GUBITZ EAST COAST TRAVELS 2026!

Scott and I spent all morning together visiting his "meadery", learning the challenges and joys of building his business and shopping for all sorts of food for the various weekend celebrations. Scott's Mead is crafted with great honey and he knows his stuff. The Mead is delicious! Low calories and carbs, could be my new thing!  After lunch we checked in to our Holiday Inn. Hard to describe that after staying in 3 great friends' guest bedrooms, and loving the hospitality and continual conversations, it is really amazing to have a large room, with a king bed, many fresh pillows, a jacuzzi and pool to refresh in, and though it's a Holiday Inn, it feels like the Ritz and is only 5 minutes from Scott and Cathy's house.  Back at their house for pizza dinner, we got to meet Isiah and Heather Lavender with their son Frazier. Isiah is an English professor at Syracuse University and Scott's cousin and the story behind how they all found each ...

2 days before the large family reunion found us buying a lot of food, prepping side dishes, and preparing our hearts for the big reunion on Sunday. My day started early with the local coffee shop. And if it says pork belly on the sign, don't you have to order pork belly on your breakfast sandwich? Which I did, thankfully! It was delicious.  Peggy and I enjoyed driving through Amish country (again)  to an amazing supermarket, Shady Maple market and buffet (supposedly the largest buffet in the USA).  People come from all over to eat and shop here. And it's run by the Amish.  Consider Costco marrying a giant organic Amish farm and you've got it.  Pretzel hot dogs .99c, chocolate milk shakes .99c. Fresh squeezed lemonade .99c. And then she asked if I wanted my .99c soft pretzel dipped in melted butter and salt! I had to ask if that was even legal. So delicious.  After lunch it was all about prepping potato and mac...

Another lovely day as we drove from Wayne, NJ to Elverson,  PA. Howie and Ricki's hospitality and home were both beautiful and so breakfast had to be with the view! Leftover Meatsa Pizza (and we wonder why my pants are a bit tight) for breakfast,  out on the patio overlooking the lake.  Coffee and devotions and this view... sublime!  Peggy wanted me to take this photo below for Robert Jordan and Dave Lassiter. It'll be obvious upon close inspection.  We then purposefully meandered the back roads and found a different New Jersey than we expected; quiet, peaceful, rural and beautiful.  We came across an intersection smoking up a storm from a BBQ lunch spot. It was so good, we decided to buy dinner there and bring it to Scott's house for his family. Loved the Scripture references on their trucks, and like the Gideons,  they had Bibles available on each table for guests to ...

Leaving Sean and Sarah to their new home was encouraging, as the future appears bright, trusting the Lord for community, Church, project completion and visits from family and friends. It's a great home with great potential!  The surrounding neighborhood is quiet, quaint and lovely with rolling hills for leisurely walks and a nice cove as a beautiful water feature!  Our ride to the famous Sally's Apizza in Hartford was well worth the slight detour.  Coal fired pizza with great sauce, crust and toppings.  Wow!  Peggy had a white sauce and mozzarella with olive and onion.  She loved everything about this pizza.  Mine was an all meat called the Meatsa Pizza. Had to ask for extra coal love, which they more than delivered on!  Departing towards Wayne NJ, we enjoyed a break at a beautiful rest stop with our favorite friend! The day was bright and sunny and the route avoided much high...

Directly bordering on the Connecticut River, the quaint town of Essex, established in 1648, with its lovely shops and flag lined street, was a delight to the eyes. (above photo taken by international super star videographer Sean Kenney). [BTW, he asked me to say something like this]  There were many lovely houses, named and dated, in fact, too many to capture, so you'll get the Oliver Cromwell named house from 1776. Don't be fooled, here's the house and the story behind the ship's name!  The Ship: On January 31, 1776, the Colony of Connecticut authorized the construction of its first official warship. Named the Oliver Cromwell to symbolize the fight against tyrannical royalty, it was built by master shipwright Uriah Hayden at the foot of Main Street in Essex (then known as Saybrook). It was launched on June 13, 1776. Such a great East Coast kinda day, rain on and off, walking around Essex, going to the gym, playing hand and foot and ...

We loved spending this overcast and rainy day with Sean and Sarah, because that's real weather in eastern Connecticut. While Peggy rested, and before the deluge, we walked into Mystic harbor and enjoyed the village founded in 1654. (Almost 300 years before we were born! ) Groton is another seaside town with great food and sweet hikes along the water. Then we ran into an Elva bench!  Dinner at Paul's Pasta! Homemade, delicious, huge portions and the crowd was abuzz!  We finished the evening with a wonderful game of hand and foot. I was in the top 3! Peggy won, Sarah 2nd and I was 3rd (some would say last, but that's just an attitude issue!)

After a 1:30am curtain call and a 7:30 reveille, we barely made it to the 8:30 send off of all the couples headed out from the Hilton. We had a 4 hour drive to Eastern Connecticut to see our dear, newly relocated, California friends! Sean and Sarah's house is lovely and we enjoyed a wonderful home cooked meal and sweet fellowship. But we're exhausted and crashing early. Tomorrow will be the day for more stories and photos.   Happy Father's Day (and summer solstice) and may you all know the love of our Heavenly Father, demonstrated by His Son Jesus's sacrificial death and resurrection! Jesus always loves and forever saves! 

The entire day, from 8am breakfast until 1:30 am crash, was spent reconnecting with all our college friends and enjoying my roommates son's wedding.  And what a wedding it was, black tie and all! I've never seen so much food. The ceremony was from 6:30 to 7. Then 20+ stations of gourmet appetizers followed by the loudest banquet hall on the planet. Music, speeches, dancing and then dinner served from 11 to midnight. There were 20 different desserts being brought by attendants, followed by after party food and beverage. The first hotel return shuttle wasn't scheduled until 12:45, so the old folks, all of us, ubered back at 12:15. Here are a few random pictures of the event,  and since you won't know any of the friends, there's no need for captions. Enjoy the vibe!  Thankful for great colleg...