I took a weekend off and spent it in New Jersey during my 3-month NYC hiatus last year, and visited my uncle who had a quaint cottage there. We met up at Penn station on a Friday evening, took the NJ Transit to Aberdeen Matawan station where his roaster was parked, and drove up to Keyport.
I find it odd that I enjoyed New Jersey a lot more than New York. Maybe it was because of the fresh air and the magnificent backyard view my uncle had of the harbor, his neighbor's catamaran bobbing up and down on his little jetty.
After taking a quick tour of the little town of Keyport and getting brunch at a dimsum joint nearby, our first stop on our New Jersey tour was the Delicious Orchards' Farmer's Market. It was crazy inside! We bought prosciutto, ham, cheese, and some bread for a late snack just in case we'd get hungry in the middle of the night. We also bought a carton of fresh apple cider, and some freshly roasted beans, Panama, methinks.
The view outside was beautiful. I appreciated all that fresh, crisp air, the flowers were in bloom, Autumn was right around the corner, and pumpkin was in season.
After enjoying a cup of hot cider in the car, we drove up to the Navesink Lighthouse to admire the view. There was a slight drizzle when we got there, but that didn't stop us from admiring the Twin Lights.
We took a drive around Jersey some more afterwards, with my uncle pointing out cool sites and things to see - like where the Jersey Shore kids hung out. Haha! I made a few mental notes of places to go to and visit the next time I kick it in Jersey, although I don't think I'll be going back there for a while.
Coming back to Keyport, we got take out at the local fish shop - my favorite staple of fish 'n' chips and a lobster roll sandwich. Why don't they have fish shops like this over here?!
We had to head back to Manhattan the next day, since my uncle had to catch up on a few things for work, but before that we made quick a pits top at Jersey Gardens, an outlet mall in Elizabeth. To say that I shopped 'til I dropped is an understatement - I went a bit crazy at Victoria's Secret.
