A Fabulous Post-Wedding Brunch and a Fabulous High Tea End Our Fabulous Travels in North America

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Red Bank and Bridgewater, New Jersey

A Fabulous Post-Wedding Brunch and a Fabulous High Tea End Our Fabulous Travels in North America

Finally! The day had dawned—our last full day in the USA! Phase Five of our travels in North America would come to an end early tomorrow morning when we would board our flight to return to India (via London). And yet, even this last day was simply crammed with activity.

We had gone to bed last night in the happy knowledge that we would meet our friends again on the morrow. Well, the morrow had dawned and although we had a long-ish lie-in, it seemed as if we hadn’t slept at all. We showered quickly and had a quick cup of coffee with our hosts—but we did not eat anything as we knew we’d have a hearty brunch ahead of us. My body had already expanded like a balloon after six weeks of gorging without limit on everything that was edible and my clothes had become too snug for my comfort—both physical and mental.

The brunch was at 12.00 am in Red Bank, New Jersey, at the Molly Pitcher Inn. We left our place at 11.00 but were stuck in traffic and reached later than we had hoped. The venue was just lovely. The Moly Pitcher Inn is a water-front property with a gracious Federal-era feel. Its white clapboard sides, dark shutters and cupola at the top spelled New England. When we entered, we found it to be a sprawling hotel with vast banquet halls plus comfortable rooms. No doubt, for overnight visitors.

Our friends had a lovely large room that included a deck that overlooked the water. It was a glorious late summer’s day and there was not a cloud in the ink-blue skies. So it was the perfect setting for a relaxed post-wedding brunch when Out-Of-Townies could spend some quality time with the Bridal Couple before leaving and returning to their respective locations.

As we had arrived late, we joined our friend Ian at his table and wasted no time filling our plates with food. I had my very last waffles with strawberry compote, maple syrup and whipped cream and bacon of the trip and Llew opted for an omelet with sausages. I also enjoyed a mimosa and followed it up with a decaff coffee. Throughout the time we were at our table, we chatted with Ian’s Australian relatives as well as Jenny’s Louisiana ones. It was fantastic to catch up with all of them as well as with Ian and Jenny as we’d not had much time with them on this trip—what with their involvement in their daughter’s wedding. Later, we all trooped outside on the deck to take pictures—real fun family groups that included a bunch of kids. Then, when that was done, we were back again inside and raiding the Desserts Table as a whole variety of sweet treats were available for our grazing pleasure. I chose my favorites from this range too: mini pecan pies, tiny brownies, the littlest eclairs, chocolate-dipped strawberries. We truly had the best time.

And then, sadly, it was time for us to say our goodbyes to the lovely Bridal Couple, Ryan and Kristen, who had changed into much more casual clothing and were full of newly-wedded radiance! We also bid all our friends goodbye after making sure we took a lot of pictures with all of them. In every way that I can imagine, I could not help but be thrilled that Llew and I had made the decision to include this wedding in our travel itinerary. With the afternoon having become really hot, we made our way into our car and left Red Bank (which we discovered to be a really cute town) and drove back to Somerset. En route, I stopped to buy myself some pantyhose from CVS as I wanted to take a few pairs back to India with me.

Back at home, we merely greeted our hosts and told them that we needed a long nap as we’d had hardly any sleep the previous night. And so, we disappeared into our basement apartment and had a nice long nap.

A Grand High Tea at our Friends’ Place in Bridgewater:

When we awoke and went upstairs, our friends Imran and Ghazala, informed us that they would like to take us over to their son Kashif’s place in Bridgewater as he had invited us over for Tea. We had seen quite a lot of their daughter, Kiran, who lived at home with her parents—but as Kashif lived about a half hour away, we had not met him yet. We were eager to go and see him and his family.

And so, we got dressed again and left in Imran’s car for the drive to Kashif’s. We discovered that they have a humongous and very beautiful home—perfect for their four children (three sons and a daughter). Our reunion with Kashif and his wife, Mehru, was very affectionate. They are extremely warm and lovely people and we have known Kashif since he was a child. Mehru was busy preparing a spread as Tea turned out to be High Tea with a vast variety of filling foods such as sandwiches, chole, fruit chaat, pound cake, samosas and cookies. As we all sat around the table in their kitchen, we had a very companionable evening. But, all too soon, it was time for us to say Goodbye and leave. And with that , our very last full day in the USA ended. Honestly, it could not have been more fun or fulfilling.

Final Packing Touches to our Suitcases:

The only thing left to do when we arrived home at the Masuds was to return again to our suitcases to take stock of our baggage situation. For the next half hour, we used some very creative packing measures to ensure that no bag exceeded it weight limit and when we realized that there was no more we could do, we left it, locked our bags and sat down to have bowls of dark chocolate ice-cream with our friends. We relaxed over the next half hour in their company, fully grateful that they had been so kind and hospitable to us during our few days with them and had gone out of their way to make certain that all our needs were met.

We said our goodbyes and thanks-yous to them and by 9.00 pm, we went downstairs to our basement apartment as we had to set our alarms for 2.00 pm so that we could leave for JFK Airport and get there in time for our 6.00 am flight to India.

And that was exactly what we did. So, with that descent into our room downstairs, our stay in New Jersey came to an end. We set our alarms and went to bed, giving thanks to God for a wonderfully safe and enjoyable trip, amazing travel experiences, the warmth, comfort and generosity of friends and relatives everywhere and the knowledge that we had made the most of every second.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.