The Reunion Trip...

OK, let me just say it: My trip to the States for my high school reunion was incredible! Every part of it! Pretty much from the moment the plane touched down in Newark, until I was back in Honduras, I was busy. In addition to all the festivities of the reunion itself (the party on Friday and all the football related activities on Saturday), there were breakfasts, lunches and dinners with friends, trips to NYC, Montauk Point and the Jersey Shore, and, yes, shopping!

The picture above was taken during the ferry ride into the City. My friend Maureen and I went in one day 'to play'. And play, we did. We visited Chelsea Market, Ground Zero, and Times Square. We had Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity's and I even got to play on the big piano at FAO Schwarz. A great day, indeed.

For me, it was just so good to connect/reconnect with friends from high school. Even though I was in NJ for almost two weeks, the time flew by and there were still so many people that I didn't get to spend much more than a passing 'hello' with. That seems to be a common thought among many of my classmates, so it looks like we're not even going to wait 5 years to have another reunion, but are already planning to have some kind of a shared 50th Birthday Bash in 2012. Ouch! 50?

Another great part of my trip is that it could also be called the NJ Diner Tour, ala Guy Fieri and Triple D. I went to the Tick Tock, Nutley, Versailles, and Lyndhurst Diners during my visit. Even though Nancy and I were at the Lyndhurst Diner for breakfast on a Sunday, I asked about and was brought some of their wonderful homemade pickles. Hmmmm, pickles and eggs. A new taste sensation?

Yes, of course I also got to enjoy so many of the foods that you can only get in the NY/NJ area: Taylor Ham (5 times, but who's counting?), pizza, bagels, Italian bread, and Rippers. In fact, I hit Rut's Hut for a Ripper before I had even made it to Nutley and the wonderful hospitality of Lisa & Mike. I'm thankful for my GPS.

At the risk of closing this post philosophically, one of the things that made the reunion such a success is that it wasn't about cliques, or being cool, or whatever. It was about people. And I was so genuinely grateful to see so many people. All the years just seemed to melt away. Everyone else seemed to feel the same way, too.