May
Summer is a well-defined event in America. It starts on Memorial Day, which is always the last Monday in May, and ends on Labor Day, the first Monday in September. And what is uncanny about American summers is that whilst you understand why the swimming pools and theme parks and other outdoor venues abide by this timetable, amazingly Mother Nature also conforms to this particular Federal law.
The weather prior to Memorial Day was indifferent (indeed as we walked around Princeton on the first Saturday, there was a smattering of snow on the ground). And although the Memorial Day parade itself through the centre of Hopewell was rained off, it heralded the start of a glorious, at times insufferably hot summer.
The early days of May were taken with decorating our new home.
Our landlord who had recently moved out of the same apartment is a professional photographer, and the walls were covered with a million puncture marks of framed photos. We negotiated a discount on the rent in return for decorating, and proceeded to discover Spackle, an amazing invention, which is to Polyfilla what whipped cream is to porridge.
Our furniture arrived from England - a funny feeling, seeing the same container we waved off from Folly Avenue show up in New Jersey - and was installed quickly and effortlessly, not like the experiences others seemed to have suffered at the hands of movers.
Moving out of the hotel was bitter-sweet. The Marriott Residence had served us well, the room was as pleasant and appropriate as one could expect for a long-term stay (and the TV had HBO which we now sorely miss !!). However your own place is your own place, and it began to feel like our vacation was over and real life was beginning.
One short trip to Ikea (where we couldn't use our UK storecard, and forget about getting credit !) and we were all set. Well, set for Linda to hop on a plane and head back for England ! She was the surprise guest at David's 40th birthday party, and some surprise !
Thomas and Chris had a 'boys weekend' which mainly consisted of park activities and too many trips to Burger King.
Our first visitors were Michael and Jennifer Wishnick, who had been so kind to us on previous trips, and whose daughter Jessica was to become infatuated with Thomas.
June
One of our concerns was for Thomas to get settled, both in school and socially with friends. There was no shortage of offers, as Thomas was invited to Grant Sluyter's birthday party, and began a short intense infatuation with the movie Shrek (truth be told, we all did). The sight of Thomas dancing in the cinema aisle to 'Rock Star' on the first of four visits to see this film will last forever.
More importantly, we settled on a nursery place for Tom at the Presbytarian Nursery School. On first sight, this seemed to be a decent enough place, and had the convenience of being in walking distance, as we still only had the one (rental) car. But as we learned over time, the Presbytarian had a great reputation, and many people we spoke to had either been there themselves, had brothers and sisters or children there - our neighbour's children, the lifeguards at the pool - it looked like we had made a good decision.
In June we visited a genuine American Rodeo - well, as genuine as roping steers and bucking broncos get in Skillman, New Jersey. Currently it seems like we're trying to soak up as much of the Americana as we can - one day all this is going to be everyday and commonplace, but for now trying to assimilate by seeking out this stuff is quite fun.
And then....our first UK visitor - Debbie Fisher arrived ! Our 'debbiesitter', as Thomas christened her, came out to stay for a whole month - partly as a help for Linda, partly as a mammoth summer holiday, but mostly as a very warmly received, friendly face from home (we haven't got out of the habit of calling England home yet.) We had a fabulous month of activity, including visits to Round Valley, New York, and numerous visits to the Quarry swimming pool. Apologies to you, Debbie, if at times your help was taken for granted, but you fitted in like one of the family and that month holds many great memories.
Not least, of course, as we became proud owners of our first US car - a Chevy Tracker ZR2, in Midnight Blue. This is the first time either of us has ever fully owned a brand new car, and also means that we can return the hideously expensive rented Ford Focus. And we still have to arrange our lives to manage with only one vehicle. Still, we're in America now, so we had to get a four-wheel drive SUV, didn't we ?
July
July 4th was spent at the Wishnick's out at Lakewood, close to the NJ Shore. The intention was for a grill (barbecue to you, mate) followed by the impressive local firework display. But the persistent summer rain put paid to that.
We threw a well-attended house warming party, and received many lovely gifts, but perhaps the most thoughtful was another little slice of Americana from Jeff Schneck, which was three tickets for a Trenton Thunder baseball game. Trenton is the state capital of New Jersey, the centre of which is no more than 15 miles from Hopewell, but is culturally the other side of the universe. Despite it's lofty status and it's significant history, Trenton is a run-down, mid-sized American city with a drug and crime problem, and most people only know the roads out. Still, we are innocents here, and we weren't going stop a little thing like inner-city deprivation deprive us of another American experience.
Trenton Thunder are a minor league baseball team - they are a nursery team for the Boston Red Sox - but they have a lovely new stadium and a welcoming attitude, especially for kids (for whom Major League baseball can be a long and boring experience). Thomas spent most of the evening trying to attract the attention of the Thunder mascot, a big green...dinosaur (?) called Boomer, and catch the numerous free give-aways being thrown into the crowd. We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening (despite Linda nearly getting brained by a foul ball) and promised ourselves a return trip.
And in return for Linda's 'home run' in May, Chris was given a pass to spend the weekend in New York with Andy and Graham on their annual RnR trip to the US. Imagine the strangeness of meeting up in the Big Apple with mates for a wild weekend - and getting there on the local train. Keeping things in perspective, there were Americans on the same local train getting childishly excited about seeing the Empire State Building for the first time. It's chastening to realise that travelling from state to state is not that common outside the East Coast (where the states are smaller and close together), whilst travelling out of the country is so irregular, that several of Chris' work colleagues have needed to apply for a passport to visit the London office on their first overseas trip !
After a couple of nights of quiet fun (!!) in New York, Chris, Andy and Graham headed back down to New Jersey to pick up the Chevy and drive down to Atlantic City, the Las Vegas of the East Coast (which is a bit like describing Manchester as 'The Venice of The North' - oh, they do say that, don't they !). Let's just say that the authorities thought that by allowing casinos in Atlantic City they would attract a lot of money that could be used to smarten up the entire area. Unfortunately it looks like only a few cents made it more than 50 yards from the casino steps.
The end of July saw us visiting Reddington for the annual Hot Air Balloon festival, as well as the major event of the summer - the arrival of the Bottomley Boys !!
