After being in Maine for the Summer, we headed back to Jake’s Grandparent’s house in New Jersey. We were greeted warmly by Jake’s grandfather, Charles, who had made and hung a sign up next to our normal parking spot.

We were able to have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with Jake’s family, as well as celebrate Charles’ 88th birthday in January. It snowed a little bit over the season, but being so close to the ocean, it doesn’t get quite as cold as you’d think for being this far north.

Jake shoveled the snow from the steps and driveway, just as a safety precaution for the older folks and we spent a lot of time making and eating soups to keep warm in the bus. At this point we had not quite mastered the warming of the bus in the Winter and found that cooking was a good way to keep the bus toasty.

We made a couple of trips to Pennsylvania while we were in New Jersey, Philly being only an hour or so away. We visited a few historical parks and battlefields and walked around in the snow to see the monuments.