April Lindner

The Delaware River  Yesterday, Andre, the dogs, and I were exiled again, this time while prospective buyers checked out our house.  Combining business with pleasure, we took a daytrip to our longed-for future hometown of Lambertville and went for a stroll along the Delaware & Raritan Canal.   The path that runs along the canal is a state park--a very long and skinny one.  On it, we passed families fishing for trout and were passed in turn by little kids on bikes.   We glimpsed five hawks wheeling above the canal, and inadvertantly scared quite a few fat Canada geese out of our path and into the water. The canal A day later we would see the first green spears of crocus and daffodil poking up in our Pennsylvania garden, but last Saturday New Jersey seemed in a perfect state of suspension between winter and spring.  Between the old life and the new. Kind of like us. Downtown Lambertville

In this time of scrambling to sell one home and buy another, Andre, the dogs, and I needed to vacate our house while our floors were refinished.  So why not take advantage of our weekend-long exile to feed our  souls with a visit to Asbury Park?  Epicenter of the Jersey Shore music scene, Asbury's also home to many wonderful places to break bread with friends. Dinner at the homey and delicious Porta We ate at Porta , a family-style eatery that always manages to feel warm, festive, and authentically Italian, no matter how gray and cold the weather.  Then we made our way to the legendary Saint. The wonderful  Toby Lightman was on the bill that night.  We soaked in the warmth, the music, the lights... ...before returning home to spiffy new floors and a little statue of Saint Joseph awaiting burial in our backyard.  Not to mention the packing, cleaning, and Goodwill runs that must be done--all in service of moving to a place we hope will be our hearts'

Thanks to my friends at The Fantastic Flying Book Club for taking Lucy on tour.  Check out her itinerary  here .  There will be reviews , i nterviews , and a giveaway, so visit any of the stops along the way for  chance to win a copy of Love, Lucy .