This was the first weekend in awhile that the weather was actually beautiful and everyone at the Jersey Shore was out and about. We decided to take our dog to the Reservoir since she's been cooped up too and she was very excited. She loves driving in the car!
The walk at the Reservoir was wonderful. It felt so good to be outside and to spend time together as a family. The walk is about 1.4 miles and we love to run up and down the large hills on the side of the reservoir to boost the metabolism. Well, I do it for that reason, my son does it because it's fun and he loves to try to beat me. The best way to get your kids to exercise is to make it fun. It was awesome to see how half of the reservoir was frozen and the other half was not. Definitely a sign that Spring is coming! It was in the 60's, sunny and absolutely beautiful.
After the Reservoir we decided to stop at Anna Bananas to get a smoothie. I had spinach, strawberries, pineapple and almond milk and my husband had strawberries and bananas. Both shakes were not very sweet at all. While it was ok, I would have preferred it a little sweeter, but I will definitely try it again and ask for extra fruit. They have a lot of other items that looked good, so I will stop by another time for lunch. The girl I spoke with was wonderful and very pleasant. I suggested they add banana ice cream and she seemed to like that idea! If you are in the area, give it a try and let me know what you think! The are located at 204 Union Avenue, Brielle, NJ.
The rest of the day we stayed at home relaxing and Sunday we were off to visit my dad and sister who both live in Northern NJ. It was still nice out, but a little colder. We went to the diner and then went back to his house to hang out for awhile. Unfortunately, most diners do not have gluten free menu's, so I usually stay with either salads with oil and vinegar, broiled fish with nothing on it or poached eggs in a cup with sliced tomatoes. If I get an egg white omelet, I have to make sure they know not to use any butter or cooking sprays with flour in it, and usually they don't seem to understand, so I just stick with what is easiest to order. If anyone has any good suggestions when it comes to NJ Diners, please let me know. I have such a hard time knowing what to order.
It's always fun visiting with my dad and at 82 years old, he still amazes me. My dad was a police officer in Montclair, NJ for over 30 years and was also in the Navy during the Korean War. He's in great shape at 82 years old and drinks a shake every morning filled with greens, fruits and isotonic. He swears that is why he is staying so young. He may just be right since he plays softball, has written 2 books, is on a bowling league, swims and is in the Senior Olympics every year. He never ceases to amaze me.
The one thing I miss so much living at the shore is there are no mountains here, everything is flat. I miss the mountains so much. I just find there is something so peaceful about having such beautiful scenery in the background everywhere around you.
After a fun visit, we were back on the Garden State Parkway and headed back to the Jersey Shore. Of course, I had to stop at Starbucks on the way home for my soy cappuccino! I keep waiting for almond milk, some day! At least Starbucks uses organic soy milk. My son loves his Annie's Pretzels too, so after a quick stop at the GSPW Rest Stop, it was back in the car. It was fun visiting with my dad, but the drive always tires us out.
I hope everyone had as wonderful a weekend as we did. Here's a cute picture video of our weekend.
Have the BEST week ever!!
