For us, this summer is one of those summers where we are home and receiving visitors, rather than traveling abroad for our annual adventures. My cousin Farhat from Dubai came for a few days with her son Aman, who recently immigrated to Toronto from Dubai. So we tried to pack in visits to my kids in a few short days. I was grateful that we focused on cousins meeting each other, rather than too much back-to-back sightseeing in the heat or shopping in our many NJ malls. We were laughing at how all malls, whether in NJ, Dubai and Hong Kong have the same brand stores- it gets pretty boring and reminds us of how easily we conform to marketing wizards! But in the process, I rediscovered the variety that we have at our fingertips in the NY/NJ metro area.
We visited Sonia in Jersey City, had a fun taco bar while Nyla played with her new friend, Uncle Aman. We enjoyed views of the Statue of Liberty and the surrounding islands and bridges from their building rooftop…the amount of construction cranes on the horizon reminded me of Dubai. We took the ferry to World Financial Center, and enjoyed the beautiful skyline and waterfront of both Jersey City and New York City. As we walked through the Winter Garden to the Ocolus, I appreciated anew how much this area has changed since I worked there. Shahid and I had just been to the Ocolus a week before, but I can never tire of amazing Cityscapes. I marvel at the human brain and its ingenuity and at our Creator who created us so we can create spaces, places and marvels like this. After coffee at Eataly, our favourite eating space, we walked over to Mona’s apartment in Tribeca, and dined on the terrace while Pasha and Sevi entertained us with a fashion show! Tribeca always energizes me as it has the same Wall street punch I always loved with a dose of European calm and charm and a deliciously diverse population. We picked up the car from Jersey City and drove back on Boulevard East to North Jersey, enjoying the Cityscape of diamonds across the river on the New York City side. The City that never sleeps looks so much lovelier at night.
The next day, we visited Reza and after a quick lunch, my cousin and her son went back to Manhattan via train to visit some friends. I took a quick pool dip with my granddaughter Izzy, who loves to float on her back like me and we had our special bonding time. Then Shahid and I decided to go visit the beach at sunset, and drove to Asbury Park, a very happening Jersey Shore scene. There was a bonfire on the beach, art installations and displays, live outdoor bands, and even a boomer hippie drumming circle that meets every Wednesday- this is good, I said to myself: I have finally found my people!
The fact that we could all enjoy these sights in a few days, not to mention the mountains and lakes north of us, reminded me that staying in our Metro Area was a great choice despite its congestion and high prices. Of course, as retired boomers, who knows how long we can live it up like this? And for millennial couples starting out, it may not be the best place to build a home. But for now, I am determined to mine every minute of it even without visitors, and look forward with gratitude to more summer weekends with family and friends, from City to Beach to mountains and lakes and back again.
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