New Jersey, NYC, and Maryland

The second part of our trip was spent seeing Matt's extended family.

Tuesday, July 30

We woke up and had a nice brunch with Matt's Grandparents. Matt and I then drove about 30 minutes to Point Pleasant on the Jersey Shore. We walked along the boardwalk and then made our way to the small downtown area to go through some antique stores. I found a jade bracelet that I am pretty excited about. We then walked back to the boardwalk and got lunch and soft serve. The beach costs money to go on, so we decided not to. It seemed like it would be a fun and nice place to vacation if you lived near there and had kids. That night we went to a Jewish Deli and tried some new things.
                    
Wednesday, July 31

This day we rode the bus to NYC and got there about 10:30. Since we had been there before and did a lot of the touristy things then, we just walked around. We spent time on 5th avenue and looked in some shops and then walked towards times square to eat at Shake Shack with my friend, Jenn. It was yummy! I could go for a milkshake just thinking about it now. We then walked to the Winter Garden theater to see Mamma Mia! We were in the 5th row and it felt so close! The music was wonderful and it was just a really fun show. I am glad we got to see it there. For dinner, we went to Armone on 9th avenue, an Italian restaurant we stumbled upon. The food was so good! Overall, it was a nice and relaxing day in the city.
                   


Thursday, August 1

We drove to Maryland after brunch, and it took us a really long time to get there because of construction and rain. So, we were really happy to get there! Matt's Aunt Laura and Uncle Lonnie took us out to dinner where Matt got some raw oysters. Travel day-low key.

Friday, August 2

On Friday, we woke and went to the Chesapeake Bay to do some kayaking. We went back into a river inlet and paddled for about two hours. It was an arm workout! There were turtles everywhere that were so cute! The rest of the day I couldn't stop reading this new book series: Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. I read them in less than a week and I cannot wait to read the 3rd one!
                  
                                
Saturday, August 3

After breakfast, Matt and I made our way to the small downtown area of North East. It is quaint and has a lot of little shops. I saw some things I wouldn't mind buying, but didn't. We got to relax and visit with Matt's cousins the rest of the day. It was so nice to get to know Laura and Lonnie more, and we appreciated their hospitality. It was a nice stop on our journey.