJ. This coming Monday is also the 29th anniversary of our first meeting at the St Patrick's parade in Philadelphia. My, how time seems to escape us, but I know we have not circumvented it. I look at pictures of us in our youth and realize that in many cases, the years have not been kind. But I look in my husbands eyes and the young man I married is still there - I hope he sees the same thing in mine.

But as the snow is finally melting and we see our lawn again, I was pondering what I miss about NJ. Bagels! Nobody up here makes bagels like they do around our old home turf. Some are close, but it must be something with the water or whatever. Yet I know there are many people who will insist that NYC has the best bagels - it is all what you know and grow up with, I imagine. There was one bagel place near where I grew up that made the bagels every night for the next day's deliveries to local restaurants and, if you went there after 2 am, they would sell you a fresh baked bagel right out of the oven - great after a night of clubbing, etc. Now one of my friends in NJ makes a point of bringing me bagels when she sees me; takes pity on the poor soul who cannot get a good bagel!

Another thing is pizza. For some reason the favorite version of pizza in this area appears to be what is called 'Old Forge Pizza,' named after the town the other side of Scranton that calls itself the 'Pizza Capital of the World.' Please! American cheese has no business being in the cheese mix used on top of a pizza unless you are making it at home for a child! Crispy crust, mozzarella cheese, fresh sauce (not ladled from a can), oil dripping down your arm - that is a pizza and it is something we just cannot seem to find up here. Again, must be this cool, clean water in the mountains!

But in the scheme of things, I guess I miss the ocean the most. We never lived more than an hour from the beach in NJ (by the way, people who grew up near the NJ shore tended not to call it 'The Shore' until it became the jargon used by the tourists. We went to the Beach!), and when we needed to clear our heads and get perspective on life, we would drive to the ocean and just sit and look. The ocean never changes and yet is constantly changing. Very zen. We are not hurting badly for the ocean view, we have our beautiful mountains, but about twice each year, I need to look again. Just to be sure that life continues, the air is still salty and the breezes can chill you to the bone. I tend not to go during tourist season - learned that from growing up near the shore area - but usually about mid-winter and autumn, I convince my friend to go to the beach, to sit and just look.

I also miss just walking around the corner to the store or a restaurant. I miss that particularly during a heavy, snowy winter. Used to be if I did not feel like cooking, we could just walk around the corner for Chinese, Fried Chicken, Pizza, Bagels - selections were practically endless. Most times we could not decide which kind restaurant to order from - too many choices. I admit that we eat healthier now.