The Garden State... It grows on ya

Okay... my apologies for posting these photos with no explanation over two weeks ago. The "Garden State", a.k.a. New Jersey, is known to most as the "armpit of the country". However, I beg to differ. As a visual merchandiser, my travels often take me to this northern territory that I have grown rather attached to. Not only is the Jersey Shore quaint and beautiful, it's also home to some of our kinda-sorta-relatives, the Strattons... whom I've written about before.

Below are some photos of Granny Stratton's 88th birthday. Please notice Mr. Stratton on the back of his son, Wes, and Jesse dancing around with a tambourine. We reunited with some almost and used-to-be aunties, uncles, and cousints. It was a great weekend until....

My beloved, my precious, my most adored "Black Beauty"(the 4-Runner) took a turn for the worse when her odometer reached 215,000, the water pump broke and we were forced to stay on the shore for two extra days and return to the OBX with the "Jolly Green Giant". After much prayer, thought, concern and overheating, we decided it was time to let go of the best vehicle on planet earth. If it wasn't for Jesus, and the promise that we can't take worldly possessions home with us to Heaven, I wouldn't have been able to give her up. It was a sad, sad day. Thank goodness Jersey-folk have great accents, it made our new purchase of the JGG much more enjoyable and less-heartbreaking.

"Black Beauty"
May she R.I.P.
November 1999 - October 30th, 2006